The Pathos Of The Real
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The Pathos of the Real
This book is about the ambition, in a set of paradigmatic writers of the twentieth century, to simultaneously enlist and break the spell of the real—their fascination with the spectacle of violence and suffering—and the difficulties involved in capturing this kind of excess by aesthetic means. The works at the center of this study—by Franz Kafka, Georges Bataille, Claude Simon, Peter Weiss, and Heiner Müller—zero in on scenes of agony, destruction, and death with an astonishing degree of precision and detail. The strange and troubling nature of the appeal engendered by these sights is the subject of The Pathos of the Real. Robert Buch shows that the spectacles of suffering conjured up in these texts are deeply ambivalent, available neither to cathartic relief nor to the sentiment of compassion. What prevails instead is a peculiar coincidence of opposites: exaltation and resignation; disfiguration and transfiguration; agitation and paralysis. Featuring the experiences of violent excess in strongly visual and often in expressly pictorial terms, the works expose the nexus between violence and the image in twentieth-century aesthetics. Buch explores this tension between visual and verbal representation by drawing on the rhetorical notion of pathos as both insurmountable suffering and codified affect and the psychoanalytic notion of the real, that is, the disruption of the symbolic order. In dialogue with a diverse group of thinkers, from Erich Auerbach and Aby Warburg to Alain Badiou and Jacques Lacan, The Pathos of the Real advances an innovative new framework for rethinking the aesthetics of violence in the twentieth century.
The Royal Remains
Author: Eric L. Santner
language: en
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Release Date: 2012-03-15
"The king is dead. Long live the king!" In early modern Europe, the king's body was literally sovereign—and the right to rule was immediately transferrable to the next monarch in line upon the king's death. In The Royal Remains, Eric L. Santner argues that the "carnal" dimension of the structures and dynamics of sovereignty hasn't disappeared from politics. Instead, it migrated to a new location—the life of the people—where something royal continues to linger in the way we obsessively track and measure the vicissitudes of our flesh. Santner demonstrates the ways in which democratic societies have continued many of the rituals and practices associated with kingship in displaced, distorted, and usually, unrecognizable forms. He proposes that those strange mental activities Freud first lumped under the category of the unconscious—which often manifest themselves in peculiar physical ways—are really the uncanny second life of these "royal remains," now animated in the body politic of modern neurotic subjects. Pairing Freud with Kafka, Carl Schmitt with Hugo von Hofmannsthal,and Ernst Kantorowicz with Rainer Maria Rilke, Santner generates brilliant readings of multiple texts and traditions of thought en route to reconsidering the sovereign imaginary. Ultimately, The Royal Remains locates much of modernity—from biopolitical controversies to modernist literary experiments—in this transition from subjecthood to secular citizenship. This major new work will make a bold and original contribution to discussions of politics, psychoanalysis, and modern art and literature.
The Will to Doubt
In "The Will to Doubt," Alfred H. Lloyd delves into the intricate relationship between skepticism and belief, exploring how doubt serves as both a critical tool for intellectual inquiry and a barrier to understanding. Through a thoughtful analysis infused with philosophical rigor, Lloyd's literary style is characterized by a blend of accessible prose and profound argumentation, engaging readers in reflective discourse. The book situates itself within the broader philosophical canon, drawing from classical and contemporary thinkers while employing a method that invites readers to interrogate their own presuppositions. Alfred H. Lloyd was a prominent philosopher whose academic pursuits spanned the realms of education and ethics, deeply influenced by the intellectual currents of his time. His commitment to inquiry and the pursuit of knowledge are reflected in his writings, where he advocates for the importance of questioning established norms. Lloyd's background in both philosophy and pedagogy highlights a deep-seated belief in the transformative power of doubt as a catalyst for personal and societal growth. "The Will to Doubt" is a compelling read for anyone seeking to navigate the complexities of belief systems in a rapidly changing world. With its insightful commentary and thought-provoking questions, this work not only challenges readers to embrace skepticism but also champions it as a vital step in the quest for truth. It is an essential addition for those who value critical thinking and self-reflection in their intellectual journey.