Mit anderen unsterblich werden. Der Dialog bei Vilém Flusser
This essay deals with Flusser’s theory of inter-subjectivity by reflecting upon immortality, which can originate in dialogical exchange with others. Flusser’s utopia of a telematic society will be discussed as an utopia of dialogical living, referring to Martin Buber’s dialogic principle. This contribution would like to develop Flusser’s thoughts on a responsible society in an age of massification through the media. In this context, the experience of Bodenlosigkeit as well as the idea of self-projection are of fundamental significance.
Wir müssen die Frage nach der Freiheit neu formulieren. Von der unwürdigen Entscheidungsfreiheit zur Freiheit als Projektion – eine Spurensuche bei Vilém Flusser
Most theories about freedom depend on the idea of freedom of choice. If you can make your decisions without pressure from the within or without, then you are free. Here freedom of choice is the condition for the freedom of will and action. However for Flusser, freedom of choice is undignified for the human being. With this statement as my starting point, I examine Flusser’s concept of freedom. I will first summarize Flusser’s history of the development of world views and human consciousness, and then reconstruct the different concepts of freedom within them. Then I will analyze Flusser’s opinion about the notion of freedom within a quantitative world view. Freedom has in this context different definitions: intention, game with chance, projection, creative involvement, or responsibility. This essay performs a critical exploration of the relationship of these definitions to each other and the clarification of Flusser’s specific characterization of freedom.