Das Verhältnis von Subjektivität und Zeit bei Kant und Schopenhauer

This paper focuses on Kant’s and Schopenhauer’s models of self-consciousness and their specific relation to time. It aims to show that genuine philosophical theories can explain the idiosyncratic relation between ourselves and the world without relying on pure metaphysical speculations or strictly empirical and phenomenally oriented conceptions, as many contemporary proponents of analytic philosophy entail. The first groundbreaking doctrine in this regard is Kant’s transcendental theory of apperception, which unfolds a new theoretical dimension of thinking, grounding the logical unity of thought in the pure, originally synthetic unity of the subject itself. In order to constitute a structural order within the appearing phenomenal world, Kant conceptualizes a theory of self-affection in the second edition of the Critique of pure reason, positing a dynamic relation between the spontaneously acting intellect and the purely receptive inner sense of time as a result of productive transcendental imagination. The problematic relation between self-reliance and empirical consciousness that Kant did not resolve completely led to various subsequent transformations of Kant’s transcendental principles, one of which boasts Schopenhauer as a prominent but rarely considered representative. Schopenhauer’s systematic approach consists in a modified version of Kant’s transcendental idealism, which ties the Kantian subject of logical and transcendental unity to an intuitive corporeal individual that can only conceptualize itself as an original, willing subject. The Schopenhauerian subject unfolds its empirical character in accordance with its own inner impulses and motivations, which manifest themselves in time but can only be interpreted as a phenomenal representation of a higher, metaphysical unity, which Schopenhauer calls the will as a thing in itself. Schopenhauer reaches his final metaphysical conclusion via a problematic analogy, positing another perspective on the corporeal nature of the individual which, by means of abstraction, can be extended to the whole phenomenal world. Therefore, Schopenhauer interprets the underlying (intelligible) character of the subject and the phenomenal world as a whole as a timeless, omnipresent will to live which can be temporally experienced within the nature of our own subjectivity.

The Tantalus’ Torments of Transcendentalism

Kant’s manuscripts of 1796–1803, which the Academic German edition of his works combined in 21–22 volumes of under the invented by H. Vaihinger name ‘Opus postumum’, still attract the attention of researchers. Was there really a significant theoretical “gap” in the system of Kant's “critical”, transcendental philosophy, which built by 1790, needed to be filled, namely, to undertake a conceptual "transition" from the already constructed a priori metaphysics of corporeal nature (metaphysical principles of natural science) to experimental mathematical physics, to the entire scientific empirical investigation of nature? In the last years of his life Kant tried to solve a problem that was really decisive for the fate of transcendentalism, which he had already realized in ‘Critique of Pure Reason’ and concretized in ‘Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science’, however he found himself in a hopeless situation, which doomed him to the “Tantalus’ torments”. The problem that he was constantly thinking about necessarily arises in the system of transcendental philosophy, but has no solution in it. ‘Opus postumum’ is an important piece of evidence on the insurmountable difficulties faced by the attempt to “save” philosophy as a perfect and complete system of absolutely reliable, "apodictic" science, based on the idea of universal and necessary conditions for the experience possibility.

The Sinful Dead

This chapter discusses how the sinful dead are punished in Pietist sources as opposed to talmudic ones. The notion that the dead return to Earth in order to suffer punishment for sin is rooted in pre-Christian beliefs surrounding the return of the dangerous dead. That such notions appear in high medieval sources testifies to the tenacity of pagan ideas regarding the dead; these beliefs survived for centuries under the veneer of Christianization, especially in the Germanic environment which formed the background to Sefer ḥasidim. The pre-Christian belief in the return of the corporeal dead to Earth, as well as an unabashed belief in the corporeal nature of the post-mortem punishments assigned to sinners, were ones that R. Judah the Pious absorbed from his environment and shared with his contemporary Caesarius of Heisterbach, among other Christian writers. The presence of the same beliefs regarding the dead in the writings of the German Cistercian and the German Pietist reveals a commonality between them. Ancient imaginings of the dead here cross religious boundaries and reflect a world-view that was shared by medieval Jew and Christian alike.

Monstrous Masses: The Human Body as Raw Material

This chapter examines The Human Centipede, Nymphomaniac, and Videodrome; films that push the boundaries of human objectification. The chapter draws on the works of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Jean-Paul Sartre, highlighting an ontological distinction between being “in-itself” and being “for-itself.” It is argued that though the objectification of key characters in these films, on the one hand, promotes a sort of nihilistic reduction of humans to meaningless bodies in motion, on the other hand, this same reduction potentially provokes a sense of sympathy in viewers who are also embodied, and thus can see their own condition reflected in the experiences of the characters who suffer on screen. Depictions of others as meaningless matter remind audiences of their own corporeal nature (being in-itself), disgusting, titillating, and amusing them, but also potentially moving them to empathize with the consciousnesses presumed by analogy with themselves to exist within the bodies depicted on screen (being for-itself).

Divine and Demonic Imagery at Tor de'Specchi, 1400-1500

In the fifteenth century, the Oblates of Santa Francesca Romana, a fledgling community of religious women in Rome, commissioned an impressive array of artwork for their newly acquired living quarters, the Tor de'Specchi. The imagery focused overwhelmingly on the sensual, corporeal nature of contemporary spirituality, populating the walls of the monastery with a highly naturalistic assortment of earthly, divine, and demonic figures. This book draws on art history, anthropology, and gender studies to explore the disciplinary and didactic role of the images, as well as their relationship to important papal projects at the Vatican.

REESCRIBIR EL CUERPO EDUCADO. DE LA VOZ SILENCIADA Y LA EMOCIÓN CONTENIDA AL CUERPO EDUCANDO

REWRITING THE EDUCATED BODY OF THE SILENCED VOICE AND THE EMOTION CONTAINED IN THE BODY EDUCATINGThe educating body (Planella, 2006) raises the need to consider that the educational process is constituted to the extent that there is a pedagogical subject, namely the person - as subjectivity -, your histories, your experiences, your voices and learning are placed at the very center of all of the pedagogical action. Reconsidering this positioning involves developing thoughts, skills and creative strategies that evidence the experience and knowledge that people have about themselves and their corporeal nature. Hence, narrative research and his interpretive approach contribute us with valid tools for our study. The proposal we are presenting have to develop processes of creativity, expressiveness and non verbal communication through human movement, body awareness and biographical account. The use of corporal micro-narratives, starting on a free and creative writing, is an opportunity for students to become aware of which have been the emotional, affective, educational, structural and cultural elements that have modelled their body and remain silent. At the same time, the reconstruction of the lived experience in their bodies, through their own life, opens the ways for creative development as future professionals. The sixty micro-account analyzed in the first stage of the research that we present form part of a more extensive research proceeding from a doctoral thesis process. The analysis points to several emerging issues: first of all, the educational instructional worldly model shape an insecure body with ridiculous feelings; then, the educating body model is a rigid body, shaped and “frightened”; finally, the body expresses and contains shame, shyness and devaluation opposite the other ones.Key word: corporal narrative, creativity, emotional education, initial training.Resumen.El cuerpo educando (Planella, 2006) plantea la necesidad de considerar que el proceso educativo se constituye en la medida que hay sujeto pedagógico, es decir, la persona -como subjetividad-, su historia, experiencia, su voz y aprendizaje son puestos en el centro mismo de toda acción pedagógica. (Re)considerar este posicionamiento implica desarrollar pensamientos, habilidades y estrategias creativas que evidencien la experiencia y conocimiento que las personas tienen acerca de sí mismas y de su corporalidad. De ahí que la investigación narrativa y su enfoque interpretativo nos aporten herramientas válidas para nuestro estudio. La propuesta que presentamos tiene como objetivo el desarrollo de procesos de creatividad, expresividad y comunicación corporal a través del movimiento humano, la conciencia corporal y relatos biográficos. El uso de micro-relatos corporales, a partir de una escritura libre y creativa, es un espacio para que el alumnado tome conciencia de cuáles han sido los elementos emocionales, afectivos, educativos, estructurales y culturales que han modelado su cuerpo y que permanecen silenciados. Al mismo tiempo, la reconstrucción de la experiencia vivida en sus cuerpos, a través de sus propias historias, abre caminos para el desarrollo creativo como futuros profesionales. Los sesenta micro-relatos analizados en la primera fase de la investigación que presentamos forma parte de una investigación más amplia de un proceso de tesis doctoral. El análisis apuntan hacia varias cuestiones emergentes: el modelo instructivo educativo vivido configura un cuerpo inseguro y con sentimientos de ridículo; el cuerpo educado es un modelo de cuerpo rígido, modelado y “asustado”; el cuerpo expresa y contiene vergüenza, timidez y desvaloración frente a los demás.Palabras clave: narrativa corporal, creatividad, educación emocional, formación inicial.

Politics and Religion

Nancy and Jandin discuss Schmitt and the history of sacrifice in Christianity and in Constantine in particular. The broader focus of the chapter is on how the philosophical, the religious, and the political interconnect. The chapter concludes with Nancy’s comments on the bodily or corporeal nature of an intellectual.

Jean-Jacques Rousseaus bonheur

The eighteenth century bears witness to the emergence of a new, politicized notion of “happiness”. Elaborated conceptually by Greek philosophy as a moral concept, “happiness”, the Age of Enlightenment employs the term to identify and articulate a possible nexus between the self-realization of the individual and the virtues and material blessings of peaceful communal life. It is against such a backdrop that the role played by le bonheur in Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s writings becomes fully understandable. Like the author himself, his literary alter egos – Jean-Jacques, Saint-Preux, Emile et al. – share one fundamental drive, “the pursuit of happiness”. While in general Rousseau’s various accounts of these different life projects draw considerable narrative energy from the malheur experienced by their protagonists, they nevertheless contain moments of sublime quality where happiness is experienced as a fulfillment of both spiritual and corporeal nature. Whether happiness is found in the collective joy of a community, in the immediate communication between two lovers, or in the reveries of a solitary wanderer, the experience of happiness becomes the symptom of a way of living that successfully mediates between man’s two conflicting natures, his social and his natural existence. What this article sets out to show is how the idea of happiness as a manifestation of what Rousseau calls le sentiment intérieur is used to explore the possibility of a political order that successfully negotiates the social and the natural, the communal and the individual. Rousseau’s œuvre can thus be read as a systematic investigation into the possibility of establishing a social bond based on affective relations of varying size and complexity: The polis, the family and the individual. My main argument is that there is a clear development in Rousseau’s writing that eventually leads to the renunciation of the political utopism of his early writings to the advantage of a politics of the individual manifest in the old philosopher’s self-elected internal exile.

THE SMELL OF SOPHOKLES'SALMONEUS: TECHNOLOGY, SCATOLOGY, METATHEATRE

Virtually nothing is known for certain about Sophokles' satyr playSalmoneus. However, a number of extremely probable deductions may be made on the basis of the few surviving fragments and the mythographic testimony about its eponymous villain (the iconographical record is totally unhelpful, or almost so). This article adds some further suggestions about the implications of the three most substantial fragments, which, if they do not quite share that level of extreme probability, it is hoped have a high degree at least of plausibility, and some significance for (meta-)dramatic and thematic aspects of the play as a whole. I shall argue that a reference to the malodorous quality of the thunderbolt draws attention to the gross physicality of the thunder-machine orbronteion(βροντεῖον) which Salmoneus has invented and constructed out of ox-hides. This has both a metatheatrical dimension, since thebronteionwas probably part of the stage-machinery of 5th-century drama, and a thematic one, since it emphasises the low, corporeal nature of Salmoneus' thunder in contrast to the sublime weapon of Zeus which it imperfectly mimics. The established parallelism between thunder and farting adds another level to the debasing of Salmoneus’ invention and concomitant deflation of his pretensions. Finally, I shall suggest that another fragment relating to the sympotic game ofkottabosmay have drawn a similarly deflating parallel between the hurling of the wine-lees and that of the tyrant's ersatz thunderbolts.