František Palacký a česká filosofie – Machovec Milan (2019)

The reissue of the study published in 1961 fulfills a long-standing effort to give a 'second life' to the works of the significant Czech philosopher Milan Machovec (1925–2003), which shaped readers in the 1960s. Machovec later referred to his books about František Palacký and Josef Dobrovský as 'Masarykian.' Writing them was, for him, a way to slowly approach Masaryk's thinking and to raise topics that he shared with Masaryk. According to Machovec, philosophy was primarily a tool for Palacký in the struggle for a nobler humanity, and in this 'humanitarian ideal,' Masaryk saw the meaning of Czech history. Machovec placed Palacký's thinking in the context of Czech philosophical tradition, with all the pitfalls it had to deal with. A bonus material in the second edition, newly included after the original study, is the text of Machovec's lecture titled 'Palacký's Uniqueness in the Czech Millennium,' delivered at the jubilee conference in 1998. Machovec perceived Palacký as a moral figure who managed to merge his life's work with the efforts of many generations while also directly or indirectly influencing them. This was a task that Machovec set for himself as well. Thus, the study remains relevant for the debate on Czech philosophical thought.