Jan Patočka: From the Subjectivism of Eternity and Historicity to a Philosophy of the Asubjective Idea in Negative Platonism

Pavel Sladký

The article deals with the philosophical differences between Patočka's Eternity and Historicity and his Negative Platonism. The difference is interpreted as a shift from the "subjectivist humanism" of Eternity and Historicity to a philosophy of the non-subjective Idea in Negative Platonism. While the two texts share an effort to reform classical metaphysics, they diverge substantially in how they view the position of subjectivity. Eternity and Historicity puts subjectivity in the very centre, whereas Negative Platonism „decentralizes“ the subject, grounding it in the non-subjective idea.