Patočka's solvitur ambulando: Modern science and human existence

In this paper I engage with Jan Patočka's phenomenological reading of myth and tragedy as a way to consider human existence in our modern world. I suggest that Patočka's writing on myth and tragedy is relevant in arguing against the reductive tendencies of current scientific and technological thinking, which eliminate questions pertaining to the consideration of human experience and “humanity.” The scientific examination of human life cannot account for our own lived lives. In contrast, Greek tragedy can give us access to the drama of other lives and lead us to reflect upon our own