The Political Thought of Václav Havel : Philosophical Influences and Contemporary Applications (Value Inquiry Book Series / Central European Value Studies)

Brennan, Daniel

Brill（2016/10発売）

• 製本 Paperback:紙装版/ペーパーバック版／ページ数 8 p.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9789004332188
• DDC分類 320.01

Full Description

The book considers Václav Havel's body of writing as a cohesive whole offering a consistent political philosophy. This bold claim is backed up through a close examination of Havel's plays, letters, essays and aphorisms. The political philosophy that a close reading of Havel reveals is a liberal one. However, Havel is not the run-of the-mill liberal having influences from the field of phenomenology, Masaryk, Husserl, Levinas Patočka and Heidegger which give him a nuanced view of the self. Havel sees the self as something always being formed. Hence for Havel man has an ability to 'shake' his current state and invite transcendence into his life. This agonistic process reveals our responsibility and liberates the self from forces which coerce behaviour.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1. Themes in Havel's Thought
Chapter 2. The Influence of Jan Patočka
Chapter 3. Further Patočkean Ideas in Havel's Thought
Chapter 4. Living in Truth as an Existential Concept
Chapter 5. Havel's Concern for Meaningful Political Discourse
Chapter 6. Václav Havel's Political Thought as a Liberal Philosophy.
Chapter 7. Havel's Liberal Agonism
Chapter 8. Conclusion: Havel and the Neoliberal State

Bibliography
Index