The Philosophy of the City Research Group is a global community of scholars who are dedicated to ... more The Philosophy of the City Research Group is a global community of scholars who are dedicated to understanding the city and urban issues. We invite you to join us for our sixth year. For this conference, zeroing in on the research strands below remains paramount, but we welcome all relevant submissions.
This paper explores the origins of Levinas's influential contribution to contemporary eth... more This paper explores the origins of Levinas's influential contribution to contemporary ethical theory and normative ethics with his "face to face" ethics. In my work, I explore how that 'trope' could and most likely came about through Levinas's readings of Rosenzweig's "Star of Redemption" and Rosenzweig's own comments about an ethics of face-to-face relations.
Arguing against the grain of conventional readings that Rosenzweig's philosophy is a-historic... more Arguing against the grain of conventional readings that Rosenzweig's philosophy is a-historical, I maintain instead that a more nuanced and faithful reading should take into account the underlying logical dynamics of his speech- act philosophy that become embodied through the role that love relationships – understood aesthetically on both individual and communal levels – are ways to 'redeem' history messianically, thereby redeeming or creating more just political communities. This happens at the level of an immanent, normative critique of the dominant authoritarian pressures to assimilate to existing social and political conditions. I connect that with a reading of Benjamin's philosophy, arguing that Rosenzweig's "messianic aesthetics" determinatively influenced Walter Benjamin's dialectics of ethical and political critique – which resulted in Benjamin's work becoming both revelatory and historically redemptive, that is, politically messianic.
O artigo introduz uma distinção crítica na análise do fenômeno da motivação humana a partir das f... more O artigo introduz uma distinção crítica na análise do fenômeno da motivação humana a partir das filosofias de Espinosa e Rosenzweig, através de uma leitura alternativa de suas respectivas concepções de motivação. O ensaio procura mostrar em que sentido o problema ético da motivação implica o conceito de transgressão nesses dois grandes pensadores.
This article is a rough draft of an article that I contributed to an edited volume of articles de... more This article is a rough draft of an article that I contributed to an edited volume of articles dealing with progressive education theory. I reflect on articles that Hannah Arendt and Walter Benjamin wrote that deal with educational reform and innovation, both political in nature.
My goal, in interpreting Arendt’s analyses of the polis – both modern and ancient – is to concept... more My goal, in interpreting Arendt’s analyses of the polis – both modern and ancient – is to conceptualize the role that ‘healthy’ public spaces can play in modern cities. What distinguishes my interpretation of her work is how I integrate her seminal conception of a philosophy of natality in the constellation of elemental concepts: labor, work, and action, as a way to understand the rise and fall of Detroit and to set the possible horizon for its reincarnation as a ‘sustainable’ and flourishing city beautiful. For me, it is precisely this conceptualization, as a philosophy of natality, that enables us to better identify the metaphysical and political foundations of her ideas about the polis and its possible pragmatic application for recreating public spaces in other modern, cosmopolitan cities. I end up considering what it means to become “native to a place” in the sense that was adopted in the rebirth of the River Rouge Complex and just what that has to do with the emergence of the b...
Introduction 1. The Mask of Mephistopheles 2. Renewing Narrations or Chaos in Creation 3. Rosenzw... more Introduction 1. The Mask of Mephistopheles 2. Renewing Narrations or Chaos in Creation 3. Rosenzweig's Midrash as Philosophy of Language 4. The Messianic Aesthetic 5. Heidegger's Hammer: from the Workshop to the Work of Art 6. Turning through Phenomenology to Art and Ethos 7. Philosophy, Poetry, and the Absent God: Final Words Bibliography
At the beginning of the twenty first century, cities have become places where the majority of hum... more At the beginning of the twenty first century, cities have become places where the majority of humans now live, and this trend continues unabated. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 55% of all humans now dwell in cities and that is expected to increase to almost 70% by 2050. The shift of human populations from rural to urban areas could add another 2.5 billion people to cities across the globe and 90% of that increase is expected to occur in Asia and Africa. Projections by the U.N. predict that just three countries will account for 35% of that astronomical growth: India will add 416 million city dwellers; China 255 million; and Nigeria 189 million. These are astounding projections and, if they come true, make it all the more imperative to focus attention on all matters having to do with cities in the coming decades. How movements and research agendas start, continue, and productively flourish remains an open question but there is something to b...
How is it possible to speak, when you feel ... a strange double bind: an infinite claim to speak,... more How is it possible to speak, when you feel ... a strange double bind: an infinite claim to speak, a duty to speak infinitely, imposing itself with irrepressible force, and at the same time, an almost physical impossibility to speak, a choking feeling. Sarah Kofman, ...
The Philosophy of the City Research Group is a global community of scholars who are dedicated to ... more The Philosophy of the City Research Group is a global community of scholars who are dedicated to understanding the city and urban issues. We invite you to join us for our sixth year. For this conference, zeroing in on the research strands below remains paramount, but we welcome all relevant submissions.
This paper explores the origins of Levinas's influential contribution to contemporary eth... more This paper explores the origins of Levinas's influential contribution to contemporary ethical theory and normative ethics with his "face to face" ethics. In my work, I explore how that 'trope' could and most likely came about through Levinas's readings of Rosenzweig's "Star of Redemption" and Rosenzweig's own comments about an ethics of face-to-face relations.
Arguing against the grain of conventional readings that Rosenzweig's philosophy is a-historic... more Arguing against the grain of conventional readings that Rosenzweig's philosophy is a-historical, I maintain instead that a more nuanced and faithful reading should take into account the underlying logical dynamics of his speech- act philosophy that become embodied through the role that love relationships – understood aesthetically on both individual and communal levels – are ways to 'redeem' history messianically, thereby redeeming or creating more just political communities. This happens at the level of an immanent, normative critique of the dominant authoritarian pressures to assimilate to existing social and political conditions. I connect that with a reading of Benjamin's philosophy, arguing that Rosenzweig's "messianic aesthetics" determinatively influenced Walter Benjamin's dialectics of ethical and political critique – which resulted in Benjamin's work becoming both revelatory and historically redemptive, that is, politically messianic.
O artigo introduz uma distinção crítica na análise do fenômeno da motivação humana a partir das f... more O artigo introduz uma distinção crítica na análise do fenômeno da motivação humana a partir das filosofias de Espinosa e Rosenzweig, através de uma leitura alternativa de suas respectivas concepções de motivação. O ensaio procura mostrar em que sentido o problema ético da motivação implica o conceito de transgressão nesses dois grandes pensadores.
This article is a rough draft of an article that I contributed to an edited volume of articles de... more This article is a rough draft of an article that I contributed to an edited volume of articles dealing with progressive education theory. I reflect on articles that Hannah Arendt and Walter Benjamin wrote that deal with educational reform and innovation, both political in nature.
My goal, in interpreting Arendt’s analyses of the polis – both modern and ancient – is to concept... more My goal, in interpreting Arendt’s analyses of the polis – both modern and ancient – is to conceptualize the role that ‘healthy’ public spaces can play in modern cities. What distinguishes my interpretation of her work is how I integrate her seminal conception of a philosophy of natality in the constellation of elemental concepts: labor, work, and action, as a way to understand the rise and fall of Detroit and to set the possible horizon for its reincarnation as a ‘sustainable’ and flourishing city beautiful. For me, it is precisely this conceptualization, as a philosophy of natality, that enables us to better identify the metaphysical and political foundations of her ideas about the polis and its possible pragmatic application for recreating public spaces in other modern, cosmopolitan cities. I end up considering what it means to become “native to a place” in the sense that was adopted in the rebirth of the River Rouge Complex and just what that has to do with the emergence of the b...
Introduction 1. The Mask of Mephistopheles 2. Renewing Narrations or Chaos in Creation 3. Rosenzw... more Introduction 1. The Mask of Mephistopheles 2. Renewing Narrations or Chaos in Creation 3. Rosenzweig's Midrash as Philosophy of Language 4. The Messianic Aesthetic 5. Heidegger's Hammer: from the Workshop to the Work of Art 6. Turning through Phenomenology to Art and Ethos 7. Philosophy, Poetry, and the Absent God: Final Words Bibliography
At the beginning of the twenty first century, cities have become places where the majority of hum... more At the beginning of the twenty first century, cities have become places where the majority of humans now live, and this trend continues unabated. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 55% of all humans now dwell in cities and that is expected to increase to almost 70% by 2050. The shift of human populations from rural to urban areas could add another 2.5 billion people to cities across the globe and 90% of that increase is expected to occur in Asia and Africa. Projections by the U.N. predict that just three countries will account for 35% of that astronomical growth: India will add 416 million city dwellers; China 255 million; and Nigeria 189 million. These are astounding projections and, if they come true, make it all the more imperative to focus attention on all matters having to do with cities in the coming decades. How movements and research agendas start, continue, and productively flourish remains an open question but there is something to b...
How is it possible to speak, when you feel ... a strange double bind: an infinite claim to speak,... more How is it possible to speak, when you feel ... a strange double bind: an infinite claim to speak, a duty to speak infinitely, imposing itself with irrepressible force, and at the same time, an almost physical impossibility to speak, a choking feeling. Sarah Kofman, ...
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