Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Russian Reception of Aquinas

The origin of Russian theological thought goes back to the middle of the seventeenth century. Its formation was stimulated by two outside factors—Catholic and Protestant scholasticism. Apart from obvious doctrinal differences, both are characterized by the application of the quaestio method, use of Latin, and the raising of precise and narrow questions. In the nineteenth century, with a rise in Orthodox theological self-consciousness accompanied by reform of the theological schools, the reception of Aquinas became more deliberate. This process involved both ecclesiastical and lay thinkers. In the latter group (especially the famous Slavophile circle), a harsh critique of scholasticism emerged, attacking both Catholic and Protestant (especially Lutheran) varieties. The Slavophiles claimed that the Western way of philosophizing is alien to Russian and, more broadly, to Orthodox life and reasoning. We find in this period perhaps the first sustained study of Aquinas’ legacy in the shape of a dissertation devoted to his moral teaching.

Historische Sinnstiftung in Claude Simons Roman Les Géorgiques: Traditionelle Konzepte de- und rekonstruiert

In his novel Les Géorgiques (published in 1981), Claude Simon reviews and evaluates different methods for the creation and generation of historical meaning whilst upholding the simultaneity of possibilities and alleged aporias of this critical endeavour. History is presented as a paradoxical force that seems to move endlessly in circles without proceeding, as an aimlessly wandering maelstrom, sweeping everything away without mercy. Simon subjects conventional ideas of history as well as the literary presentation of war-memories to a harsh critique by using the example of a narrative linking of the destinies of three men who are – each at their own times – confronted with direct and indirect effects of war in general. In this way, Simon succeeds in making his readers aware of the failure of several classical narrative conceptions of historical sense-making. However, Les Géorgiques does not hold at a mere de-constructive criticism, but rather evolves and shows in a re-constructive manner literary alternatives of historical sense-generation as narrative attempts to overcome conflicts of content and medium. This article aims to present the subversive narrative program of Claude Simon’s Les Géorgiques to investigate, if a ›literary text‹ can accomplish a critical position towards this discourse by using a concatenation of a literary production and factually established historical content and thus become an appropriate medium of negotiation of the dichotomy of history and story.

Historische Sinnstiftung in Claude Simons Roman Les Géorgiques: Traditionelle Konzepte de- und rekonstruiert

In his novel Les Géorgiques (published in 1981), Claude Simon reviews and evaluates different methods for the creation and generation of historical meaning whilst upholding the simultaneity of possibilities and alleged aporias of this critical endeavour. History is presented as a paradoxical force that seems to move endlessly in circles without proceeding, as an aimlessly wandering maelstrom, sweeping everything away without mercy. Simon subjects conventional ideas of history as well as the literary presentation of war-memories to a harsh critique by using the example of a narrative linking of the destinies of three men who are – each at their own times – confronted with direct and indirect effects of war in general. In this way, Simon succeeds in making his readers aware of the failure of several classical narrative conceptions of historical sense-making. However, Les Géorgiques does not hold at a mere de-constructive criticism, but rather evolves and shows in a re-constructive manner literary alternatives of historical sense-generation as narrative attempts to overcome conflicts of content and medium. This article aims to present the subversive narrative program of Claude Simon’s Les Géorgiques to investigate, if a ›literary text‹ can accomplish a critical position towards this discourse by using a concatenation of a literary production and factually established historical content and thus become an appropriate medium of negotiation of the dichotomy of history and story.

The Religious Other

This chapter identifies religion as a key problematic in early examples of the Arabic novel in Egypt before embarking on an in-depth discussion of the religious/secular opposition in seminal words by Haykal, Taha Husayn and Tawfiq al-Hakim. It examines how texts like Zaynab (1914), Al-Ayyam (vols 1 and 2; 1929, 1933), ‘Awdat al-Ruh (1933) and ‘Usfur min al-Sharq (1938) promote national and secular values on the level of story and character yet undermine these same values through self-contradiction and slippage, and how religious patterns remain deeply embedded in characters’ thought and behaviour even as formal religion is subjected to harsh critique on the surface of the plot and theocentrism is displaced as ideology.

Andrei Khrzhanovskii’s The Glass Harmonica (1968). Dissent in new forms.

International audience Andrei Khrzhanovskii began to study and work on animation inthe wake of the more tolerant, although contradictory, spirit that characterized theKhrushchev’s Thaw, during which a few animators began to experiment with newstyles and create films on topical issues addressed to an adult public. With The GlassHarmonica Khrzhanovskii ventured to present a harsh critique of the system in a stylethat clearly departed from the prevailing children-oriented Disney style adopted in thestudio Soiuzmul’tfil’m. By proposing a subtle message about the position of the artistin a totalitarian system and endorsing a manner that contrasted with the official andapproved style, Khrzhanovskii created a work of art that, despite its exceptional artisticvalue, could be hardly accepted by the authorities. Andreï Khrjanovski a commencé à étudier l’animation et à réaliser desfilms dans l’atmosphère plus tolérante, bien qu’ambiguë, qui caractérisait le dégelkhrouchtchévien, période pendant laquelle un certain nombre d’animateurs se sontmis à expérimenter de nouveaux styles et à créer des films destinés à un public adultetraitant de problèmes d’actualité. Avec L’Harmonica de verre, Khrjanovski s’estrisqué à présenter une critique sévère du système dans un style qui se démarquaitclairement du style disneyen adopté par le studio Soïouzmoultfilm dans les dessinsanimés pour la jeunesse. En proposant un message subtil sur la situation de l’artistedans un système totalitaire et adoptant un style contrastant avec le style officiel etapprouvé, il a créé une oeuvre d’art qui, magré sa qualité exceptionnelle, ne pouvaitguère être acceptée par les autorités. Андрей Хржановский начинал работать в анимации еще ватмосфере духа большей толерантности, хотя исполненного противоречий,характеризовавшего хрущевскую Оттепель. В этот период некоторыеаниматоры стали экспериментировать с новыми стилями и создавать фильмыдля взрослой аудитории, обращенные к актуальным вопросам на злобу дня. Сосвоей Стеклянной гармоникой Хржановский смело предпринял резкую критикусистемы в стиле, очевидно далеком от стиля ориентированных на Диснеядетских мультфильмов, который превалировал на Союзмультфильме. Тонкоподавая свое идейное представление о месте художника при тоталитарнойсистеме и подписываясь под художественной манерой, контрастноотличающейся от официально принятой эстетики, Хржановский создалпроизведение искусства, которое, вопреки его исключительной художественнойценности, едва ли могло быть воспринято властью.

Lyrics for a duskier Enlightenment. In response to Alexandra Ion

In her article ‘A taphonomy of a dark Anthropocene’, Alexandra Ion responds to and criticizes my discussion around the topic of archaeology and the Anthropocene recently published in this journal. She takes issue with most of my central arguments and especially with my leaning towards object-oriented ontology, speculative realism and the like, describing my perspective as one that is literally dark and depressing and which may lead nowhere but to a dead end. While I make it clear that I will neither answer for nor shield myself behind other peoples’ articulations of OOO, I will in what follows react to Ion's rather harsh critique and use the opportunity to sharpen my arguments further by focusing on three central themes: first, OOO and the archaeological object; second, darkness, dead ends and knowledge of things; and third, ethics, politics and responsibility.

Matteo Garrone’s Primo Amore and the feeling of suffering: Between sickness, a search for meaning and formal control

In the contemporary Italian scenario, Garrone’s work undoubtedly represents one of the best examples of cinema that bravely confronts reality. The social/political commitment takes shape, in Primo Amore, in different ways if compared to the usual cinematic procedure Garrone adopts in his other works. In Gomorra and Reality the denunciation of society is intense. Saviano’s novel is sectioned in order to highlight the basic issues (the assimilation of camorra with capitalism, the false ‘respectability’ of the establishment). The focus in Reality is a harsh critique of remunerative gratification, an instrument to control the masses. The plot of Primo Amore, a tragic love story centred on an obsession with feminine thinness, is a metaphor for the rejection of abundance, perceived as unsatisfactory and limiting. This article explores Garrone’s critical approach, focusing on the author’s figurative and stylistic choices, while highlighting the complexity of the entire representation.

Frigørelsesfilosofi – Interview med Enrique Dussel

Enrique Dussel is one of the most prominent Latin American thinkers and a founding father of the Philosophy of Liberation. Dussel is known for his long political engagement in Latin American Politics and for his harsh critique of Western hegemony on the global stage – both the political and the philosophical. In this interview with Dussel these themes are discussed as well as some of Dussel’s own notions, such as pluriversality and transmodernity.

The Bitter Fruits of Anticommunism

The legacy of the Cold War Liberalism, to which many intellectuals were drawn, comes in for a harsh critique in this chapter. Following a look at the post-1960s political transformations of Susan Sontag and David Horowitz, the rightward movement of Norman Podhoretz, Midge Decter, Irving Kristol, Hilton Kramer, and others are tracked, along with some observations about the last days of Philip Rahv. This includes discussion of publications such as New Criterion and Commentary.

Søren Kierkegaard y Friedrich Schlegel: vivir poéticamente. Un diálogo crítico en torno a la novela Lucinde. Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Schlegel: Living Poetically. A Critical Dialogue On to the Novel Lucinde

En estas páginas nos proponemos realizar un “diálogo crítico” entre Friedrich Schlegel y Søren Kierkegaard, tomando como punto de partida la novela Lucinde. Aunque inconclusa, ya que Schlegel planeaba todo un proyecto que no realizó, la novela Lucinde no le fue indiferente al joven Kierkegaard. A pesar de la dura crítica que lanza sobre el escrito de Schlegel, éste fue de enorme interés para Kierkegaard por el romanticismo, por un lado, y por otro, por darle la posibilidad para desarrollar una interesante estrategia para oponerse al romanticismo y crear una obra poética al servicio del cristianismo. Por todo ello, el objetivo de este trabajo es resaltar la influencia de Schlegel sobre Kierkegaard, así como el nuevo sentido que el filósofo danés dará a la idea de “vida poética”. Our focus in this paper is to make a “critical dialogue” between Friedrich Schlegel and Søren Kierkegaard, taking as a starting point the novel Lucinde. Even it was unfinished, because Schlegel planned an entire project that was not concluded, the novel Lucinde did not stay indifferent to the young Kierkegaard. Despite his harsh critique over Schlegel ́s writing it was decisive for Kierkegaard ́s interest with romanticism, by one hand, and by the other, allowed Kierkegaard to develope and interesting strategy of opposition to romanticism and creating a poetic work at the service of Christianity. Therefore the aim of this paper is to underline the influence of Schlegel on Kierkegaard, as well as to present the new direction that the Danish philosopher gives to the idea of “poetic life”.