• PrefaceIntroduction: Philosophy in Troubled TimesChapter One: On an Asubjective PhenomenologyChapter Two: On the BodyChapter Three: On the Three Movements of Human ExistenceChapter Four: On Care for the SoulChapter Five: On SacrificeChapter Six: On HopeChapter Seven: On DissidenceConclusion: LegaciesEpilogueNotesIndex

“James Dodd gives us a lucid and comprehensive account of Patočka’s work, thought, and life: his idea of Europe and its classical origins; his background in phenomenology; and his role in the turbulent events of postwar Prague. For Dodd, Patočka’s thinking can be characterized as a philosophy of history rooted in a phenomenological ontology.” —David Carr, author of Experience and History: Phenomenological Perspectives on the Historical World“The best synthetic account of Patočka’s thought I’ve read. Dodd reads Patočka with an empathy and generosity; he writes of him in a way absolutely devoid of hagiography (which is not so easy when dealing with a Socrates-like figure), defensiveness, and apologetics. The analysis is subtle, the writing deeply reflective and never gratuitously polemical.” —Marci Shore, author of The Taste of Ashes: The Afterlife of Totalitarianism in Eastern Europe