Central European Philosophy

This course introduces ways of philosophizing in Central Europe in the second half of the 20th century. The emphases are put on non-Marxist thinking and liberal Marxist ideas as well as the opposing dogmatic state-endorsed philosophy of the Soviet-style Marxism-Leninism. The effort will be made to underlie similarities and distinctions in ways in which harshness of political regimes, ever-present ideological dominance, courage, and the personal stance of individual thinkers shaped the way they adopted and developed Western style philosophizing.