PATOČKA’S PHILOSOPHY OF ART AND CARE FOR THE SOUL

Abstract

The Socratic theme of care for the soul expresses in Patocka’s late thought his desire to keep the understanding of human existence as a place of turn, metanoia, of struggle between authenticity and inauthenticity. Th is tendency not only goes against Heidegger and his late philosophy, but is also opposed to Patocka’s own earlier project of asubjective phenomenology as well. Th is essay argues, fi rstly, that the importance of subjectivity and existential dimension is still present in art and secondly, that art represents for Patocka sort of care for the soul. Th e argument has three stages. First, I demonstrate what Patocka means by soul or experience of soul and how we should understand the term ‘care.’ I argue that what Patocka understands under the concept of soul consists has freedom, krisis, and physis as its main features. Th e second part demonstrates that in Patocka’s view, these features are present in art. Th e last part compares art and philosophy as two kinds of care for the soul and demonstrates the limits of art as care of the soul. My conclusion is that art represents for Patocka a limited form of care for the soul compared to philosophy. However, according to Patocka, in current situation it is the only way of care for the soul that is left .