Fanatizem in razsvetljenstvo

Jurman, Lana (author), Dolar Bahovec, Eva (mentor)

V diplomskem delu obravnavamo idejo fanatizma in njen pomen za filozofijo razsvetljenstva. V času pred francosko revolucijo so razsvetljenci fanatizem največkrat obravnavali kot versko blaznost, ki lahko vodi do najhujših zločinov in ogroža družbeni red. Fanatizem je tako skoraj vedno verski fanatizem, toda hkrati vstopa tudi v politično prav s tem, da mu pripisujejo vlogo rušilca družbenega miru. Fanatizem se v filozofiji razsvetljenstva na več mestih izriše kot meja tistega, kar je še dovoljeno misliti, in s tem kot meja te filozofije same. Razprave o fanatizmu so pogosto vezane tudi na razprave o vlogi in vplivu strasti na politično. Filozofija razsvetljenstva pa glede strasti in fanatizma kljub sodobni poenostavljeni recepciji ni enoznačna. Razlika se pokaže v Rousseaujevi filozofiji, predvsem v njegovi obravnavi strasti in fanatizma kot strasti. V diplomskem delu tako primerjamo dela Voltaira kot antifanatičnega filozofa in Rousseauja kot avtorja, ki na določenih mestih izstopa iz enciklopedistične antifanatičnosti. Ugotovitve o Rousseaujevi izvirnosti pri obravnavi fanatizma obravnavamo skupaj z ostalimi mesti njegove izvirnosti, na katere med drugimi opozori tudi Althusser. Pokazali smo, da Rousseaujeve obravnave fanatizma ni mogoče odpraviti le kot retorični napad na enciklopediste. Rousseau fanatizem označi za strast in si drzne misliti možen pozitiven vpliv na družbo, ki bi ga fanatizem lahko imel. Hkrati prav s svojo obravnavo fanatizma Rousseau opozori na najbolj problematična mesta v filozofiji enciklopedistov in v naravnopravni filozofiji. Diplomsko delo sklene ugotovitev, da se Rousseau v svojih mestih odstopa od antifanatičnega diskurza filozofije razsvetljenstva pokaže kot mislec, ki je sposoben misliti same meje filozofije razsvetljenstva in s tem še poglablja sam razsvetljenski projekt.

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: filozofija razsvetljenstva, Voltaire, Rousseau, enciklopedisti, strpnost, fanatizem
• Work type: Bachelor thesis/paper
• Organization: FF - Faculty of Arts
• Year: 2020
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-119231
• Publication date in RUL: 05.09.2020

Secondary language

• Language: English
• Title: Fanaticism and the Enlightenment

Abstract

In this thesis, we discuss the idea of fanaticism and its importance in the philosophy of the Enlightenment. Before the French revolution, fanaticism was treated by enlightenment philosophers as a religious fury, a madness that can lead to the most horrible crimes and as such presents a threat to social order. Fanaticism is thus almost always religious fanaticism, but at the same time, enters the field of the political precisely by being treated as a threat to social peace. In the philosophy of the Enlightenment, fanaticism defined the boundary of what was still allowed to be deliberated, and as such, fanaticism also defined the boundaries of the philosophy of the Enlightenment itself. Discussions on fanaticism are often related to discussions on the role of passion in politics. Nowadays, a simplified reception of the Enlightenment prevails, even though the philosophy of that time was not one-dimensional as regards to the treatment of passions and fanaticism. Rousseau’s philosophy shows a certain difference especially in his treatment of passions and fanaticism as a passion. In my thesis, I compare the works of Voltaire as an anti-fanatical philosopher and Rousseau as an author who differs from the encyclopaedists’ anti-fanaticism in many different points. We combine the findings of Rousseau’s originality in his treatment of fanaticism with other places of his originality, which are also of interest to Althusser. We aim to show that Rousseau’s treatment of fanaticism is not merely a rhetorical attack on other encyclopaedists. Rather, it is a daring attempt to think fanaticism as a passion and to think its possible positive effects on society. Rousseau is able to pinpoint some most problematical points of the Enlightenment thought precisely in his treatment of fanaticism. The thesis is concluded by the finding that where Rousseau differs from the anti-fanatic discourse of the Enlightenment, he proves to be a thinker, capable of rethinking the very boundaries of the philosophy of the Enlightenment and as such, deepened the Enlightenment project.

• Keywords: philosophy of the Enlightenment, Voltaire, Rousseau, encyclopaedists, tolerance, fanaticism