Ivan Focht

Key takeaways

Ivan Focht belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
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Reproduce the core statement of Ivan Focht from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ivan Focht (7 June 1927 – 20 October 1992) was a Yugoslav philosopher and mycologist. Focht was born in Sarajevo to a Jewish family on June 7, 1927. All members of his family were killed during the Holocaust. He finished elementary and high school in Sarajevo. Focht graduated from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, after which he returned to Sarajevo where he was elected assistant at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sarajevo. Shortly after he moved back to Zagreb where he lived for the rest of his life, until his death. Focht was philosopher of phenomenological orientation, who in the early works departed from the Marxist and psychological interpretations of art. Music is in his texts had ontological priority over all other arts. In the art of music, particularly that of Bach, Focht tried to uncover the importance of achieving pythagorean music. Bach's music, as interpreted by Focht, is not a mere reflection of the subject, nor a reflection of social reality, just as it is not an expression of human feelings, but the secret of life organized and tuned to the cosmic laws. Focht, beside the aesthetics, has published several important books about mushrooms. He was also one of the first thinkers and critics of science fiction in Croatia, considering that our age is the time of death of philosophy, or age of science and science fiction. Focht died in Zagreb on October 20, 1992, and was buried at the Mirogoj Cemetery.

Books Istina i biće umjetnosti (The Truth and the Being of Art) Sarajevo: Svjetlost, 1959. Mogućnost, nužnost, slučajnost, stvarnost / Hegelovo učenje o odumiranju umjetnosti (Possibility, Necessity, Contingency, Actuality / Hegel's Doctrine on the End of Art), Sarajevo: Veselin Masleša, 1961. Moderna umetnost kao ontološki problem (Modern Art as an Ontological Problem), Beograd: Institut društvenih nauka, 1965. Uvod u estetiku (Introduction to Aesthetics), Sarajevo: Zavod za izdavanje udžbenika, 1972. Tajna umjetnosti (The Enigma of Art), Zagreb: Školska knjiga, 1976. Gljive Jugoslavije (Mushrooms of Yugoslavia), Beograd: Nolit, 1979. Savremena estetika muzike: Petnaest teorijskih portreta (Contemporary Aesthetics of Music: Fifteen theoretical Portraits), Beograd: Nolit, 1980. Ključ za gljive (The Key for Mushrooms), Zagreb: Naprijed, 1986. Naši vrganji (Our Boletes), Zagreb: Znanje, 1987.

Selected articles Najnoviji Lukačev estetički pokušaj, Izraz, 3, knj. 6, br. 11–12, 488–500, (1959) Izgledi fenomenološke estetike muzike, Forum: časopis Razreda za suvremenu književnost Jugoslavenske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti, god. 3, knj. 6, br. 11, 679–712, (1964) Umjetnička tehnika i tehnifikacija umjetnosti, Praxis, 3, br. 2, 167–180, (1966) Modalitet umjetnosti, Forum: časopis Razreda za suvremenu književnost Jugoslavenske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti, god. 10, knj. 22, br. 9, 338–346, (1971) Umjetnost kao objektivirani duh, Forum: časopis Razreda za suvremenu književnost Jugoslavenske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti, god. 10, knj. 22, br. 10–11, 552–558, (1971) La notion pythagoricienne de la musique: contribution a sa determination, International review of the aesthetics and sociology of music, god. 3, br. 2, 161–172, (1972) Korčulanske gljive sabrane u prosincu, Zbornik otoka Korčule, sv. 2, 229–240, (1972) Adornos gnoseologistische Einstellung zur Musik, International review of the aesthetics and sociology of music, god. 5, br. 2, 265–276, (1974) Andreas Liess: Der Weg nach Innen (Ortung ästhetischen Denkens heute), Verlag San Michele, Zürich 1973, pp. 134 (recenzija), International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music, 5, br. 2, 346–350, (1974) Amuzija hegelijanstva, Polja, 20, br. 186–187, 12–14, (1974) Geneza literature, Treći program Radio Beograda, zima, 71-128, (1975) Put k ontologiji umjetnosti, u: Ante Marušić (ur.), Svijet umjetnosti: Marksističke interpretacije, Zagreb: Školska knjiga, 195–212, (1976) Esej kao protuteža filosofijskom sistemu, Delo, 22, br. 5, 30–39, (1976) Gljive dubrovačkog kraja, Dubrovnik, br. 6, 89-102, (1976) Muzika i simbolika brojeva, Polja, 23, br. 220–221, 3–6, (1977) Smrt i beskonačnost, Polja, 24, br. 236, 31–33, (1978) Filozofija muzike, u: Dobroslav Smiljanić (ur.), Filozofija umetnosti, Beograd: Kolarčev narodni univerzitet, 145–155, (1978) Filozofski pogledi Franza Kafke: Jedan nacrt, Zbornik Trećeg programa Radio Zagreba, br. 3, 251–259, (1979) Problem identiteta muzičkog djela, Život umjetnosti, br. 29/30, 92-102, (1980) Jankelevičev muzičko-estetički agnosticizam, Polja, 26, br. 256–257, 197–200, (1980) Glazba i gljive padoše nam s neba, Zbornik Trećeg programa Radio Zagreba, br. 6, 195–201, (1981) Nesreća u sreći, Polja, 27, br. 264, 57–59, (1981) Estetika i moderna umjetnost, Polja, 29, br. 288, 70–72, (1983)

Translations and introductions Günther Anders: Kafka - za i protiv, translated by Ivan Focht, Sarajevo: Narodna prosvjeta, (1955) Benedetto Croce: Estetika kao nauka o izrazu i opća lingvistika, translated by Vinko Vitezica, foreword by Ivan Focht, Zagreb: Naprijed, (1960) György Lukacs: Prolegomena za marksističku estetiku: posebnost kao centralna kategorija estetike, translated by Milan Damjanović, foreword by Ivan Focht, Beograd: Nolit, (1960) Max Raphael: Teorija duhovnog stvaranja na osnovi marksizma, translated by Konstantin Petrović, foreword by Ivan Focht, Sarajevo: Veselin Masleša, (1960) Max Dessoir: Estetika i opća nauka o umjetnosti, translated by Ivan Focht, Sarajevo: Veselin Masleša, (1963) Theodor W. Adorno: Filozofija nove muzike, translated with the foreword by Ivan Focht, Beograd: Nolit, (1968) Eduard Hanslick: O muzički lijepom, translated with the foreword by Ivan Focht, Beograd: Beogradski izdavačko-grafički zavod, (1977) Vladimir Jankélévitch: Muzika i neizrecivo, translated by Jelena Jelić, foreword by Ivan Focht, Novi Sad: Književna zajednica Novog Sada, (1987)

References

6. Neven Matočec & Ivan Focht (in English) On some autumnal discomycetes collected from Mt. Orjen, Montenegro 1982–1984, Mycologia Montenegrina 3(1): 63–85, (2001). Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262105189_On_some_autumnal_discomycetes_collected_from_Mt._Orjen_Montenegro_1982-1984 [accessed Mar 22, 2015].

Bibliography Dalibor Davidović: Korak bliže, korak dalje, Odjek, 64, 4, 2011, 33-38 [1] Dalibor Davidović: Tajna glazbe, Arti musices 45 (2014) 1, 3-32 Mario Kopić: Krvarenje ljepote, Peščanik, 2013 [2]

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ivan Focht

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ivan Focht claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ivan Focht before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ivan Focht ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ivan Focht

In research: Ivan Focht appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ivan Focht in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ivan Focht is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1927 births, 1992 deaths, 20th-century Croatian philosophers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ivan Focht outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Ivan Focht in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ivan Focht means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Ivan Focht in simple terms?

Ivan Focht (7 June 1927 – 20 October 1992) was a Yugoslav philosopher and mycologist. Focht was born in Sarajevo to a Jewish family on June 7, 1927.

Why does Ivan Focht matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ivan Focht?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ivan Focht.