The Tragi-Comic Lives of Theory: Values of a Simmelian Existence

IF 0.1 0 HUMANITIES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY Digithum Pub Date : 2019-07-01 DOI:10.7238/D.V0I24.3177
Thomas Kemple
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Abstract

The philosopher and sociologist Georg Simmel made repeated efforts throughout his career to address the crisis of modern culture by drawing on a wide repertoire of scholarly discourses and imaginative fictions. An overlooked and unique feature of his early works include humorous vignettes and free-verse poems in pseudonymous pieces published in the avant-garde journal Jugend. In later writings, he advances his own life-philosophy through an idiosyncratic use of Goethe’s scientific, autobiographical, and literary works in an attempt to articulate what is distinctive about the modern worldview. Focussing on these lesser-known writings reveals the tragi-comic character of his approach to modern individuality in a variety of cultural spheres, and in the life of theory itself. Like Simmel’s vitalist quest for the archetype or “primary phenomenon (Urphänomen) […] of the idea of Goethe” and in his formulation of “the values of Goethean Life”, this essay offers a kind of theorizing about the “spiritual meaning (geistige Sinn) of Simmelian existence” in its many forms of expression. Although Simmel’s ideas may seem antiquated to us now, recovering what might be called his ‘theory-fictions’ is essential if the humanities and social sciences are to address the most pressing problems we face in the 21st century.
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理论的悲喜剧生活:Simmelian存在的价值
哲学家和社会学家乔治·齐美尔(Georg Simmel)在他的职业生涯中不断努力,通过广泛的学术论述和富有想象力的小说来解决现代文化危机。他早期作品的一个被忽视和独特的特点包括幽默的小插曲和在先锋杂志《青年》上发表的假名作品中的自由诗。在后来的作品中,他通过独特地使用歌德的科学、自传和文学作品来推进自己的人生哲学,试图阐明现代世界观的独特之处。关注这些不太为人所知的作品,就会发现他在各种文化领域和理论本身的生活中对现代个性的态度是悲喜剧式的。就像西美尔对原型或“歌德思想的主要现象(Urphänomen)[…]”的生机论探索,以及他对“歌德生活的价值”的表述一样,本文以多种形式提供了一种关于“西美尔存在的精神意义(geistige Sinn)”的理论化。虽然齐美尔的思想对我们来说可能已经过时了,但如果人文和社会科学要解决我们在21世纪面临的最紧迫的问题,恢复他的“理论小说”是必不可少的。
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来源期刊
Digithum
Digithum HUMANITIES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY-
CiteScore
0.80
自引率
0.00%
发文量
5
审稿时长
24 weeks
期刊介绍: Digithum applies a relational perspective in the analysis of processes of inclusion and social exclusion, subjective experiences, social ties, cultural heritage and cultural production and consumption.
期刊最新文献
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