La sfida etica nella formazione della persona: l’epimeleia heautou in Jan Patočka e Michel Foucault

This research is aimed to the investigation of the importance of reflecting about the Socratic theme of epimeleia heautou in the human capital formation, starting from the philosophical work by Jan Patočka and Michel Foucault in the last century. With no intention of proposing a comparison between two irreducible philosophical positions, different in methods, dynamics and results, we have tried to bring out the theoretical depth that, basing on the analysis of the patočkian “care of the soul” intended as “shaking” and “movement” and the foucaltian “care of the self” as a lifelong process and “aesthetics of the self-existence”, seems to be a possible vehicle for transmission and orientation of ethical practices. In this direction we examinated the prolificness of the phenomenological dimension and anthropological reflection of Jan Patočka, in order to reconsider the contribution given by his philosophy of history to the comprehension of “care of the soul” as a key to understand political ethics. At the same time, we found in the foucaultian study about “care of the self” and its hermeneutics of the subject, a virtuous landmark for pedagogical reflection, considering human capital formation as self-formation. These two different lines of investigation about “epimeleia heautou” pose the following questions: what ethical challenge -and for what kind of humanism- can be sent and at the same time can be supported by the theme of epimeleia heautou? And how can this topic be fruitful in personal education? The whole discussion, articulated in the three chapters of the thesis, through the work of Patocka and Foucault, will try to answer those questions, giving a contribution to the contemporary debate on an important anthropological and ethical issue, and inviting us to reflect on our existence and to associate the care of the soul’s practice with the personal education process.