Consultation with Comenius at the threshold of the World-Age. An outline of the main aspects of Palouš’s Comeniology (I.)

Abstract

Consultation with Comenius at the threshold of the World-Age. An outline of the main aspects of Palouš’s Comeniology (I.). – The paper deals with Comeniology of Radim Palouš, which is treated as a distinctive whole, naturally following up Palouš’s philosophical-historical concept of the World-Age and his philosophy of education. It takes note mainly of Palouš’s theo-centric view of Comenius, which represents a unique attempt at a non-dogmatic and non-confessional interpretation of Comenius’s theology, dealt by Palouš as a starting point, main content and crown of Comenius’s work; it appreciates the authenticity of Palouš’s update of Comenius, stemming from his “interested” research and openly declared historical-hermeneutical viewpoint; it accents Palouš’s interpretation of Comenius as a thinker, who had developed a prolific polemic with the then newly-born modern scientific paradigm.

The paper is divided into four chapters. The first chapter addresses the grounds and general outlines of Palouš’s Comeniology, which can be understood as an integral part of the struggle for the sense of history. The second chapter explores Palouš’s view of Comenius by applying various temporal viewpoints. The third chapter deals with the main content of Palouš’s interpretation of Comenius’s “God-World” and its various aspects (metaphysics, physics, didactics, anthropology, panharmony, eschatology). The last chapter summarizes the importance of Comenius’s work, which is viewed by Palouš as gradually increasing as we are entering still deeper into the new historical era, the World-Age.