Pavel Kouba (Pisek, Czech Republic, 1953). Studied German and Russian at the School of Humanities, Charles University in Prague, where he attended philosophy seminars taught by Jan Patocka (1973-1977). Between 1980 and 1989 he worked as a bookseller at the Institute of Architecture of the City of Prague. In 1990 he became a research fellow at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. Along with Ivan founded and directs Chvatík Jan Patocka's Archives. After obtaining a grant from the Humboldt Foundation, he spent two years (1992-1994) at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität (Münster, Germany). Between 1994 and 1995 he was director of the Department of twentieth-century philosophy at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. In 1995 he joined the Department of Philosophy, Charles University, Prague, where he became associate professor in 1996. In 1999 he enjoyed a scholarship at the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme in Paris. Between 1998 and 2002 he was professor of philosophy and in 2003 became professor. Between 2002 and 2004 he was director of the Center for Phenomenological Research. It is one of the editors of The Collected Works of Jan Patocka and editorial board member of several foreign academic journals (including, Internationales Jahrbuch für Hermeneutik, Tübingen), and a member of Collegium Europeum Jenensae. From 1989 until today, has given courses and lectures in foreign universities (Tübingen, Münster, Göttingen, Bonn) and has participated in international conferences (Dubrovnik, Stuttgart, Freiburg, Paris, Trieste, Warsaw).