

Class 25: From Modernity to Post-Modernity
31 snips Feb 7, 2024
Explore the intriguing contrast between Enlightenment thought and Romanticism, emphasizing the exaltation of human reason. Delve into navigating groundlessness, examining the absence of God and the evolution of selfhood. Discover how intellectual transformations shaped political turmoil in the 20th century, addressing themes of identity and freedom amid totalitarianism. Uncover the poignant legacy of Edith Stein, tracing her journey from philosopher to saint against the backdrop of heartbreak and historical tragedy.
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Vindman’s Dissident Moment
- Alexander Vindman's testimony invoked a dissident-style notion of truth as moral and saving.
- Marci Shore used that moment to revisit truth as an existential and political claim in Europe.
Enlightenment’s Romantic Faith In Reason
- Enlightenment frames truth as reachable through human reason and science, replacing God.
- This rational faith produced a forward-moving mood of classification, order, and progress.
Groundlessness Drives Modern Projects
- Modernity wrestles with God’s absence and the threat of groundlessness (Bodenlosigkeit).
- Thinkers sought new grounds via historicism, subjectivity, and teleological narratives like Hegel and Marx.