Projects / Programmes
The Structure and Genealogy of Indifference: Logic - Epistemology - Ideology
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 6.10.00 |
Humanities |
Philosophy |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| H120 |
Humanities |
Systematic philosophy, ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, epistemology, ideology |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 6.03 |
Humanities |
Philosophy, Ethics and Religion |
indifference, negation, repetition, nothing, novelty, guilt, ideology
Researchers (6)
Organisations (2)
Abstract
This basic research project addresses the 1) logical, 2) epistemological, 3) philosophical-genealogical, and 4) ideologico-critical status of indifference in modernity. The goal of the project is to analyze the structure, and to conceptualize the genealogy, of indifference. Accordingly, the project follows four key objectives: 1) to formulate the logical status of the negativity of indifference; 2) to explicate the epistemological problem of indifference as the mechanism of the production of the new in modernity; 3) to demonstrate the central role of the concept of indifference in the prevalent genealogies of the philosophical notion of repetition; and 4) to utilize this new concept of indifference for the critique of the ideological discourse of guilt-economy.
Significance for science
By implementing the above-mentioned objectives and using appropriate means of dissemination, the project will demonstrate direct relevance for philosophy and the broader field of humanities as well as indirect relevance for social sciences, especially political economy. The project will be relevant at two levels:
1) Relevance for the field: an original contribution to: the study of negation and negativity in logic, psychoanalysis, and German idealism; contemporary work on the ontological status of indifference, in-operativity, and the logic of the remainder; the conceptualization of the notions of guilt and innocence; history of science, and theories of modern subjectivity; the history and genealogy of modern philosophy; studies in literary theory; studies of anti-Semitism, ideology, and the economy of debt.
2) Relevance for the discipline (and society): an original contribution to: the epistemological work on the status of knowledge (and ignorance) in modernity; study of history of philosophy with an emphasis on the relation between continental and analytic philosophy in the light of the genealogy of the concept of repetition; ethics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, and political philosophy; work on the problem of contemporary apathy and political, social, economic, and cultural indifference. With its scholarly findings and the transfer of knowledge from abroad, the project can contribute to the welfare of Slovene society; particularly, by reflecting on the obstacles to the advancement of society, the project can contribute to the development of institutions. The project presents a well-thought-out attempt at international cooperation between institutions with the aim of contributing to the establishment of a polycentric model of research work and institutional networking on behalf of cutting-edge research.
Significance for the country
The proposed project will have direct impact on the educational system, specifically on universities and research organizations, as well as on broader cultural development. Indifference presents one of the foremost moral, ethical, political, institutional, and developmental problems of contemporary societies. In its inquiry into this problem, the project considers the relevant studies, and mobilizes different scholarly approaches while making critical use of them. The project establishes an inter-institutional and international network of researchers with different research backgrounds who share scholarly interest in this problem and in its immediate ethical-political, socio-economic, cultural, and institutional implications. All four work-packages of the project are of immediate significance for society; this impact on society is most notable in the case of the fourth work-package, which aims at developing an original concept of “guilt for nothing,” that is of consequence not only for understanding the ongoing debt-crisis, but also for interpreting the political discourse of the migration-crisis that is facing Europe. In this sense, detailed philosophical inquiry into the problem of indifference presents a direct intervention in the social, economic, political, and cultural space.
Most important scientific results
Interim report,
final report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Interim report,
final report
