Professorship of the Cluster of Excellence – Philosophy with a focus on Practical Philosophy

Prof. Dr. Christoph Menke

In addition to the research activities on the theory of freedom, law and democracy (see the project report “Normativity and Freedom”), there were also those on aesthetic questions. The concept of aesthetics is understood not only in the narrow sense that it denotes the specifically modern way of thinking about art, but also about the nature and spirit (and the agonal relationship between the two) of human beings. In this context, the redefinition of the concept of life since 1800, which is closely linked to the development of philosophical aesthetics, is of particular interest. Life and art are characterized by forms of “purposefulness without purpose”, in which an inner dialectic of nature and freedom, power and ability is expressed. Against this background, aesthetic experience proves to be a practical reflection on and regression into the dialectic of spirit and life. At this point, the aesthetic questions are linked with the freedom-theoretical questions of the cluster project. Specific investigations focused on (1.) the problem of aesthetic judgement and thus the specific form (and role) of normativity in aesthetics as well as (2.) the category of aestheticization and its use in social and cultural-critical diagnoses. Both investigations come together in the question of a concept of aesthetic thinking.

The professorship’s most important publications outside the research project include
Christoph Menke (2008): Power. A basic concept of aesthetic anthropology Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp (English translation: New York: Fordham University Press, 2012)
Christoph Menke (2010): “The Aesthetic Critique of Judgment”, in: Daniel Birnbaum/Isabelle Graw (eds.), The Power of Judgment. A Debate on Aesthetic Critique , Berlin: Sternberg, 8-29
Christoph Menke (2010): “Neither Rawls Nor Adorno: Raymond Geuss’ Programme For a ‘Realist’ Political Philosophy” (review of Raymond Geuss, Outside Ethics and Philosophy and Real Politics), in: European Journal of Philosophy, 18(1), 139-147 (German translation in: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie, vol. 58 (3), 2010, 445-456.
Thomas Khurana (2011): ‘Philosophies of Life’, focus in: Constellations18, 6-73 (guest editorial together with Christoph Menke; with contributions by Jay Bernstein, Rüdiger Campe, Alexander García Düttmann, Paul Patton, Paola Marrati) *.

In addition to numerous internal working group meetings of the FF1, as well as closed meetings with other PIs and the organization of individual lectures, a large “Derrida Conference. Frankfurt 2012” was organized (Goethe University Frankfurt/M., 14.-16.03. 2012), with a total of 90 speakers, including: Martin Hägglund (Harvard), Alexander García Düttmann (Goldsmiths), Paola Marrati (Johns Hopkins), Dirk Setton (Frankfurt/M.), Bruno Clément (Paris), Martine Meskel-Cresta (Cergy-Pontoise) and Martin Saar (Frankfurt/M.). In addition, a workshop entitled “Recognition and Alterity”, which took place from 30.04.-01.05.2010 in Frankfurt/M. and whose contributions formed the basis for a publication of the same name (Nomos, 2011), should be highlighted. Christoph Menke was also involved in the organization of the lecture and seminar series “Was ist Denken?” (with Chus Martinez), at the 13th Documenta (June-September 2012), as well as in the lecture series “Dialectics of Progress” (with Sibylle Baschung and Anja Lemke), September 2012-February 2013.