Menneskets magt og afmagt. En udfoldelse af menneskesynet i K.E. Løgstrups publicerede og upublicerede forfatterskab
Name of applicant
Bjørn Rabjerg
Institution
Aarhus University
Amount
DKK 1,300,000
Year
2017
Type of grant
Reintegration Fellowships
What?
The project focuses on supplying the first comprehensive study of Løgstrup's existential anthropology, drawing on his posthumous manuscripts. In his analyses into human existence, we find a highly original understanding of human nature and the dynamics of interpersonal existence. A key issue in Løgstrup's conception is that human beings are, in a fundamental sense, powerless when it comes to enabling our own lives to flourish. This means that we cannot make ourselves happy, and at the same time it carries the implication that if we do not acknowledge this fundamental human impotence, it will inevitably lead to self-reproach and other forms of negative self-encircling attention. Here, Løgstrup can become a new and significant voice in today's debates on culture, society, and human nature.
Why?
The project is important because it involves a different approach to understanding the human being and its place in contemporary society and sociality. The project addresses the problems that prevail throughout modern culture, but this is done by speaking out against our cultural understanding of who we are, what we should do, and what lies within our power. Drawing on Løgstrup's existential anthropology, the project opposes the dominant international conceptions and theories of the human being, which constitute our current philosophical anthropology.
How?
The research project will be conducted mainly at the K. E. Løgstrup Research Centre at Aarhus University, where Løgstrup's posthumous manuscripts are available as an important new source for research into Løgstrup's thought. This part of the project will lead to publication of selected papers and a record of the material. In addition, a significant part of the project will take place as visiting researcher at the University of Sheffield. Most importantly, this visit will involve working on a critical edition and translation of four of Løgstrup's main works with research-based notes and introductions written by leading international Løgstrup scholars. Finally, the project will involve visits to important research institutions in Brussels and Beijing.