Bloch's The Spirit of Utopia, here presented for the first time in English translation, is one of the great historic books from the beginning of the twentieth-century. A peculiar amalgam of biblical, Marxist, and Expressionist turns, drawing on both Hegel and Schopenhauer for the groundwork of its metaphysics of music, but consistently interpreting the cultural legacy in the light of a certain Marxism, The Spirit of Utopia is a unique attempt to rethink the history of Western civilizations as a process (...) of revolutionary disruptions and to reread the artworks, religions, and philosophies of this tradition as incentives to continue disrupting. The first part concerns a mode of 'self-encounter' which presents itself in the history of music from Mozart through Mahler as an encounter with the problem of a community to come. The second part is entitled 'Karl Marx, Death and the Apocalypse'. (shrink)

Articles from anthropology - the ontological perspective redefines the "hope" of the specific content. Hope will be disappointed, but will be painful disappointment. Firstly, I hope not convinced and want to be disappointed is directly related to trouble itself contains, circuitous, setbacks, failures and other factors; Second, I hope is an open state forward, I hope not with the things associated with the existing established , but with as to the existence of things not yet linked. Strong hope that the (...) class contains the essence of things, so by the trend - the faithful observation of the potential to be calibrated, and the realm of freedom of the target in accordance with the contents of a measure itself. For a political system, the pre-grasp of hope and principle, that is humane socialism but the most reliable test its performance benchmark. This paper redefines the concrete connotation of "hope" from the view point of anthropology-ontology. Hope will become disappointment, and will become deeply disappointment. Because firstly, hope is not sureness, hope is directly connected with the possibility of disappointment and it contains troublesome, circuitousness, setback and failure; Secondly, hope is an open state of forward, hope is not the connected with established things, but with the thing of future as yet. The stable hope contains the similar essence of things, and is justified through the faithful observation of tendency-potentiality, and itself becomes the scale according with target content of freedom kingdom. For a political system, mastering hope and principle in advance, that is human Socialism, is the most reliable scale of checking its achievement. (shrink)

These essays in aesthetics by the philosopher Ernst Bloch belong to the tradition ofcultural criticism represented by Georg Lukács, Theodor Adorno, and Walter Benjamin.

Bloch, E. Discussing expressionism.--Lukács, G. Realism in the balance.--Brecht, B. Against Georg Lukács.--Benjamin, W. Conversations with Brecht.--Adorno, T. Letters to Walter Benjamin.--Benjamin, W. Reply.--Adorno, T. Reconciliation under duress.--Adorno, T. Commitment.--Jameson, F. Reflections in conclusion.

This book represents a unique attempt to reconcile the traditional oppositions of the natural law and social utopian traditions, providing basic insights into the meaning of human rights in a socialist society.

Foreword, by H. Cox.--Introduction, by J. Moltmann.--Karl Marx; death and apocalypse.--Incipit vita nova.--Biblical resurrection and apocalypse.--Christ, or The uncovered countenance.--Religious truth.--Christian social utopias.--The nationalized God and the right to community.--Man's increasing entry into religious mystery.

There are three sense farewell to utopia. Former Marxist utopian pioneer, but the lack of intermediate stages of utopian, unrealistic, poor life. Marxism is not is not a utopia, but a concrete utopia of new things. Specific requirements of utopian possibility of dealing with our good efforts to comprehend the possibility of making an intellectual general staff, thereby building a fair, beautiful, humane society. Concrete utopia never met. There are saying good-bye to Utopia in three senses. The formerly Utopianist is (...) pioneer of Marxism, but Utopianist is short of middle stage, loses contact with reality and is not know how to live. Marxism is not non-Utopia, but a new thing of the concrete Utopia. The concrete Utopia demands us good at dealing with possibility and actively understands possibility, and makes it an intelligent post of staff officer, thus builds a just, fine and human society. The concrete Utopia is never contented. (shrink)