Havel at Columbia Glossary



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Patočka, Jan

A prominent Czechoslovak philosopher and an important influence on Havel's thought. Patočka was a student of Husserl and Heidegger and developed phenomenology in general as well as in a specifically Czechoslovak context. He was leading figure in the creation of Charter 77 and a spokesman of the movement. His death of heart attack in March 1977 is often linked to intense interrogation by the StB.

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