The aim of the present paper is to examine certain philosophical issues which have set the tone of the philosophical reflection in eighteenth century France in relation to a specific case study: that of the "wild child" known as Victor of Aveyron. Found in 1800 in central France, Victor was later transferred to the Parisian Institute of the DeafMutes, where he became the object of educational activities of JeanMarc Itard, a medical expert known for his works on the problem of hearing loss. Through a brief critical examination of the most notorious philosophical texts dealing both with the question of wild children and deafness (namely by Rousseau, Diderot and Condillac), we attempt to show that the specificity of Itard’s educational method consists in an application of the sensualist approach towards the human individual (as it is exemplified especially in the work of Condillac) on a concrete human subject, considered as a tangible proof of the inexistence of innate ideas. On this basis, we sketch several broader questions concerning the status of anomaly in the eighteenth century philosophical thought (namely, wild children and deafness), as well as some hypotheses on education and its fantasmatic aspects in general., Josef Fulka., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
The article lays out Jonathan Israel’s central ideas on the European Enlightenment, as they have been developed in his Radical Enlightenment (2001), Enlightenment Contested (2006) and A Revolution of the Mind (2009). I explain his ‘controversialist method’ of intellectual history and point out the advantages and faults of this approach. Israel’s model of the heterogeneous Enlightenment is shown as a response to A. MacIntyre’s postmodern criticism, and to the older models of a ‘single Enlightenment’, as presented by P. Gay, or older models of multiple enlightenments, as presented by J. G. Pocock. However, Israel’s heterogeneous Enlightenment recognizes just one progenitor of the positive ‘modern values’, which is identified with the Radical wing. The article reviews Israel’ s narrative of the development and spread of the Radical Enlightenment in Europe and the struggles with the Enlightenment mainstream and within the Enlightenment mainstream. However, I also show some faults in Israel’s argument, mainly his view of the ‘secular morality’, which should have been the outcome of the Radical Enlightenment’s campaign. In conclusion, I point at the inconsistency of Israel’s reconstruction of the Enlightenment morals and the differences between his view and J. Schneewind’s interpretation., Ivo Cerman., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
Despite the state borders, and the different socioeconomical and cultural contexts, productions of Italian opera in Prague and Dresden become considerably interconnected due the activity of the impresario Giuseppe Bustelli. During his directorship (1764-1777 in Prague, 1765-1777 in Dresden) and even in the next decade, more than 50% of the repertoire was shared. Furthermore, some of the artists performed in both cities, and the same or similar adaptations of operas were used. The main difference in repertoire consisted in opera seria productions in Prague until 1777, whereas in Dresden only opera buffa was staged since 1765. Analyses of selected works reveal some of both similar and different performing strategies and their aesthetical, practical as well as political connections., Marc Niubo., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy