1 C PhDr. Vera Schifferová, CSc.

1C
PhDr. Věra Schifferová, CSc.
Research Fellow in the Department of Comenius’s Studies, Institute of Philosophy,
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
How Relevant is Comenius Today? Comenius and the Strife for
Universality
The paper will discuss and try to develop further Patočka’s view of the relevance of
Comenius for today.
Is it at all possible to find, in the thought of Comenius, anything relevant for the
present day? Does a 17th century thinker, who understood little of the progressive
ideas of his own time, still have anything to say to us moderns? I shall try to answer
this question on the basis of Patočka’s views on this issue.
Favouring a purely historical approach, Patočka was critical of any attempt to
demonstrate the “modernity” of Comenius. He criticised both those who “ignore the
distance between Comenius and ourselves” thus using Comenius as a mere pretext
to mirror and admire themselves in his thought as well as those who criticise his
thought from the positions of modern science. According to Patočka Comenius can
serve as an inspiration precisely due to his otherness, his non-modernity. His thought
can thus remind us of what we have already forgotten and by that broaden our
intellectual horizon.
One of the most inspiring aspects of Comenius’ thought is, according to
Patočka, his concept of the “humanisation of man” which requires, as its precondition, an emphasis on the whole. The Neo-platonic tradition beginning with
Plotinus had seen the world in terms of an ontological opposition between the One
[TO HEN] and the Many. Comenius takes up this tradition, reformulates it, however,
in a way which is specifically his: For him the basic ontological opposition is between
the Whole [TO HOLON, totum], the universal on one hand and the Part [TO MEROS,
pars], the particular on the other.
Comenius uses this notional opposition to describe the conditio humana and
to formulate his programme of pedagogy and reform. According to Comenius man is
trapped in “particularity” which he must overcome and from which he must return to
“universality”, if he wants to regain his true humanity. Comenius speaks of a
“labyrinthine situation” resulting in the loss of one’s humanity.
According to Patočka, the significance of Comenius’ thought for the present
lies precisely here. His description of the conditio humana captures exactly the
current situation of mankind. In order to overcome this “labyrinthine situation”, this
state of “particularity”, pedagogy of conversion is needed, the paradigm of which
Patočka sees best formulated in Comenius’ Pampaedia.
In the final part of my paper I will examine Patočka’s assessment of Josef
Čapek’s essay “Lame Pilgrim” in which both striving for “universality” and for
connection with the great “Whole” are described, in Socratic terms, as an act of the
care for the soul.
In my paper I will attempt to avoid ahistorical as well as inadequate
modernisation of Comenius’ thought. My research will employ methods common in
historiography in general, particularly in the history of philosophy – the critical
investigation of sources, respect for historical facts, the principle of historism etc. The
unity of contextual and genetic methods will be observed.
Sources:
Comenius J. A. De rerum humanarum emendatione consultatio catholica I-II.Edd.
Červenka J., Miškovská V. T., et al., Pragae : Academia 1966.
J. A. Comenii Opera omnia 3. Edd. Kolár J., Kopecký M., et al., Praha : Academia
1978.
Patočka J. Komeniologické studie. První díl: Texty publikované v letech 1941-1958
[Comenius studies. Part I: Works published 1941-1958]. Ed. Schifferová V.
Praha : Oikoymenh 1997. Sebrané spisy Jana Patočky [Collected works of
Jan Patočka], vol. 9.
Patočka J. Komeniologické studie. Druhý díl:. Texty publikované v letech 1959-1977
[Comenius studies. Part II: Works published 1959-1977]. Ed. Schifferová V.
Praha : Oikoymnh 1998. Sebrané spisy Jana Patočky [Collected works of Jan
Patočka], vol. 10.
Patočka J. Komeniologické studie. Třetí díl: Nepublikované texty [Comenius studies.
Part III: Unpublished works]. Ed. Schifferová V. Praha : Oikoymnh 2003.
Sebrané spisy Jana Patočky [Collected works of Jan Patočka], vol. 11.
Patočka J. Kulhavý poutník Josef Čapek [Lame Pilgrim Josef Čapek]. In: J. Patočka,
Umění a čas: Soubor statí, přednášek a poznámek k problémům umění. První
díl: Publikované studie [Art and time. Collection of papers, lectures and notes
to problems of art. First part: Published studies]. Edd. D. Vojtěch, I. Chvatík.
Praha : Oikoymenh, 2004, p. 137-158.