Listen "Patočka Booth, Pt. 1 / Erin Plunkett / The "Solidarity of the Shaken""
Episode Synopsis
The Patočka Booth is a three-part series of interviews on the Czech philosopher and dissident, Jan Patočka (1907–77). Interviews will explore his philosophical and political thought, his biography and context, and his import for theology.
Erin Plunkett is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Religious Studies at the University of Hertfordshire, UK. She is the editor of the Selected Writings of Jan Patočka: Care for the Soul (2022) and Kierkegaard and Possibility (2023) and the author of A Philosophy of the Essay (2018).
PODCAST LINKS:
Dr. Plunkett’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/jd_silentio
Dr. Plunkett’s academia.edu page: https://herts.academia.edu/ErinPlunkett
Dr. Plunkett’s research profile: https://researchprofiles.herts.ac.uk/en/persons/erin-plunkett
Dr. Plunkett’s website: https://erinshalonplunkett.wordpress.com
The Selected Writings of Jan Patočka: Care for the Soul: https://www.amazon.com/Selected-Writings-Jan-Patocka-Care/dp/1350139092
Kierkegaard and Possibility: https://www.amazon.com/Kierkegaard-Possibility-Erin-Plunkett/dp/1350298980
CONNECT:
Website: https://wipfandstock.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wipfandstock
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wipfandstock
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wipfandstock/
SOURCES MENTIONED:
Derrida, Jacques. The Gift of Death.
———. Hospitality. 2 vols.
Heidegger, Martin. “The Question Concerning Technology.”
Husserl, Edmund. The Crisis of European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology: An Introduction to Phenomenological Philosophy.
Kundera, Milan. The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
Musil, Robert. The Man Without Qualities.
Patočka, Jan. Heretical Essays in the Philosophy of History.
———. Plato and Europe.
———. The Selected Writings of Jan Patočka: Care for the Soul.
Plunkett, Erin, ed. Kierkegaard and Possibility.
Ricœur, Paul. “Jan Patocka: A Philosopher of Resistance.”
The Socrates of Prague. Documentary.
Tava, Francesco, and Darian Meacham, eds. Thinking After Europe: Jan Patočka and Politics.
OUTLINE:
(01:39) – Discovering “the myth of Patočka”
(06:18) – Roundtable: Patočka, Nietzsche, Foucault, Arendt
(09:51) – The life of Patočka in the century of war
(15:37) – Key themes: Movement, care for the soul, sacrifice
(21:03) – Relationship to Husserl and Heidegger
(25:02) – Husserlian transcendence vs. Patockian transcendence
(27:36) – The “limping pilgrim” and the “sacrifice for nothing”
(32:05) – Patočka, Heidegger, and Husserl on science and technology
(38:09) – “Asubjective phenomenology”
(43:05) – Aesthetic and literary criticism
(48:35) – “The solidarity of the shaken”
(52:28) – Patočka and Derrida
(54:08) – The failure of the European project
(59:32) – What’s next for Dr. Plunkett
(01:00:55) – Where to find Dr. Plunkett
Erin Plunkett is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Religious Studies at the University of Hertfordshire, UK. She is the editor of the Selected Writings of Jan Patočka: Care for the Soul (2022) and Kierkegaard and Possibility (2023) and the author of A Philosophy of the Essay (2018).
PODCAST LINKS:
Dr. Plunkett’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/jd_silentio
Dr. Plunkett’s academia.edu page: https://herts.academia.edu/ErinPlunkett
Dr. Plunkett’s research profile: https://researchprofiles.herts.ac.uk/en/persons/erin-plunkett
Dr. Plunkett’s website: https://erinshalonplunkett.wordpress.com
The Selected Writings of Jan Patočka: Care for the Soul: https://www.amazon.com/Selected-Writings-Jan-Patocka-Care/dp/1350139092
Kierkegaard and Possibility: https://www.amazon.com/Kierkegaard-Possibility-Erin-Plunkett/dp/1350298980
CONNECT:
Website: https://wipfandstock.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wipfandstock
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wipfandstock
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wipfandstock/
SOURCES MENTIONED:
Derrida, Jacques. The Gift of Death.
———. Hospitality. 2 vols.
Heidegger, Martin. “The Question Concerning Technology.”
Husserl, Edmund. The Crisis of European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology: An Introduction to Phenomenological Philosophy.
Kundera, Milan. The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
Musil, Robert. The Man Without Qualities.
Patočka, Jan. Heretical Essays in the Philosophy of History.
———. Plato and Europe.
———. The Selected Writings of Jan Patočka: Care for the Soul.
Plunkett, Erin, ed. Kierkegaard and Possibility.
Ricœur, Paul. “Jan Patocka: A Philosopher of Resistance.”
The Socrates of Prague. Documentary.
Tava, Francesco, and Darian Meacham, eds. Thinking After Europe: Jan Patočka and Politics.
OUTLINE:
(01:39) – Discovering “the myth of Patočka”
(06:18) – Roundtable: Patočka, Nietzsche, Foucault, Arendt
(09:51) – The life of Patočka in the century of war
(15:37) – Key themes: Movement, care for the soul, sacrifice
(21:03) – Relationship to Husserl and Heidegger
(25:02) – Husserlian transcendence vs. Patockian transcendence
(27:36) – The “limping pilgrim” and the “sacrifice for nothing”
(32:05) – Patočka, Heidegger, and Husserl on science and technology
(38:09) – “Asubjective phenomenology”
(43:05) – Aesthetic and literary criticism
(48:35) – “The solidarity of the shaken”
(52:28) – Patočka and Derrida
(54:08) – The failure of the European project
(59:32) – What’s next for Dr. Plunkett
(01:00:55) – Where to find Dr. Plunkett
More episodes of the podcast The Theology Mill
James Greenaway / A Philosophy of Belonging
29/11/2025
Melissa Moschella / The New Natural Law
13/10/2025
Ryan Duns / Theology of Horror
16/09/2025
Paul R. Hinlicky / Lutheran Theology
15/04/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.