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Papers by Jay M Bernstein
The Philosophical Review, 1998
Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit: A Reappraisal, 1997
In his account of the Hegel—Adorno relationship in “The ‘Unhappy Consciousness’ and Conscious Unh... more In his account of the Hegel—Adorno relationship in “The ‘Unhappy Consciousness’ and Conscious Unhappiness,” Simon Jarvis underlines the thesis that whatever his critique of Hegel and however he departs from Hegel, Adorno accepts the rudiments of Hegelian idealism and speculation whilst providing a reading of Hegel that does not retreat before the standards his philosophy sets. Adorno is an objective idealist to the extent to which he denies there is a philosophical “first,” be it mind or nature, subject or object: there can be no mediation without “something” which is mediated, and no presentation of pure immediacy without its mediations. Even more significantly, Adorno’s project aims at “speculative identities” that are the product of dialectically working through experiences of diremption. If these ideas represent the inner core of Hegelianism, and I do not wish here to contest Jarvis’ claim that they do, then there is at least a prima facie case for construing Adorno as an orthodox, authentic Hegelian; and, in part, that is a large component of the elaboration of the Hegel-Adorno relationship which Jarvis offers. Yet, at the end of the day, Jarvis proffers a version of the most standard criticism of Adorno — “that he ends up treating the non-identical as a kind of Absolute” — whilst implicitly defending Hegel against the Adornoian charge that when the claim of “system” itself appears in a Hegel text, say as Absolute Knowing (in the Phenomenology) or as Absolute Idea (in the Logic), then his dialectic falls back into identitarian thought in which the object is reduced to what makes it commensurable with the self-preserving, labouring subject — subjective idealism after all.
Parallax, 2004
I must repeat – we, the survivors, are not the true witnesses. This is an uncomfortable notion, o... more I must repeat – we, the survivors, are not the true witnesses. This is an uncomfortable notion, of which I have become conscious little by little [. . .] We survivors are not only an exiguous but also an anomalous minority: we are those who by their prevarications or abilities or good luck did not touch bottom. Those who did so, those who saw the Gorgon, have not returned to tell about it or have returned mute, but they are the ‘Muslims’, the submerged, the complete witnesses, the ones whose deposition would have a general significance. They are the rule, we are the exception [.. .] We who were favored by fate tried, with more or less wisdom, to recount not only our fate, but also that of others, the submerged; but this was a discourse on ‘behalf of third parties’, the story of things seen from close by, not experienced personally. When the destruction was terminated, the work accomplished was not told by anyone, just as no one ever returned to recount his own death. Even if they had paper and pen, the submerged would not have testified because their death had begun before that of their body. Weeks and months before being snuffed out, they had already lost the ability to observe, to remember, compare and express themselves. We speak in their stead, by proxy.
The German Quarterly, 1986
A historico-philosophical essay on the forms of great epic literature. by Georg. He was looking f... more A historico-philosophical essay on the forms of great epic literature. by Georg. He was looking for a general dialectic of literary genres that was based upon the The Theory of the Novel in his polemic against the
We have heard throughout the day of the enormous amount of rule of law work going on all over the... more We have heard throughout the day of the enormous amount of rule of law work going on all over the world. This primarily began in the early nineties after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union. The American Bar Association has been a leader in this work, but the work has also been carried out by dozens, indeed, scores of other organizations: national bar associations of countries throughout the world, NGOs, and several for-profit companies.' The ABA alone receives over $30 million a year in grants to carry out this work, and so we know that hundreds of millions of dollars have been expended in these programs over the past eighteen years. 2 From their beginnings, rule of law programs have benefited from the involvement of prominent national and international jurists and bar leaders. In the United States, several Justices of our Supreme Court have been leaders and outspoken advocates
Southern Journal of Philosophy, 2010
To my father and sister — and in memory of my mother Literature and Philosophy AJ Cascardi, Gener... more To my father and sister — and in memory of my mother Literature and Philosophy AJ Cascardi, General Editor This new series will publish books in a wide range of subjects in philosophy and literature, including studies of the social and historical issues that relate these two ...
The Philosophical Review, 1998
Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit: A Reappraisal, 1997
In his account of the Hegel—Adorno relationship in “The ‘Unhappy Consciousness’ and Conscious Unh... more In his account of the Hegel—Adorno relationship in “The ‘Unhappy Consciousness’ and Conscious Unhappiness,” Simon Jarvis underlines the thesis that whatever his critique of Hegel and however he departs from Hegel, Adorno accepts the rudiments of Hegelian idealism and speculation whilst providing a reading of Hegel that does not retreat before the standards his philosophy sets. Adorno is an objective idealist to the extent to which he denies there is a philosophical “first,” be it mind or nature, subject or object: there can be no mediation without “something” which is mediated, and no presentation of pure immediacy without its mediations. Even more significantly, Adorno’s project aims at “speculative identities” that are the product of dialectically working through experiences of diremption. If these ideas represent the inner core of Hegelianism, and I do not wish here to contest Jarvis’ claim that they do, then there is at least a prima facie case for construing Adorno as an orthodox, authentic Hegelian; and, in part, that is a large component of the elaboration of the Hegel-Adorno relationship which Jarvis offers. Yet, at the end of the day, Jarvis proffers a version of the most standard criticism of Adorno — “that he ends up treating the non-identical as a kind of Absolute” — whilst implicitly defending Hegel against the Adornoian charge that when the claim of “system” itself appears in a Hegel text, say as Absolute Knowing (in the Phenomenology) or as Absolute Idea (in the Logic), then his dialectic falls back into identitarian thought in which the object is reduced to what makes it commensurable with the self-preserving, labouring subject — subjective idealism after all.
Parallax, 2004
I must repeat – we, the survivors, are not the true witnesses. This is an uncomfortable notion, o... more I must repeat – we, the survivors, are not the true witnesses. This is an uncomfortable notion, of which I have become conscious little by little [. . .] We survivors are not only an exiguous but also an anomalous minority: we are those who by their prevarications or abilities or good luck did not touch bottom. Those who did so, those who saw the Gorgon, have not returned to tell about it or have returned mute, but they are the ‘Muslims’, the submerged, the complete witnesses, the ones whose deposition would have a general significance. They are the rule, we are the exception [.. .] We who were favored by fate tried, with more or less wisdom, to recount not only our fate, but also that of others, the submerged; but this was a discourse on ‘behalf of third parties’, the story of things seen from close by, not experienced personally. When the destruction was terminated, the work accomplished was not told by anyone, just as no one ever returned to recount his own death. Even if they had paper and pen, the submerged would not have testified because their death had begun before that of their body. Weeks and months before being snuffed out, they had already lost the ability to observe, to remember, compare and express themselves. We speak in their stead, by proxy.
The German Quarterly, 1986
A historico-philosophical essay on the forms of great epic literature. by Georg. He was looking f... more A historico-philosophical essay on the forms of great epic literature. by Georg. He was looking for a general dialectic of literary genres that was based upon the The Theory of the Novel in his polemic against the
We have heard throughout the day of the enormous amount of rule of law work going on all over the... more We have heard throughout the day of the enormous amount of rule of law work going on all over the world. This primarily began in the early nineties after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union. The American Bar Association has been a leader in this work, but the work has also been carried out by dozens, indeed, scores of other organizations: national bar associations of countries throughout the world, NGOs, and several for-profit companies.' The ABA alone receives over $30 million a year in grants to carry out this work, and so we know that hundreds of millions of dollars have been expended in these programs over the past eighteen years. 2 From their beginnings, rule of law programs have benefited from the involvement of prominent national and international jurists and bar leaders. In the United States, several Justices of our Supreme Court have been leaders and outspoken advocates
Southern Journal of Philosophy, 2010
To my father and sister — and in memory of my mother Literature and Philosophy AJ Cascardi, Gener... more To my father and sister — and in memory of my mother Literature and Philosophy AJ Cascardi, General Editor This new series will publish books in a wide range of subjects in philosophy and literature, including studies of the social and historical issues that relate these two ...