Wir leben in einem Zeitalter der Angst, im Phobozän, wie Jens Soentgen sagt, der die global grassierende Angst der Tiere vor den Menschen zu erfassen sucht. Von daher wird die Traditionslinie der europäischen Philosophie untersucht, die das Verhältnis von Mensch und Tier bestimmt, indem sie es zugleich zerstört. Charakteristisch ist dabei die Heraushebung des Menschen aus der Gemeinsamkeit mit den Lebewesen; der Mensch hat eine Sonder- und Höherstellung im Kreis des Seienden inne. Das ist sein Speziesismus, der sich schon in (...) antiker Tradition, aber auch bei Herder und später bei Husserl, Heidegger und Derrida in unterschiedlicher Vehemenz zeigt. Dagegen werden die Tier-Mensch-Reflexionen von Montaigne als singuläre Leistung der Kritik der anthropologischen Sonderstellung, aber auch als ironische Umkehrungen der habituellen Bewertung der Mensch-Tier-Relationen dargestellt. Donna Haraway, die gern den Herzschlag der Erneuerung in einer unheilen Welt darstellt, wird dagegen mit ihrer Theorie des Chthuluzän und ihren Versuchen einer neuen companionship, einer kulturellen Sympoiesis zwischen Menschen und Tieren als eine späte Nachfolgerin der Romantik charakterisiert. Das mag als Symptom der Schuld und der Wiedergutmachung hingehen, eine Lösung der abgründigen Störungen im Tier-Mensch-Verhältnis liegt darin ebenso wenig wie die Aussicht auf eine neue Anthropologie. (shrink)

Plato's views on tragedy depend in large part on his views about the ethical consequences of emotional arousal. In the Republic, Plato treats the desires we feel in everyday life to weep and feel pity as appetites exactly like those for food or sex, whose satisfactions are ‘replenishments’. Physical desire is not reprehensible in itself, but is simply non-rational, not identical with reason but capable of being brought into agreement with it. Some desires, like that for simple and wholesome food, (...) are in fact ‘necessary’ and approved by reason. Other appetites, like lust and gluttony, are ‘unnecessary’ and anti-rational in that they are actively opposed to reason. According to the Republic, the satisfaction of these ‘unnecessary’ desires inevitably strengthens the elements in the soul that oppose reason. The desire to weep at the theatre is treated in this dialogue as just such an anti-rational desire. Even a temporary indulgence in tragic pity and fear has a permanent deleterious effect on the soul, although it does not lead directly to any action. This paper argues that a radically different psychological theory, with important aesthetic implications, appears in the discussion of wine-drinking in Books 1 and 2 of Plato's Laws. Though this long passage has been much scorned and neglected, it is of considerable philosophical importance. While in the Republic Plato condemns drunkenness and other anti-rational states, in the Laws he extols the benefits of a hypothetical ‘fear drug’ that could induce a temporary state of anti-rational terror and of wine to produce other anti-rational emotions and desires. (shrink)

Plato's views on tragedy depend in large part on his views about the ethical consequences of emotional arousal. In theRepublic, Plato treats the desires we feel in everyday life to weep and feel pity as appetites exactly like those for food or sex, whose satisfactions are ‘replenishments’. Physical desire is not reprehensible in itself, but is simplynon-rational, not identical with reason but capable of being brought into agreement with it. Some desires, like that for simple and wholesome food, are in (...) fact ‘necessary’ and approved by reason. Other appetites, like lust and gluttony, are ‘unnecessary’ andanti-rational in that they are actively opposed to reason. According to theRepublic, the satisfaction of these ‘unnecessary’ desires inevitably strengthens the elements in the soul that oppose reason. The desire to weep at the theatre is treated in this dialogue as just such an anti-rational desire. Even a temporary indulgence in tragic pity and fear has a permanent deleterious effect on the soul, although it does not lead directly to any action.This paper argues that a radically different psychological theory, with important aesthetic implications, appears in the discussion of wine-drinking in Books 1 and 2 of Plato'sLaws. Though this long passage has been much scorned and neglected, it is of considerable philosophical importance. While in theRepublicPlato condemns drunkenness and other anti-rational states, in theLawshe extols the benefits of a hypothetical ‘fear drug’ that could induce a temporary state of anti-rational terror and of wine to produce other anti-rational emotions and desires. (shrink)

The story of the votum made by the inhabitants of Locri Epizephyrii in 477/6 is well known: they vowed to prostitute their virgin daughters at the festival of Aphrodite, if they were granted victory over the tyrant Leophron of Rhegion who was directing an attack against their city. The threat, which was very serious, was overcome thanks to Hieron of Syracuse, but the Locrians did not fulfil the votum; they were reminded of it more than a century later, but that (...) is another story. (shrink)

The story of the votum made by the inhabitants of Locri Epizephyrii in 477/6 is well known: they vowed to prostitute their virgin daughters at the festival of Aphrodite, if they were granted victory over the tyrant Leophron of Rhegion who was directing an attack against their city. The threat, which was very serious, was overcome thanks to Hieron of Syracuse, but the Locrians did not fulfil the votum; they were reminded of it more than a century later, but that (...) is another story. (shrink)

ZusammenfassungNaturalistische Religionstheorien basieren auf der grundlegenden Annahme, dass sich Religionen aus den evolutionären und biologischen Merkmalen des Menschen entwickelt haben und somit zur ‚Natur‘ des Menschen gehören. In den letzten Jahren wurden solche Theorien durch den Einfluss der Kognitionswissenschaften weiterentwickelt und stellen mittlerweile ein neues Paradigma in der Religionsforschung dar. Demgegenüber steht das Verständnis einer kulturwissenschaftlich ausgerichteten Religionswissenschaft, die davon ausgeht, dass Religionen soziale Konstrukte beziehungsweise kulturelle Symbolsysteme sind. Der Beitrag stellt neben der klassischen Religionstheorie von Walter Burkert auch neuere (...) Theorien vor und diskutiert, inwiefern solche naturalistischen Ansätze mit einem kulturwissenschaftlichen Verständnis von Religion kompatibel sind und worin deren Mehrwert für die Religionswissenschaft liegen kann. (shrink)