What is terror? The question has been surprisingly difficult to answer in the definitive. We appr... more What is terror? The question has been surprisingly difficult to answer in the definitive. We approach the problem using William Connolly’s theory of essentially contested concepts. Here three characteristics are important: a concept’s normativity, complexity and application. The aim is not to present an ultimate solution for defining terror, but instead to offer a new frame for studying the problems involved in the struggle over the meaning of the concept. In doing so, we position ourselves in opposition to both realist and conventionalist approaches to defining terror and to other more commonly used approaches to the study of the discursive struggle over the concept of terror. More specifically we distinguish our approach from analyses of hegemony and discursive formations and from conceptual history. We argue that Connolly’s approach can provide a new and productive frame for addressing these issues; it offers a refined understanding of the contestation of the concept of terror, b...
Sats-Northern European Journal of Philosophy, 2010
This paper diagnoses a certain culture of complaint, which is a curious formation in the history ... more This paper diagnoses a certain culture of complaint, which is a curious formation in the history of mankind that emerges exactly at the moment where the claim, that the "grand narratives" have lost their meaning, goes from being merely an academic postulate to becoming a commonly accepted cultural dogma. Rather than joyfully accepting the liberation from the ostensibly repressive grand narratives, the reaction typical of the members of the culture of complaint has been to blame the big Other for his non-existence. Having discussed this point we proceed to discuss the possibility of genuine political action, given such a bleak prognosis of our own current post-modern predicament. Via the literary work of Franz Kafka, a discussion is opened about the possibilities and constraints on political action in an era where transcendent legitimization is no longer available. The discussion partners are (first) Jacques Derrida, and Gilles Deleuze, Felix Guattari and Jacques Lacan.
In this article I present a reading of the transition from the first to the second books of Hegel... more In this article I present a reading of the transition from the first to the second books of Hegel's Logic, focusing on the Encyclopedia Logic. In particular I investigate the notion of the excess (das Maßlose), which is the final concept Hegel discusses in the first book of that version of the Logic. I set the stage for this interpretation by briefly introducing the work of two other Hegel scholars: Dieter Henrich and Slavoj Žižek. Each of them presents a reading of the same transition I am focusing on and argue, as I do, that we can find the key to Hegel's Logic in it. Henrich focuses on autonomous negation, Žižek on retroactivity. My aim in the article is to manouvre between the suggestions of Henrich and Žižek and to provide a new approach to understanding Hegel in doing so.
In this article, I present a reading of Kant’s notion of apperception in the B-version of the Cri... more In this article, I present a reading of Kant’s notion of apperception in the B-version of the Critique of Pure Reason that is inspired by Giorgio Agamben’s reading of Aristotle in “On Potentiality.” My aim is to show that an important characteristic of Kant’s understanding (Verstand)—the capacity to judge—can be found by considering it as a specific kind of potentiality, namely, as a potentiality that exists as a mere potentiality instead of as a possible actualization. I argue that this particular notion of potentiality can be found by investigating the notions of empirical and pure apperception and the analytic and synthetic unities of apperception.
A discussion of Kierkegaard's "Fear and Trembling" that argues against the idea that Kierkegaard ... more A discussion of Kierkegaard's "Fear and Trembling" that argues against the idea that Kierkegaard in his eulogy for Abraham should provide an ex ante defence of religious terrorism. By drawing the work "On Repetition" into consideration, I further argue that there is a comical side to Fear and Trembling which is often overlooked in readings of the work.
It should be made clear from the start that we all in fact already know the Nazi-card-card very ... more It should be made clear from the start that we all in fact already know the Nazi-card-card very well. At some point most of us have witnessed, or even been part of, a discussion that got just a little out of hand. In such situations it is not uncommon for one party to begin to draw up parallels between Germany in 1933 and his counterpart. Once this happens the counterpart will immediately play the Nazi-card-card and say something like, “Playing the Nazi-card are we? I never thought you would stoop that low. That is guaranteed to bring a quick end to any serious debate.” And just like that, the debate will in effect be over. It should be plain to anyone that it is just not right to make a Nazi of one’s opponent. The Nazi-card-card always wins.
Den russiske filosof Vladimir Solovyevs sidste skrift, "En kort fortaelling om Antikrist" 1 , som... more Den russiske filosof Vladimir Solovyevs sidste skrift, "En kort fortaelling om Antikrist" 1 , som han skrev i år 1900, samme år han døde, handler om en dystopisk fremtid, hvor Antikrist har taget magten over verden. Solovyevs fortaelling beskriver også, hvordan en forenet heroisk kristendom (under ledelse af tyske protestanter, italienske katolikker og russiske ortodokse) kaemper imod og til sidst besejrer ondskaben. Det interessante ved skriftet er imidlertid beskrivelsen af Antikrist. AErkebiskoppen i Bologna, Giacomo Biffi, opsummerede den hundrede år efter Solovyevs død:
This article discusses the notion of a pure potentiality in Giorgio Agamben and argues that it is... more This article discusses the notion of a pure potentiality in Giorgio Agamben and argues that it is central to his thought. It is unavoidable if we wish to understand his general project of establishing a philosophical thought which can adequately conceptualize political freedom. That project is ultimately a defence of the concept of a 'form-of-life', a neologism that is to denominate a form of life where the crude fact of living is inseparable from its particular form. I suggest that we seek aid in our attempt to understand the concept of a pure potentiality in the works of Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, to whom Agamben implicitly (but only implicitly) refers in the text 'On Potentiality', where we find some of his most illuminating remarks on potentiality. This suggestion ends up necessitating a critique of Agamben, as the comparison with Schelling demonstrates that Agamben operates with an insufficient concept of the human will; a concept which we find a compelling discussion of in the so-called 'Weltalter' phase of Schelling's intellectual development. I conclude by discussing the significance of the concept of potentiality for political theory and the idea of a political act in particular.
... Om Agamben og undtagelsen. Authors. Ugilt, Rasmus Aarhus University,. Arts,. Department of Cu... more ... Om Agamben og undtagelsen. Authors. Ugilt, Rasmus Aarhus University,. Arts,. Department of Culture and Society,. Department of Culture and Society - Department of Philosophy. Host publication information. Undtagelsestilstand. ...
... Ugilt, Rasmus Aarhus University,. Arts,. Department of Culture and Society,. Department of Cu... more ... Ugilt, Rasmus Aarhus University,. Arts,. Department of Culture and Society,. Department of Culture and Society - Department of Philosophy. Host publication information. Slagmark. 2012. ,. Additional information. Document type: Journal article. Indicators: Scientific; Peer review. ...
Slagmark-tidsskrift for idéhistorie (Tema: Den …, 2011
... at være : Mladen Dolars stemme. Authors. Ugilt, Rasmus Aarhus University,. Arts,. Department ... more ... at være : Mladen Dolars stemme. Authors. Ugilt, Rasmus Aarhus University,. Arts,. Department of Culture and Society,. Department of Culture and Society - Department of Philosophy. Host publication information. Slagmark - tidsskrift ...
Man kan på mange måder hævde, at 9/11 efter den 11. september 2001 er blevet en central markør i ... more Man kan på mange måder hævde, at 9/11 efter den 11. september 2001 er blevet en central markør i den globale politiske, kulturelle og videnskabelige diskurs. Man kan måske endda hævde, at det er den centrale markør i Diskursen som sådan og med stort D. Det er ...
Sixty years before Carl Schmitt wrote his Political Theology, and more than a 100 years before Pr... more Sixty years before Carl Schmitt wrote his Political Theology, and more than a 100 years before President Bush announced a ‘war on terrorism’ the American Supreme Court grappled with the difficult issue of emergency powers in connection with issues arising out of the American Civil War (1861–1865). The question confronting the Court in a set of cases named the Prize Cases was whether President Lincoln’s decision to respond to acts of aggression by the secessionist Southern states with measures of war was lawful. The legal problem was that Lincoln had made this decision unilaterally although the American Constitution specifically allocates the power to declare war to Congress. The Court solved the dilemma by arguing that in cases where no war has been declared, the decision whether the country is in a state of war is ultimately ‘a question to be decided by him [the President], and [the Supreme] Court must be governed by the decisions and acts of the political department of the Government to which this power was entrusted’ (Prize, p. 669). The precedent, which the Court thereby laid down, has since played out as an important leverage for the Bush government’s legal arguments in connection with the war on terrorism. This article engages the theoretical framework of Locke, Schmitt and Agamben in order to come to a better understanding of this important set of cases.
... BAGGE LAUSTSEN AND RASMUS UGILT -. 1974 [1788]. Kritik der praktischen Vernunft, Grundlegung ... more ... BAGGE LAUSTSEN AND RASMUS UGILT -. 1974 [1788]. Kritik der praktischen Vernunft, Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten. Ed. Wilhelm Weischedel. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. -. 2003 [1793]. Religion innerhalb der Grenzen der blofien Vernunft. Hamburg: Felix ...
In this article we investigate the imagery that came to light with the Abu Ghraib scandal. We tak... more In this article we investigate the imagery that came to light with the Abu Ghraib scandal. We take up both the original photographs of humiliation and torture that were published by 60 Minutes and The New Yorker in 2004, and examples of the many varied responses that ...
What is terror? The question has been surprisingly difficult to answer in the definitive. We appr... more What is terror? The question has been surprisingly difficult to answer in the definitive. We approach the problem using William Connolly’s theory of essentially contested concepts. Here three characteristics are important: a concept’s normativity, complexity and application. The aim is not to present an ultimate solution for defining terror, but instead to offer a new frame for studying the problems involved in the struggle over the meaning of the concept. In doing so, we position ourselves in opposition to both realist and conventionalist approaches to defining terror and to other more commonly used approaches to the study of the discursive struggle over the concept of terror. More specifically we distinguish our approach from analyses of hegemony and discursive formations and from conceptual history. We argue that Connolly’s approach can provide a new and productive frame for addressing these issues; it offers a refined understanding of the contestation of the concept of terror, b...
Sats-Northern European Journal of Philosophy, 2010
This paper diagnoses a certain culture of complaint, which is a curious formation in the history ... more This paper diagnoses a certain culture of complaint, which is a curious formation in the history of mankind that emerges exactly at the moment where the claim, that the "grand narratives" have lost their meaning, goes from being merely an academic postulate to becoming a commonly accepted cultural dogma. Rather than joyfully accepting the liberation from the ostensibly repressive grand narratives, the reaction typical of the members of the culture of complaint has been to blame the big Other for his non-existence. Having discussed this point we proceed to discuss the possibility of genuine political action, given such a bleak prognosis of our own current post-modern predicament. Via the literary work of Franz Kafka, a discussion is opened about the possibilities and constraints on political action in an era where transcendent legitimization is no longer available. The discussion partners are (first) Jacques Derrida, and Gilles Deleuze, Felix Guattari and Jacques Lacan.
In this article I present a reading of the transition from the first to the second books of Hegel... more In this article I present a reading of the transition from the first to the second books of Hegel's Logic, focusing on the Encyclopedia Logic. In particular I investigate the notion of the excess (das Maßlose), which is the final concept Hegel discusses in the first book of that version of the Logic. I set the stage for this interpretation by briefly introducing the work of two other Hegel scholars: Dieter Henrich and Slavoj Žižek. Each of them presents a reading of the same transition I am focusing on and argue, as I do, that we can find the key to Hegel's Logic in it. Henrich focuses on autonomous negation, Žižek on retroactivity. My aim in the article is to manouvre between the suggestions of Henrich and Žižek and to provide a new approach to understanding Hegel in doing so.
In this article, I present a reading of Kant’s notion of apperception in the B-version of the Cri... more In this article, I present a reading of Kant’s notion of apperception in the B-version of the Critique of Pure Reason that is inspired by Giorgio Agamben’s reading of Aristotle in “On Potentiality.” My aim is to show that an important characteristic of Kant’s understanding (Verstand)—the capacity to judge—can be found by considering it as a specific kind of potentiality, namely, as a potentiality that exists as a mere potentiality instead of as a possible actualization. I argue that this particular notion of potentiality can be found by investigating the notions of empirical and pure apperception and the analytic and synthetic unities of apperception.
A discussion of Kierkegaard's "Fear and Trembling" that argues against the idea that Kierkegaard ... more A discussion of Kierkegaard's "Fear and Trembling" that argues against the idea that Kierkegaard in his eulogy for Abraham should provide an ex ante defence of religious terrorism. By drawing the work "On Repetition" into consideration, I further argue that there is a comical side to Fear and Trembling which is often overlooked in readings of the work.
It should be made clear from the start that we all in fact already know the Nazi-card-card very ... more It should be made clear from the start that we all in fact already know the Nazi-card-card very well. At some point most of us have witnessed, or even been part of, a discussion that got just a little out of hand. In such situations it is not uncommon for one party to begin to draw up parallels between Germany in 1933 and his counterpart. Once this happens the counterpart will immediately play the Nazi-card-card and say something like, “Playing the Nazi-card are we? I never thought you would stoop that low. That is guaranteed to bring a quick end to any serious debate.” And just like that, the debate will in effect be over. It should be plain to anyone that it is just not right to make a Nazi of one’s opponent. The Nazi-card-card always wins.
Den russiske filosof Vladimir Solovyevs sidste skrift, "En kort fortaelling om Antikrist" 1 , som... more Den russiske filosof Vladimir Solovyevs sidste skrift, "En kort fortaelling om Antikrist" 1 , som han skrev i år 1900, samme år han døde, handler om en dystopisk fremtid, hvor Antikrist har taget magten over verden. Solovyevs fortaelling beskriver også, hvordan en forenet heroisk kristendom (under ledelse af tyske protestanter, italienske katolikker og russiske ortodokse) kaemper imod og til sidst besejrer ondskaben. Det interessante ved skriftet er imidlertid beskrivelsen af Antikrist. AErkebiskoppen i Bologna, Giacomo Biffi, opsummerede den hundrede år efter Solovyevs død:
This article discusses the notion of a pure potentiality in Giorgio Agamben and argues that it is... more This article discusses the notion of a pure potentiality in Giorgio Agamben and argues that it is central to his thought. It is unavoidable if we wish to understand his general project of establishing a philosophical thought which can adequately conceptualize political freedom. That project is ultimately a defence of the concept of a 'form-of-life', a neologism that is to denominate a form of life where the crude fact of living is inseparable from its particular form. I suggest that we seek aid in our attempt to understand the concept of a pure potentiality in the works of Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, to whom Agamben implicitly (but only implicitly) refers in the text 'On Potentiality', where we find some of his most illuminating remarks on potentiality. This suggestion ends up necessitating a critique of Agamben, as the comparison with Schelling demonstrates that Agamben operates with an insufficient concept of the human will; a concept which we find a compelling discussion of in the so-called 'Weltalter' phase of Schelling's intellectual development. I conclude by discussing the significance of the concept of potentiality for political theory and the idea of a political act in particular.
... Om Agamben og undtagelsen. Authors. Ugilt, Rasmus Aarhus University,. Arts,. Department of Cu... more ... Om Agamben og undtagelsen. Authors. Ugilt, Rasmus Aarhus University,. Arts,. Department of Culture and Society,. Department of Culture and Society - Department of Philosophy. Host publication information. Undtagelsestilstand. ...
... Ugilt, Rasmus Aarhus University,. Arts,. Department of Culture and Society,. Department of Cu... more ... Ugilt, Rasmus Aarhus University,. Arts,. Department of Culture and Society,. Department of Culture and Society - Department of Philosophy. Host publication information. Slagmark. 2012. ,. Additional information. Document type: Journal article. Indicators: Scientific; Peer review. ...
Slagmark-tidsskrift for idéhistorie (Tema: Den …, 2011
... at være : Mladen Dolars stemme. Authors. Ugilt, Rasmus Aarhus University,. Arts,. Department ... more ... at være : Mladen Dolars stemme. Authors. Ugilt, Rasmus Aarhus University,. Arts,. Department of Culture and Society,. Department of Culture and Society - Department of Philosophy. Host publication information. Slagmark - tidsskrift ...
Man kan på mange måder hævde, at 9/11 efter den 11. september 2001 er blevet en central markør i ... more Man kan på mange måder hævde, at 9/11 efter den 11. september 2001 er blevet en central markør i den globale politiske, kulturelle og videnskabelige diskurs. Man kan måske endda hævde, at det er den centrale markør i Diskursen som sådan og med stort D. Det er ...
Sixty years before Carl Schmitt wrote his Political Theology, and more than a 100 years before Pr... more Sixty years before Carl Schmitt wrote his Political Theology, and more than a 100 years before President Bush announced a ‘war on terrorism’ the American Supreme Court grappled with the difficult issue of emergency powers in connection with issues arising out of the American Civil War (1861–1865). The question confronting the Court in a set of cases named the Prize Cases was whether President Lincoln’s decision to respond to acts of aggression by the secessionist Southern states with measures of war was lawful. The legal problem was that Lincoln had made this decision unilaterally although the American Constitution specifically allocates the power to declare war to Congress. The Court solved the dilemma by arguing that in cases where no war has been declared, the decision whether the country is in a state of war is ultimately ‘a question to be decided by him [the President], and [the Supreme] Court must be governed by the decisions and acts of the political department of the Government to which this power was entrusted’ (Prize, p. 669). The precedent, which the Court thereby laid down, has since played out as an important leverage for the Bush government’s legal arguments in connection with the war on terrorism. This article engages the theoretical framework of Locke, Schmitt and Agamben in order to come to a better understanding of this important set of cases.
... BAGGE LAUSTSEN AND RASMUS UGILT -. 1974 [1788]. Kritik der praktischen Vernunft, Grundlegung ... more ... BAGGE LAUSTSEN AND RASMUS UGILT -. 1974 [1788]. Kritik der praktischen Vernunft, Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten. Ed. Wilhelm Weischedel. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. -. 2003 [1793]. Religion innerhalb der Grenzen der blofien Vernunft. Hamburg: Felix ...
In this article we investigate the imagery that came to light with the Abu Ghraib scandal. We tak... more In this article we investigate the imagery that came to light with the Abu Ghraib scandal. We take up both the original photographs of humiliation and torture that were published by 60 Minutes and The New Yorker in 2004, and examples of the many varied responses that ...
Man skulle tro, at et samfund var baseret på de traditioner, rammer og værdier, der gør sig gælde... more Man skulle tro, at et samfund var baseret på de traditioner, rammer og værdier, der gør sig gældende i det. Men dykker man ned i historien, ser man hurtigt, at samfundet er opstået som følge af en række brud med traditionerne, rammerne og værdierne. Det Arabiske ...
... filosofi retfærdig? : En undersøgelse af metafysikkens kritiske potentialer. Authors.Ugilt, R... more ... filosofi retfærdig? : En undersøgelse af metafysikkens kritiske potentialer. Authors.Ugilt, Rasmus Aarhus University,. Arts,. Department of Culture and Society,. Department of Culture and Society - Department of Philosophy. Host ...
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