Criticism of the notion of cultural policy from Heideggerean position

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to re-examine the assumptions of both the concept and the practices of contemporary cultural policy based on a review of Heidegger critique of the concept of culture. The starting point of his criticism are objections to neo-Kantian philosophy of value (Wertphilosophie) from the first decades of the last century, which, as shown here, is the genuine theoretical foundation of the modern, value-oriented culturalism. Its main conceptual difficulty lies in attempt to re-orient the humans, who suffer the consequences of a crisis of humanism, sticking at the same time to the very same doctrinal assumptions that caused the crisis itself. The modern “crisis of culture” is actually a crisis of humanism that inherited the modern-age metaphysics of subjectivity, which is based on the presupposition of man as a subjectum in whose horizon everything is to get its sense and value. But, the overall historic outcome of the application of this concept is disorientation of the modern man, a way out of which is trying to be found in the production of (“true”) cultural values as a supposedly durable and reliable benchmark, that is allegedly to supply humans life with worthiness and persistence. But, since the producer, the recipient and finally the one who evaluates cultural values show up a man who relies only on his own strengths and insights, it must be increasingly clear that the theoretical paradigm underlying normative culturalism, which is trying to “save” the contemporary man out of trouble, unwittingly confirms those hypotheses that led to the crisis, which, in the ultimate consequences, will only deepen the crisis and sense of disorientation. In parallel considerations, we are also tracking the relationship of cultural politics, mass, i.e. popular culture and the notion of spirit.

Namjera ovoga članka jeste preispitivanje pretpostavki pojma, odnosno mogućnosti prakse kulturne politike na osnovu uvida u Hajdegerovu kritiku pojma kulture, odnosno kulturne politike. Polazište njegove kritike predstavljaju prigovori novokantovskoj filosofiji vrijednosti s prvih decenija prošloga stoljeća, koja, kako ovdje pokazujemo, predstavlja istinsko teorijsko ishodište savremenog, vrednosno usmjerenog kulturalizma.