Papers by Katerina Lamprakopoulou
The present paper examines the moral aspects of solidarity as expressed by the work of Zygmunt Ba... more The present paper examines the moral aspects of solidarity as expressed by the work of Zygmunt Bauman. Influenced by Emmanuel Levinas and drawing upon Sigmund Freud, Hannah Arendt, Georg Simmel and Jacques Derrida, the Polish sociologist presents the relationship between the principle of solidarity and globalization as a conflicting one.
In an attempt to delineate the main determinants of Bauman’s thought, we distinguish between two axes, one supportive of the idea of solidarity as prerequisite of a viable political community (together with the principles of Freedom and Difference) and another illustrating the way globalization puts obstacles to its function.
More analytically, the arguments for the idea of solidarity are based in: i) the Kantian perspective that a perfect unification of the human species through common citizenship is the destiny Nature has chosen for us, since we all move on the surface of a spherical planet ii) the Levinasian definition of morality as being responsible for the Other’s well- being and iii) Karl Jaspers’ theory on metaphysical guilt, which asserts that the postulate of absolute human solidarity is the foundation stone of all morality and undetachable from a moral stance.
Concerning the negative consequences of globalization, the Polish sociologist points out as obstacles to the solidarity i) the fact that the forces of globalization, consumerism and postmodernism have made people into individualized individuals, multiple units of self-identification that have more interest in consumption than citizenship ii) the deep-seated suspicion of the Other that has become the condition sine qua non of human interaction in “liquid life” and iii) the fear of becoming human waste in an ever changing world.
Thus, it is interesting to follow Bauman’s thought, considering his insight that solidarity is grounded in a belief that non practicing solidarity leads to Auschwitz.
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Papers by Katerina Lamprakopoulou
In an attempt to delineate the main determinants of Bauman’s thought, we distinguish between two axes, one supportive of the idea of solidarity as prerequisite of a viable political community (together with the principles of Freedom and Difference) and another illustrating the way globalization puts obstacles to its function.
More analytically, the arguments for the idea of solidarity are based in: i) the Kantian perspective that a perfect unification of the human species through common citizenship is the destiny Nature has chosen for us, since we all move on the surface of a spherical planet ii) the Levinasian definition of morality as being responsible for the Other’s well- being and iii) Karl Jaspers’ theory on metaphysical guilt, which asserts that the postulate of absolute human solidarity is the foundation stone of all morality and undetachable from a moral stance.
Concerning the negative consequences of globalization, the Polish sociologist points out as obstacles to the solidarity i) the fact that the forces of globalization, consumerism and postmodernism have made people into individualized individuals, multiple units of self-identification that have more interest in consumption than citizenship ii) the deep-seated suspicion of the Other that has become the condition sine qua non of human interaction in “liquid life” and iii) the fear of becoming human waste in an ever changing world.
Thus, it is interesting to follow Bauman’s thought, considering his insight that solidarity is grounded in a belief that non practicing solidarity leads to Auschwitz.
In an attempt to delineate the main determinants of Bauman’s thought, we distinguish between two axes, one supportive of the idea of solidarity as prerequisite of a viable political community (together with the principles of Freedom and Difference) and another illustrating the way globalization puts obstacles to its function.
More analytically, the arguments for the idea of solidarity are based in: i) the Kantian perspective that a perfect unification of the human species through common citizenship is the destiny Nature has chosen for us, since we all move on the surface of a spherical planet ii) the Levinasian definition of morality as being responsible for the Other’s well- being and iii) Karl Jaspers’ theory on metaphysical guilt, which asserts that the postulate of absolute human solidarity is the foundation stone of all morality and undetachable from a moral stance.
Concerning the negative consequences of globalization, the Polish sociologist points out as obstacles to the solidarity i) the fact that the forces of globalization, consumerism and postmodernism have made people into individualized individuals, multiple units of self-identification that have more interest in consumption than citizenship ii) the deep-seated suspicion of the Other that has become the condition sine qua non of human interaction in “liquid life” and iii) the fear of becoming human waste in an ever changing world.
Thus, it is interesting to follow Bauman’s thought, considering his insight that solidarity is grounded in a belief that non practicing solidarity leads to Auschwitz.