scholarly journals Cosmos and Republic: A Hidden Dialogue between Hannah Arendt and Alexander von Humboldt

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 284-298
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Heuer
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
The Political ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Freedom Of Movement ◽  
Alexander Von Humboldt ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Modern Natural ◽  
Definition Of

This text brings together two ideas, those of Hannah Arendt’s republicanism and Alexander von Humboldt’s cosmopolitanism. Both ways of thinking are seen as alternatives to a republican-biocentric perspective to the current problematic areas of the political and ecological crises. Arendt’s critique of the modern natural sciences and the associated alienation from the earth, which still characterizes the current relationship to nature today, will be presented first. This critique is closely related to Arendt’s thesis of world loss, i.e., the loss of the interpersonal pluralistic sphere. As an alternative to both forms of loss, Arendt develops the concept of an independent sphere of the political based on inter-personality, harmony with nature, and dialogical and consensual politics. While Arendt approaches nature from Kant’s definition of self- and world-relationship and from her own definition of sustainable politics, Humboldt goes the opposite way, that is, from respecting nature as an independent organism to a republican understanding of politics that, like Arendt, rejects the exploitation of humans as well as nature. Arendt and Humboldt both belong to the tradition of the Enlightenment that (in addition to phenomenology, self-reflection, the values of human dignity and human rights, and the unity of understanding and feeling) also includes a cosmopolitanism and freedom of movement for acting and judging citizens.

What, Where and Why is Europe? Some Answers from Recent Historiography

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 701-713 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
The Political ◽  
Clear Definition ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Alexander Von Humboldt ◽  
Catching Up ◽  
History Of ◽  
Institutional Expansion ◽  
Definition Of

Writing the history of a continent is generally a tricky business. If the continent is not even a real continent, but rather ‘a western peninsula of Asia’ (Alexander von Humboldt) without a clear definition of where the continent becomes peninsula, things do not get any easier. Despite these problems there is no dearth of trying. In fact, writing European histories seems to become more fashionable by the year — ironically just as the political and institutional expansion of Europe is losing steam. While the European Union is catching its breath, the historians are catching up. With the first wave of post-Euro and post-big-bang-Enlargement literature written, it is time for the reviewer to survey the landscape — and to provide some guideposts for future exploration.

Nothing Absolute

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Theology ◽  
German Idealism ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The World ◽  
Theological Perspective ◽  
Traditional Approaches ◽  
First Time ◽  
Point Of Reference

Staging for the first time in extant scholarship a rigorous encounter between German thought from Kant to Marx and new forms of political theology, this ground-breaking volume puts forward a distinct and powerful framework for understanding the continuing relevance of political theology today as well as the conceptual and genealogical importance of German Idealism for its present and future. Against traditional approaches that view German Idealism as essentially a secularizing movement, this volume approaches it as the first speculative articulation of the political-theological problematic in the aftermath of the Enlightenment and the advent of secularity. Via a set of innovative readings and critiques, the volume investigates anew such concepts as immanence, utopia, sovereignty, mediation, indifference, the earth, the absolute, or the world, bringing German Idealism and Romanticism into dialogue with contemporary investigations of the (Christian-)modern forms of transcendence, domination, exclusion, and world-justification. Over the course of the volume, post-Kantian German thought emerges as a crucial phase in the genealogy of political theology and an important point of reference for the ongoing reassessment of modernity and secularity. As a result, this volume not only rethinks the philosophical trajectory of German Idealism and its aftermath from a political-theological perspective, but also demonstrates what can be done with (or against) German Idealism using the conceptual resources of political theology today.

History and future of life on Earth - a synthesis of natural science and theology

DIALOGO ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 233-251
Author(s):  
Andreas May
Keyword(s):  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Modern Natural ◽  
History Of ◽  
Science And Theology ◽  
Life On Earth ◽  
Different Cultures ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Intelligent Life

"A synthesis of research results of modern natural sciences and fundamental statements of the Christian faith is attempted. The creation of the universe is addressed. Four important events in the history of the Earth as well as the diversity of living beings are shortly discussed. There are good reasons to believe that the universe was created by a transcendent superior being, which we call God, and that this superior being intervened in evolution and Earth history to promote the development of intelligent life. Furthermore, it can be concluded that intelligent life is very rare in the universe. This is the explanation for the “Fermi paradox”. Intelligent life on planet Earth has cosmic significance. The overabundance of this universe inspires the hope for participating in the fulfilled eternity of the Creator in transcendence. Prehistoric humans had long had hope for life after biological death. While scientific speculation about the end of the universe prophesies scenarios of destruction, the Christian faith says that humanity is destined to be united with Jesus Christ. Furthermore, all evolution will be completed with the Creator in transcendence. Then the whole of creation will “obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God”. From the first primitive living cell, an abundance of the most diverse living beings has evolved. Comparably, humanity has differentiated into a plethora of different cultures. This entire abundance will find its unification and fulfilment in transcendence with the Creator of the universe, without its diversity being erased."

The Politics of Slavery

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Brace
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
The Political ◽  
History Of Political Thought ◽  
Historical Process ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
History Of ◽  
Political Dimensions ◽  
Definition Of

This book asks what it means to describe someone as a slave and explores the political dimensions of that question. It argues against the search for a transhistorical and timeless definition of slavery, and offers a critical interrogation of the dominant liberal discourse on slavery from the Enlightenment to the present. It pays particular attention to the meanings of the slavery / freedom binary and to the connections between the past and the present in understanding ‘old’ and ‘new’ slavery. The book is about what it means to think about slavery as a historical process and as a political relation, both in the history of political thought and in present debates about trafficking and incarceration. It argues that we need to bring the concept of slavery back into our understandings of freedom, labour and belonging, and unravel the assumptions behind the meanings we ascribe to personhood, sub-personhood and humanity. From Aristotle and the idea of natural slavery, through Locke’s conception of civil society, Hegel’s master-slave dialectic and J.S. Mill’s analogy of slavery and marriage to the discourse of modern abolition and the idea of trafficking as slavery, the book interrogates what it means to think about the idea of freedom as the opposite of slavery, and draws attention to the significance of the tensions, ambiguities and silences that surround that conception.

scholarly journals “A Conviction about What is Moral or Lawful” Carl Schmitt on humanitarianism, the humanum, and the possibility of a “universal jus commune”

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. e40279
Author(s):  
Nicholas Hiromura
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
Moral Conflict ◽  
Carl Schmitt ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
Definition Of

Carl Schmitt (1888-1985) spent much of his life arguing against human rights. While this may not come as a surprise, a closer examination of The Concept of the Political reveals that Schmitt’s critique of Liberal humanitarianism is itself rooted in a concept of the humanum as a sphere of substantive moral and political conflict. As an analysis of Schmitt’s concept of the enemy shows, this humanum serves as an argument for the necessity of a juristic distinction between enemy and foe. For, only by distinguishing between the relativized enemy and the absolute foe, Schmitt argues, will we be able to distinguish create a space for particularly political action. Having revealed the framework of mediated moral conflict, in which Schmitt conceives of political action, I then turn to consider Schmitt’s minimalist proposal for a positive definition of a “universal jus commune” and assess its significance for a discussion of human rights.

scholarly journals UTILIDADES DE LA ANTROPOLOGÍA JURÍDICA EN EL CAMPO DE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS: EXPERIENCIAS RECIENTES

2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Iturralde
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Research Trends ◽  
The Political ◽  
Legal Anthropology ◽  
American Institute ◽  
Social Perspectives ◽  
Derechos Humanos ◽  
Legal Perspective ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
New Research

Este artículo aplica un enfoque de antropología jurídica a la exploración y desarrollo de nuevas prácticas de investigación en el campo de los derechos humanos, a partir de la experiencia acumulada en los últimos años en el Instituto Interamericano de Derechos Humanos. El proceso ha implicado revisar y reorientar las tendencias de investigación en este tema para favorecer, de una parte, un camino de salida al privilegio que han tenido los análisis sobre violación de los derechos e incorporar otros senderos de exploración que atienden las variaciones en su promoción y protección; y, de otra parte, un balance adecuado entre la perspectiva jurídica y las perspectivas políticas y sociales de los fenómenos relativos a los derechos humanos y la democracia. Se muestran encuadres sobre el desarrollo de la antropología jurídica y de los enfoques de investigación en derechos humanos, ejemplos de algunas aplicaciones que han implicado adecuaciones en la definición del objeto, en las aplicaciones metodológicas y en el tipo de resultados, además de una reflexión sobre el punto de encuentro entre estas dos tradiciones. ABSTRACT This article applies a legal anthropology approach to exploration and development of new research practices in the human rights field, based on the experience accumulated in recent years by the Inter-American Institute on Human Rights. The process has included the review and reorientation of research trends in this theme, with the purpose, on one hand, of steering toward departure from the privileged role held by analyses of rights violations, in favor of the incorporation of other paths of exploration that address variations in their promotion and protection. And, on the other hand, to favor an adequate balance between the legal perspective and the political and social perspectives of phenomena related to human rights and democracy. The article presents frameworks on the development of legal anthropology and approaches to human rights research, as well as examples of some applications that have implied adaptations in the definition of the object, in methodological applications, and in types of results, as well as a reflection on the meeting point between these two traditions.

scholarly journals THE RESTRICTION OF FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT: PLURALISM OF APPROACHES TO THE DEFINITION OF REASON

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 21-25
Author(s):  
Александр Стоцкий ◽  
Aleksandr Stockiy
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Freedom Of Movement ◽  
Definition Of

This article is devoted to the problem of restricting human rights to freedom of movement. The author justifies the conclusion that the gender approach in imposing restrictions on freedom of movement can be observed when it concerns private territories or is conditioned by religious norms recognized officially in that country. There are a number of religious norms in Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Shintoism, Hinduism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism and other religions that apply gender differences when imposing restrictions on freedom of movement.

Toward a Political Theology of the Earth

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Keller
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Theology ◽  
The Political ◽  
Ecological Theology ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Face ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Ecological Science ◽  
Legal Theorist

This chapter considers incongruent temporalities in the form of a political theology of the earth. Political theology can rarely be mistaken for ecotheology. At least in its guise as political theory, it leaves concern for the matter of the earth to ecological science, activism, and religion. Key to political theology has been its readings of the German legal theorist Carl Schmitt's definition of sovereignty in terms of emergency. The current conversation in political theology has been unfolding with the rush of a theoretical currency fueled by old, indeed ancient, theopolitical language. Even as ecological theology seems to slow theory down, capturing it in a geological time far older than language, it also lurches into the terrifying speed of climate destabilization. The chapter asks whether, in the guise of thinking for and as terra, we would territorialize politics itself. It shows how, by seeding an alternative to the political theology of exceptionalist power, intercarnation fosters “the new people and earth in the future.” It also explains how a theology forged in alliances of entangled difference helps that alliance emerge—in the face of what may be mounting planetary emergency.

The citizen as mere human: Litigating denationalization in post-9/11 UK

2020 ◽  
pp. 146349962093135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caylee Hong
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
The Political ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Spatial Control ◽  
Political Subject ◽  
The Social ◽  
National Citizenship ◽  
Narrow Definition ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Right

Since the publication of The Origins of Totalitarianism in 1951, Hannah Arendt’s phrase the ‘right to have rights’ and her claim that having rights depends on belonging to and being recognized by ‘some kind of organized community’ have become key provocations on citizenship, statelessness and human rights. Arendt, however, has been criticized as perpetuating a state-centric framework that scholars and activists alike have sought to reimagine. In particular, the French political theorist Jacques Rancière argues that Arendt’s ‘right to have rights’ formula is based on an artificial distinction between the social and the political, which creates an overly narrow definition of the political subject. This article contends that in the post-9/11 era, the distinction, often attributed to Arendt, between ‘Man’ and ‘Citizen’ is increasingly blurred; yet it suggests that this blurring does not necessarily offer any emancipatory potential. It argues that while national citizenship is still meaningful, being a citizen may not be so different from being a mere human in certain contexts. The article examines three sets of cases shaping the United Kingdom’s ‘regime of nationality deprivation’ in which people are stripped of their UK citizenship for terrorism-related offences: Al-Jedda (2013), Pham (2015, 2018) and K2 (2015). First, it explores the tensions in the regime’s attempt to reconcile a fundamental inconsistency between the recognition of the human right to nationality and the sovereignty of the state to define the citizen; and second, it considers the regime’s spatial control of the denationalization process whereby denationalization orders are commonly issued and thus also contested when the targeted citizen is outside the UK’s jurisdiction.

Liszt, lecteur antimoderne de Faust

2014 ◽  
Vol 55 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 65-80
Author(s):  
Bruno Moysan
Keyword(s):  
French Literature ◽  
The Political ◽  
July Monarchy ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
The One ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Ideological Resistance ◽  
Liberal Individualism

The article offers a definition of the concept of anti-modernity, based at first on Antoine Compagnon’s 2005-volume Les antimodernes, de Joseph de Maistre à Roland Barthes. The role of the mundane sociability of the aristocracy, returned from emigration, and of the aesthetic culture of political legitimism is examined in the acclimatization process of German Romanticism in France during the Empire, the Restoration, and the first years of the July Monarchy. A hypothesis is proposed about the connections between Liszt’s interpretation of the Faust myth as it is exposed in the poems of Goethe and Lenau, on the one hand, and the political, aesthetical, and ideological resistance of French artists from the first half of the 19th century, directed against modernity, liberal individualism, the upheavals of the 1789 Revolution, and the rationalist constructivism of the Enlightenment, on the other. A survey of the aesthetics of negativity and its musical implications in Liszt’s compositions inspired by Faust reveals that the composer distanced himself from the “naive modernism” (Compagnon) of many of his contemporaries and came close to the flamboyant aesthetic of Chateaubriand’s Christian Vanity as well as to the scepticism, related in our post-modernist era with the idea of progress and of the completed work. Thus, Liszt’s relationship to the myth and the character of Faust becomes much more complex and ambiguous than it usually appears in the French literature, where Liszt’s view on the Faustian freedom is associated systematically and rather simplistically with the modern and liberal process of the individual’s emancipation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document