All that remains of an angel
All that remains of an angel

Summary/Abstract: I borrowed the title from a book of poetry by Jan Skácel (SKÁCEL 1960), because it is not just a random set of words; it captures a major problem of both contemporary philosophy and poetry. What has, indeed, become of all those great forms of human endeavour? In his inspiring paper called “Political Socratism” (Un Socratisme Politique), Jean-Loup Thébaud provides a summary of Paul Ricoeur’s text called “The Death of Personalism and the Return of a Person” (Meurt le personnalisme, revient la personne, RICOEUR 1983), where the situation in philosophy at the time is described in three points: 1. The subject has been deprived of its place in the universe. 2. The subject has lost a star that would guide it. 3. A clear distinction between friend and foe has disappeared (THÉBAUD 1988). While reading Patočka, Ricoeur confirms his belief that distinguishing between ontology, ethics and politics has become problematic, for the traditional trio of disciplines carries very little meaning these days, while getting dissolved in a common medium of problematization.

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