Europe in the Age of "Multiple Modernities". Patočka's Concept of "Post-European Age" in the Context of Contemporary Civilizational Analysis
2014
Abstract
This paper deals with the philosophical concept of a "post-European age", which was developed in the 1970s by Jan Patočka (1907-1977), probably the most important Czech philosopher of the twentieth century. More precisely, I discuss this concept through the framework of Patočka's philosophy of history, with an emphasis on his interpretation of modernity.
In addition, it is my aim to put Patočka's understanding of Europe into the framework of contemporary civilizational analysis, especially through the discussions of "Axial Age" and "multiple modernities" as found in contemporary historical sociology.