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The Wisdom of Prometheus: Kant, Marx, and Holderin on Politics, Disappointment, and the limits of Modernity(*).(philosophers Immanuel Kant and Karl Marx, novelist Friedrich Holderlin)

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From: Polity
Date: 19990622
Author:Michaelis, Loralea

I. Introduction

Disappointment is a characteristic feature of our shared condition as mortal creatures subject to the experiences of failure and frustration: our plans may go awry, our actions may have unwanted consequences, our expectations may be frustrated and, in a more general sense, we are rarely the kind of people we would like to be. These experiences, especially as they relate to politics, have taken on a significance in the modern period that they did not have in previous epochs. The contemplative life celebrated in Plato's Republic "resolves" the problem of ...

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