In Retrospect

Last Friday was one of our last meetings in class. We presented our paper proposals to the class and discussed them with Daan and Bert Theunissen. For relaxation and inspiration we made a very enjoyable stroll through the Botanical Garden at the Uithof.


Dirk will be writing about Austrian philosopher and social theorist Otto Neurath, his position in the Vienna circle, and his role as both a scholar and a socialist.
Koen's essay will discuss the 20th-century avant-garde movement of Surrealism, its opposition to rationality and its search for the creative potential of the unconscious mind.
Klaas-Pieter will perform the daring comparison between Sigmund Freud and the 'pre-scientific' priest. While looking at psychoanalysis as a ritual, an argument will be made to show how science, positivism, and Enlightenment were used as a substitute for religion.
Ruben will write his essay on the perception of late 19th-century decadence, and how it differed from artists, like Wilde, Beardsley, Wagner, and social critics, such as Max Nordau.

Filed under: Science and Dilemma's of Modernity