Abstract
The transition from ethics to politics still lacks a proper understanding. I propose thinking of this transition in terms of a politics of aesthetics. However, thinking about a politics of aesthetics means also thinking about images and their prohibition. The prohibition of images has a long history, dating back to the Bible and Plato; its implications are crucial for image theory. Since Levinas did not systematically develop a political theory, aesthetics, or image theory, it is necessary to collect and systematize his distributed statements. Having image theory as a starting point for a politics of aesthetics, I choose a media philosophical approach to identify the mediality of the image after Levinas. Key elements for a Levinasian image theory are the temporal aspect of its transient appearance, its involving affective power, and its negativity. I propose to think of this image theory as an image-pragmatics that testifies and responds not only to the Other but also to the mediality of the image. With Levinas it becomes possible to turn the prohibition of images into a commandment to remember. I call this a testimonial image practice that becomes a regulatory idea for a politics of aesthetics.
Highlights
To speak of a politics of aesthetics invokes the power of images
This detour allows for a different understanding of a politics of aesthetics, especially as Rancière is an important reference in this area
When Immanuel Kant relates to the Platonic prohibition of images, he sees in it a regulatory idea for a politics of aesthetics
Summary
To speak of a politics of aesthetics invokes the power of images. Interest in images can be traced back to the Bible and Plato. For Levinas, a key element to understand his aesthetic thinking is through his concept of the image, using media philosophy. The medium of the image will play a key role in identifying a Levinasian politics of aesthetics. Both image theory and media philosophy highlight the material condition and the mediality of the image, but they differ when it comes to other media such as sound or language and their related concepts. I turn to the image as one of the key concepts of his aesthetics, before bringing together politics and aesthetics This detour allows for a different understanding of a politics of aesthetics, especially as Rancière is an important reference in this area. While Levinas is not himself a political thinker, and even lacks a developed sense of the political, explicating this politics of aesthetics alerts us to a more political reception of his work
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