Mastering Humans: Thinking (and) Slavery in the Age of Efficiency
Taking as a starting point William Blake’s indictment of the enslaving powers of militarism, the article looks at different conceptions of mastery, chiefly in the work of Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger, also referring to Blake’s poetry and the literary figures of Hamlet and Robinson Crusoe...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Institute of English Studies
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://anglica-journal.com/resources/html/article/details?id=625747 |
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| author | Przemysław Uściński |
| author_facet | Przemysław Uściński |
| author_sort | Przemysław Uściński |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Taking as a starting point William Blake’s indictment of the enslaving powers of militarism, the article looks at different conceptions of mastery, chiefly in the work of Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger, also referring to Blake’s poetry and the literary figures of Hamlet and Robinson Crusoe. Nietzsche’s critique of slave morality and Heidegger’s analysis of the metaphysics of the will to power reveal a number of contradictions inherent in the concept of mastery, including the disavowal of bodily vulnerabilities and ecological interdependences. What Heidegger sees as the modern project of “absolute humanisation” is thus read alongside the posthumanist critique of human domination, including domination over nature, in the work of Claire Colebrook, Timothy Morton and Jean-Luc Nancy, among others. Such constructions of mastery tend to also erase their dependence on the exploitation of labour, including the toil of the slaves and women. What posthumanist critique appears to aim at is a shift from the rati
onality of pure reason to the relationality of earthly cohabitation, which calls for a relinquishing of mastery for an openness to uncertainty and vulnerability. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3d4951333b974665a80426b6b467f661 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0860-5734 2957-0905 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | Institute of English Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-3d4951333b974665a80426b6b467f6612025-01-13T22:03:32ZengInstitute of English StudiesAnglica. An International Journal of English Studies0860-57342957-09052024-10-0133311713610.7311/0860-5734.33.3.08Mastering Humans: Thinking (and) Slavery in the Age of EfficiencyPrzemysław Uściński0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8848-8095University of WarsawTaking as a starting point William Blake’s indictment of the enslaving powers of militarism, the article looks at different conceptions of mastery, chiefly in the work of Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger, also referring to Blake’s poetry and the literary figures of Hamlet and Robinson Crusoe. Nietzsche’s critique of slave morality and Heidegger’s analysis of the metaphysics of the will to power reveal a number of contradictions inherent in the concept of mastery, including the disavowal of bodily vulnerabilities and ecological interdependences. What Heidegger sees as the modern project of “absolute humanisation” is thus read alongside the posthumanist critique of human domination, including domination over nature, in the work of Claire Colebrook, Timothy Morton and Jean-Luc Nancy, among others. Such constructions of mastery tend to also erase their dependence on the exploitation of labour, including the toil of the slaves and women. What posthumanist critique appears to aim at is a shift from the rati onality of pure reason to the relationality of earthly cohabitation, which calls for a relinquishing of mastery for an openness to uncertainty and vulnerability.https://anglica-journal.com/resources/html/article/details?id=625747masteryslaverymodernitytechnologyhumanist theodicyecologyrelationality |
| spellingShingle | Przemysław Uściński Mastering Humans: Thinking (and) Slavery in the Age of Efficiency Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies mastery slavery modernity technology humanist theodicy ecology relationality |
| title | Mastering Humans: Thinking (and) Slavery in the Age of Efficiency |
| title_full | Mastering Humans: Thinking (and) Slavery in the Age of Efficiency |
| title_fullStr | Mastering Humans: Thinking (and) Slavery in the Age of Efficiency |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mastering Humans: Thinking (and) Slavery in the Age of Efficiency |
| title_short | Mastering Humans: Thinking (and) Slavery in the Age of Efficiency |
| title_sort | mastering humans thinking and slavery in the age of efficiency |
| topic | mastery slavery modernity technology humanist theodicy ecology relationality |
| url | https://anglica-journal.com/resources/html/article/details?id=625747 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT przemysławuscinski masteringhumansthinkingandslaveryintheageofefficiency |