Hans Blumenberg

This book investigates the writings of German intellectual historian and philosopher Hans Blumenberg. While Blumenberg was not an explicitly political thinker and remains relatively under-explored in Anglophone academia, this project demonstrates that his work makes a valuable contribution to political science. The author considers the intellectual contributions Blumenberg makes to a variety of themes focusing primarily on myth. Rather than seeing myths in a pejorative sense, as primitive modes of thought that have been overcome, Blumenberg reveals that myths are crucial to dealing with the existential anxieties we face. When we trace his thought as it developed throughout his life, we find a rich source of philosophical insights that could enhance our understandings of politics today.

History, Metaphors, and Fables collects the central writings by Hans Blumenberg and covers topics such as on the philosophy of language, metaphor theory, non-conceptuality, aesthetics, politics, and literary studies. This landmark volume demonstrates Blumenberg's intellectual breadth and gives an overview of his thematic and stylistic range over four decades.

Nell’archivio di Hans Blumenberg è conservata una cartella recante la sigla “GT” e contenente alcuni brevi testi sul tema della storia dello spirito della tecnica (Geistesgeschichte der Technik). In essi Blumenberg illustra sinteticamente come una tale storia dovrebbe o potrebbe configurarsi, più precisamente come essa si distinguerebbe nettamente dalle storie della tecnica che si è soliti scrivere. In questo modo Blumenberg si profila come un anticipatore della storiografia degli sviluppi scientifici e tecnici. I testi, quasi tutti inediti, sono stati pubblicati nel 2009 dai curatori Alexander Schmitz e Bernd Stiegler per conto dell’editore Suhrkamp. Il titolo Storia dello spirito della tecnica ha indubbiamente un carattere provocatorio. Blumenberg è d’altra parte aduso alle provocazioni, o meglio alle formulazioni e riflessioni stridenti, che fanno stridere sia la lingua sia il pensiero..

Interrogating Modernity returns to Hans Blumenberg's epochal The Legitimacy of the Modern Age as a springboard to interrogate questions of modernity, secularisation, technology and political legitimacy in the fields of political theology, history of ideas, political theory, art theory, history of philosophy, theology and sociology.