Philosophy Dictionary of ArgumentsHome | |||
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Affirmation: In philosophy, affirmation refers to the act of asserting or confirming the truth, existence, or value of a proposition, idea, or concept, often in contrast to negation or denial. It affirms a positive stance or belief._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
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Hans-Georg Gadamer on Affirmation - Dictionary of Arguments
I 136 Affirmation/Tragedy/Aristotle/Gadamer: The tragic melancholy reflects (...) a kind of affirmation, a return to oneself, and if, as is not uncommon in modern tragedy, the hero is tinged with such tragic melancholy in his own consciousness, then he has a little part in such affirmation himself by accepting his fate. >Tragedy/Aristotle, >Catharsis/Aristotle. But what is the actual object of this affirmation? What is affirmed? Certainly not the justice of a moral world order. The notorious tragic theory of guilt, which hardly plays a role in Aristotle, is not an appropriate explanation even for modern tragedy. For tragedy is not where guilt and atonement correspond to each other as in a just assessment, where a moral account of guilt is resolved without remainder. Even in modern tragedy there cannot and must not be a full subjectivation of guilt and fate. Rather, the excess of tragic consequences is characteristic of the nature of tragedy. Despite all the subjectivity of the debt, even in modern tragedy there is still a moment of that ancient supremacy of fate that is revealed as the same for all in the inequality of guilt and fate. I 137 (...) what is affirmed by the viewer there? Obviously it is precisely the inappropriateness and terrible size of the consequences of a culpable act that represent the actual an unreasonable demand on the viewer. The tragic affirmation is the mastery of this unreasonable demand. It has the character of a real communion. It is a truly common experience of such an excess of tragic disaster. The viewer recognizes him- or herself and his or her own finite being in the face of the power of fate. What happens to the great ones has exemplary significance. The approval of tragic melancholy does not apply to the tragic course of events as such or to the justice of the fate that befalls the hero, but means a metaphysical order of being that applies to all. The "so is it" is a kind of self-awareness of the viewer, who comes back from the delusions in which he or she lives like everyone else. The tragic affirmation is insight by virtue of the continuity of meaning into which the viewer places him- or herself back. >Recognition/Gadamer._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Gadamer I Hans-Georg Gadamer Wahrheit und Methode. Grundzüge einer philosophischen Hermeneutik 7. durchgesehene Auflage Tübingen 1960/2010 Gadamer II H. G. Gadamer The Relevance of the Beautiful, London 1986 German Edition: Die Aktualität des Schönen: Kunst als Spiel, Symbol und Fest Stuttgart 1977 |