In this paper I bring together three different, but somehow connected problems: First of all I will discuss the possibilities and prospects of a philosophy of value (axiology). That philosophical discipline may rely on our experience of meaningfulness in our everyday-life but nevertheless its usual theoretical framework is challenged by different fundamental objections. I shall argue that to be capable of articulating the tension between the historical character of our goods and valuations on one hand and the conceptual relations between values on the other, a general philosophy of value requests a broad perspective including notions of history, society and culture. Second I will discuss the idea of “religious values” and which objects we might have in mind using this concept. Here I will argue that talking about religious or sacred values might bring about the special meaning, which some artefacts, places, rituals etc. might have in religious practice. Third it is to be shown that a philosophical theory of values with a rich conceptual framework (including for example the difference between values themselves and valuable goods, virtues or attitudes) may also be suitable for the cooperation with social and cultural studies or other humanities.
Schlagwort: Society
Steffen Andrae presents a working paper on ‚Realism, Subjectivity, and Experience in Kracauer’s novel Ginster‘
This essay documents my interpretation and analysis of Kracauer’s first novel Ginster. The book, I argue, can be read as a model case for Kracauer’s variety of realism and contains many of the philosophical ideas, issues, and sensibilities common to Kracauer’s oeuvre. This goes especially for the entanglement of aesthetic and theoretical elements, for Kracauer not only discusses social and historical issues but establishes his reflections via processing documentary elements, experiential realities, and philosophical cartography. Moreover, Kracauer makes extensive use of figurative, linguistic, and representational strategies, which correspond intimately to the various experiences of negativity laid out in the novel. [My essay is, however, not a cohesive chapter but will be disassembled and allocated to the various thematic areas of my thesis. It is thus pertinent to keep in mind the structure of the overall work.]