Who was prof. Jan Sokol?
Veronika Tůmová
You have probably heard the sad news about prof. Jan Sokol passing away. In this article, you can find more unexpected information about him - ones that can give you a whole new point of view on him, his work, and his life.
First of all, I would like to ask you something. Do you know who the Czech philosopher Jan Sokol actually was? What he was doing? What he was thinking about? It would be an honor for me to introduce him to you properly.
He was born in Prague. He was really successful in grammar school but despite his great school results, he still couldn't go to university. However, he didn't lose hope and he continued with his studies on his own. What you might not expect is that at that time, he was working as a goldsmith.
After the Velvet Revolution, he was still keen on his mechanic work and he kept it as his relaxing "no need for thinking" hobby. In 1963, he started studying mathematics through evening courses and found great joy in translating books on philosophy and religion. His favourite writer and philosopher was Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.
Another thing you might not know is that there was actually a connection between him and prof. Jan Patočka. The great philosopher who our school is named after was Sokol´s father-in-law. The two often met up and discussed philosophy and politics. Sokol himself said: "We had a great relationship and I learned a lot from him."
Doctor Sokol never spoke of himself as a philosopher despite the fact that he obtained a Ph.D. in Philosophy in 1995, and he has taught philosophy at Charles University from the year 2000.
Sokol was always interested in politics. He signed Charta 77 and after the Velvet Revolution, he was an active politician in a political party called Civil Forum. In 2003, he even ran in the presidential elections. Additionally, he was a minister of education. As you can see, he devoted himself to many fields.
His life wasn't easy but it was packed with experiences and discoveries. He was one of the few people who were not afraid to express their opinion. He lived the way every person should live - morally well, and therefore we could certainly consider him our role model.
"People in a decent society look at a person they don't know as a decent person. People in an indecent society look at a person they don't know as an indecent person."
-Jan Sokol
Sources:
- https://citaty.net/autori/jan-sokol
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Sokol_(philosopher)
- https://nazory.aktualne.cz/jen-diky-smrti-muzeme-byt-hrdiny-rikaval-filosof-jan-sokol/r~d5f54e0e712911eba4560cc47ab5f122/
- https://english.radio.cz/jan-sokol-part-1-it-would-be-exaggeration-say-stb-killed-jan-patocka-8110207
