Abstract
According to Patocka, man is subjectivity set in a specific historical context. To understand man, we must get to know his inner world and his Lebenswelt. Patocka describes the following forms of Lebenswelt: a nonhistorical period, a prehistorical period and history proper, which begins with the “spiritual shock”. The question about the decadence of the scientific and technical civilization suggests that last-mentioned period is nearing its end. Continuing Patocka's thought, the author proposes to introduce the fourth, i.e., the post-historic period, and identifies its characteristics. The central problem is the way in which the inner tension between corporality and spirituality is experienced by the contemporary man. In the author's opinion, it is this relationship, which is marked by an excessive interest in corporeality and a simultaneous reeva- luation of spiritual life understood in the perspective of reductionism, that most clearly distinguishes the post-historic times from the earlier epochs in history.