Homo Anxius. Modernity, or the Exodus from Fear
Taking the anthropological conviction that fear constitutes the ultimate human quality as its point of departure, the article offers a critical analysis of the notion in question and suggests philosophical ways of overcoming its paralyzing potential. Drawing from such thinkers as Herder, Marx, Freud, Benjamin and Deleuze, the paper first introduces a semi-historical account of fear only to notice that at the dawn of Modernity it becomes significantly redefined: no longer seen in terms of divine warning, the fear, now — following Freud — referred to as Angst, evolves into an existential condition, the taming of which is only possible by locating the subject in the network of cultural institutions. This relocation, however, is further complicated by a new dichotomy of philosophical perspectives: just as for the conservative tradition angst is understood in terms of hermeneutic lack of meaning and place in the chain of existence, from the Marxist-Freudian standpoint it is considered as an energetic surplus and excess of live transcending all systematic closures.
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No. 29 (2014)
Published: 2014-10-01
10.31261/errgo
English
Język Polski