Department for the study of modern rationality
- General objectives
- Long term projects
- Cooperation with foreign partners and guests from abroad
- Contact
The Department was founded by the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences in response to an urgent need within the Czech philosophical community. For 40 years Communism imposed restrictions and ideological distortion not only on philosophical research and debate, but also on translation and scholarly examination of philosophical texts. This not only created a serious vacuum and affected philosophical discussion, but at times eliminated the very possibility of conducting such discussion in an informed manner. The Department seeks to redress some of these deficiencies in the sphere of modern and contemporary philosophy. A guiding principle underlying its foundation and work is the assumption that basic traditions and areas in contemporary philosophy, be it Rationalism, Empiricism, Idealism, Positivism or Phenomenology, or theories of knowledge, mind, language, value, etc., have their roots in philosophy as it emerged in the 17th and 18th centuries, and that an understanding of their genesis is essential for any fruitful philosophical work. And since one of the consequences of the Communist era was the absence of adequate, at times of any, translations of major modern philosophical texts, the Department considers translation an important part of its task. Here it sees itself as serving the entire philosophical community, crucially so the universities, as well as the general public. The preparation of adequate translations cannot be left to the commercial sphere, nor, given its demands on time, energy and the need for collaboration between people from various areas, to philosophers engaged in full-time teaching. It is here that the Academy, as a research institution for the whole Czech Republic, plays an irreplaceable role. Closely connected with this activity is another crucial service provided by the members of the Department to the general philosophical community: preparation of secondary texts and 'companions' to important works, authors and issues in modern and contemporary philosophy, and organisation of conferences devoted to them.
The work done by the members on translation often issues from and in turn nourishes their own work and publications, both philosophical and scholarly. Part of the strength of the Department is the large span of research interests of its members: in its historical and scholarly work it covers both British and Continental thinkers since the 17th century (Descartes, British Empiricists, Montesquieu Kant, Hegel, Fichte, Heidegger, Wittgenstein, etc.); its philosophical work lies in both the Phenomenological and the 'Analytic' tradition. Among the issues of interest to the members of the group is the nature of subjectivity and of the Self, philosophy of mind and language, ethics, and political philosophy. Since we are not just 'members' of the same department, but also friends and colleagues, there is mutual enrichment and broadening of perspective. Members of the Department thus seek, both individually and as a group, to open up new discussions and to contribute to the ongoing ones. Central to this is establishing contacts with philosophers from abroad and bringing them to the Czech Republic. While most of them come for lectures, conferences, workshops, etc., we have also in the past been able to host scholars from abroad for longer periods, with the consequent deepening of interaction and formation of new projects and friendships.
German Idealism
Jiří Chotaš, Jindřich Karásek, Jan Kuneš, Jakub Trnka, Vlastimil Zátka
The work of these members focuses on Immanuel Kant and German Idealism both in their own right and with the view to their impact on and contribution to contemporary philosophy. J. Chotaš is at present working on a book on Kant's and Hegel's political philosophy. J. Karásek's current project is the examination of knowledge in the work of Schelling. J. Kuneš is focussing on the philosophy of Kant and the reception of Kant and of German Idealism in the work of M. Heidegger. J. Trnka's interest is directed at the fundamental structures of experience and the question of its various levels, as well as its modification in history and the possibility of its corruption or collapse. V. Zátka examines Schelling's philosophy of art, Kant's theory of aesthetic judgement and the relation of Rousseau's philosophy to Kant's ethics.
Scepticism, Relativism and self-understanding: Central problems in modern epistemology
Ondřej Beran, Petr Glombíček, James Hill, Jan Palkoska
The focus of interest is here the relation between scepticism, relativism and self-understanding. O. Beran is preparing a commented translation of Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations. P. Glombíček is working on Common Sense and is also preparing a book on Wittgenstein's early philosophy. J. Hill is preparing a book on the conception of mind and the creation of concepts in G. Berkeley. J. Palkoska is working on selected problems in analytic metaphysics, contemporary epistemology and philosophy of science.
Modern Normativity
Marina Barabas, Hana Fořtová, James Hill, Jiří Chotaš a Jakub Trnka
Research is here directed at ethics and politics, particular attention being paid to the role of normativity. This is inseparably connected with the question of human identity, be it 'inner', i.e. in relation to the nature of reason and emotion and of their connection, as well 'outer', i.e. as they concern action and other forms of human activity. Consideration of these issues opens up the question of political and legal norms, thereby including problems of power, authority, law and the relation of the individual to society and state.
M. Barabas is interested in the various ways value is present in perception, thinking and the will. At present she's working on the impact which the central role of the will in ethics had on our understanding of values, more generally, of reality and of our moral self-understanding. H. Fořtová is translating the second part of Montesquieu's Spirit of the Laws, which should appear together with the Defence of the Spirit of the Laws in 2015. The focus of her interest in ethics is the character of value in inter-human relations. J. Hill deals with utilitarianism, especially as it is expressed in the work of J.S. Mill, and he is working on a critical presentation of Mill's views, linking them to wider issues in the empiricist tradition.
Cooperation with foreign partners and guests from abroad
- Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Institut für Philosophie, Germany; area of cooperation: Hegel a German Idealismus
- Univerzity of Pavel Josef Šafárik, Košice – Department of philosophy and History of philosophy, Slovakia; area of cooperation: Classical German philosophy
- 2011 Holger Gutschmidt (Universität Göttingen)
- 2007 Christian Iber (Freie Universität Berlin)
Correspondence address:
Department for the Study of Modern Rationality
Institute of Philosophy
The Czech Academy of Sciences
Jilská 361/1
110 00, Prague 1
Czech Republic
Phones:
+420 221 183 334 (Fořtová, Chotaš, Karásek, Kuneš, Palkoska - room Nr. 318a)
+420 221 183 580 (Barabas, Beran, Glombíček, Hill - room Nr. 204a)
+420 221 183 331 (Trnka - room Nr. 209a)
+420 221 183 313 (Zátka - room Nr. 103a)
Fax:
+420 221 183 362 (Chotaš, Kuneš)
E-mail Addresses:
Marina Barabas This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Ondřej Beran This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Hana Fořtová This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Petr Glombíček This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
James Hill This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jiří Chotaš This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jindřich Karásek This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jan Kuneš This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jan Palkoska This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jakub Trnka This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Vlastimil Zátka This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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