Understanding Benjamin's "On Language as Such and on the Language of Man" through Weberian Verstehende

Year 2024, Volume: 5 Issue: 1, 1 - 17, 30.06.2024

Arif Akbaş

https://doi.org/10.58306/wollt.1368113

Abstract

In this article, the first published work of the famous German philosopher and intellectual Walter Benjamin; His work titled “Über Sprache überhaupt und über die Sprache des Menschen” On Language as It Own and Human Language will be introduced and discussed within the framework of the Weberian interpretive approach (Verstehende). As a draft, this treatise, written by Walter Benjamin in 1916 and running just under 20 pages, was not planned for publication and was passed on only to a few friends. Benjamin copied this text and distributed it to several people who were members of the Frankfurt School. As a non-dogmatic thinker, the philosopher was associated with the Frankfurt School through his close friendship with Theodor W. Adorno. His friendship and collaboration with Bertolt Brecht also influenced his thoughts and writings. According to some intellectuals of the period, Benjamin was considered one of the most important thinkers in the field of cultural studies. His writings on socially understood aesthetics were accepted in a wide range of disciplines. Their influence extends beyond academic fields to the fields of literature, art, media (theory) and journalism. In his youth, Benjamin met Gershom Scholem, a mathematics and philosophy student, and Poet Rainer Maria Rilke. As a result of discussions and conversations with Scholem, this booklet, his first work, emerged. The book has an inherent and intense content. From this point on, “linguistic theory” became a permanent theme for Benjamin. He also saw the "canon of perception" in the content of the article, which he would later use frequently.

Keywords

Walter Benjamin, Frankfurt School, philosophy of language, On Language as Such and on the Language of Man, Weber's Verstehende Method

Weberci Verstehende Bağlamında Benjamin'in "Dil ve İnsan Dili Üzerine" Anlayışı

Abstract

Bu makalede ünlü Alman filozofu ve entelektüeli Walter Benjamin’in yayımlanan ilk eseri olan; “Über Sprache überhaupt und über die Sprache des Menschen” Kendi Haliyle Dil ve İnsanın Dili Üzerine adlı yapıtı Weberci yorumlayıcı yaklaşım (Verstehende) çerçevesinde tanıtılıp, tartışılacaktır. Taslak olarak, Walter Benjamin’in 1916’da yazdığı, 20 sayfanın biraz altında olan bu incelemenin yayımlanması planlanmamıştı ve yalnızca birkaç arkadaşa aktarılmıştı. Benjamin bu metni teksirle çoğaltıp Frankfurt Ekolüne dâhil olan birkaç kişiye dağıtmıştır. Filozof dogmatik olmayan bir düşünür olarak Theodor W. Adorno ile olan yakın dostluğu sayesinde Frankfurt Okulu ile ilişkilendirilmekteydi. Bertolt Brecht’le olan dostluğu ve iş birliği onun düşüncesi ile yazılarında etkili olmuştur. Dönemin bazı entelektüeline göre Benjamin, kültürel çalışmalar alanında en önemli düşünürlerden biri olarak kabul edilmekteydi. Toplumsal olarak anlaşılan estetik üzerine yazıları çok çeşitli disiplinlerde kabul görmekteydi. Etkileri akademik alanların ötesinde edebiyat, sanat, medya (teori) ve gazetecilik alanlarına kadar uzanmaktadır. Benjamin, gençlik yıllarında matematik - felsefe öğrencisi Gershom Scholem ve Şair Rainer Maria Rilke ile tanışmıştı. Scholem’le yapılan tartışmalar ve konuşmalar neticesinde ilk eseri olan bu kitapçık ortaya çıkmıştır. Kitap, içkin ve yoğun bir içeriğe sahiptir. Bu noktadan itibaren “dil teorisi” Benjamin için kalıcı bir tema haline gelmiştir. Yazının içeriğinde sonradan sıklıkla kullanacağı “algı kanonunu” da görmüştür.

Keywords

Walter Benjamin, Frankfurt Okulu, Dil felsefesi, Kendi haliyle dil ve insanın dili üzerine, Weber'in verstehende yöntemi

Ethical Statement

Makle için etik beyan gerekmemektedir.

Supporting Institution

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Thanks

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References

• Benjamin, W. (1916). Über Sprache überhaupt und über die Sprache des Menschen. Munich: Handschrift.
• Benjamin, W. (1996). “On Language as Such and on the Language of Man”, in: Selected Writings 1, 1913-1926, eds. Marcus Bullock & Michael W. Jennings (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
• Busch, K. (2006). The Language of Things and the Magic of Language On Walter Benjamin’s Concept of Latent Potency. https://transversal.at/transversal/0107/busch/en. Erişim Tarihi: 27.09.2023.
• Martel, J. R. (2011). “Walter Benjamin’s Conspiracy with Language”. In Textual Conspiracies: Walter Benjamin, Idolatry, and Political Theory (pp. 25–61). University of Michigan Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3998/mpub.3124327.6.
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• Smerick, C. M. (2009). “And G-d Said”: Language, Translation, and Scripture in Two Works by Walter Benjamin. Shofar, 27(2), 48–68. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42944447.
• Stern, A. (2019). The Fall of Language: Benjamin and Wittgenstein on Meaning, Harvard University Press.