Two Concepts of a Lie: Václav Havel on Living in a Communist regime
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216275%3A25210%2F22%3A39919375" target="_blank" >RIV/00216275:25210/22:39919375 - isvavai.cz</a>
Result on the web
<a href="https://kramerius.lib.cas.cz/search/nimg/IMG_FULL/uuid:12c4dfe8-a20f-426d-9797-e3d87fead977" target="_blank" >https://kramerius.lib.cas.cz/search/nimg/IMG_FULL/uuid:12c4dfe8-a20f-426d-9797-e3d87fead977</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.46854/fc.2021.4s50" target="_blank" >10.46854/fc.2021.4s50</a>
Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
Two Concepts of a Lie: Václav Havel on Living in a Communist regime
Original language description
According to Václav Havel’s famous essay "The Power of powerless" life within a lie is at the core of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. Life within a lie is characteristic for the great majority of people and is contrasted with life within the truth which is characteristic of dissent movement. In this paper, I will try to shed some light on the concept of “living within a lie.” I will show that Havel develops not one but two concepts of a lie: on the one hand, lie is deliberate pretence; on the other hand, lie is seduction by consumerist values. The first meaning of a lie is derived from Havel’s analysis of the specifics of the Soviet sphere of influence, namely central role of ideology with omnipresent demands on public support of the regime. The second meaning of a lie is heavily influenced by a critical assessment of modern society from the leading figure of the Czech underground movement Ivan Jirous and leading Czech philosopher Jan Patočka. This double meaning of a lie enables Havel to capture both specific problems of living under the communist regime and general problems of living in modern society anywhere in the world. In the final chapters of this paper, I will show that Havel is not clear about how these two meanings of a lie are connected and that there are problems resulting from these unclarities both for Havel’s analysis of the communism and his proposed solution of the crisis.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
J<sub>SC</sub> - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the SCOPUS database
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
60301 - Philosophy, History and Philosophy of science and technology
Result continuities
Project
<a href="/en/project/EF15_003%2F0000425" target="_blank" >EF15_003/0000425: Centre for Ethics</a><br>
Continuities
P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)
Others
Publication year
2022
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Name of the periodical
Filosofický časopis
ISSN
0015-1831
e-ISSN
2570-9232
Volume of the periodical
2021
Issue of the periodical within the volume
4
Country of publishing house
CZ - CZECH REPUBLIC
Number of pages
17
Pages from-to
50-67
UT code for WoS article
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EID of the result in the Scopus database
2-s2.0-85127715625