The Limits of Theory: Idealism, Distinction and Critical Pedagogy in Chicago Eli Thorkelson Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago “I think questioning a structure from within is very necessary, but we don’t need to know much about history to know the difficulties it produces.” —email from Bernard Dubbeld, 19 Oct 2005. “Systems” is the name of the first class you take in graduate school, if you’re in anthropology at the University of Chicago, although the official, bureaucratic title is “The Development of Social and Cultural Theory, Parts 1 and 2.” Why devote a critical essay to a single course in graduate school, a single course in a single department, a single course that is in no clear way representative of the discipline? In the front hall of our building, Haskell Hall, there is a totem pole that someone got from the Northwest Coast—but it is a decoy. A recursive, ambivalent critical situation I am not the first to see Systems in a critical light. On one level, the essay is simply a result of my own experience in the class, which I found troubling.
Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language.[4] From 1939–1947, Wittgenstein taught at the University of Cambridge.[5] During his lifetime he published just one slim book, the 75-page Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921), one article, one book review and a children's dictionary.[6] His voluminous manuscripts were edited and published posthumously. Philosophical Investigations appeared as a book in 1953 and by the end of the century it was considered an important modern classic.[7] Philosopher Bertrand Russell described Wittgenstein as "the most perfect example I have ever known of genius as traditionally conceived; passionate, profound, intense, and dominating".[8] Born in Vienna into one of Europe's richest families, he inherited a large fortune from his father in 1913. Background[edit] The Wittgensteins[edit]
Fatalism Fatalism is a philosophical doctrine stressing the subjugation of all events or actions to fate. Fatalism generally refers to any of the following ideas: The view that we are powerless to do anything other than what we actually do.[1] Included in this is that man has no power to influence the future, or indeed, his own actions.[2] This belief is very similar to predeterminism.An attitude of resignation in the face of some future event or events which are thought to be inevitable. Friedrich Nietzsche named this idea with "Turkish fatalism"[3] in his book The Wanderer and His Shadow.[4]That actions are free, but nevertheless work toward an inevitable end.[5] This belief is very similar to compatibilist predestination.That acceptance is appropriate, rather than resistance against inevitability. Determinism, fatalism and predeterminism[edit] Determinists generally agree that human actions affect the future but that human action is itself determined by a causal chain of prior events.
Маяковский, Владимир Владимирович Влади́мир Влади́мирович Маяко́вский (7 [19] июля 1893, Багдати, Кутаисская губерния[1] — 14 апреля 1930, Москва) — русский советский поэт, один из крупнейших поэтов XX века[2][3][4]. Помимо поэзии ярко проявил себя как драматург, киносценарист, кинорежиссёр, киноактёр, художник, редактор журналов «ЛЕФ» («Левый Фронт»), «Новый ЛЕФ». Биография[править | править исходный текст] Владимир Маяковский родился в селе Багдати Кутаисской губернии (в советское время посёлок назывался Маяковский) в Грузии, в семье Владимира Константиновича Маяковского (1857—1906), служившего лесничим третьего разряда в Эриванской губернии, с 1889 в Багдатском лесничестве. Мать поэта, Александра Алексеевна Павленко (1867—1954), из рода кубанских казаков, родилась на Кубани. В 1902 году Маяковский поступил в гимназию в Кутаиси. Первое «полустихотворение» Маяковский напечатал в нелегальном журнале «Порыв», который издавался Третьей гимназией. Маяковский в 1910 году Семья Маяковских, Кутаиси, 1905 год В.
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (German: Die protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus) is a book written by Max Weber, a German sociologist, economist, and politician. Begun as a series of essays, the original German text was composed in 1904 and 1905, and was translated into English for the first time by Talcott Parsons in 1930.[1] It is considered a founding text in economic sociology and sociology in general. In 1998 the International Sociological Association listed this work as the fourth most important sociological book of the 20th century.[3] Summary[edit] Basic concepts[edit] Religious devotion, Weber argues, is usually accompanied by a rejection of worldly affairs, including the pursuit of wealth and possessions. Weber notes that this is not a philosophy of mere greed, but a statement laden with moral language. It is particularly advantageous in technical occupations for workers to be extremely devoted to their craft. Conclusions[edit] Reception[edit]
I Ching The I Ching, also known as the Classic of Changes, Book of Changes, Zhouyi and Yijing, is one of the oldest of the Chinese classic texts.[1] The book contains a divination system comparable to Western geomancy or the West African Ifá system; in Western cultures and modern East Asia, it is still widely used for this purpose. Traditionally, the I Ching and its hexagrams were thought to pre-date recorded history,[2] and based on traditional Chinese accounts, its origins trace back to the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE.[3] Modern scholarship suggests that the earliest layers of the text may date from the end of the 2nd millennium BCE, but place doubts on the mythological aspects in the traditional accounts.[4] Some consider the I Ching the oldest extant book of divination, dating from 1,000 BCE and before.[5] The oldest manuscript that has been found, albeit incomplete, dates back to the Warring States period (475–221 BCE).[6] History[edit] Traditional view[edit] Modernist view[edit] Structure[edit]
Thus Spoke Zarathustra Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None (German: Also sprach Zarathustra: Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen, also translated as Thus Spake Zarathustra) is a philosophical novel by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, composed in four parts between 1883 and 1885. Much of the work deals with ideas such as the "eternal recurrence of the same", the parable on the "death of God", and the "prophecy" of the Übermensch, which were first introduced in The Gay Science.[1] Origins[edit] Thus Spoke Zarathustra was conceived while Nietzsche was writing The Gay Science; he made a small note, reading "6,000 feet beyond man and time," as evidence of this.[2] More specifically, this note related to the concept of the eternal recurrence, which is, by Nietzsche's admission, the central idea of Zarathustra; this idea occurred to him by a "pyramidal block of stone" on the shores of Lake Silvaplana in the Upper Engadine, a high alpine region whose valley floor is at 6,000 ft. Synopsis[edit] Themes[edit]
Authors Georges Bataille Georges Albert Maurice Victor Bataille (French: [ʒɔʁʒ batɑj]; 10 September 1897 – 9 July 1962) was a French intellectual and literary figure working in literature, anthropology, philosophy, economy, sociology and history of art. Eroticism, sovereignty, and transgression are at the core of his writings. Life and work[edit] Bataille attended the École des Chartes in Paris, graduating in February 1922. Founder of several journals and literary groups, Bataille is the author of a large and diverse body of work: readings, poems, essays on innumerable subjects (on the mysticism of economy, poetry, philosophy, the arts, eroticism). Initially attracted to Surrealism, Bataille quickly fell out with its founder André Breton, although Bataille and the Surrealists resumed cautiously cordial relations after World War II. Fascinated by human sacrifice, he founded a secret society, Acéphale, the symbol of which was a headless man. Key concepts[edit] Base materialism[edit] Other[edit] Bibliography[edit]
Movements of Voice Hermeneutics Hermes, messenger of the gods. Hermeneutics /hɜrməˈnjuːtɪks/ is the theory of text interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts.[1][2] The terms "hermeneutics" and "exegesis" are sometimes used interchangeably. Hermeneutics is a wider discipline that includes written, verbal, and nonverbal communication. Hermeneutics initially applied to the interpretation, or exegesis, of scripture. Etymology[edit] Hermeneutics is derived from the Greek word ἑρμηνεύω (hermeneuō, 'translate' or 'interpret').[6] It was introduced into philosophy mainly through the title of Aristotle's work On Interpretation, commonly referred to by its Latin title De Interpretatione. The early usage of "hermeneutics" places it within the boundaries of the sacred.[7] A divine message must be received with implicit uncertainty regarding its truth. Folk etymology[edit] Aristotle and Plato[edit] The meaning of the poem thus becomes open to ridicule.
Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (German: [ˈmaɐ̯tiːn ˈhaɪdɛɡɐ]; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher, widely seen as a seminal thinker in the Continental tradition, particularly within the fields of existential phenomenology and philosophical hermeneutics. From his beginnings as a Catholic academic, he developed a groundbreaking and widely influential philosophy. His relationship with Nazism has been a controversial and widely debated subject. For Heidegger, the things in lived experience always have more to them than what we can see; accordingly, the true nature of being is “withdrawal”. The interplay between the obscured reality of things and their appearance in what he calls the “clearing” is Heidegger's main theme. The presence of things for us is not their being, but merely their being interpreted as equipment according to a particular system of meaning and purpose. It has been suggested[by whom?] Biography[edit] Early years[edit] Marburg[edit] Freiburg[edit] Post-war[edit]
Eternal return Eternal return (also known as "eternal recurrence") is a concept that the universe has been recurring, and will continue to recur, in a self-similar form an infinite number of times across infinite time or space. The concept is found in Indian philosophy and in ancient Egypt and was subsequently taken up by the Pythagoreans and Stoics. With the decline of antiquity and the spread of Christianity, the concept fell into disuse in the Western world, with the exception of Friedrich Nietzsche, who connected the thought to many of his other concepts, including amor fati. In addition, the philosophical concept of eternal recurrence was addressed by Arthur Schopenhauer. Premise[edit] The basic premise proceeds from the assumption that the probability of a world coming into existence exactly like our own is greater than zero (we know this because our world exists). Classical antiquity[edit] The ancient Mayans and Aztecs also took a cyclical view of time. Indian religions[edit] Judaism[edit]