Method is a detour. A Benjaminian reading of Goethe
Abstract Benjamin himself tells us that reading Simmel’s work on the concept of truth in Goethe helped him realise that the concept of origin proposed in his book on Trauerspiel was a transposition of the Goethean concept of original phenomenon. To argue how economical facts can become original phenomena, Benjamin brings in an analogy with Goethe’s concept of the metamorphosis of plants. Thus, here, we try to demonstrate that understanding what philosophy is in Benjamin implies a threshold experience in the form of leap, discontinuity, interruption, renunciation, dissipation, obedience and metamorphosis, whose supreme, concise and enigmatic formulation is as follows: “Method is a detour” [Methode is Umweg]. Some elements from Goethe’s morphological thought will permit the establishment of a constellation of affinities, something quite useful for the interpretation of this enigma.
- Referencias
- Cómo citar
- Del mismo autor
- Métricas
BENJAMIN, W., Gesammelte Schriften [GS], 7 vols, 14 tomes, ed. Rolf Tiedemann and Hermann Schweppenhäuser, Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main,1978 [2nd printing]:
Walter Benjamin Briefe, ed. Gerschom Scholem and Theodor Adorno, Suhrkamp, 2 volumes, Frankfurt am Main, 1966.
Translations used:
BENJAMIN, W., The Origin of German Tragic Drama, Translated by Johen Osborne, Introduction By George Steiner, London, New York, Verso, 2003. (Origin)
BENJAMIN, W., WALTER BENJAMIN, Selected Writings, General Editor Michael W. Jennings, Editorial Board Markus Bullock, Howard Eiland, Gary Smith vol.1 1913-1926, edited by Marcus Bullock and Michael W. Jennings, Translated by Marcus Bullock amd Michael W. Jennings, Cambridge, Massachussetts, and London, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1996.
BENJAMIN, W., WALTER BENJAMIN, Selected Writings, General Editor Michael W. Jennings, Editorial Board Markus Bullock, Howard Eiland, Gary Smith vol.2 1927-1934, Edited by Michael W. Jennings, Howard Eiland and Gary Smith, Translated by Rodney Livingstone, and Others, Cambridge, Massachussetts, and London, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1999.
BENJAMIN, W., WALTER BENJAMIN, Selected Writings, General Editor Michael W. Jennings, Editorial Board Markus Bullock, Howard Eiland, Gary Smith vol.3 1935-1938, Edited by Howard Eiland and Michael W. Jennings, Translated by Edmund Jephcott, Howard Eiland, and Others, Cambridge, Massachussetts, and London, England, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2002.
BENJAMIN, W., Walter Benjamin, The Arcades Project, Translated by Howard Eiçand and Kevin McLaughlin, prepared on the Baius of the German Volume Edited by Rolf Tiedemann, Cambridge, Massachussetts, and London, England, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2002.
GOETHE, J.W., Werke, Hamburger Ausgabe, 14 vols, ed. Erich Trunz, Christian Wegner Verlag, Hamburg, 1948-1966. München, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, C.H. Beck, 1982 (in accordance with the revised and improved 1981 12th edition). Known as Hamburger Ausgabe (HA).
GOETHE, J.W., Goethes Briefe, 4 vols, ed. K.R. Mandelkow and B. Morawe, München, C.H.Beck, 1962-1966. (HA/B)
GOETHE, J.W., Gedenken Ausgabe der Werke, Briefe und Gespräche 28. August 1949, 24 vols, ed. by Ernst Beutler, Zürich, Artemis Verlag, 1948-1954. Complementary volumes were pulished in 1960, 1964 and 1972. Known as Artemis Ausgabe (AA).
Translations used:
GOETHE, J.W., Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, The Metamorphosis of Plants (the English translation has been taken from the Brotish “Journal of Botany”, 1863. Revised by Anne E. Marshall and Heinz Grotzke), Wyomimg, BIO-DYNAMIC LITERATURE, 1978.
GOETHE, J.W., Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Theory of Colours, Translated from Garman with notes by Charles Lock Eastlake, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England, The M.I.T. Press, 1970.
DANTE, Divina Commedia [bilingual edition], translation, introduction and notes by Vasco Graça Moura, Lisboa, Bertrand Editora, 1977 (3rd edition).
HADOT, Pierre, N’oublie pas de vivre. Goethe et la tradition des exercices spirituels, Paris, Albin Michel, 2008.
MOLDER, M. F., O pensamento morfológico de Goethe, Lisboa, IN-CM, 1995.
MOLDER, M. F., Semear na neve. Estudos sobre Walter Benjamin, Lisboa, Relógio d’Água, 1999.
SCHMIDT, F., “Über den Wert des Aperçus“, Jahrbuch der Goethe-Gesellschaft 29 (1967), pp.260-266.
Walter Benjamin Briefe, ed. Gerschom Scholem and Theodor Adorno, Suhrkamp, 2 volumes, Frankfurt am Main, 1966.
Translations used:
BENJAMIN, W., The Origin of German Tragic Drama, Translated by Johen Osborne, Introduction By George Steiner, London, New York, Verso, 2003. (Origin)
BENJAMIN, W., WALTER BENJAMIN, Selected Writings, General Editor Michael W. Jennings, Editorial Board Markus Bullock, Howard Eiland, Gary Smith vol.1 1913-1926, edited by Marcus Bullock and Michael W. Jennings, Translated by Marcus Bullock amd Michael W. Jennings, Cambridge, Massachussetts, and London, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1996.
BENJAMIN, W., WALTER BENJAMIN, Selected Writings, General Editor Michael W. Jennings, Editorial Board Markus Bullock, Howard Eiland, Gary Smith vol.2 1927-1934, Edited by Michael W. Jennings, Howard Eiland and Gary Smith, Translated by Rodney Livingstone, and Others, Cambridge, Massachussetts, and London, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1999.
BENJAMIN, W., WALTER BENJAMIN, Selected Writings, General Editor Michael W. Jennings, Editorial Board Markus Bullock, Howard Eiland, Gary Smith vol.3 1935-1938, Edited by Howard Eiland and Michael W. Jennings, Translated by Edmund Jephcott, Howard Eiland, and Others, Cambridge, Massachussetts, and London, England, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2002.
BENJAMIN, W., Walter Benjamin, The Arcades Project, Translated by Howard Eiçand and Kevin McLaughlin, prepared on the Baius of the German Volume Edited by Rolf Tiedemann, Cambridge, Massachussetts, and London, England, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2002.
GOETHE, J.W., Werke, Hamburger Ausgabe, 14 vols, ed. Erich Trunz, Christian Wegner Verlag, Hamburg, 1948-1966. München, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, C.H. Beck, 1982 (in accordance with the revised and improved 1981 12th edition). Known as Hamburger Ausgabe (HA).
GOETHE, J.W., Goethes Briefe, 4 vols, ed. K.R. Mandelkow and B. Morawe, München, C.H.Beck, 1962-1966. (HA/B)
GOETHE, J.W., Gedenken Ausgabe der Werke, Briefe und Gespräche 28. August 1949, 24 vols, ed. by Ernst Beutler, Zürich, Artemis Verlag, 1948-1954. Complementary volumes were pulished in 1960, 1964 and 1972. Known as Artemis Ausgabe (AA).
Translations used:
GOETHE, J.W., Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, The Metamorphosis of Plants (the English translation has been taken from the Brotish “Journal of Botany”, 1863. Revised by Anne E. Marshall and Heinz Grotzke), Wyomimg, BIO-DYNAMIC LITERATURE, 1978.
GOETHE, J.W., Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Theory of Colours, Translated from Garman with notes by Charles Lock Eastlake, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England, The M.I.T. Press, 1970.
DANTE, Divina Commedia [bilingual edition], translation, introduction and notes by Vasco Graça Moura, Lisboa, Bertrand Editora, 1977 (3rd edition).
HADOT, Pierre, N’oublie pas de vivre. Goethe et la tradition des exercices spirituels, Paris, Albin Michel, 2008.
MOLDER, M. F., O pensamento morfológico de Goethe, Lisboa, IN-CM, 1995.
MOLDER, M. F., Semear na neve. Estudos sobre Walter Benjamin, Lisboa, Relógio d’Água, 1999.
SCHMIDT, F., “Über den Wert des Aperçus“, Jahrbuch der Goethe-Gesellschaft 29 (1967), pp.260-266.
Molder, M. F. (2017). Method is a detour. A Benjaminian reading of Goethe. Azafea: Revista De Filosofía, 19(1), 137–168. https://doi.org/10.14201/17404
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
+
−