German and Scandinavian

The literary dimension of Friedrich Schiller's portrayal of Moses in his lecture entitled "Die Sendung Moses" (1789; NA 17: 377-97) has not received much scholarly attention. 1 This seemingly ancillary text is nonetheless key to central aspects of its author's philosophical and aesthetic positions because it encapsulates his views on both the relationship between religion and aesthetics, and-perhaps even more pertinent-on human nature in general. In fact, Schiller's text is less about the historical figure of Moses than about what it means to be human. Schiller presents Moses as a philosopher, politician, and poet (NA 17: 391-96) who united his people under monotheism, which, according to Schiller, helped further the enlightenment of Western civilization (NA 17: 377). 2 Most of the scholarship on the lecture examines it either in the context of eighteenth-century historiography or of Schiller's use of literary sources (Wübben 125-26). 3 Schiller 's reference to Karl Leonhard Reinhold's Die hebräischen Mysterien-initially published in 1787 under the Masonic pseudonym "Br[uder] Decius"-contributed to the preoccupation with the complex history of Schiller's sources (NA 17: 397). 4 The somewhat narrow research focus has resulted in the assumption that Schiller paraphrases Reinhold's essay (Hartwich 30) and simply emphasizes those aspects of Reinhold's treatise that appear particularly important to him without adding any new arguments (Assmann, "Nachwort" 184). 5 While my analysis builds on this research to provide necessary background information about the intellectual climate in which Schiller's "Die Sendung Moses" was written, I will read the text in light of the author's anthropological and poetological principles. One can assume that Schiller is not interested in simply summarizing his sources but in recreating history according to his own point of view, in line with his own premises laid out in his famous lecture on universal history, "Was heisst und zu welchem Ende studiert man Universalgeschichte?" (1789) (NA 17: 359-76, see pages 362-63 and 372-75 in particular). In this lecture-which he delivered only a few weeks before he spoke on "Die Sendung Moses"-Schiller expects philosophically minded historians, like himself, to give meaning to an otherwise meaningless accumu-

(1927) can be regarded as a post-humanist novel for several reasons. It is post-humanist in a temporal sense because it engages with the nineteenth-century humanist legacy from a twentieth-century perspective. The novel's brazen critique of traditional bourgeois values does not simply reject humanism and its philosophy of individual autonomy. It dislodges idealist concepts of wholeness and self-perfection and replaces them with a multi-perspectival view of a continuously changing human consciousness, an open-ended process toward an ever-elusive self-awareness. The protagonist of Hesse's novel, Harry Haller, even though still heavily influenced by the humanist tradition, can no longer be viewed as a clearly defined individual personifying the Cartesian dichotomy of body and mind. On the contrary, Hesse's novel depicts Haller's gradual disillusionment with this idealist world view by giving a detailed account of the deconstruction of his personality-a personality that, as it turns out, does not consist of a spiritual essence but dissolves into an accumulation of acquired conventions, habits, cultural and philosophical traditions, even specific historical constellations. Yet Hesse's attempt to go beyond a mere negation of humanist values implies transcending the humanist paradigm in many respects, including its form. This essay will focus on the novel's subversion of the humanist tradition. It discloses how Hesse's novel undermines universalist philosophical claims, regardless of whether they belong to the idealist or anti-idealist Nietzschean philosophy that heavily influenced both the protagonist and his author. In light of the novel's dismantling of binary reasoning, foregrounded in the protagonist's man-animal division, the essay challenges conventional wisdom among critics who regard Hesse's literary works as traditionalist.

Kant, Goethe, Schiller and other eighteenth-century German intellectuals loom large in the history of the humanities—both in terms of their individual achievements and their collective embodiment of the values that inform modern humanistic inquiry. Taking full account of the manifold challenges that the humanities face today, this volume recasts the question of their viability by tracing their long-disputed premises in German literature and philosophy. Through insightful analyses of key texts, Alexander Mathäs mounts a broad defense of the humanistic tradition, emphasizing its pursuit of a universal ethics and ability to render human experiences comprehensible through literary imagination.

Both the humanities and one of their primary foci, Humanism, have lost significance during the last three decades. In response to a number of pressures, the humanities have splintered into ever more specialized subdisciplines. Inside the academy the welcome study of issues, such as race, gender, ethnicity, religion, nationalism, and colonialism, has emphasized the particular and the local. Yet the splintering of the humanities into sub-disciplines has also resulted in their marginalization.(1) This marginalization has provoked a call for certain universal values, a common ground, to counteract the disorienting effect of diversification and the dwindling relevance of the humanities.(2) In view of these concerns it would be timely to ask whether and how the humanities should refocus on their central mission of addressing universal, humanist questions (universalism) without neglecting cultural diversity (particularism).(3) This mission also has a significant tradition in German eightee...

Hermann Hesse’s Steppenwolf (1927) can be regarded as a post-humanist novel for several reasons. It is post-humanist in a temporal sense because it engages with the nineteenth-century humanist legacy from a twentieth-century perspective. The novel’s brazen critique of traditional bourgeois values does not simply reject humanism and its philosophy of individual autonomy. It dislodges idealist concepts of wholeness and self-perfection and replaces them with a multi-perspectival view of a continuously changing human consciousness, an open-ended process toward an ever-elusive self-awareness. The protagonist of Hesse’s novel, Harry Haller, even though still heavily influenced by the humanist tradition, can no longer be viewed as a clearly defined individual personifying the Cartesian dichotomy of body and mind. On the contrary, Hesse’s novel depicts Haller’s gradual disillusionment with this idealist world view by giving a detailed account of the deconstruction of his personality – a per...

This essay considers the sublime as a veiled form of narcissism. Both narcissism and the sublime test and reveal the limits of the concept of the self and both can be viewed as attempts to transcend the borders of the self. Yet while narcissism has been defined as a “failure of spiritual ascent” (Hadot), the sublime has been used to transcend the limitations of the self by pointing to its infinite potential. The essay explores how the sublime in Immanuel Kant’s and Friedrich Schiller’s aesthetics relies on narcissistic impulses by creating a male inner self and protecting it from the stigma of vanity. I propose that their use of this aesthetic category helped objectify an essentially subjectivist aesthetics. Yet while Schiller follows Kant in deriding the sensual aspects of human nature as egotistical and amoral, Schiller’s dramas also challenge some of the Kantian premises. When Schiller’s protagonists sacrifice lives in the service of ethical ideas, the sublime’s oppressive spirit...

The literary dimension of Friedrich Schiller's portrayal of Moses in his lecture entitled "Die Sendung Moses" (1789; NA 17: 377-97) has not received much scholarly attention. 1 This seemingly ancillary text is nonetheless key to central aspects of its author's philosophical and aesthetic positions because it encapsulates his views on both the relationship between religion and aesthetics, and-perhaps even more pertinent-on human nature in general. In fact, Schiller's text is less about the historical figure of Moses than about what it means to be human. Schiller presents Moses as a philosopher, politician, and poet (NA 17: 391-96) who united his people under monotheism, which, according to Schiller, helped further the enlightenment of Western civilization (NA 17: 377). 2 Most of the scholarship on the lecture examines it either in the context of eighteenth-century historiography or of Schiller's use of literary sources (Wübben 125-26). 3 Schiller 's reference to Karl Leonhard Reinhold's Die hebräischen Mysterien-initially published in 1787 under the Masonic pseudonym "Br[uder] Decius"-contributed to the preoccupation with the complex history of Schiller's sources (NA 17: 397). 4 The somewhat narrow research focus has resulted in the assumption that Schiller paraphrases Reinhold's essay (Hartwich 30) and simply emphasizes those aspects of Reinhold's treatise that appear particularly important to him without adding any new arguments (Assmann, "Nachwort" 184). 5 While my analysis builds on this research to provide necessary background information about the intellectual climate in which Schiller's "Die Sendung Moses" was written, I will read the text in light of the author's anthropological and poetological principles. One can assume that Schiller is not interested in simply summarizing his sources but in recreating history according to his own point of view, in line with his own premises laid out in his famous lecture on universal history, "Was heisst und zu welchem Ende studiert man Universalgeschichte?" (1789) (NA 17: 359-76, see pages 362-63 and 372-75 in particular). In this lecture-which he delivered only a few weeks before he spoke on "Die Sendung Moses"-Schiller expects philosophically minded historians, like himself, to give meaning to an otherwise meaningless accumu

À Deus, sem ele nada seria possível. Aos meus pais Mardem e Mércia pelo amor, carinho e confiança. Vocês são absolutamente tudo em minha vida. Ao meu irmão Mardem Filho pelas orientações e cuidado. Ao meu anjo da guarda e noivo Shandallyê pelo apoio incondicional, companheirismo e amor em todos esses anos. À minha orientadora Profª. Drª. Lilian Carla Carneiro pelo tempo dedicado, pelos ensinamento e apoio ao longo dessa jornada. À minha co-orientadora Profª. Drª Carla Afonso da Silva Bitencout Braga pelos ensinamentos, paciência e auxílio durante todo esse período. Aos professores e funcionários do IPTSP/UFG por tudo que me foi passado em sala de aula e no convívio fora dela.

The reflective concept of art emerges relatively late in Western culture. The impact of the French and Industrial revolutions boldly propels art and artist to the forefront of modernity. The emergence of a self-conscious conception of art is the occasion for Kant's Critique of Judgement, Schiller's The Aesthetic Education of Man, and Hegel's Lecture's on Aesthetics. Kant writes in order to safeguard the autonomy of morality and thereby

Since the contributions to this Special Issue consist of relatively brief statements, the Editorial Board of Konturen has decided to forego abstracts this time around. Please click on "html" or "pdf" below for the full document of this essay.