Abstract

This study is an interpretive inquiry into the meaning of Vaclav Havel's texts, especially his presidential speeches and addresses of the nineties. The study is a response to a "Havel phenomenon," manifest in his frequent travels, to either deliver speeches at various political, educational and cultural events, and/or to receive many prestigious prizes, awards and honorary degrees, for his stand on human rights, politics as a moral practice, art and social justice. The philosophical underpinning of this hermeneutic study, inclusive of Heidegger's phenomenological dimension "being-in-the-world," is mirrored in Havel's own world view, and in the key influences on his life. An acute awareness of one's orientation and relationship to the world, and the idea of an "encounter"---hermeneutic, intercultural or analytic---offers rich metaphorical possibilities for interpreting the meaning of Havel's text. ;Havel's recurrent themes of responsibility for one's actions and of responsibility to and for the world are expressed as the need for a change in human consciousness. Change of human consciousness is at the heart of Havel's message, which can be understood as a warning about various crises, and a call for change, underscored by hope. His message resonates in the works of other thinkers of our times. Importantly, Havel implores his audiences to study why we, as a humanity, do nothing. The conclusion of the study turns Havel's plea around and shows what has been done: in research, in organizations, and in examples of committed individuals working for the common good, and what the possible implications are for the area of culture learning, and for education in general