Saturday, April 23, 2016
Superliminal and Species
A widely-held, rarely challenged thesis is that the individual human can transcend the species in at least some respect, e. g. the concept of a Soul that can be saved from a curse of 'original sin', Spinoza's concept of a Mode that can have an immediate relation with God/Nature, etc. But, that thesis is implicitly challenged by Darwinism, according to which an Individual is a part of a Species, and, hence, can in no way be independent of it. Now, because ordinary Perception is a product of the senses, it is within the experience of an Individual. Hence, any Species-principle is Superliminal, i. e. because it absolutely surpasses the Individual. So, for example, Kant's 'Sublime' is Superliminal, since its ultimate object is Reason, his Species-principle. Likewise, Nietzsche's Dionysian is his Species-principle, and, hence, too, is Superliminal, but it can be directly engaged in singing and dancing.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment