Alle Publikationen
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2017
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(2017): To be or Not to be Authentic. In Defence of Authenticity as an Ethical Ideal. In: Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 20 (3), S. 567-580. DOI: 10.1007/s10677-017-9803-4
Abstract: It has recently been pointed out that the cloudiness of the concept of authenticity as well as inflated ideologies of the 'true self' provide good reasons to criticize theories and ideals of authenticity. Nevertheless, there are also good reasons to defend an ethical ideal of authenticity, not least because of its critical and oppositional force, which is directed against experiences of self-abandonment and self-alienation. I will argue for an elaborated ethical ideal of authenticity: the ambitious ideal of a continuous self-reflective process of 'self-authentication'. For this purpose, the ideal of being authentic in expressing and unfolding one's individual personality and characteristics will be combined with the ideal of being 'an authentic person' - whereby 'a person' is to be understood in a Kantian sense as an autonomous person who is (at least potentially) reasonable and morally responsible.
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(2017): Noumenal Alienation. Rousseau, Kant and Marx on the Dialectics of Self-Determination. In: Kantian Review 22 (04), S. 523-551. DOI: 10.1017/S1369415417000267
Abstract: This article argues that alienation (as Entfremdung) should be understood as a particular form of individual and social heteronomy that can only be overcome by a dialectical combination of individual and collective autonomy, recovering a deontological sense of normative authority. If we think about alienation in Kantian terms, the main source of alienation is a denial of standing or, in the extreme, losing a sense of oneself as a rational normative authority equal to all others. I call the former kind of alienation, where persons deny others equal standing as a normative authority in moral or political terms, first order noumenal alienation, as there is no proper mutual cognition and recognition of each other in such a social context. I call the latter kind of alienation, where a subject does not consider themselves an equal normative authority - or an 'end in oneself' second order noumenal alienation (again, in a moral and a political form). In this sense, alienation violates the dignity of humans as moral and political lawgivers - a dignity seen by Rousseau, Kant and Marx as inalienable: It can be denied or violated, but it cannot be lost.
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(2017): Autonomie, Souveränität und Entfremdung. In: Philosophische Rundschau 64 (2), S. 122-133. DOI: 10.1628/003181517X15004614386196
Abstract: Der Entfremdungsbegriff ist als sozialwissenschaftliche Zeitdiagnose wieder zunehmend nachgefragt. Dabei werden allerdings sehr unterschiedliche Phänomene wie die Zunahme psychosomatischer Erkrankungen, die >Entfremdung< von Bevölkerung und Eliten oder der Strukturwandel der Arbeitswelt adressiert. Die Sammelrezension diskutiert vier aktuelle Beiträge zum Thema: Die beiden Einführungswerke von Christoph Henning sowie Peter V. Zima, ein Essay von Hartmut Rosa und eine Essaysammlung von Sean Sayers. Die Heterogenität dieser Werke zeigt die Schwierigkeit der analytisch scharfen Bestimmung der Entfremdungsdiagnose auf. Die geteilte Bedeutung des Begriffs betrifft grundlegende Fragen: Inwieweit stehen Menschen authentisch hinter dem, was sie tun? Sind sie in der Lage, ihre Freiheit produktiv selbst zu begrenzen und ihre allgemeinen menschlichen Potentiale durch sinnstiftende Tätigkeiten zu entwickeln? Der Beitrag zeigt, dass Entfremdung wesentlich der Entwicklung von Autonomie und Souveränität gegenübersteht. UTB. 212 S.
2016
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(2016): Self-Identification and Alienation. In: The Sociological Quarterly 7 (3), S. 255-264. DOI: 10.1111/j.1533-8525.1966.tb01692.x
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(2016): What (if Anything) Is Wrong with Capitalism?. Dysfunctionality, Exploitation and Alienation: Three Approaches to the Critique of Capitalism. In: The Southern Journal of Philosophy 54, S. 44-65. DOI: 10.1111/sjp.12188
Abstract: What is the problem with capitalism? Is it wrong, unjust, irrational, or bad? Is it evil or dumbor is it just not working? While critiques of capitalism have become commonplaceparticularly since the most recent global economic crisisit is often unclear what exactly is being condemned. Likewise, the normative presuppositions and criteria of such criticisms have been left unspecified. In this paper, I distinguish between three approaches to the critique of capitalism, distinguishing a functional, a moral, and an ethical argumentative strategy and paying special attention to the distinctive types of argumentation they mobilize. First, I consider the functional critique, typically directed against capitalism's straightforward dysfunctions or crises. We will find, however, that this sort of criticism presupposes a normative criterion that is frequently unarticulated, namely: the implied purpose of a well-functioning economic system. Second, I examine a common moral critique, that is, that capitalism is premised on exploitation. Yet, the concept of exploitation, too, introduces certain difficulties, since the kind of moral wrong associated with itunequal exchangeis hardly obvious to everyday observation and must be derived systematically. Third, I introduce and address the ethical critique, broadly, that capitalism constitutes a bad form-of-life. However, while I object to some of the forms this criticism has takenin particular, I argue that much alienation diagnosis is tainted by nostalgia and naiveteI nonetheless recommend developing a critique of capitalism as a form-of-life that would include ethical and functional criteria. I conclude with some remarks in this direction.
2014
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(2014): Book review. Karl Marx on Technology and Alienation, written by Amy E. Wendling. In: Historical Materialism 22 (3-4), S. 505-519. DOI: 10.1163/1569206X-12341362
Abstract: Amy Wendling contends in this book that Marx's concern with alienation is not restricted to his early, more explicitly Hegelian writings, and that it can be seen to evolve throughout his work in tandem with his interest in technology. This evolution, according to Wendling, is marked by his transition between two successive scientific paradigms, both of which pertain to the status of labour and machinery within society. Wendling claims that Marx uses the distinction between them as a means of conducting an immanent critique of capitalist ideology. Consequently, although it is primarily a work of intellectual history, this book offers an interesting contribution to the hermeneutics of Marx's Capital. In addition, it also bears relation to contemporary discussions concerning real subsumption and the abolition of labour. The book's general argument raises questions as to the degree to which a conception of alienation must rely upon notions of human essence, and upon an idea of a 'natural' and 'authentic' humanity. Wendling's responses to those questions are described as problematic within this review, but they are also acknowledged to be both pertinent and intriguing.
2012
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(2012): Technology as Skill and Activity. In: Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology 16 (3), S. 208-230. DOI: 10.5840/techne201216315
Abstract: Can we conceive of a philosophy of technology that is not technophobic, yet takes seriously the problem of alienation and human meaning-giving? This paperretrieves the concern with alienation, but brings it into dialogue with more recent philosophy of technology. It defines and responds to the problem of alienation in a way that avoids both old-style human-centered approaches and contemporary thingcentered or hybridity approaches. In contrast to the latter, it proposes to reconcile subject and object not at the ontic level but at the ontological, transcendental level and at the level of skilled activity. Taking inspiration from Dreyfus’s reading of Heidegger and engaging critically with the work of Borgmann and Arendt, it explores a phenomenology and ethics of skill. It is concluded that new and emerging technologies must be evaluated not only as artifacts and their consequences, but also in terms of the skills and activities they involve and require. Do they promote engagement with the world and with others, thus making us into better persons?
Keywords: Anerkennung, Anerkennung und technische Systeme, deutsche Community, Disziplin, Entfremdung, Im (wissenschaftlichen) Diskurs, Konstruktion des Selbst, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), Phänomenologie, Philosophie, Reflexionen über MTR, Soziale Angemessenheit, Technik, Technikphilosophie, Zeitschrift: techne -
(2012): Democracy, Narcissism, and the World Wide Web. In: Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology 16 (3), S. 252-274. DOI: 10.5840/techne201216317
Abstract: Against a thinker like Martin Heidegger who takes restraints on individual freedom and the promotion of authoritarianism as implicit features in the ongoing development of technology, Andrew Feenberg argues for a “democratic rationalization” of modern technology whereby people effectively choose their own futures, not in spite of their tools, but increasingly because of them. Acknowledging the Web’s democratic potential, I believe that a new threat—far different from authoritarian regimes or structures—has emerged: a rampant and multifarious narcissism that threatens to drown democratic ideals in a wave of self-obsession and self-promotion.
2011
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(2011): Pathologies of recognition. In: Philosophy & Social Criticism 37 (8), S. 851-887. DOI: 10.1177/0191453711413701
Abstract: Recognition is not only a response to social pathologies. It is also an unstable and often ambivalent relationship that has its own pathologies. Owing to the intertwining between recognition and power, certain forms of recognition turn out to be forms of alienation in or from the world. Such pathologies affect inter-individual recognition as well as the recognition between individuals and the socio-political institutions. The article proposes a joint reading of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit and Philosophy of Right, which provide norms for identifying and dealing with these pathologies. The norm for inter-individual recognition is set out in the Phenomenology of Spirit, the norm for state/citizen recognition in the Philosophy of Right. The analysis envisages two other aspects of recognition: the interference of the 'I-Me' with the 'I-You' relationship and the incorporation of the 'I-We' into the 'We-Us' dimension of recognition. As regards the interpretation of Hegel's practical philosophy, the article analyses the link between Hegel's concept of recognition and his theory of action. In this view, the highest form of recognition has more to do with reconciliation - reconciliation between human beings, reconciliation with the 'finitude of action' - than with the problematic of individual and collective identity.
Keywords: alienation, alienation and recognition, Anerkennung, Anerkennung als menschliche Grundkategorie, Disziplin, Entfremdung, Entfremdung bei Hegel, finitude of action, Hegel, Hegels Begriff der Anerkennung, Menschsein als Voraussetznug für soziale Angemessenheit?, Philosophie, power relationships, RECOGNITION, Soziale Angemessenheit, Sozialphilosophie, universal freedom -
Dahms, Harry F. (2011): The diversity of social theories. Bingley [u.a.]: Emerald (Current Perspectives in Social Theory)
Abstract: The contributers included in this volume provide critical assessments of both a range of traditions in social theory, and of their current relevance. In addition, they represent endeavors to apply, refine, integrate, or advance particular traditions in order to enhance our ability to analyze conditions of social life in the twenty-first century and to confront a variety of related challenges. Several of the contributors present efforts to combine the application, refinement, integration, and advancement of particular theoretical traditions. Thematically, they cover several areas in social theory and a spectrum of perspectives, including poststructuralism, feminist theory, and especially critical theory. Chapters address such issues as the authoritarian personality; charisma; the relationship between power, agency, and subjectivity; self-estrangement; pragmatism; and globalization.
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(2011) : Stranger to you and Stranger to Myself? Theorizing Self-Estrangement In: Dahms, Harry F.: The diversity of social theories: Bingley [u.a.]: Emerald (Current Perspectives in Social Theory), S. 147-168
Abstract: As a major concept in sociological theory, estrangement can be understood through a diversity of theoretical lenses. However, there is a tendency among sociologists to identify the idea of estrangement with a version of alienation. In this chapter, I counter this tendency to reduce estrangement to one of its conceptual possibilities. To provide a theoretical analysis of estrangement, I first examine the classical views of the issue. I argue that classical theories - both critical and interpretive fail to theorize sufficiently self-estrangement, a dimension of the concept that remains underexplored. Thus, I move beyond classical sociology to reconstruct the idea of self-estrangement, drawing on more recent interpretive and critical theories, especially theories of social interaction and the self. Specifically, I discuss several interactional forms of self-estrangement, and the connection between self-estrangement, institutional contexts, emotions and the body. Finally, I consider this concept in the context of civil society. This discussion demonstrates the merits of a focus on self-estrangement applied to the study of political exclusion.
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(2011): Power, alienation and performativity in capitalist societies. In: European Journal of Social Theory 14 (2), S. 161-179. DOI: 10.1177/1368431011403460
Abstract: The article presents a model of performative agency in capitalist societies. The first section reconsiders the problem of third-dimensional power as developed by Steven Lukes, focusing on the relationships between universal human needs and social forms. The second section uses the concepts of the 'self', 'I' and 'person' to characterize the relationships between human nature, affect, individual alienation, social institutions and personal judgement. Alienation is argued to be inherent in human agency, rather than being solely created by capitalism. The next section applies this analysis within an agonal theory of civil society that is driven by the individual's performative participation in associations that compete within institutional settings. Finally the article considers the political ramifications of this model, rejecting contemporary constitutionalist approaches in favour of a revised form of pluralist associationalism. Throughout, the article warns of the dangerous marginalization of emotions (or 'affect') by excessively self-conscious, rationalist approaches such as Mead's social theory, liberal universalism and even some performative theories.
2008
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(2008): The Alienating Mirror. Toward a Hegelian Critique of Lacan on Ego-Formation. In: Human Studies 31 (2), S. 209-221. DOI: 10.1007/s10746-008-9083-z
Abstract: This article brings out certain philosophical difficulties in Lacan's account of the mirror stage, the initial moment of the subject's development. For Lacan, the "original organization of the forms of the ego" is "precipitated" in an infant's self-recognition in a mirror image; this event is explicitly prior to any social interactions. A Hegelian objection to the Lacanian account argues that social interaction and recognition of others by infants are necessary prerequisites for infants' capacity to recognize themselves in a mirror image. Thus mutual recognition with another, rather than self-recognition in a mirror, is what makes possible subsequent ego-formation and self-consciousness. This intersubjective critique suggests that many of the psychoanalytic consequences that Lacan derives from the mirror stage (e.g., alienation, narcissism, and aggressivity) may need to be rethought.
Keywords: alienation and recognition, Anerkennung, Anerkennung als menschliche Grundkategorie, Disziplin, Entfremdung, Favoriten, Lacan, Modelle/Theorien, Philosophie, (post)strukturalistische Ansätze, postmodern, Poststrukturalismus, Psychoanalyse, Psychologie, Soziale Angemessenheit, Sozialphilosophie, Theorie des Spiegelstadiums (Lacan) 2007
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(2007): A Concept of Social Integration. In: Philosophical Psychology 20 (5), S. 579-593. DOI: 10.1080/09515080701549314
Abstract: Clear definitions of alienation and solidarity are needed as a step toward an explicit theory of social integration. The idea of alienation has played a key role in the development of sociology, but it's meaning has never been clear. Both theories and empirical studies confound relational-dispositional, cognitive-emotional and/or interpersonal-societal components. This essay proposes definitions that follow from the work of Erving Goffman and others. Goffman's idea of "co-presence'' implies a model of solidarity as mutual awareness to the point of merging consciousness. It appears that this concept of solidarity could be the main component of shared context, consensus, genuine love and social facts. Two empirical approaches are described, one with moment by moment analysis of dialogue, the other using sample surveys. With the use of mathematical notation, the survey method might be used to analyze social facts. The model could also form the basis for an explicit and testable theory of social integration.
Keywords: alienation, Entfremdung, Erving Goffman, Gegenseitigkeit, Gemeinsamkeit, Goffman, Gruppenverhalten / Joint Action, INTEGRATION, Intentionalität, Joint Action / Collective Agency, kollektive Intentionalität, Modelle/Theorien, mutual awareness, social integration, Solidarität, solidarity, Soziale Integration, Soziologische Entfremdungstheorien, Theory of interaction (Goffman)
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