This thesis deals with the topic of the Socratic question as a basis of the care for one's soul in Patocka's texts within the period from 30th to 50th years of the 20th century. This topic is here divided into three larger coherent units. The first part deals with the Patocka's understanding of Socratic care for one's soul as a historical moral self-creation of man having a character of negatively oriented transcension, which is not determined by ideas, but associated in its way of distance from objectivity with motive of knowing unknowing about the last good. The second part of this thesis deals with Patocka's comprehending of Plato as a creator of metaphysical thinking, in which core stands this negatively oriented experience of Socratic moral reversal. Plato, however, this experience of originally unobjectivated horizon according to Patocka's interpretation objectivates as the world of eternal ideas. Patocka as a central interpretative motive of this experience inserts in his own interpretation of Plato the term of Being inspired by Heidegger, which is very close to Plato's Idea of Good laying beyond all divides of essence (ἐπέκεινα τῆς οὐσίας). The last part of this thesis concerns with Patocka's own attempt to understand Plato's Idea by unobjective means. Although thus interpreted Idea is relieved of...

The text tries to bring a different point of view on what citizenship is and what it means, other than political or legal interpretation. It searches for pre-political and pre-legal basis of citizenship able to protect its rights and freedoms as defined by, for example, the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms or as legally guaranteed in democracies. The theoretical part of the text is based on treatises of Czechoslovak dissidents who examined the phenomenon of citizenship, being themselves citizens of illiberal regime. The treatises originate mainly in the 1970s and look at the citizen through the eyes of the dissent of "normalised" Czechoslovakia. The view is broadened by further interviews focusing on the topic of citizenship with three more dissidents. The goal is to find what citizenship should carry within, what it should mean in order to be able to defend its space, the space which officially belongs to it in democratic conditions.

À partir des réflexions du phénoménologue tchèque Jan Patočka et des études du philosophe français Michel Foucault, on interroge le thème du souci – de soi, de l’âme, des autres, du monde – en tant que forme de relation éthique. Dans l'éclipse des systèmes de valeurs traditionnelles, les recherches sur la notion du souci peuvent ouvrir une perspective éthique à même de reformuler les termes de la responsabilité collective.Le point de départ c’est un passage du dernier cours de Foucault au Collège de France (Le courage de la vérité), où le philosophe renvoie à la pensée de Patočka. Foucault reconnaît à l'auteur tchèque d'avoir été le seul philosophe contemporain à avoir approfondi le principe ancien de l'epimeleia. Cependant, selon Foucault, sa propre recherche – construite autour de la notion de epimeleia heautou, c'est-à-dire le souci comme mise à l'épreuve, problématisation et stylisation du soi – différerait de celle de Patočka, qui vise plus l'étude de l'epimeleia tes psychés, à savoir l’âme sous le profil ontologique et gnoséologique.Tout d’abord, la thèse de Foucault encourage une analyse de la signification du terme « âme » dans le contexte de la phénoménologie asubjective élaborée par Patočka. En second lieu, elle invite à étudier la notion de « soi » à l’oeuvre dans les derniers textes de Foucault. En interrogeant les rapports entre les processus singulières de subjectivation et le bios en tant que « mode de vie » ou « style d’existence », on arrive à poser le problème de la vie en tant qu’horizon ontologique de l'être en commun. On s’interroge sur la possibilité d’un « souci dubios » qui soit à la fois « lien de vie » et « forme de vie » : souci du bios comme ontologie critique des conditions rendant possible la reconnaissance de la vie en tant que dimension de la co-appartenance, et, en même temps, attitude éthique à se faire charge de sa vulnérabilité. / Starting from the research of the Czech phenomenologist Jan Patočka and the studies of the French philosopher Michel Foucault, this thesis investigates the question of the care – of the self, for the soul, of the others, of the world – as a form of ethical relationship. In the twilight of the traditional value systems, the ethical perspective in researches on the notion of care enables a redefinition of collective responsibility.The starting point is a paragraph of the Foucault’s last course at the Collège de France (Courage Of Truth), where the philosopher refers to Patočka’s work. Foucault marks a separation between his work, focused on the theme of the bios, as opposed to that of Patočka, centred on the issue of the psyche. According to Foucault, his own research on epimeleia heautou as problematization and stylization of the self is different from that of Patočka, who is interested in the ontological and epistemological facets of the concept of soul .First, Foucault’s thesis encourages an analysis of the meaning of the word “soul” in the context of the asubjective phenomenology developed by Patočka. Second, it suggests to focus on the notion of “self” in last texts of Foucault.Questioning the relationship between the processes of subjectivation and the bios as a “style of existence”, we start considering life as ontological horizon of being in common. This thinking allows for the possibility of “care for the bios” as both “bond of life” and “way of life”: as critical ontology of the conditions that govern the recognition of life as ontological dimension of being in common, on the one hand; and as ethical attitude to protect the bios’s vulnerability on the other. / A partire dalle riflessioni del fenomenologo cèco Jan Patočka e dagli studi del filosofo francese Michel Foucault, questa ricerca intende esplorare il tema della cura – di sé, dell’anima, degli altri, del mondo – in quanto forma di relazione etica. Nell’eclissi dei sistemi valoriali tradizionali, le ricerche sulla nozione di cura possono offrire una prospettiva etica capace di riformulare i termini della responsabilità collettiva. Il punto di partenza è un passaggio dell’ultimo corso di Foucault al Collège de France (Il coraggio della verità), dove il filosofo fa riferimento al pensiero di Patočka. Foucault riconosce all’autore ceco di essere stato il solo autore contemporaneo ad aver approfondito il principio antico dell’epimeleia. Tuttavia, secondo Foucault, la propria personale ricerca – articolata attorno alla nozione di epimeleia heautou, cioè di cura come messa alla prova, problematizzazione e stilizzazione di sé – differirebbe da quella di Patočka, più interessata allo studio dell’epimeleia tes psyches, ossia all’anima sotto il profilo ontologico e gnoseologico.Innanzitutto, la tesi di Foucault incoraggia un’analisi del significato del termine “anima” nel contesto della fenomenologia asoggettiva elaborata da Patočka. In secondo luogo, invita a studiare la nozione di “sé” presente negli ultimi testi di Foucault. Indagando i rapporti tra i processi singolari di soggettivazione e il bios in quanto “modo di vita” o “stile di esistenza”, si arriva a porre il problema della vita in quanto orizzonte ontologico dell’essere in comune. Ci si interroga così sulla possibilità di una cura del bios che sia insieme “legame di vita” e “modo di vita”: cura del bios come ontologia critica delle condizioni che rendono possibile il riconoscimento della vita, intesa come dimensione della coappartenenza, e allo stesso tempo attitudine etica a farsi carico della sua vulnerabilità.