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.
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, dialectics, philosophy of common sense, philosophy of mind, 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 are also able to host scholars from abroad for longer periods, with the consequent deepening of interaction and formation of new projects and friendships.
German Idealism
Martin Bojda, Holger Gutschmidt, Jiří Chotaš, Jindřich Karásek, Jan Kuneš
The work of this team 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. M. Bojda is writing a book on Schiller’s aesthetics of humanity (see below). H. Gutschmidt is trying to establish a new approach to the interpretation of Hegelian ‘dialectics’ (see below). J. Chotaš is at present working on a series of papers on Hegel's political philosophy. J. Karásek is writing a book on Kant’s analogies of experience. J. Kuneš is focussing on the philosophy of Kant, on the philosophy of German Idealism and the reception of Kant and of German Idealism in the work of Martin Heidegger.
Grants:
- Bojda, M. 2019–2021 Postdoctoral Fellowship of the Czech Academy of Sciences (Project: Schiller’s Aesthetics of Humanity)
The project focuses on the philosophical roots of the work of Friedrich Schiller. Its aim is to present Schiller as an independent thinker in dialogue with the Enlightenment and German idealism in a synthetically conceived monograph planned as the third volume of a loose tetralogy dedicated to the thought of so-called Weimar Classicism (Herder, Goethe, Schiller, Wieland). These thinkers’ works represent and embody a synthesis and revision of key philosophical themes of enlightened rationalism in relation to intellectual, emotional, religious, and social life in the then nascent modern (German) civil culture. As part of legacy of this philosophy-based direction of thought, the project will examine its integrity, and its assumptions, as well as mutual links between the theoretical, historical, and literary works of these scholars and writers who viewed philosophy as something more than just a particular theoretical discipline based on analytical reasoning. Schiller will be presented as a thinker who, aside from his theoretical treatises, treated issues of moral philosophy (using the then innovative Kantian approach) on the stage, where these subjects formed the foundation of dramatic conflicts within human nature. Schiller thus had a profound impact on romanticism and idealism not only through his aesthetics but also as a playwright.
- Gutschmidt, H. 2017-2022 Jan Evangelista Purkynĕ Fellowship from the Czech Academy of Sciences (Project: From ‘Life’ to ‘The Life of the Spirit’. The Roots of Hegel’s Theoretical Philosophy in his Jena Period).
This project is trying to establish a new approach to the interpretation of Hegelian “dialectics”. It therefore mostly analyses the texts of Hegel’s Jena period when he developed his idea of a philosophical system. These writings reveal important elements of an early philosophical method by means of which Hegel’s later reasoning can be more successfully reconstructed than before. On the other side, they also show the leading ideas and intentions of his philosophical system. The analysis of the texts of this period, including the Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), will not only shed new light on the development of Hegel’s philosophy, it also makes a contribution to a new systematic approach to Hegel’s thinking.
Central Problems in Modern Epistemology
Petr Glombíček, Jakub Mihálik
The members of this team build on previous research in the fields of epistemology, history of modern philosophy, philosophy of science and of mind. Glombíček is currently tracking down the evolution of the modern concept of common sense from the early conceptions in the seventeenth century, and their ancient roots, to its full bloom a century later. Mihálik is preparing a book on the Russellian monist approach to consciousness which will focus on the relation of this metaphysical theory to the issue of phenomenology of awareness (see below).
Grant:
- Mihálik, J. 2019-2022 Research Grant from the Ministry of Education Youth and Sports (The Consciousness & Matter Project)
Despite good evidence that subjective consciousness with its experiential qualities is deeply tied with the neuronal electro-chemical activity of the brain, it is unclear how the latter produces the former. Dissatisfaction with the 20th century's prevailing physicalist paradigm has led to the revival of ‘supra-physicalism’ (Russellian monism) according to which matter has special intrinsic properties that are directly relevant for the production of human-level consciousness. The project uses an innovative methodology based on the notion of phenomenology of awareness to identify the nature of these properties and thus offer a fresh look on supra-physicalism. More information about the project: www.conmat.org
Modern Normativity
Marina Barabas, Hana Fořtová, Jiří Chotaš, Jakub Trnka
Research is also directed at ‘practical’ philosophy, both in its ethical and political form with special interest to the nature of normativity. This, the question of ‘practical Reason’ is inseparable from the question of human identity, be it 'inner', i.e. in relation psychology and subjecthood , or 'outer', i.e. as they concern agency and intersubjectivity. Consideration of these issues opens up questions such as those of political and legal legitimacy, the relation between violence and power, between history and convention, between the individual and society and state, etc.
Barabas is interested in the various ways that value is present in perception, thinking and the will. At present she is working on the emergence of the concept of the ethical in Greek philosophy and the consequent re-structuring of the moral protagonist and of the concept of action in terms of the will; lately she has also been working on the role of Reason and justification in the Liberal and Conservative construals of political authority. Fořtová is now working on the political thought of J.-J. Rousseau. She is preparing the new translation of the most important political works by J.-J Rousseau: The Social Contract, the Discourse on the Origin and the Basis of Inequality among Men and the Constitutional Project for Corsica. Chotaš is editing a companion The History of Modern Political Thought, in which he contributed with several entries. Trnka is writing a book on a Czech philosopher Erazim Kohák (see below).
Grant:
Jakub Trnka 2016-2020 Research Grant from the Czech Science Foundation (Project: The Philosophy of Erazim Kohák).
The aim of the project is to create a detailed and comprehensive monograph on the philosophy of Erazim Kohák. The subject should be investigated both from a historical perspective, that is, within the context of various sources of inspiration within both the Western and Czech philosophical tradition, and a systematic perspective, that is, with emphasis on an original and distinctive synthesis of these motifs in Kohák’s own philosophy. The project would be based not only on Kohák’s texts published in Czech and in English but also on previously unpublished texts from the philosopher’s personal archive.
Cooperation with foreign partners and guests from abroad
- International Network Hegel’s Relevance, Research Institute for Culture, Cognition, History and Heritage of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, area of cooperation: Hegel
- Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Institut für Philosophie, Germany; area of cooperation: Hegel and German idealism
- Univerzity of Pavel Josef Šafárik, Košice – Department of philosophy and History of philosophy, Slovakia; area of cooperation: Classical German philosophy
- University of Hertfordshire, School of Humanities; area of cooperation: Philosophy of consciousness
- 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 (Bojda, Fořtová, Gutschmidt, Chotaš, Karásek, Kuneš - room Nr. 318a)
+420 221 183 580 (Barabas, Glombíček, Mihálik - 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.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Martin Bojda This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; 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.; 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.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Holger Gutschmidt 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.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jakub Mihálik 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.; 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.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (emeritus)
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