Philosophy and melancholy [[electronic resource] ] : Benjamin's early reflections on theater and language / / Ilit Ferber

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910462972803321
• Autore: Ferber Ilit
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Stanford, California, : Stanford University Press, 2013
• ISBN: 0-8047-8664-X
• Descrizione fisica: x, 241 p
• Collana: Cultural Memory in the Present; Cultural memory in the present
• Disciplina: 193
• Soggetti: Melancholy (Philosophy); Philosophy, German - 20th century; Electronic books.
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references (p. 215-231) and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Benjamin and Freud : at the juncture of melancholy loss -- Commitment and loyalty to the lost object -- The intentionless nature of truth -- Work and play : a view of melancholic productivity -- The Trauerspiel : reflections on the baroque -- Expressions of pain in the Trauerspiel -- The bombastic nature of expression in the Trauerspiel -- Pain and spectacle : the figure of the martyr -- Death and meaning : the figure of the ghost -- Language and loss : Benjamin's concept of expression -- Creation and loss : "on language as such" -- Lament : language and sadness -- The ghosts of language : "the task of the translator" -- The "epistemo-critical prologue" -- The "monad" : Leibniz and Benjamin -- The monads' configuration as a hierarchy -- A pre-established harmony : Benjamin's conception of truth as harmony -- Stimmung : philosophy and mood.
• Sommario/riassunto: This book traces the concept of melancholy in Walter Benjamin's early writings. Rather than focusing on the overtly melancholic subject matter of Benjamin's work or the unhappy circumstances of his own fate, Ferber considers the concept's implications for his philosophy. Informed by Heidegger's discussion of moods and their importance for philosophical thought, she contends that a melancholic mood is the organizing principle or structure of Benjamin's early metaphysics and ; ontology. Her novel analysis of Benjamin's arguments about theater and language features a discussion of the Trauerspiel book that is amongst the first in English to scrutinize the baroque plays themselves. Philosophy and Melancholy also contributes to the history of philosophy by establishing a strong relationship between Benjamin and other philosophers, including Leibniz, Kant, Husserl, and Heidegger.