Projects / Programmes
The Concept of the End: Philosophy, Psychoanalysis and Film
| 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 |
End, Philosophy, Psychoanalysis, Film theory
Researchers (1)
| no. |
Code |
Name and surname |
Research area |
Role |
Period |
No. of publicationsNo. of publications |
| 1. |
28442 |
PhD Tadej Troha |
Philosophy |
Head |
2011 - 2013 |
274 |
Organisations (1)
Abstract
The basic objective of the proposed project is the articulation of the philosophical concept of the end. The problem has a long tradition in philosophy and is interwoven with many other problems, but no comprehensive and autonomous study of this concept has been conducted so far. In order to achieve this objective, the project proceeds from three starting points. Firstly, from the problem of the end of philosophy and its proclamation in the 20th century. Secondly, from the specific role of the end in psychoanalysis where the concept of the end as the end of analysis has figured as a technical concept from the very beginning. And thirdly, from the problem of the end in film, particularly the shift that the most famous declaration of the end – the The End sign – was subject to in the history of film. By complementarily examining the problem of the end in the three mentioned fields, we endeavour to answer also the following general question: what are the reasons for the 20th century becoming a century of the proclamations of the end in the postmodern era?
Significance for science
In various forms and under various names, the problem of the end is a classic problem in the history of philosophy, and also a crucial concept of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Yet it seems that it has not been adequately examined by contemporary philosophy. Therefore, the main purpose of the study is to fill this gap, relying on three specific embodiments of the problem in three different fields: philosophy, psycho-analysis and film. The study’s contribution can be articulated at two levels: a) At the philosophical level, an essential novelty is the finding that a constructive examination of the problem of the end requires the introduction of a new concept, the concept of irreversibility. Connecting the end and irreversibility provides a means to reject the spontaneous opposition between end and beginning, while questioning the schematic duality that divides philosophers of finity from philosophers of infinity. In this respect, it is essential that the study does not negate this crucial difference, but introduces a new perspective on the work of the most prominent proponents of both positions. b) At the interdisciplinary level, which expands the study into the field of modernist literature (Kafka, Beckett) and contemporary politics (the phenomenon of contemporary mass movements and their specific declaration of the end of the existing political and economic system), there is the possibility of applying a new method of philosophical exploration to the singular problem of the end, within which philosophy can maintain its position, provided that it insists on being open to manifestations of the problem in other fields.
Significance for the country
The study is the first direct examination of the problem of the end in Slovenia, introducing new views of philosophical research, while engaging in dialogue with the current partial and indirect philosophical analysis of the issue and examining similar philosophical problems within different schools of philosophy. With its interdisciplinary dimension, connecting philosophy, psycho-analysis, film, literature and political studies, the study positions itself in the correct tradition of such philosophical forays into this area, whose use of different registers of thought has led to the international recognition of Slovenian philosophy. Moreover, the research findings have largely contributed to a better understanding of the current social situation, which shows that scientific development is a prerequisite for social progress.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2011,
2012,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2011,
2012,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
