Theses on the Philosophy of History

“To articulate what is past does not mean to recognize “how it really was.” . The danger threatens the stock of tradition as much as its recipients. For both it is one and the same: handing itself over as the tool of the ruling classes. In every epoch, the attempt must be made to deliver tradition anew from the conformism which is on the point of overwhelming it. For the Messiah arrives not merely as the Redeemer; he also arrives as the vanquisher of the Anti-Christ. The only writer of history with the gift of setting alight the sparks of hope in the past, is the one who is convinced of this: that not even the dead will be safe from the enemy, if he is victorious. And this enemy has not ceased to be victorious” Walter Benjamin.

Interpretation

Benjamin Walter mentions that it is impossible to get all truths from history and that is not a mistake or fault but it is created or manipulated by the ruling classes in favor of themselves. The ruling class justifies and legitimates their rule by creating distorted accounts of history that conceal the history of oppression by them and present themselves as objective and scientific history. Also great figures of the past are twisted by the powerful people to make it fit to suit them.

Why I chose this passage?

I chose this passage because this theory of how truth is manipulated by powerful people and is changed in their way to suit them can be seen today too. We study history in schools and colleges which include how corporate had given people employment, developed the country and so on; but we are not taught how it had exploited workers and children as an ‘industrial slavery’. It also does not teach people about the industrial revolution on which many workers were killed by the corporate and government’s militias while demanding for their rights. In addition, in every war we can hear the country leader mentioning about the God will. But really people can be fooled that easily that they believe that God wants war?

 How do history and nihilism relate? How do people use history as a way to overcome nihilism?

 History and nihilism relate to each other as history is one big disaster and full of suffering and misery; and powerful and strongest people dominated the society until another powerful comes. This norm continued from past which caused people to reject traditional morals and values and continue meaninglessness (nihilism) as a way to justify the oppression and brutality.

People can use history as a way to overcome nihilism by immersing themselves to the history rather than running away. Once people know the history very well they prefer to reject the oppression history and replace with new values and traditions. So, once people dig into the history, they would understand nihilism and then to make a change he should have the will to overcome from it.

 

Reference:

 

http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/benjamin/1940/history.htm

 

http://nihilismlehman.blogspot.com/2011/12/129-walter-benjamin-theses-on.html

Questions and Answers.

1. Why does Benjamin argue for the similar effects of Dadaism and Chaplin films?

Benjamin thinks that there are the similar effects of Dadaism and Chaplin films because his films and presented images created nothing but the shock effect like Dadaism except Chaplin does it more naturally.

2. Explain some of positive and negative effects of the destruction of the aura of the art?

 The positive and negative effects of the destruction of aura of the art are as follows-

Positive effects- It allows us to approach art in a more realistic way and also allows people to see the universal equality of things.

 Negative effects- It diminishes the experience of the object since it is taken out of its historical context.

 3. How do you judge or evaluate the impact of mass culture in contemporary life today?

 Mass culture has created more negative impact and very less positive impact in today’s contemporary life. It has been very powerful in creating people’s thought and concept of things and places and affecting their daily lifestyles. People have been fed by this mass culture since they were born so as they grow up they believe it and follow the same trend.So mass culture is manipulating people’s thought and making them believe on those things that they want people to believe. For example, before the Great Depression the media fed people that everything was perfect even they knew that the economy was going down and the mass culture continue making people to buy luxurious things they want even they do not have money. When the Great Depression hit, people were in shock, they could not afford to pay for the things that they had bought; many people did suicide as they lost their money and had nothing left. So this gives us the strong lesson not to follow the mass culture as it is just the illusion created by media. However, it gives the information and idea of what people think and in which direction they are moving.

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanincal Reproduction

“In photography, process reproduction can bring out those aspects of the original that are unattainable to the naked eye yet accessible to the lens, which is adjustable and chooses its angle at will. And photographic reproduction, with the aid of certain processes, such as enlargement or slow motion, can capture images which escape natural vision.” Walter Benjamin.

Interpretation

 In this passage, Benjamin is explaining that the process reproduction is more independent of the original than the manual reproduction. Also, the importance and the quality of the photography which makes the images noticeable  from different ways. It can enlarge the images so that the very small or invisible images can be seen and the slow motion allows people to examine movement or motion that they cannot do it in real time.

Why I chose this passage?

 I chose this passage because Benjamin tells us the importance of the photography and how it is able to capture the images which people have not noticed before. I think there is a vast difference between the paintings and photography in portraying the images. Photography gives the more realistic, clear and straight forward images which any people can understand. Also I agree with Benjamin as he says, “these reproduction processes have a power to convey message to the people and is useful for the formulation of revolutionary demands in the politics of art” (Benjamin). The picture also gives us the messages, describes the situation of that time frame as well as to detect clues in crime scenes. The photography is very powerful and it describes and shows things without the use of words. For example, the picture of the Lynching of mother and her son in Oklahoma shows the horrifying repression and injustice to the Afro- American people and the insanity of KKK. 

 

The technology of photography has been so much developed from the period of Benjamin’s time till today and will be more advance in future.

 Reference

http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm

http://nihilismlehman.blogspot.com/2012_12_01_archive.html

Interpretation and Explanation of the Passage from ' On Pain'

“Pain’s disregard for our system of values greatly increases its hold on life….Our children’s tales close with passages about heroes who, after having overcome many dangers, live out their lives in peace and happiness. We hear such assurances with pleasure, for it is comforting for us to learn about a place removed from pain. Yet, in truth, life is without any such satisfying end, as is evidenced of most great novels, which are either incomplete or crowned by an artificial conclusion.” (Page 4) Ernst Junger

 Interpretation

 In this passage, the writer (Junger) mentions that the society holds the myth that good will always triumph over evil or children tales, novels says that  heroes having faced with trouble in their lives at the end face peaceful life and happy ending; which overshadows the real truth of pain. In real life, life does not have happy endings and people’s life is filled with pain. People like this type of stories or myth because they want to avoid pain.

 Why I Chose This Passage ?

I chose this passage because I totally disagree with this passage. I think that including a happy ending in children’s tale or myths like good will always triumph over evil does not overshadow the reality of pain. But it gives people a hope to live their life positively or overcome with the pain that they are suffering from. Also, children brains are not matured enough to understand the dark side of life and if you feed the child by telling him, ‘life is full of pain, there is no happy ending in life and you have to detach your mind from your body to get out from it or accept it in your life.’ I do not think that child can understand you well and eventually as he grows will understand it; and as that child becomes adult he will be full of negativities and is unable to get courage to do anything because he or she is taught to be pessimistic.

 So I believe that telling those stories is encouraging to have faith in ourselves even we are in very difficult position and find a way to get out from there. Also as we grow up older we understand that there is not a guarantee of happy ending in life but still we can try and be positive and try to deal with the pain that we face throughout the life process.

 Reference:

 http://nihilismlehman.blogspot.com/2012/11/1126-on-pain.html

 https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzSgsdcPlBzjZHJWRUx5SlZWRjQ/edit#

Questions and Answers of 'On Pain'

1. Is pain the most important experience in life?

I think pain is the most important experience in life and it is universal truth that every human being experiences this pain in their life period. Junger also thought it is important so his essay ‘Pain’ focuses that the pain is the central experience in human life and human behavior, individual and society is organized in relation to how it deals with pain.

            Pain can be physical and emotional; some protect us and some teaches us a lesson throughout the life process. Sensory pain, for example-if our hand is in exposure to fire it quickly moves back as we feel pain and our mind gives us alarm to remove which protects us  from further being damaged. Also we feel emotional pain in our lives but we do overcome with it and move on in our life; and some might teach us a lesson too. So life is full of pain until death and people should know how to deal or cope with it to live a successful life. Removing emotional pain from life as Junger theory suggests of detachment with individual might make people Saint like Siddhartha or an evil like Hitler.

 2. What does post-liberal mean?

Post –liberal means the period after liberalism. As Junger refers Weimar Republic government as liberalism and after the Nazi took the power, liberalism has ended and it was only two years of rule by Nazis; so he considers that period as post-liberalism.

 3. How does obedience to the state protect the person from pain?

Being loyal to the state or the government and following the rule of it helps people from out of trouble. If a person starts thinking of negative or unfair nature of work that the state is doing, it gives that person a pain and if he tries to rebel against it, he is in big trouble and might face a lot of torture and can be murdered too, especially in Nazis rule; which makes that person face through a lot of pain. So keeping your mouth shut and eyes close from the truth and being ignorant what the state is doing and following keeps you out of trouble or protects the person from pain.

Hitler's Final Speech at his Trial for Treason, March 27, 1924

"Then, gentlemen, not you will be the ones to deliver the verdict over us, but that verdict will be given by the eternal judgment of history, which will speak out against the accusation that has been made against us. I know what your judgment will be. But that other court will not ask us: Have you committed high treason or not? That court will judge us, their quartermaster-general of the old army, its officers and soldiers, who as Germans wanted only the best for their people and Fatherland, who fought and who were willing to die. You might just as well find us guilty a thousand times, but the goddess of the eternal court of history will smile and tear up the motions of the state's attorney and the judgment of this court: for she finds us not guilty."

 In his speech he addresses to the court that he is proud of what he had done (attempt to overthrow the Republic) for the beneficial of Germans  and even the court finds him guilty he refers to “eternal court” which might include God as well as Germans will not find him guilty. This passage shows that Hitler is trying to get support from the public by saying that he is right and he did that only to improve or uplift German and destroy Republicans as well as Marxism and mentions that the people who had fought for their country and love their Fatherland would understand. He is portraying himself as a hero in this statement who is willing to do anything for his country.

Reference:

“Hitler’s Final Speech at his Trial for Treason, March 27, 1924”, Facing History and Ourselves, 2011. Web. 25 Nov. 2012.
http://weimar.facinghistory.org/content/hitlers-final-speech-his-trial-treason-march-27-1924

Similarities and Differences among Three Political Parties

Similarities

The similarities of these three parties (Communist party,  The Nazi party, Social-Democratic party) was they were claiming that they would make a better Germany than it was at that period and wanted the support of German people; however they had their own  principles to do that.

Differences:

Communist Party: They were the left wings who were radical anti-Republicans. They were favoring Russian style Communist dictatorship. They wanted to change the nation towards progress by abolition of private property, establishment of land reform programs and government control of the land and business industry so that they can distribute for the common good as well as people could benefit rather than capitalists. They were strong supporters of progressive taxation, government social welfare programs and labor unions including equality and economic opportunity for women. They were less nationalistic, militaristic and anti-Semitic than the right parties. They said, “The cause of your misery is the fact that French, British and American capitalists are exploiting German workers to get rich themselves. Germans unite to get rid of this terrible burden.”

 Nazi Party: They were anti-Republican right wings who were strong nationalists, supported large military and anti- Semitic and were opposed to social welfare programs, labor unions and progressive taxation. They wanted to change the nation by abolition of Treaty of Versailles, excluding Jews from the member of nation, expanding land and territories for their surplus population as well as the full responsibility of the government to give its people live decently and earn their livelihood. Also they wanted the reconstruction of the national system of education which would make people more loyal towards their country; wanted to exclude all foreigners and media control by the Germans and its own German language. The Nazis were in favor of economy directed by industrialists and landowners with large estates.

 Social Democratic Party: They were left wings but supported the Republic and democracy. They supported the government of that period and wanted to make that government more successful in freedom, democracy and in justice. They wanted to create more jobs, give unemployment compensation for 6 months, cut government expenditures taxes as well as freedom of speech. In other words they wanted the nation to be more liberal and supported the social welfare programs to make Germany a better nation.

 Reference

 “Political Party Platform”: Facing History and Ourselves. 2011. Web. 25 Nov.2012.

   http://weimar.facinghistory.org/content/political-party-platform