Education
From 1957 to 1961, he studied philosophy and psychology at Charles University in Prague.
philosopher translator writer poet
From 1957 to 1961, he studied philosophy and psychology at Charles University in Prague.
In the late 1940s, Bondy was active in a surrealistic group. From the 1960s he was one of the main figures of the Prague underground, writing texts for The Plastic People of the Universe. His non-conformism brought him into conflict with the totalitarian communist regime in Czechoslovakia.
His philosophical work concerns ontological and related ethical problems.
He attempts to show the relevance of ontology without any substance or grounding. Bondy"s work is very distinctive.
In the 1990s Bondy moved from Prague to Bratislava, Slovakia. He also published about twenty novels, most of them dealing with the topic of a society or an individual in crisis, or a crisis in the relationship between an individual and his or her community.
Despite the deep, existential background of his work, the texts are fresh and entertaining.
He himself most valued his philosophical works. He published a history of philosophy. However, this work is criticized by authorities within the field for its subjective deformation of the topic.
Bondy is a name drawn from the great Czechoslovakian writer Karel Čapek in his War with the Newts.
(However, it has nothing to do with Egon Bondy for Zbyněk Fišer started to use this Jewish pseudonym in 1949 when he prepared a surrealistic anthology The authors of the texts in the anthology chose a Jewish pseudonym each).
Bondy was always interested in the study of Karl Marx and in the criticism of both contemporary capitalism and totalitarian socialism.