Phenomenology has constantly dealt with history. Over a century and more, phenomenology has not only undergone a “historical turn” under the influence of Heidegger and his followers, but it has also faced the deep crisis of history brought up by the great disasters of the two World Wars, that altered the very manner of comprehending the historical experience. This change of topic within the field of phenomenology is followed by methodological variations: in order to capture the historical condition of the human existence, phenomenology employs different “conceptual tools” that clarify the structure and dynamics of the historical meaning, such as the destruction, the historical hermeneutics, the destinal thinking, etc. Many of these issues, methodological inflections and new thematizations, which clearly prove phenomenology’s concern for understanding the meaning(s) of history, are due to Paul Ricœur and Jan Patočka’s thought.
Therefore, this book aims to open new directions in the understanding of history as a phenomenon and an experience, by taking as a starting point Ricœur and Patočka’s theories on this topic. It brings together essays by leading scholars, in which they engage with the legacy of Ricœur and Patočka’s phenomenology of history and provide unique insights into this field. Among the contributors to this volume are Renauld Barbaras, Jeffrey Andrew Barash, Roger W. H. Savage, Vishnu Spaak, Esteban Lythgoe, Roberto Terzi, Chiara Pesaresi, Chiara Pavan.