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The Left-Wing Reception of Carl Schmitt's Work
Géryk, Jan ; Kysela, Jan (advisor) ; Agha, Petr (referee)
This thesis has dealt with the thought of the German legal and political theorist Carl Schmitt and with the reception of his work by the intellectual Left. The main goals of the thesis were to find out which aspects of Schmitt's work are the most popular among left-wing authors and to search for the causes of this inspiration. Thus, it was necessary to reconstruct the historical context in which such a conservative thinker becomes a frequently quoted author within various branches of leftist thought. In Carl Schmitt's case, because of his shift towards Nazism in the 1930s, there is also a methodological problem of the possible separation of his work from his career and personality, the separation of a particular theoretical approach from the motives which led to this approach. Therefore, the attempt to use Schmitt's thought for progressive left-wing goals is not easily compatible with strictly contextual reading of his work. Schmitt's work itself is described and analyzed especially in the first half of this thesis. The first chapter describes, in the historical context, some basic concepts which Schmitt deals with. The chapter is structured according to main targets of his critique: legal positivism; liberal democracy; quantitative total state, which is able to intervene in every part of society,...
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Intellectual Interests of George, Count of Buquoy
MORAWETZ, Michal
This dissertation discusses the intellectual interests of George, Count of Buquoy (1781-1851), who gained fame in the first half of the nineteenth century through his inventions of new technical devices, his efforts to improve manufacturing technologies used on his estates, his contacts with leading scientists and philosophers of the time, and his original scientific and philosophical treatises. This dissertation scrutinises the writings kept in Buquoy's archival estate, as well as his published works, and discusses the reactions his thoughts elicited among contemporary scientists and various other people within Buquoy's intellectual milieu. Methodologically, I draw on contemporary approaches to studies of intellectual history, which aim to interpret and contextualise particular ideas with regard to the author's immediate background and the broader intellectual climate of the time. Aiming to avoid biographical fallacy, I focus on pivotal moments of Buquoy's scientific career without attempting to integrate them into a biographical narrative by means of supposed causality. The thesis is structured as a chronologically ordered discussion of key themes and defining moments in the development of Buquoy's thought. Particular attention is paid to the influences which formed Buquoy's intellectual outlook, including his upbringing, education, the experiences he gained during travels, the knowledge he absorbed from scholarly treatises, and the views he exchanged with contemporary scientists. I show how these factors influenced the themes Buquoy chose to discuss in his treatises and the ways in which he presented his arguments. An important part of the thesis is a deconstructive analysis of Buquoy's self-presentation strategy, through which he sought to align himself with the scientific community. Finally, the thesis discusses the fundamental philosophical views underpinning Buquoy's intellectual endeavours in the field of science.
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The Left-Wing Reception of Carl Schmitt's Work
Géryk, Jan ; Kysela, Jan (advisor) ; Agha, Petr (referee)
This thesis has dealt with the thought of the German legal and political theorist Carl Schmitt and with the reception of his work by the intellectual Left. The main goals of the thesis were to find out which aspects of Schmitt's work are the most popular among left-wing authors and to search for the causes of this inspiration. Thus, it was necessary to reconstruct the historical context in which such a conservative thinker becomes a frequently quoted author within various branches of leftist thought. In Carl Schmitt's case, because of his shift towards Nazism in the 1930s, there is also a methodological problem of the possible separation of his work from his career and personality, the separation of a particular theoretical approach from the motives which led to this approach. Therefore, the attempt to use Schmitt's thought for progressive left-wing goals is not easily compatible with strictly contextual reading of his work. Schmitt's work itself is described and analyzed especially in the first half of this thesis. The first chapter describes, in the historical context, some basic concepts which Schmitt deals with. The chapter is structured according to main targets of his critique: legal positivism; liberal democracy; quantitative total state, which is able to intervene in every part of society,...
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The American Left and Communist Czechoslovakia, 1956-1968
Géryk, Jan ; Raška, Francis (advisor) ; Fojtek, Vít (referee)
The main aim of this work is to compare the discourses and analyze the relations of the American and Czechoslovak intellectual Left between 1956 and 1968. It begins by Khrushchev's revelation of Stalinist crimes and by the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956 which created an atmosphere of disillusionment on the Left. The global Left of this period to a substantial extent ceased to be ideologically inspired by the Soviet Union and began to rethink the foundations of its thought. So, the 1960s are the period of the flourishing leftist thought. Authors are inspired by Marxist humanism and the New Left emerges, especially in the West. There were issues which existed beyond the ideological struggle of two Cold War blocs, but the different character of the regimes in the East and the West resulted in different approaches to these issues. At the same time, the mobility of ideas and their authors or supporters increased even across the Iron Curtain. Therefore, we could see some interesting encounters and clashes of different, even though still leftist, discourses. This work tries to depict the intellectual environment of the period by dealing with issues like philosophy of Man in the context of technological changes, the tactics of the struggle against the system or bureaucracy, the relation of...
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Intellectual History in the Context of Czech and European Historiography in 19th and 20the Century
Čtvrtník, Mikuláš ; Beneš, Zdeněk (advisor) ; Středová, Veronika (referee) ; Horský, Jan (referee)
The main thematic scope and basis of the PhD thesis is the specific movement in the historiography called duchové dějiny (in English partly misleading translation intellectual history) in the form, in which it was developed in German speaking lands as Geistesgeschichte, and in the Czech historiography as duchové dějiny outlined by Zdeněk Kalista. In the PhD thesis duchové dějiny is put into the wide context of the development of historical thinking and methodology in the 19th and 20th century. The PhD thesis treats the subdiscipline of duchové dějiny in many perspectives and at different levels and thematically is not enclosed by the boundaries of the duchové dějiny itself. The duchové dějiny is here in a way an optics through which one line of historiography and historical thinking in the 19th and 20th century is observed, treated and interpreted. The PhD thesis also aims to connect the history and its methodology with the archivistics and archival theory. In this way proposes the thesis certain solutions. Nowadays, duchové dějiny belongs rather to the marginal movements or subdisciplines in the historiography in the Czech and German speaking lands, contrary to intellectual history in Anglophone areas. In spite of this the PhD thesis tried to show, that the duchové dějiny is still alive,...
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Impact of Kyōhō reforms on the intellectual development of Tokugawa society
Mráček, David ; Sýkora, Jan (advisor) ; Labus, David (referee)
This work deals with Kyōhō reforms and their impact on intellectual life of Tokugawa society. The aim of this work is to put Kyōhō reforms in historical context, analyze the reforms from political, economical and intellectual point of view and then describe how the reforms influenced intellectual life in Japan during the first half of 18th century. This work is focused on the Ogyū Sorai, intellectuals from non-samurai class, who worked during Kyōhō era and on academies, that arose during this era.
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Principle of Georg Buquoy's philosophical outlook in the context of romantic science
MORAWETZ, Michal
This diploma thesis deals with the basic principles of Georg Buquoy's (1781-1851) philosophy, which were presented in his unpublished treatise Kern meiner philosophischen Grundansicht. Buquoy's ideas are interpreted in the context of contemporary scientific discourse in the Czech lands. Attention is also drawn to Buquoy's foreign inspiration sources. The explication of Buquoy's ideas is based on the theory of intellectual history, with special focus on the interrelationship between natural sciences and humanities and the esotericism of the late 18th and the first half of the 19th century.
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"Principle of my philosophical outlook." Romantic Naturphilosophie of Georg Franz Buquoy
MORAWETZ, Michal
The bachelor thesis is focused on a reconstruction of fundamental ideas in the philosophy of Georg Franz Buquoy. It is based on the analysis of his tract Kern meiner philosophischen Grundansicht (around 1825), which only exists as a manuscript, and is deposited in Buquoy's Family Archives in the State Regional Archives in Třeboň. The discussion of this subject is based on methods of intellectual history. I proceed from the current debate on the relationship between natural science and humanities at the time of late enlightenment and romanticism. I endeavour to reintegrate Buquoy's oeuvre into the historical scientific and social context, and interpret his ideas about the world order and about the role of nature, man, and God in this world. The introductory chapter surveys the development of the historical research and analyzes the historical works I have used. Apart from that, I reconstruct Buquoy´s image in the historiography and explain which archival sources I have used. The 2nd chapter introduces the philosophical way of thinking in the Austrian Vormärz and explains the main ideas of German and Austrian Naturphilosophie. The following chapter focuses on education, learning and the interests of Georg Franz Buquoy. The fourth chapter analyses the philosophical tract under discussion.
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