Jan Sokol (philosopher)


Jan Sokol was a Czech philosopher, dissident, politician and translator. He briefly served as Minister of Education, Youth and Sports in 1998 under Prime Minister Josef Tošovský. From 1990 to 1992, he was Member of Parliament for Prague. From 2000 to 2007, he served as the first dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Charles University in Prague. Sokol ran for Czech Republic in the 2003 election but lost to Václav Klaus.
WWW jansokol.cz

Life and work

He was born in Prague in a Catholic family, his father Jan was an architect, his grandfather František Nušl was an astronomer and mathematician. His younger brother Václav is a graphic artist.
During the Communist era, he was not allowed to study and, therefore, worked as a goldsmith, precision mechanic and software developer. Sokol studied mathematics in evening courses, translated numerous books on philosophy and religion to Czech, participated on the Czech Ecumenical Bible translation, and was one of the first signatories of the Charta 77 manifesto for Human rights.
In 1990, he was elected as a Member of the Czechoslovak Parliament, becoming vice-chairman of the Chamber of Nations and spokesman of the strongest faction Civic Forum. In 1998 he was Minister of Education, Youth and Sports in caretaker Josef Tošovský's Cabinet.
In 1993, he obtained an MA in Anthropology, in 1995 a Ph.D. in Philosophy and since 2000 has been a full professor of philosophy. In 2000, Sokol became the first dean of Faculty of Humanities, Charles University in Prague, vice-dean in 2007 and in 2008 was appointed an Officer of the Légion d'honneur. In the Fall Semester 2008, he was a Senior Fellow at CSWR, Harvard University, lecturing on Religion, Ethics and Human rights.
He has been influenced mostly by Bible, Christian tradition, Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Raymond Ruyer, his father-in-law Jan Patočka and Emmanuel Lévinas. His works mainly dealt with Philosophical Anthropology, Phenomenology, Anthropology of Religion and of Law and in the theory of Human Rights. He has published several books, articles in Czech and in other languages and has delivered many guest lectures in various European countries and in the US, mostly on philosophy, religion, ethics and on European questions.
In a 2020 interview, Sokol stated that he frequently edited Wikipedia in order to reach young people. He was prolific contributor to Wikipedia and honorary member of Wikimedia Czech Republic.

Some publications

Books

In Czech:
  • Cílek – Sokol – Sůvová, Evropa – náš domov. Albatros, Praha 2018, 132 p.
  • Sokol, J., Naděje na neděli. Praha 2017. 280 p.
  • Sokol, J., Dluh života. Články – eseje – glosy. FHS UK, Praha 2016. 668 p.
  • Sokol, J., Člověk jako osoba. Vyšehrad, Praha 2016. 3rd. ed. 280 p.
  • Sokol, J.: Moc, peníze a právo. Vyšehrad, Praha 2015. 2nd. ed. 304 p.
  • Sokol, J.: Etika, život, instituce. Vyšehrad, Praha 2014, 264 p.
  • Sokol, J.: Malá filosofie člověka. Vysehrad, Prague 2010, 6th. ed.
  • Sokol, J.: Čas a rytmus. Oikumene, Prague 2004, 2nd. ed.
  • Sokol, J.: Člověk a náboženství. Portal, Prague 2004.
  • Sokol, J. – Z. Pinc: Antropologie a etika. Triton, Prague 2003.
  • Sokol, J.: Filosofická antropologie. Portal, Prague 2002.
  • Sokol, J.: Mistr Eckhart a středověká mystika. Vysehrad, Prague 2008, 3rd. ed..
In English::
  • Sokol, J.: Ethics, life and institutions. English by N. Cairns and M. Pauzerová. Praha: Karolinum 2016. 258 p.
  • Sokol, J.: Thinking about ordinary things. English by M. Pauzerova. Praha: Karolinum 2013. 236 p.
In German::
  • Sokol, J.: Mensch und Religion : Ursprünge – Wege – Orientierungen. Übers. J. Ostmeyer. Freiburg im Breisgau: Alber Verlag, 2007. 320 S..
  • Sokol, J.: Philosophie als Verpflichtung. Manutius Heidelberg 2014, 208 S.
In Chinese:

Others

In English:
  • Europe speaks. Linguistic Diversity and Politics. In: Angelaki: Journal of Theoretical Humanities. Vol. 15/3, 2010, p. 185–193. 0969-725X
  • Language and experience. In: Dynamic structure. Language as an open system. Prague : Litteraria pragensia, 2007. p. 27–35..
  • What does freedom look like? In: Int. J. Prenatal and perinatal psychology and medicine, Stockholm. Vol. 17, 1/2, p. 181–187.
  • The market as a place of rules. In: M. T. Vogt, Kulturen in Begegnung. Wroclaw – Görlitz 2004.. p. 239–243.
  • The Two Faces of Time. In: European Review, Vol. 9, No. 1, p. 11–18..
  • An Address from Elsewhere. In: Philosophy Today, Chicago, 43/2, p. 143–150,.
In German:
  • Nachbarschaft – Nähe und Abgrenzung aus anthropologischer Sicht. In: Theologie der Gegenwart, Erfurt, Vol. 50 /3, S. 162–171.
  • Die dreifache Verantwortung der Universität. In R. Gepp et al., Bildung zwischen Luxus und Notwendigkeit. Wien : LIT-Verlag Wien, 2006. P. 21–27. Schriftenreihe der WA. Bd. 1..
  • Eine Ethik für alle Menschen? In: Schmidinger – Hoff, Ethik im Brennpunkt. Tyrolia, Innsbruck 2005, S. 181–200..
  • Was ist Geld? In: Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Unternehmensethik 5/2, S. 176–185.
  • Europa spricht. Sprachenvielfalt und Politik. In: Osteuropa 5-6/2004, Berlin, S. 276–283..
  • Was ist Geld? In: Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Unternehmensethik 5/2, S. 176–185.
  • Was ist Geld? In: M. T. Vogt, Kulturen in Begegnung. Wroclaw – Görlitz 2004.. S. 189–198.
  • Der zweifache Schöpfungsbericht als hermeneutischer Schlüssel. In: Pokorný, P. : Philosophical Hermeneutics and Biblical Exegesis. Tübingen 2002,., S. 238–244.
  • Leben als Bewegung. Jan Patočka und die Philosophie der Erziehung. In: Jahrbuch fuer Bildungs- und Erziehungsphilosophie, 3, S. 223–229. Schneider Hohengehren,.
In French:
  • Jan Patocka et la Charte 77. La nouvelle alternative, Paris, 22, 1, p. 29–34, 5 s.. 2008.
  • Les regles: conditions de la liberté concrete. In: Philosophie de l'action. Cluj 2005,, p. 173–181.
  • Novotný, K. – Sokol, J.: Jan Patočka, penseur d'une dissidence philosophique et politique. In: Delsol – Maslowski – Nowicki : Dissidences. PUF Paris 2005.. p. 15–34.
  • L'obligation et la vie. In: Pouvoir et vie. Actes UEE de Nice. Cluj : Idea Design & Print, Editura, 2004. p. 117–125..
  • D'ou vient l'idée de l'obligation morale? In: Quelle conception de l'homme aujourd'hui? Zuerich 2003.. p. 119–130.
  • La pensée européenne de Jan Patočka. In: Delsol – Maslowski : Histoire des idées politiques de l'Europe centrale, p. 496–510. PUF Paris 1998.
In other languages:
  • Zijn mensenrechten natuurlijk? Filosofie ond Praktijk, Budel : Damon, 28/2007, 4, p. 43–53,. 2007.