An investigation of the nature and role of historicality in the thought of Dilthey and Heidegger

Introduction The question of the meaning, methods and philosophical manifestations of history is currently rife with contention. The problem that I will address in an exposition of the thought of Wilhelm Dilthey and Martin Heidegger, centers around the intersubjectivity of an historical world. Specifically, there are two interconnected issues. First, since all knowledge occurs to a person from within his or her historical age how can any person in any age make truth claims? In order to answer this concern we must understand the essence and role of history. Yet how can we come to an individual understanding ofwhat history is when the meanings that we use are themselves historically enveloped? But can we, we who are well aware of the knowledge that archaeology has dredged up from old texts or even from 'living' monuments of past ages, really neglect to notice these artifacts that exist within and enrich our world? Charges of wilful blindness would arise if any attempt were made to suggest that certain things of our world did not come down to us from the past. Thus it appears more important 2 to determine what this 'past' is and therefore how history operates than to simply derail the possibility for historical understanding. Wilhelm Dilthey, the great German historicist from the 19th century, did not question the existence of historical artifacts as from the past, but in treating knowledge as one such artifact placed the onus on knowledge to show itself as true, or meaningful, in light ofthe fact that other historical periods relied on different facts and generated different truths or meanings. The problem for him was not just determining what the role of history is, but moreover to discover how knowledge could make any claim as true knowledge. As he stated, there is a problem of "historical anarchy"!' Martin Heidegger picked up these two strands of Dilthey's thought and wanted to answer the problem of truth and meaning in order to solve the problem of historicism. This problem underscored, perhaps for the first time, that societal presuppositions about the past and present oftheir era are not immutable. Penetrating to the core of the raison d'etre of the age was an historical reflection about the past which was now conceived as separated both temporally and attitudinally from the present. But further than this, Heidegger's focus on asking the question of the meaning of Being meant that history must be ontologically explicated not merely ontically treated. Heidegger hopes to remove barriers to a genuine ontology by II 1 3 including history into an assessment ofprevious philosophical systems. He does this in order that the question of Being be more fully explicated, which necessarily for him includes the question of the Being of history. One approach to the question ofwhat history is, given the information that we get from historical knowledge, is whether such knowledge can be formalized into a science. Additionally, we can approach the question of what the essence and role of history is by revealing its underlying characteristics, that is, by focussing on historicality. Thus we will begin with an expository look at Dilthey's conception of history and historicality. We will then explore these issues first in Heidegger's Being and Time, then in the third chapter his middle and later works. Finally, we shall examine how Heidegger's conception may reflect a development in the conception of historicality over Dilthey's historicism, and what such a conception means for a contemporary historical understanding. The problem of existing in a common world which is perceived only individually has been philosophically addressed in many forms. Escaping a pure subjectivist interpretation of 'reality' has occupied Western thinkers not only in order to discover metaphysical truths, but also to provide a foundation for politics and ethics. Many thinkers accept a solipsistic view as inevitable and reject attempts at justifying truth in an intersubjective world. The problem ofhistoricality raises similar problems. We 4 -. - - - - exist in a common historical age, presumably, yet are only aware ofthe historicity of the age through our own individual thoughts. Thus the question arises, do we actually exist within a common history or do we merely individually interpret this as communal? What is the reality of history, individual or communal? Dilthey answers this question by asserting a 'reality' to the historical age thus overcoming solipsism by encasing individual human experience within the historical horizon of the age. This however does nothing to address the epistemological concern over the discoverablity of truth. Heidegger, on the other hand, rejects a metaphysical construel of history and seeks to ground history first within the ontology ofDasein, and second, within the so called "sending" of Being. Thus there can be no solipsism for Heidegger because Dasein's Being is necessarily "cohistorical", Being-with-Others, and furthermore, this historical-Being-in-the-worldwith- Others is the horizon of Being over which truth can appear. Heidegger's solution to the problem of solipsism appears to satisfy that the world is not just a subjective idealist creation and also that one need not appeal to any universal measures of truth or presumed eternal verities. Thus in elucidating Heidegger's notion of history I will also confront the issues ofDasein's Being-alongside-things as well as the Being of Dasein as Being-in-the-world so that Dasein's historicality is explicated vis-a-vis the "sending of Being" (die Schicken des S eins).

Nietzsche's children : a physiological analysis of the scholar's task

Throughout Nietzsche's writings we find discussions of the proper relationship of the scholar/scientist to the philosopher, wi th the scholar of ten being presented in a derogatory light. In this thesis, I examine Nietzsche's por t rai t of the scholar through the lens of his physiological or clinical perspective as articulated by Dr. Daniel R. Ahern in his monograph entitled Nietzsche as Cultural Physician. My aim in doing so is to grasp the affirmative, creative aspect of this seemingly destructive polemic against scholars. I begin wi th a detailed discussion of Nietzsche's por t rai t of the scholar in Beyond Good and Evil. This includes an explication of Ahern's position, followed by an application of the diagnostic perspective to Nietzsche's discussion of the objective type, the skeptic, and the critic. I then look at how the characteristics of all three types are present in the Nietzschean 'free spirit.' I also discuss the physiological basis of esotericism in Nietzsche's work, as well as Nietzsche's revaluation of the scholarly vi r tue known as Red/ichkeit (or 'honesty'). I conclude wi th comments on the free spirit's relationship to the future.

The Role of Sleep in the Selective Reconsolidation of Declarative Memories

While sleep has been shown to be involved in memory consolidation and the selective enhancement of newly acquired memories of future relevance (Wilhelm, et al., 2011), limited research has investigated the role of sleep or future relevance in processes of memory reconsolidation. The current research employed a list-method directed forgetting procedure in which participants learned two lists of syllable pairs on Night 1 and received directed forgetting instructions on Night 2. On Night 2, one group (Labile; n = 15) received a memory reactivation treatment consisting of reminders designed to return memories of the learned lists to a labile state. A second group (Stable, n = 16) received similar reminders designed to leave memories of the learned lists in their stable state. No differences in forgetting were found across the two lists or groups. However, a negative correlation between frontal delta (1 – 4 Hz) electroencephalographic (EEG) power during Early Stage 2 non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and forgetting of to-beremembered material was found exclusively in the Labile group (r = -.61, p < .05). Further, central theta (4 – 8 Hz ) EEG power during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep was found to correlate with directed forgetting exclusively in the Labile group (r = .81, p < .001) and total forgetting in the Stable group (r = .50, p < .05). These observed relationships support the proposed hypothesis suggesting that sleep processes are involved in the reconsolidation of labile memories, and that this reconsolidation may be selective for memories of future relevance. A role for sleep in the beneficial reprocessing of memories through the selective reconsolidation of labile memories in NREM sleep and the weakening of memories in REM sleep is discussed.

Considerations inactualles David Strauss de l'utilite et des inconvenients des etudes historiques par Fréderic Nietzsche.

UANL

Historia Universal

UANL

La Prusia militar o sea : de la organización completa de los ejércitos de la Confederación del Norte, tiempo de paz y de guerra, deberes generales...

UANL

Derecho internacional público de Europa

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Manual teórico-práctico de educación de párvulos según el método de los jardines de la infancia de F. Froebel

UANL

Autobiography of Friedrich Froebel

UANL

Historia natural

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Zoología

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Estudios sobre la nueva táctica de infantería

UANL

La poétique du roman historique de Eveline Hasler

À l'aide des tout derniers modèles narratologiques développés entre autres par Ansgar Nünning, nous nous penchons sur l'oeuvre d'Eveline Hasler, une voix phare de la littérature alémanique contemporaine. À partir d’un corpus de six romans, nous examinons de façon systématique sa poétique du roman historique au regard 1) des techniques narratives, 2) de la marginalité de ses personnages en société, 3) de la conception de l’Histoire, 4) de l'image critique qu'elle présente de la Suisse. Il en ressort un portrait très nuancé de l'oeuvre de Hasler, puisqu’elle allie un récit principalement réaliste, plutôt traditionnel, mais aussi inspiré du langage cinématographique, à des passages métahistoriographiques postmodernes, où une narratrice assimilable à l’auteure fait part au « je » de ses réflexions sur l'Histoire. Même si ces brefs passages relativement rares rappellent sans contredit la posture de l’historien, ils s’inscrivent toutefois dans la fiction, laquelle actualise le passé dans la perspective historique d’un lecteur contemporain. De fait, l’œuvre de Hasler se présente comme un jeu habile avec la liberté poétique et le souci de véracité historique, ce à quoi concourt l’imbrication de documents originaux en italique dans le roman. Par ailleurs, la question de la marginalité en société joue un rôle prépondérant chez Hasler, car tous ses personnages principaux sont autant de marginaux, de Außenseiter. Cette problématique montre entre autres les limites de l’Aufklärung, étant donné que ses tenants, les adversaires des marginaux, se targuent le plus souvent d’être motivés par la pensée éclairante pour mieux la pervertir. Il en résulte la mise à l’écart des individus dérangeants — la prétendue sorcière, le géant et les femmes qui remettent en cause l’organisation patriarcale. Or, certains marginaux de Hasler parviennent à s’arracher un espace de liberté dans la marge, au prix de leurs racines helvétiques. Ainsi, ces marginaux peinent à s’inscrire dans l’Histoire dite officielle, ce que Hasler tente de rectifier en leur redonnant une voix. Sur le plan individuel, la plupart d’entre eux expérimentent une évolution circulaire, puisqu’ils ne parviennent pas à sortir de la marge (sauf peut-être Henry Dunant). Cette impression de tourner en rond s’oppose à une conception de l’Histoire humaine qui se déroule en continuum, puisque les exclusions d’hier préfigurent celles d’aujourd’hui. Au-delà de cette mesure humaine du temps, l’horizon temporel de la nature s’inscrit pour sa part dans la permanence. Ainsi, Hasler développe une conception historique qui varie selon des points de vue coexistants. Cet amalgame est le plus souvent marqué par un certain pessimisme, comme le dénote la vie d’Emily Kempin associée au mythe d’Icare. Finalement, tous les acteurs historiques de Hasler appartiennent au contexte helvétique et en présentent une image assez rétrograde, laquelle se dévoile non seulement à travers la fictionnalisation des lieux, mais aussi par des références à trois symboles nationaux : les Alpes, le réduit helvétique et la légende de Guillaume Tell. Hasler fait le procès de ces mythes, associés à la liberté et à la sauvegarde de ce « peuple de bergers », en montrant que la Suisse n’apporte pas de solution originale aux défis de l’Occident.

Le rôle des collections dans la légitimation de l'art marginal : le cas de la collection d'art pathologique Prinzhorn

Au 20e siècle en France et en Allemagne, l’art moderne prend son essor. Certains, comme Francastel, qualifient cet art de destruction d’un espace plastique classique. Cette destruction devient un vecteur de création chez plusieurs artistes qui, suite aux deux grandes guerres, remettent en question leur état « civilisé » et se tournent vers le « primitif » pour offrir une autre voie, loin de tout processus civilisateur. Cette admiration pour les peuples primitifs ainsi que pour les productions artistiques d’enfants, d’amateurs et de « fous » est visible chez plusieurs collectionneurs d’art. En constituant des collections d’art marginal, ces derniers défendaient une idéologie qui propose une autre forme de culture en remplacement d’une civilisation dépassée. Grâce à leurs collections, la libre expression se positionna contre le rationalisme occidental. On compte, parmi ces collectionneurs, le psychiatre Hans Prinzhorn, le marchand d’art Wilhelm Udhe et les artistes André Breton, Jean Dubuffet et Arnulf Rainer. Chacun d’eux a eu un impact sur la construction du récit de l’art moderne et de l’art contemporain. Leurs collections ont chacune sa spécificité et offrent des vocabulaires différents pour parler de productions artistiques marginales, c’est-à-dire se développant « hors culture ». C’est par l’analyse des terminologies employées par les collectionneurs, principalement la dénomination d’art pathologique, que nous tracerons un portrait de la construction historique de l’art marginal en lien avec l’art moderne

Naissance de l'art performatif : étude sur les prémisses du moment romantique en Allemagne.

Thèse effectuée en cotutelle avec l'École des hautes études en sciences sociales, Paris. Pour
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