Václav Bělohradský (born January 17, 1944

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

) is a Czech philosopher and sociologist.

Life and career

A graduate in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

and Czech from

Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , under ...

, from 1970 to 2010s he lived in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, where he was Professor of Political Sociology at the University of Trieste. He is said to be a successor of

Jan Patočka Jan Patočka (; 1 June 1907 – 13 March 1977) was a Czech philosopher. Having studied in Prague, Paris, Berlin, and Freiburg, he was one of the last pupils of Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. In Freiburg he also developed a lifelong philos ...

. He is a representative of biocentrism, which he developed to refusing

anthropocentric Anthropocentrism (; ) is the belief that human beings are the central or most important entity in the universe. The term can be used interchangeably with humanocentrism, and some refer to the concept as human supremacy or human exceptionalism. ...

overestimation of

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

. He also thinks we need to step back from "us" to be able to lay foundations of new and freer society. He co-participated with

Chantal Mouffe Chantal Mouffe (; born 17 June 1943) is a Belgian political theorist, formerly teaching at University of Westminster. She is best known for her contribution to the development—jointly with Ernesto Laclau, with whom she co-authored her most f ...

and

Slavoj Žižek Slavoj Žižek (, ; ; born 21 March 1949) is a Slovenian philosopher, cultural theorist and public intellectual. He is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, visiting professor at New ...

a
Monument to Transformation
He publishes his political commentaries and essays mainly in Czech daily

Právo ''Právo'' (in Czech ''Right'' or ''Law'') is a Czech daily newspaper published in Prague, Czech Republic.Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, Czech Republic.

Works

* ''Interpretazioni italiane di Wittgenstein'', Milan, 1972. * ''Ragionamento, azione, società. Sociologia della conoscenza in Vilfredo Pareto'', Milan, 1974. * ''Il mondo della vita: un problema politico'', Milan, 1981. * ''Krize eschatologie neosobnosti'', London, 1982, 1984. * ''Myslet zeleň světa. Rozhovor s K. Hvížďalou'', 1985, 1991. * ''Kapitalismus a občanské ctnosti'', 1992. * ''Mezi světy & mezisvěty'', 1997. * ''Společnost nevolnosti'', 2007. * ''Mezi světy & mezisvěty: Reloaded'', 2013

External links

*
Watch film with Václav Bělohradský "Bye Bye Shanghai" at www.dafilms.com
Czech philosophers Czech academics Charles University alumni 1944 births Living people People from Prague Academic staff of the University of Trieste {{CzechRepublic-bio-stub