a. What is "Enlightenment"?
Enlightenment is described as "the advance of thought" or in other words: knowledge. This enlightenment has been important for us human beings to establish ourselves as "the masters" and gain distance from our fears, or in this case even myths.
Dialectic is a kind of discussion form where you try to find out what is true. This is done by logical argumentation and reasoning. This is what the enlightenment is about. To find a logical reasoning of what and why things are true.
c. What is "nominalism" and why is it an important concept in the text?
Nominalism is the opposite of realism and may be two things: either it says that universal entities/objects (eg. strength and humanity) doesn't exist, or it says that abstract objects (objects that doesn't exist in time and space) doesn't exist. This means that only physical object exists but some versions of nominalism also admits that some particular abstract objects do exist (like numbers).
It's an important concept in the text because nominalism says that myths or other unnatural things without scientific explanations aren't true, and are therefore in line with the enlightenment.
d. What is the meaning and function of "myth" in Adorno and Horkheimer's argument
The "myths" were the explanation to everything.They where the truth if we couldn't explain it in any way! And that may have risen a kind of fear in us. The enlightenment gave explanations to the myths and we therefore became masters of the fears/myths.
2. "The Work of Art in the Age of Technical Reproductivity"
a. In the beginning of the essay, Benjamin talks about the relation between "superstructure" and "substructure" in the capitalist order of production. What do the concepts "superstructure" and "substructure" mean in this context and what is the point of analyzing cultural production from a Marxist perspective?
Superstructures is developing much slower than substructures, and that is because substructures are affecting the development of superstructures. Substructures are the production for example paintings, theaters, movies, sculptures. Superstructures are everything that contains of the substructures such as the society, art, religion, laws and culture. The substructures are therefore the base, and if the base is good the superstructure (or the society/culture) which grows from it will also be good.
2. "The Work of Art in the Age of Technical Reproductivity"
a. In the beginning of the essay, Benjamin talks about the relation between "superstructure" and "substructure" in the capitalist order of production. What do the concepts "superstructure" and "substructure" mean in this context and what is the point of analyzing cultural production from a Marxist perspective?
Superstructures is developing much slower than substructures, and that is because substructures are affecting the development of superstructures. Substructures are the production for example paintings, theaters, movies, sculptures. Superstructures are everything that contains of the substructures such as the society, art, religion, laws and culture. The substructures are therefore the base, and if the base is good the superstructure (or the society/culture) which grows from it will also be good.
b. Does culture have revolutionary potentials (according to Benjamin)? If so, describe these potentials. Does Benjamin's perspective differ from the perspective of Adorno & Horkheimer in this regard?
Benjamin saw revolutionary potential in example photography and films. They have changed the cultural industries and the views of the world becomes more easily accessible throughout the world.
Adorno & Horkheimer likes the new technologies and to be able to spread the enlightenment whereas Benjamin doesn't like technology in terms of creating art. A photography isn't true art in the way as an original painting is. But at the same time it is making room for new types of art, but I don't think Benjamin see it that way. He doesn't seem to think that a photograph is unique and therefore it don't have the same aura as "original" art objects.
c. Benjamin discusses how people perceive the world through the senses and argues that this perception can be both naturally and historically determined. What does this mean? Give some examples of historically determined perception (from Benjamin's essay and/or other contexts).
Natural perception is the perception we are born with. It is the perception of the world we have through our senses and therefore it is also individual. But history or historical events can also have an effect on how we perceive the world, and that is what historical perception is. An example may be war or epidemics of dangerous deceases (like the plague).
d. What does Benjamin mean by the term "aura"? Are there different kinds of aura in natural objects compared to art objects?
Adorno & Horkheimer likes the new technologies and to be able to spread the enlightenment whereas Benjamin doesn't like technology in terms of creating art. A photography isn't true art in the way as an original painting is. But at the same time it is making room for new types of art, but I don't think Benjamin see it that way. He doesn't seem to think that a photograph is unique and therefore it don't have the same aura as "original" art objects.
c. Benjamin discusses how people perceive the world through the senses and argues that this perception can be both naturally and historically determined. What does this mean? Give some examples of historically determined perception (from Benjamin's essay and/or other contexts).
Natural perception is the perception we are born with. It is the perception of the world we have through our senses and therefore it is also individual. But history or historical events can also have an effect on how we perceive the world, and that is what historical perception is. An example may be war or epidemics of dangerous deceases (like the plague).
d. What does Benjamin mean by the term "aura"? Are there different kinds of aura in natural objects compared to art objects?
Benjamin says that aura is the "unique phenomenon of a distance". I didn't understand that completely but he also brought up examples of the natural aura and the arts aura. The natural aura was as if a regular branch cast it's shadow over you, then you felt the natural aura of the branch. And the arts aura had to come from unique art, such as the Venus statue, and is what you experience when you look at it. So the aura in arts is different from the natural aura in that way that it's only experienced if the thing is a unique artpiece. But all things can have a natural aura.
http://knowledge.sagepub.com/view/power/n360.xml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominalism
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nominalism-metaphysics/
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dialectic
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