A magnificent gift: Jan Patocka and Vaclav Havel on dissident sacrifice

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Abstract

The paper compares and contrasts Jan Patočka and Vaclav Havel's respective thoughts on dissent. Using Aristotle's thoughts on the magnanimous man as a sounding board, the paper argues with Patočka that dissent is best undertaken as a gift to a community made with sound philosophical reflection. The paper also argues with Havel that dissent is also a task for every citizen who is caught in an oppressive political situation -that is dissent is not the sole responsibility of the reflective philosopher but every citizen whose actions contribute to the sustenance of ideology.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)88-107
Number of pages20
JournalTheory in Action
Volume10
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2017

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