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Today’sTransvaluedHumanismafterAnti-Humanism
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humanismisHtheresultoftheculturaanimi,ofanattitudethatknowshow
totakecareandpreserveandadmirethethingsoftheworld.”60Tisisthe
paradoxofsamenessanddilerence:wearethesame,orhuman(e),inthat
noonewhohaslived,orwilllive,remainsthesame.Pluralityisthecondi-
tion,andnotonlyconditiosinequanon,butalsoconditioperquamofpolitical
life,forthiscanonlyexistininterspacesbetweenpeopleintheirdiversity.61
Arendt’stheoryofpluralitytiesinwithherphilosophyofnatality,theability
tostartanew:weareallHborn-newcomersagainandagaininaworldthat
preceded[us]intime.”62Hencethegratitudeforhavingbeengivenalife,
forthe(f)actofbecoming.Eachpersonisnotjustanewcomertotheworld,
butsomeonewhohasnotbeenhere,makingeachsubjectunique.Weare
allguestsinthecommonsoftheworld.
JuliaKristevawritesabouttheinnerlife,intra-subjectivity,asthebasis
forhumanitas.Atthesametime,followingHannahArendt,shereiterates
theimportanceofrealizinghumanityinthepublicsphere.Kristevacombines
humanismasself-reflectionwithhumanismasopeninguptoothers;intra-
subjectivityinterweaveswithintersubjectivity.Inaparalleltothenotionof
apluralsubject-in-process,Kristevapositsacosmopolitanismforourcontem-
poraryintersubjectivity.Atatimewhennationsandcontinentsarebecoming
lessandlessopentoothers,thereremainstheresponsibilitytotakeupthe
dreamofancientstoics:intoday’smegalopolisweareallheirstoalltraditions.
63
Whereconservatismclasheswithculturalrevisionism,Kristevaadvocates
Hmaintainingtheprincipleofthatuniversaldignity”
64
ofallhumankind.
IntheUSA,thedisputebetweentraditionalhumanismandpostmodern-
ismbecameHculturewars”,inwhichtheHbattleofthecanon”wasapromi-
nentskirmish.Ahostofquestionswereasked:HShouldlwomen’s’orlBlack’
writingreplaceorjustcomplementthecanon?Shouldwomen’swritingbe
readonlybywomen,andBlackwritingbyBlacks?.”65Tedisputeoverthe
humanitiesbroughttogethertheproblemsofidentity,multiculturalismand
60
HannahArendt,BetweenPastandFuture:EightExercisesinPoliticalTought(London:Penguin,
2003),225.
61
HannahArendt,MeninDarkTimes(NewYork:HartcourtBraceJovanovich,1968),31.
62
HannahArendt,TeLifeoftheMind,vol2.Willing(NewYork:MarinerBooks,1981),110.
63
JuliaKristeva,NationswithoutNationalism,EuropeanPerspectives(NewYork:Columbia
UniversityPress,1993).
64
JuliaKristeva,StrangerstoOurselves(NewYork:ColumbiaUniversityPress,1994),152.
65
JacekKucharczyk,HAmerykańskiewojnyokulturę”,ResPublicaNova,vol.7-8(1999),93.
