Wolfgang Welsch – författare

`The aestheticization of everyday life' has become a commonplace term, one which often merely scratches the surface of contemporary culture. This study illuminates the deeper dynamics of aesthetic reality from a philosophical perspective.

Wolfgang Welsch, author of the influential Aesthetic Thinking, develops an important analysis of contemporary culture with philosophical bite. He examines global aestheticization phenomena, probes the relationship of aesthetics and ethics, and considers the broad relevance of aesthetics for contemporary thinking. He argues that modes of thought familiar from the aesthetic realm comprise fundamental paradigms for understanding today's reality. The implications for specific and everyday issues are demonstrated in studies of architecture, advertising, the Internet and our perception of the life world.

`The aestheticization of everyday life' has become a commonplace term, one which often merely scratches the surface of contemporary culture. This study illuminates the deeper dynamics of aesthetic reality from a philosophical perspective.

Wolfgang Welsch, author of the influential Aesthetic Thinking, develops an important analysis of contemporary culture with philosophical bite. He examines global aestheticization phenomena, probes the relationship of aesthetics and ethics, and considers the broad relevance of aesthetics for contemporary thinking. He argues that modes of thought familiar from the aesthetic realm comprise fundamental paradigms for understanding today's reality. The implications for specific and everyday issues are demonstrated in studies of architecture, advertising, the Internet and our perception of the life world.

`The aestheticization of everyday life'' has become a commonplace term, one which often merely scratches the surface of contemporary culture. This study illuminates the deeper dynamics of aesthetic reality from a philosophical perspective.

Wolfgang Welsch, author of the influential Aesthetic Thinking, develops an important analysis of contemporary culture with philosophical bite. He examines global aestheticization phenomena, probes the relationship of aesthetics and ethics, and considers the broad relevance of aesthetics for contemporary thinking. He argues that modes of thought familiar from the aesthetic realm comprise fundamental paradigms for understanding today''s reality. The implications for specific and everyday issues are demonstrated in studies of architecture, advertising, the Internet and our perception of the life world.

Fast 25 Jahre nach seinem Bestseller „Unsere postmoderne Moderne“ legt Wolfgang Welsch eine neuartige und tiefer gehende Infragestellung der Moderne vor. Als zentral für die Moderne sieht er das anthropische Prinzip an: In allem ist vom Menschen auszugehen, alles ist auf den Menschen zu beziehen; der Mensch ist das Maß der Welt, die Welt ist Menschenwelt – und nichts sonst, nichts darüber hinaus. Dem stellt er kritisch eine Reihe von Phänomenanalysen und die Skizze einer Anthropologie auf evolutionärer Grundlage entgegen. Indem nicht die Welt vom Menschen her, sondern zuerst einmal der Mensch von der Welt her zu begreifen ist, ist den anthropischen Spiegelspielen der Moderne der Boden entzogen, und eine neue Denklandschaft zeichnet sich ab.

Die Parole von der Postmoderne ist missverständlich und wurde dennoch unumgänglich. Wolfgang Welsch spricht von einer "Magie des falschen Namens". Der Postmoderne-Diskurs ist allzu oft diffus statt präzis und droht in Beliebigkeit und Indifferenz abzugleiten. Anders in diesem Buch. Der Autor rekonstruiert die Geschichte des Ausdrucks und entwickelt einen Begriff von Postmoderne, der sich bezüglich der Literatur, der Architektur und der anderen Künste ebenso bewährt, wie er neuere Entwicklungen der Wissenschaftstheorie reflektiert, soziologische Fragen aufnimmt, Veränderungen in der Lebenswelt diagnostiziert und die philosophischen Dimensionen des Themas durchleuchtet. Wolfgang Welsch blickt als Philosoph über die Grenzen seiner Disziplin hinaus und gibt ein Gesamtbild unserer Zeit. Er tut das in der Form eines Pluralitätskonzepts, das Unterschiede nicht tilgt, sondern freigibt und verteidigt. Welsch begegnet den postmodernen Tendenzen mit Aufgeschlossenheit, ohne ein modisches Verhältnis zu ihnen einzunehmen. Seine Version von Postmoderne ist problembewusst. Am Ende entwickelt er eine Vernunftkonzeption, die - Jahren der Vernunftkritik und als Ausweg aus ihr - mit Pluralität im Sinn von Vernünftigkeit und Gerechtigkeit umzugehen erlaubt.

This volume is the result of a research project entitled “Evolutionary Continuity – Human Specifics – The Possibility of Objective Knowledge” that was carried out by representatives of six academic disciplines (evolutionary biology, evolutionary anthropology, brain research, cognitive neuroscience, cognitive psychology and philosophy) over a period of three and a half years.The starting point for the project was the newly emerging riddle of human uniqueness: though the uniqueness of human beings is undisputable, all explanations for this fact have successively been discarded or refuted in recent decades. There is no special factor that could explain the particularities of human existence. Rather, all human skills derive from a continuous relation to pre-human skills, that is to say, to elements that were developed earlier in the phylogeny and were later inherited. But starting from abilities that are anything but special, how could the particularity of human beings have evolved?This was the guiding question of the project. In this work we try to answer it by addressing the following problems: How strong is evolutionary continuity in human beings? How can we understand that it gave way to cultural discontinuity? Which aspect of cultural existence is really unique to humans? Can the possibility of objective knowledge be seen as a (admittedly extreme) case in point? – The answers are meant to help clarify the central issue of contemporary scientific anthropology.

This volume is the result of a research project entitled “Evolutionary Continuity – Human Specifics – The Possibility of Objective Knowledge” that was carried out by representatives of six academic disciplines (evolutionary biology, evolutionary anthropology, brain research, cognitive neuroscience, cognitive psychology and philosophy) over a period of three and a half years.The starting point for the project was the newly emerging riddle of human uniqueness: though the uniqueness of human beings is undisputable, all explanations for this fact have successively been discarded or refuted in recent decades. There is no special factor that could explain the particularities of human existence. Rather, all human skills derive from a continuous relation to pre-human skills, that is to say, to elements that were developed earlier in the phylogeny and were later inherited. But starting from abilities that are anything but special, how could the particularity of human beings have evolved?This was the guiding question of the project. In this work we try to answer it by addressing the following problems: How strong is evolutionary continuity in human beings? How can we understand that it gave way to cultural discontinuity? Which aspect of cultural existence is really unique to humans? Can the possibility of objective knowledge be seen as a (admittedly extreme) case in point? – The answers are meant to help clarify the central issue of contemporary scientific anthropology.

This volume is the result of a research project entitled “Evolutionary Continuity – Human Specifics – The Possibility of Objective Knowledge” that was carried out by representatives of six academic disciplines (evolutionary biology, evolutionary anthropology, brain research, cognitive neuroscience, cognitive psychology and philosophy) over a period of three and a half years.The starting point for the project was the newly emerging riddle of human uniqueness: though the uniqueness of human beings is undisputable, all explanations for this fact have successively been discarded or refuted in recent decades. There is no special factor that could explain the particularities of human existence. Rather, all human skills derive from a continuous relation to pre-human skills, that is to say, to elements that were developed earlier in the phylogeny and were later inherited. But starting from abilities that are anything but special, how could the particularity of human beings have evolved?This was the guiding question of the project. In this work we try to answer it by addressing the following problems: How strong is evolutionary continuity in human beings? How can we understand that it gave way to cultural discontinuity? Which aspect of cultural existence is really unique to humans? Can the possibility of objective knowledge be seen as a (admittedly extreme) case in point? – The answers are meant to help clarify the central issue of contemporary scientific anthropology.

Kulturen sind durch Mischungen gekennzeichnet. Das ist nicht erst heute so; auch in der Vergangenheit waren sie keineswegs homogen oder rein. Um diese historische Transkulturalität zu zeigen, bedient sich Wolfgang Welsch der Kunst als Sonde. Denn während Transkulturalität politisch, gesellschaftlich und psychologisch oft reserviert beäugt wurde, war sie im Bereich der Kunst weitaus weniger kontrovers, sondern wurde hier geradezu begrüßt und konnte vergleichsweise ungehindert zum Ausdruck kommen. Anhand der Kunst zeigt das Buch daher die historische Transkulturalität auf. Dies geschieht am Beispiel aller möglichen Sparten: von Malerei, Skulptur, Druckgrafik und Architektur über Literatur, Musik, Theater, Tanz, Oper und Comic sowie mit Blick auf sämtliche Kontinente und Kulturen dieser Welt.

Natur ist ein altes Thema der Philosophie. Denn um das Ganze der Welt zu begreifen, musste sie sich sowohl mit Kultur als auch mit Natur befassen. Zeitgenössisch stellen Natur und Kultur sich zunehmend als eng miteinander verwoben dar. Bereits im Tierreich hat die Natur begonnen, technische Strategien und kulturelle Eigenheiten zu entwickeln. Beim Menschen hat sich das fortgesetzt, bis hin zu Phänomenen der Naturzerstörung, die unsere eigenen Lebensgrundlagen gefährden. Den Verflechtungen von Natur und Kultur geht das Buch in Fallanalysen und Begriffsarbeit nach. Vor allem aber will es ermutigen, die gegenwärtigen Probleme nicht zu ignorieren, sondern sich ihnen zu stellen und sie mit klarem Bewusstsein und entschlossenem Engagement anzugehen.

Architecture of Coexistence: Building PluralismThis book investigates how architecture can shape an open-minded and inclusive society, highlighting three internationally renowned projects: the White Mosque in Visoko, Bosnia-Herzegovina (1980); the Islamic Cemetery Altach in Altach, Austria (2012); and the Superkilen public park in Copenhagen, Denmark (2012). Scholarly essays across various disciplines, along with interviews with the architects and users of these projects, provide intriguing insights into architecture’s ability to bridge cultural differences. Soliciting a wide array of questions about migration, transculturalism, visibility, inclusion, and exclusion, the book sheds light on the long-term social processes generated between architectural form and its users.Architecture of Coexistence offers a truly interdisciplinary perspective on a very timely subject: “Building pluralism” means designing for a respectful inclusion of different cultural needs, practices, and traditions. With contributions by Azra Akšamija, Mohammad al-Asad, Ali S. Asani, Simon Burtscher-Matis, Amila Buturović, Farrokh Derakhshani, Robert Fabach, Eva Grabherr, Amra Hadžimuhamedović, Tina Gudrun Jensen, Jennifer Mack, Nasser Rabbat, Barbara Steiner, Helen Walasek and Wolfgang Welsch.Photo essays by Velibor Božović, Cemal Emden, Jesper Lambaek, and Nikolaus Walter.