The Critical Introduction to Salomo Friedlaender-Mynona

20th Century Performance Philosopher

Edited by Detlef Thiel and Alice Lagaay - Salomo Friedlaender/Mynona

Salomo Friedlaender/Mynona (1871-1946) was a prominent, eccentric and influential figure in late Imperial Germany, Expressionism, Dadaism, and the Weimar Republic who wrote and published works of philosophy, novels, parodies and satirical so called ‘grotesque’ tales which he wrote under the pseudonym Mynona - the German word for anonymous, anonym, spelt backwards. After fleeing the rise of Nazism, F/M died in Paris in obscurity. F/M is currently in the process of being re-discovered in his native language, however little of his work generally, and none of the philosophical texts, have been translated.

The is the first ever book-length publication in English introducing the philosophical works. It includes three introductory framing chapters explaining the historical context, contemporary relevance and pertinence to performance philosophy of F/M; it contains original translations of select passages from his most significant philosophical texts (especially Schöpferische Indifferenz/Creative Indifference, first published in 1918), the later Das magische Ich/The Magic I (1935) and the very last essay Ideenmagie/Idea Magic (1945/46) as well as translations of select letters from his life-time of extensive correspondence to and from well-known cultural personalities of the time.

Not only recognised as having inspired Walter Benjamin, and thus arguably an important contributor to the tradition of critical theory to which Benjamin belongs, F/M can be counted as forerunner of both performance philosophy and gender theory, and as a major influence in the development of Gestalt therapy. Furthermore, not only did F/M/Mynona belong to the first generation of avid Nietzsche readers, over the course of his life he remained a tireless interpreter of Immanuel Kant. His extraordinary voice is of significant interest to Nietzsche and Kant Studies and sheds light on their respective relevance for a performance-oriented approach to philosophy.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 250 •

978-1-5381-4614-9 • Paperback • September 2023 • $40.00 • (£31.00)

978-1-5381-4615-6 • eBook • September 2023 • $45.00 • (£35.00) (coming soon)

Series: Performance Philosophy

Subjects: Philosophy / Movements / Critical Theory, Philosophy / Aesthetics, Philosophy / Continental Philosophy, Philosophy / Gender Philosophy, Philosophy / Individual Philosophers

The Critical Introduction to Salomo Friedlaender-Mynona

20th Century Performance Philosopher

Paperback

Summary

Salomo Friedlaender/Mynona (1871-1946) was a prominent, eccentric and influential figure in late Imperial Germany, Expressionism, Dadaism, and the Weimar Republic who wrote and published works of philosophy, novels, parodies and satirical so called ‘grotesque’ tales which he wrote under the pseudonym Mynona - the German word for anonymous, anonym, spelt backwards. After fleeing the rise of Nazism, F/M died in Paris in obscurity. F/M is currently in the process of being re-discovered in his native language, however little of his work generally, and none of the philosophical texts, have been translated.

The is the first ever book-length publication in English introducing the philosophical works. It includes three introductory framing chapters explaining the historical context, contemporary relevance and pertinence to performance philosophy of F/M; it contains original translations of select passages from his most significant philosophical texts (especially Schöpferische Indifferenz/Creative Indifference, first published in 1918), the later Das magische Ich/The Magic I (1935) and the very last essay Ideenmagie/Idea Magic (1945/46) as well as translations of select letters from his life-time of extensive correspondence to and from well-known cultural personalities of the time.

Not only recognised as having inspired Walter Benjamin, and thus arguably an important contributor to the tradition of critical theory to which Benjamin belongs, F/M can be counted as forerunner of both performance philosophy and gender theory, and as a major influence in the development of Gestalt therapy. Furthermore, not only did F/M/Mynona belong to the first generation of avid Nietzsche readers, over the course of his life he remained a tireless interpreter of Immanuel Kant. His extraordinary voice is of significant interest to Nietzsche and Kant Studies and sheds light on their respective relevance for a performance-oriented approach to philosophy.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 250 •

978-1-5381-4614-9 • Paperback • September 2023 • $40.00 • (£31.00)

978-1-5381-4615-6 • eBook • September 2023 • $45.00 • (£35.00) (coming soon)

Series: Performance Philosophy

Subjects: Philosophy / Movements / Critical Theory, Philosophy / Aesthetics, Philosophy / Continental Philosophy, Philosophy / Gender Philosophy, Philosophy / Individual Philosophers

Table of Contents

Part One: Introducing and contextualising Salomo Friedlaender/Mynona
1. ‘Introducing the philosophical works of Salomo Friedlaender/Mynona’ Alice Lagaay
2. ‘Explosions of ‘Creative Indifference’: Salomo Friedlaender, Sun Ra, serendipity, and the idea of a ‘heliocentre’, Hartmut Geerken & Alice Lagaay in Dialogue
3. ‘Indifferentism of Polar Performance’ Detlef Thiel

Part Two: Philosophy in literary performance: Grotesques
1. Aerosophy (1911), trans. A. Lagaay
2. Carnival of Logic (1912), trans. B. Bamberger
3. Presentism. The World Emperor’s Speech to the People – lest you become like the Gods (1913), trans. M. Twitchin
4. The Flight of Love (1919), trans. D. Thiel
5. Idea for a Telehapter, trans. D. Thiel
6. Grotesque (1919), trans. A. Lagaay
7. Mynona’s 100th Birthday (1928), trans. A. Lagaay
8. The Laughing Job (1935), trans. S. Lindberg

Part Three: Creative Indifference: Philosophical Applications
From Creative Indifference (1918):
1. Preface, trans. A. Lagaay
2. Preamble, trans. A. Lagaay
3. Treatise 1, trans. S. Lindberg

Sketches:
4. Ethics, trans. A. Lagaay
5. Individual, trans. B. Bamberger
6. Value, trans. S. Lindberg
7. Colour, trans. B. Bamberger
8. Aphorisms, trans. W. Bamberger

Part Four: Later philosophical texts
9. On World Ether. According to Immanuel Kant and Ernst Marcus (1934) trans. D. Thiel

From The Magical I (1935):
10. Preface trans. A. Lagaay
11. Introduction trans. A. Lagaay
12. From Idea Magic (Ideenmagie, 1945) trans. S. Lindberg

Part Five: Letters/Correspondence
13. To E.W. Tieffenbach 20.9.1933
14. To Doris Hahn 14.06.1935
15. To Alfred Kubin 10.04.1936
16. To Arthur Segal: 20.7.1938
17. To Anselm Ruest: Paris, 13.9.1943

Chronology of the Life & bibliography of F/M
Bibliography