Reflection: what I learnt during week 38

During the lecture, the historical background was presented in order to understand analyzed texts properly. It is important to note that W. Benjamin wrote "The Work of Art in the Age of Technical Reproductivity" in 1936 when it was not so obvious about Nazis’ ravages and the author revealed Nazis’ tools of barbarism. While M. Horkheimer and T. W. Adorno published "Dialect of Enlightenment" in 1944 and analyzed mass deception and culture industry in capitalism perspective. According to them, society is not enlightened with new technologies contrarily people are blind due to consuming and mass media. Both of these mentioned authors scrutinized interaction between culture and society, raised the questions about art revolutionary potential and defined the power of reproduction. Nevertheless, different perspective brought varied points of view. Therefore, the question about influence of cultures on revolutionaries and some other previous blog answers must be refined.

1. Adjustment: Does Benjamin's perspective differ from the perspective of Adorno & Horkheimer in this regard?

After the seminar it was clear that mass reproduction empowered ordinary people, looking from W. Benjamin's perspective. In philosopher’s view, technological improvement and changed the covered subjects (simple people on the screen) lead to dignity and liberation which are the core of revolutionary. The perspective of Adorno & Horkheimer differed. According to them, changes in culture are another way of repression. Reproduction is only the illusion of liberation, people are bounded with the mass production.

2. Adjustment: What is "Nominalism" and why is it an important concept in the text?

Nominalism says that the same object does not exist. Pen and another pen is not the same pen. Nominalism perceptive is based on features. The objects are explained particularly. Nominalists deny universal concept and contradicts to the theory of realism in order to demolish the concepts from society. Nominalism confirms what exists but it does not empower to change the order. While the goal of enlightenment is about initiating the changes and revising the established norms and structures. On the other hand, both nominalism and enlightenment perspectives analyze the word from the pragmatic point of view.

3. Adjustment: naturally and historically determined perception

Previous blog post answer to this question should be expanded. As it was written before, the way we conceive things depend on the historical context. W. Benjamin made art interaction with history as an argument that Nazis’art is one of the arts because the objective and universal art does not exist.

4. Adjustment: Aura in terms of revolutionary potential

It is worth pointing out what was said during the seminar about the link between aura and revolutionary. Aura does not exist in the reproductions but to W. Benjamin’s mind, destroying aura leads to revolutionary possibilities. Before mass reproduction, only the privilege class could afford to perceive aura which was set up in the original art artifact but technological revolution broke the privilege and gave the hope for ordinary people to be enrolled in the culture and in general in the administration of society.

5. Adjustment: What is the meaning and function of "myth" in Adorno and Horkheimer's argument?

Myth is lack of knowledge. Enlightenment is the way to get knowledge, study the objects through the distance. Both myth and enlightenment are based on observing regularities. Hence, the core question was raised during the lecture: how can we change the society if we articulate mimesis? Enlightenment closely ties up and finally ends up with myth. If we assume that thinking reproduces the world and leads to mimesis, then thinking is not necessary rather then it is advisable to carry out empirically investigation.