Abstract
The article's central theme is Vladimír Borecký's "theory of the obscure," which is viewed and interpreted from several points of view. Firstly, it is compared from the point of view of philosophical pragmatism, especially from the search for continuity overcoming the dualism of art and life.
Secondly, the attention is focused on the dual character of mirroring in Borecký's key concept. Subsequently, the network of standards, norms, and criteria that a rational critical debate about the meaning and value of the work of these extraordinary figures always presupposes is described.
Finally, the author conceptualizes the nature of "strange works" in terms of one of the contemporary definitions of art, the American philosopher Alva Noë's concept of artworks as "strange tools."