The conscious of the presentness as a critical attitude towards the progress: Kant, Arendt, Benjamin

Abstract

The main purpose of this thesis is to criticize progressive time conception through highlighting the uniqueness of experience and the autonomy of political judgment. The thesis argues that the particular events cannot be understood in a deterministic and foreseeable perspective contained in the Enlightenment historicism. Empiricist historiography ignores to see the true content of events. For this reason, The thesis considers two of Kant's political writings, 'What is Enlightenment?' and 'The Contest of Faculties'. Stemming from Kant's political writings, the thesis highlights the conscious of the presentness for the criticism of contemporary reality. The conscious of the presentness signifies judgment of the particular events. Kant's third critique, Critique of Judgment helps us to formulate the question 'how can we understand the particular events without abolishing their autonomy?'. Then, the thesis focuses on Arendt. By using Arendtian formulation of 'situated impartiality and knowledge' and 'the storytelling', the thesis works to politicize the autonomy and particularity of events towards the progressive time conception. Thirdly, the thesis highlights Benjamin as a critical thinker of the progressive time conception. Benjamin's re-formulation of early romantic concepts, 'immanent criticism', 'the aura of artwork' and 'emancipation of meaning' offers an alternative way to understand the autonomy of particular events.