The Necessity of The Contingent

Eli Friedlander argues that contrary to the common appropriation of Benjamin’s writings, they are to be read as philosophy, and this lecture series sets out to show why. The opening lecture introduces the central puzzle by considering Benjamin’s Arcades Project: How can what is philosophically essential be recognized in the investigation of the most historically concrete and contingent? How can a massive collection of quotations and notes organized into thematic "convolutes" on topics ranging from the flaneur to iron construction count as philosophy? It is neither a Hegelian history of spirit, nor is it unproblematically identifiable with historical materialism inspired by Marx. Benjamin offers no critical theoretical vantage point on the cultural material and instead lets the montage of quotations do much of the work. Adorno famously criticized Benjamin’s fascination with the details of bourgeois existence referring to the project as a work that stands at the crossroad of positivism and magic. Friedlander proposes that the key to Benjamin's philosophical significance lies in his concept of expression, a thread the series will follow through his writings on language, art, and the life of the modern city.