Kantian and Hegelian Engagements with Disruptive Imagination and Erinnerung

Essay from the year 2024 in the subject Philosophy - Philosophy of the 17th and 18th Centuries, grade: 1, Sofia University St. Klimment Ohridski, course: philosophy of culture, language: English, abstract: This paper explores "imagination" and "Erinnerung" (recollection) as depicted in selected moments from Kant and Hegel, integrating critique and interpretations by Schlutz and Zižek, as well as by Sallis and Verene. As demonstrated by Schlutz, within Kantian philosophy, concepts such as taste, beauty, genius, and the sublime reveal an underlying sense of threat and anxiety associated with imagination. Turning to Hegel, as elucidated here through Zižek's interpretation, one encounters a distinct and more comprehensive perspective that embraces the disruptive nature of imagination. Furthermore, Hegel's notion of Erinnerung explored by Sallis and Verene among others (and which I approach here as a primordial/presynthetic treasury of Bild), assumes a foundational role in the trajectory of the Phenomenology. Recognizing the role of Erinnerung in this light can contribute to a deeper understanding of Hegelian explorations of imagination.