Philosophical reflections from prison

Foto: Ondrˇej Neˇmec, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Philosophical reflections from prison

Václav Havel's "Letters to Olga" - Legacy and Obligation
14:00 - 18:00

 

"And so, in the end, only one thing would remain of everything: the opportunity to prove to oneself, one's surroundings and the Lord God that I stand behind what I am doing, that I am serious about it and therefore also capable of bearing the consequences" - this is how the Czech playwright and civil rights activist wrote to his wife Olga from Pilsen-Bory prison on 20 March 1982. Václav Havel's letters represent a legacy of European intellectual history. They are letters of love and in a philosophical search for horizons and truth for a free society.

The second joint study day on the humanistic epistolary testimony of political prisoners will present the central concepts of Václav Havel's views. The references to French existential philosophy, to the concept of transcendence and to responsibility close to the present will be dealt with, among others. Havel was able to read and write letters during the long years of imprisonment. His thinking also explores the absurd meaning of his being imprisoned long before he came to the office of President of the Republic after democratic election. "That in spite of all the trials - perhaps - I have not become a puppet"; this epistolary phrase illustrates how much critics of the system had to struggle for recognition under communism.

 

Contact:
Evangelische Akademie Sachsen
im Dreikönigsforum Dresden
Hauptstraße 23
01097 Dresden
Tel.: 0351- 812 43 00
Fax: 0351- 812 43 49
Internet: www.ea-sachsen.de

 

You can find more information under >>> HERE <<<

 

An event of the Protestant Academy of Saxony in cooperation with the Bautzner Straße Memorial Dresden and the Archive of the Citizens' Movement Leipzig e.V.

 

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Registration: Please send an e-mail with your contact details to Sabine Laake,
akademie@evlks.de, Tel: 0351-8124315