Patočka mid-way between Socrates and Plato: an Interpretation of Negative Platonism

Martin Ritter

The study pursues a systematic inquiry as to in what way Jan Patočka is inspired by the philosophies of Socrates and Plato in the period that precedes the formulation of Patočka’s „negative Platonism“. Our guideline is the question, why Patočka’s conception is to be called negative Platonism, rather than something in the mold of „existentialist Socratism“. Our interpretation is based on Patočka’s lectures on Socrates and Plato, as well as the book-length work Eternity and Historicity.