Adopting both a historical and phenomenological approach to the subject, this book is equally an examination of German conservative ideology, a critique of technological determinism, and a study of one of the most controversial philosophers of twentieth century.
Reflecting on an era of disintegration, this collection features personal and philosophical poems crafted in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Divided into three parts, the second section draws inspiration from the author's experiences in Tripoli, Libya. The work showcases a blend of traditional verse alongside more experimental forms, highlighting the author's versatility and depth of thought.
The project of modernity inaugurated by the Enlightenment typically posits Reason as the ultimate ground of self-reliant humanity. Melville's 'critique of modernity' questions this project in essential respects. The social order of Melville's cosmopolis signifies an order of instrumental rationality that appeals to 'reason,' 'benevolence,' and 'confidence' as cultural values, which serves the secret fanaticism of public opinion, and which is devoted to the reformation of the 'natural' man. Under the dictatorship of instrumental reason, the classical concept of the search for self-knowledge gives way to the manipulation of appearances - truth is reduced to a coherent show and history to a puppet play of forces. Yet precisely because Reason cannot found its claims a space is opened in Billy Budd for the return of the holy.
The «Theatrum Mundi» of Melville's thought investigated in this work signifies the representational space of modern subjectivity, which posits a «world» of value for itself. The representational theatre of the will manifests itself through the governing discourses of politics, religion, and aesthetics as they are integrated into Melville's fiction. Will and Representation focuses on Moby Dick , revealing the Fundamental metaphysical dispositions illustrated through the historical discourses that Moby Dick integrates and transforms. The metaphysical dispositions themselves determine Melville's reception of classical questions of politics, philosophy, and aesthetics, and his transformation of them.