52 research outputs found
Language Failing:The Reach of Lament
No full textLament emerges in moments of deep mourning and sorrow, moments in which pain overwhelms us to such a degree that we fail to find words for it. It is as if our language goes amiss in the face of such sorrow, disintegrating into mere exclamations and disconsolate cries. But what does it mean for language to lose its grip and fail in such a way? And how is such a failure related to the constitution of lament? Ferber argued with Gershom Scholem that this unique form of expression is not only a passionate intimation of the sorrow incited by loss, but more importantly, an expression of the very failure of language. Lament, therefore, ought to be understood as a language constituted by its fundamental failure to establish propositional statements regarding loss, to communicate it as referential content, and, ultimately, to elicit a response to its plea. These failures, however, do not weaken or undermine lament’s expressive capabilities; on the contrary, they establish the very basis for its unmatched force of expression. In addition to her discussion of Scholem, Ferber touched on the performative aspects of language and their failures, as well as on Benjamin’s idea of ‘pure language’ and its relation to failure. Her argument thus not only concerned the nature of lament but the very essence of language and expression at large. Ilit Ferber is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Tel-Aviv University. Her publications include Philosophy and Melancholy: Benjamin’s Early Reflections on Theater and Language (2013) and articles on Benjamin, Leibniz, Herder, Freud, Heidegger, and Scholem. She has also co-edited Philosophy’s Moods (2011) and Lament in Jewish Thought (2014). Ferber is currently working on a book that explores the relationships between pain and language in the writings of Herder, Rousseau, Benjamin, and Wittgenstein
Pain as Yardstick: Jean Améry
No full textOne of the best known and most widely accepted premises regarding the experience of pain and suffering is its singular, private nature. Pain’s violence isolates us from everything else, embedding us completely within our own suffering so that there is nothing else but pain: no world or objects, no relationship with other people, no past or anticipation of the future. An utter withdrawal. But pain’s isolating force is dual: it affects not only those who suffer, but also those who are not in pain. Thus, it is precisely in pain – the exemplary state in which we need others with us to offer their help and sympathy – that we find ourselves in solitude; and it is precisely in the state of pain that we leave others to suffer alone
Lament in Jewish Thought
No full textThis collection features essays by leading scholars on the philosophical, theological, poetic and cultural aspects of lament, touching on the textual traditions of lament in Judaism, from Biblical, rabbinic and medieval iterations to contemporary Yemenite oral lamentations. The volume also includes four texts on lament by Gershom Scholem, translated here for the first time into English, as well as essays interpreting Scholem`s challenging work
Lament in Jewish Thought
No full textThis collection features essays by leading scholars on the philosophical, theological, poetic and cultural aspects of lament, touching on the textual traditions of lament in Judaism, from Biblical, rabbinic and medieval iterations to contemporary Yemenite oral lamentations. The volume also includes four texts on lament by Gershom Scholem, translated here for the first time into English, as well as essays interpreting Scholem`s challenging work
Lament in Jewish Thought: Philosophical, Theological, and Literary Perspectives
No full textThis collection features essays by leading scholars on the philosophical, theological, poetic and cultural aspects of lament, touching on the textual traditions of lament in Judaism, from Biblical, rabbinic and medieval iterations to contemporary Yemenite oral lamentations. The volume also includes four texts on lament by Gershom Scholem, translated here for the first time into English, as well as essays interpreting Scholem`s challenging work
- …
