Walter Benjamin "Theses on the Philosophy of History"

"The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte" (1852):

Men make their own history, but they do not make it just as they please; the do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly found, given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all the dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brain of the living (Marx p. 595).

The attempt of people trying to change the world and human life is the meaning of everything. The awareness of making freedom real but other circumstances not resist but threatens this freedom. History remains the captive necessity. I picked this passage becuase people make their own history and oppression has always been the predominant theme of history. What rules and oppresses one person is always another person therefore our ability to change the world and our inability to do so purely through reflexion.

Is pain the most important experience in life?

Pain is a very important ability we possess to help protect ourselves and warns us of dangerous situations. Pain can also motivates us to change.

How does obedience to the state protect the person from pain?

Obedience is a part of the foundation of societywithout it there would be chaos and anarchy. By being obedient protects a person from pain becuase if your disobedient than there may be consequences that can cause physical pain and many people do not want to experience that.

What does "post-liberal" mean?

Post-liberal means that liberalism has died out. There will no longer be liberty and equality. Liberals typically believe that government is necessary to protect individuals from being harmed by others but they also recognize that government itself can pose a threat to liberty.

　
Pain’s disregard for our system of values greatly increases its hold on life...Our children’s tales close with passages about heroes who, after having overcome many dangers, live out their lives in peace and happiness. We hear such assurances with pleasure, for it is comforting for us to learn about a place removed from pain. Yet, in truth, life is without any such satisfying end... (p. 4).
I think no matter how you try, most of us have the same goal of trying to distance ourselves from pain.Your mind can actually moderate how much pain you feel. Pain alters the quality of life and after overcoming situations people just want to live peacefully. People feel more comfortable to know that pain can no longer be apart of them but in reality we must face the fact that pain will never just disappear. I chose the passage because I feel pain is such an important obstacle to confront. Pain is inevitable and can effect a persons life.

Differences and Similarities
All three parties have different political views as well as different views of the economy. The Communist Party wanted to overthrow the Republic and all of its institiutions. They also wanted everything to be distributed equally such as land. The Nazi Party wanted to create a new program where Jews were excluded from and did not want them to be apart of the nation. The Nazi Party only wanted only Germans in their country they did not want non citizens which left the immigrants to face the rules of Germany and a possibilitiy of being expelled from the country.The Social Demoncratic Party wanted to maintain the Republic. They also wanted to help the citizens of Germany by providing unemployment benefits for 6 months, lowering taxes and gave them rights to speak and write about issues without inerference. All three parties wanted to do what they thought would benefit the people of Germany.

Hitler's Final Speech at his Trial for Treason, March 27, 1924
The army that we are building grows from day to day, from hour to hour. Right at this moment I have the proud hope that once the hour strikes these wild troops will merge into battalions, battalions into regiments, regiments into divisions. I have hopes that the old cockade will be lifted from the dirt, that the old colors will be unfurled to flutter again, that expiation will come before the tribunal of God. Then from our bones and from our graves will speak the voice of the only tribunal which has the right to sit in justice over us.

My interpretation: Hitler was trying to build a strong army so that when the time comes he is prepared and ready. He wanted to revive the colors again and wanted people to believe in him and his ideas.

Catholic Center Party
The largest number of supporters of the Catholic Center Party were catholic which made up 34% of the population. There were high numbers of women who choose this party and this was the most diverse party of all the rest. It had a left wing which consisted of liberal trade union and the right wing which consisted of conservative nationalist wing. This party was part of every Weimer government. In 1928 there was a change in leadership and the party drifted more towards the conservative wing then later evolved to Bavarian People’s Party.(BVP) and they often disagreed with the Weimer Republic.

Communist Party (KPD)
This party did not approve of the existence of the Weimer government.This party was established on December 1918 and were in favor of a Russian style dictatorship. This party had an intense dislike and were prejudice against Jewish people they still had Jews around their leaders. As years past they grew more and had a lot of supporters that were unemployed.

German Democratic Party (DDP)

This party supported the Weimer government and were against militarism and antisemitism which led to many Jews voting for this party. This party was mainly made up of Protestant members which were the middle class and apart of the liberal trade union . When the leaders Max Weber and Friedrich Naumann died there was a decline in the Democratic party. Although there was a decline they still played an important role during the Weimer years and became the State Party.

German Nationalist People’s Party (DNVP)
This party was mostly Protestant which included wealthy landowners and those who followed them which are servants and farmers. Industrialists with crafts people were also apart of the party and attracted the conservative. They were against republican government,Versailles treaty, and antisemitic.

German People’s Party (DVP)
This party consisted mainly of Protestant but also included catholics. They also represented small business owners and white collar workers. They supported the Weimer government and were conservatives. Their leader was Gustav Stresemann.

National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP-Nazi)
Adolf Hilter was the leader and main speaker for this party and was found in 1919. The party was against the Weimer Republic and the members tried to take the government by force but failed. they were antisemition and felt that the Jews were a threat and become the main focus point. Well into the 1920's the National Socialist support grew. Although they did not have many women supporters in the 1930's they becaming the fastest growing supporters. In 1932 they became the most popular party.

Social Democratic Party (SPD)
The Social Democratic Party had more Protestant then Catholic supporters. Women voted in large numbers.From 1919-1932 this party recieved the most votes in the national elections and were supporters of the Weimer society.

Article 48If a state fails to carry out the duties imposed upon it by the national constitution or national laws, the President of the Reich may compel performance with the aid of armed force.

If public safety and order be seriously disturbed or threatened within the German Reich, the President of the Reich may take the necessary measures to restore public safety and order; if necessary, with the aid of armed force. For this purpose he may temporarily suspend in whole or in part the fundamental rights enumerated in Articles 114, 115, 117, 118, 123, 124 and 153.

The President of the Reich must immediately communicate to the Reichstag all measures taken by virtue of Paragraph 1 or Paragraph 2 of this Article. On demand of the Reichstag these measures must be abrogated.

If there be danger in delay, the state ministry may, for its own territory, take such temporary measures as are indicated in Paragraph 2. On demand by the President of the Reich or by the Reichstag such measures shall be abrogated.

Detailed regulations shall be prescribed by a national law.

　

Interpretation: This article allows the President to take emergency measures under certain circumstances without the prior consent of the Reichstag. It also gives the power to Reichstag to cancel the emergency by majority vote. It is required that the President immediately inform the Reichstag and the President could in effect counter retaliate under Article 25 and call for new elections.

　

Article 145. Compulsory education shall be universal. For this purpose the elementary school with at least eight school years, followed by the continuation school up to the completion of the eighteenth year, shall serve primarily. Instruction and school supplies shall be free in elementary and continuation schools.

Imterpretation: Its obligatory to attend school for up18 years. You must complete schooling and the supplies for students.

3 Articles that are different from Bill of Rights

Article 26. The Reichstag shall choose its own President, its Vice-Presidents, and its Secretaries. It shall determine its own rules of procedure.

Article 96. All railways, including those not serving as means of general communication, must comply with the requirements of the Reich for the use of the railways for purposes of national defense.

Article 142.Art, science, and instruction in them are free. The state guarantees their protection and participates in their promotion

    Films that involve child murders and pedophilles are not issues that people want to see on the big screen. Some films manage to be sucessful because they only mention what happened instead of showing it. Also they don't make the whole movie about the incident only. Plots in these films are also successful because it is based on reality.

   Who Saw Her Die? is a film in which there is a search for a person who murdered two young girls with red hair. A womans face stays hidden until the end and she seems to be a culprit. Another film that depicts another serial child murder is Don't Tourture a Duckling. They are trying to find out who committed the murders against young delinquent boys and are on a witch hunt to find the murderer.

   Both these films relate to M because they restrain from showing the graphic details of the child murders which make it a more capitulated film to watch. In the M all the murders occurred off screen. They focus on how they are going to catch the killer and with the help of society, which take it upon themselves to take matters into their own hands.

The Blue Angel

Paragraph 175

      Paragraph 175 was adopted in 1871 and was amended several times. It made homosexual acts between males a crime. It reverted to the old version of the law in 1950 and limited its scope to sex with youths under 18 in 1968, and abolished it entirely in 1988. Suspected offenders would be put in concentration camps where most would die. In the film The Blue Angel Lola and Rath relationship was not approved of and led to him losing his job because of it. Rath was punished because he did not live up societies standards.

"Chuck Out the Men" (Raus mit den Männern), by Friedrich Hollaender (1926)

German versionRaus mit den Männern!(für Claire Waldoff)
Es geht durch die ganze Historie
ein Ruf nach Emanzipation
vom Menschen bis zur Infusorie
überall will das Weib auf den Thron.
Vin Hawai-Neger bis zur Berliner Range
braust ein Ruf wie Donnerhall daher:
Was die Männer können, können wir schon lange
und vielleicht ’ne ganze Ecke mehr.

English interpretation
The battle for emancipation's been raging since history began
Yes, feminists of every nation want to chuck off the chains made by man
Hula girls and housemaids and wives in Maribou
hear all our voices thunder in protest
Anything that men do women can do too
and more that that we women do it best

My Interpretation: Women have been fighting for equal rights for a long time. Men are only living up to conditions that press upon them. Women are advocates and supporters of rights and equality and every nation wants to be released from these "chains". The reason I chose this song is because women had to channel their hopes and dreams into satisfying their husband and bringing up his children. At one point this changed even today women are being oppressed in certain jobs that they work in.

"No Time" (Keine Zeit), music by Rudolf Nelson, lyrics by Herbert Nelson

English version
No time, no time, no time.
Yes, we have no time.
Sorry, but we're always on the go,
with tongues hanging out as we run.
We have no spare time.
No time, no time, no time,
no hours nor even a second to spare.
We hardly sleep, we don’t rest.
No time, no time, no time.

German version
Keine Zeit, keine Zeit, keine Zeit. Ja, wir haben keine Zeit. Es tut uns leid.
Wir sind immer auf dem Sprung, haengt uns raus schon die Zung und doch wir rennen, ja wir kennen keine Zeit.
Keine Zeit, keine Zeit, keine Zeit, keine Stunde und Sekunde haben wir Zeit. Ja, wir schlafen heute kaum noch, denn wir ruhen uns nicht aus. Keine Zeit, keine Zeit, keine Zeit.

We live in a society where time is a resource that we can use well or poorly. People are sometimes tied up in thier schedules that they cannot participate or enjoy human interactions that are necessary to a fulling life. Time is money they say!

Max Horkheimer

"self-awareness in contemporary society is directly connected with belonging to some collectivity: to an age group or vocational group, and ultimately to the nation. The divergence between individual and group that is now disappearing continues to show up among stunted individuals, criminals, and people who can assert themselves only by opposition to everything else."      -Max Horkheimer

           Max Horkheimer was born February 14, 1895 and was a Germn philosopher and sociologist. Horkheimer was a member of the Frankfrut school of social research. He was the only son of a wealthy orthodox Jewish family. His father pressured him and wanted him to take over the family business. Horkheimer left school at the age of 16 to work in his fathers company. In 1916 his career ended because he was drafted into WWI. After WWI ended he attended Munich University where he studied philosophy and psychology. Horkheimer moved to Frankfurt am Main where he meet Theodor Adorno. The Institute of Social Researches's directorship became vacant in 1930 Horkheimer was elected to the position he also took over the chair of social philosophy at Frankfurt University. In 1940, Horkheimer received American citizenship and moved to the Pacific Palisades district of Los Angeles, California, where his collaboration with Adorno would yield the Dialectic of Enlightenment. In 1949, he returned to Frankfurt where the Institute for Social Research reopened in 1950. In 1953, Horkheimer stepped down from director of the Institute and took on a smaller role in the Institute, while Adorno became director.

         Horkheimer continued to teach at the University until his retirement in the mid-1960s. He returned to America in 1954 and 1959 to lecture as a frequent visiting professor at the Univeristy of Chicago. He remained an important figure until his death in Nuremberg in 1973. He is buried at the Jewish cemetery in Bern, Switzerland.

          Horkheimer developed a theory by examining his own wealth while witnessing the placement of the bourgeois and the needy. This theory embraced the future possibilities of society and was preoccupied with forces which moved society toward rational institutions that would ensure a true, free, and just life. He was convinced of the need to "examine the entire material and spiritual culture of mankind" in order to transform society as a whole.

http://www.marxists.org/glossary/people/h/o.htm#horkheimer-max

Max Horkheimer 1964

Feudal Lord, Customer, and Specialist
The End of the Fairy Tale of the Customer as King

Siddhartha

1. Why does Siddhartha decide not to follow Buddha?
Siddhartha wants to take his own path. He feels that he must experience inorder to learn and feels by having someone teach you is not the same. He feels that Buddha can not help him and that his way isn't right for him.

2. Why does Siddhartha leave his father?
Siddhartha left the palace because he wanted to explore the outside world but his father didn't want that his father wanted to teach him about being king. He wanted to know what life was like for people who lived outside the palace walls. He realized that people get old, sick and eventually everyone must die.

3. What is the identity of Vasudeva?
Vasudeva is an enlightened ferryman who guides Siddhartha to a transcendent understanding of himself and the universe. He is closely connected to the river, and he helps Siddhartha learn how to listen to the river’s secrets.

4. What is the significance of the river?
The river represents the continuous flow of life whether it's the past, the present or the future. Siddhartha sleeps by the river, and when he awakes he feels he has been reborn.

5. If Siddhartha never lived with Kamala and the people in the city would he have reached Enlightenment faster?
No, he would have never reached enlightenment because he would of stood in the city and he did not want to deny himself any physical experience.

Suicide 1916, George Grosz

    The painting shows a man that is dead and theres a gun just above him showing that he killed himself. it seems as if he has been dead for quite some time because you can see the bones on his skull. It also shows him grining as if he is relieved and released from suffering. His eyes are closed showing that he is sleeping peacefully. It shows a man passing by the corpse with his face not shown in the painting perhaps concealing his identity. There is another man in the left hand side it appears he is hanging from a lamppost. He has no features on his face and I feel that it represents shame. There is a prostitute in the upper middle section and i feel as if she is advertising herself. In the background there seems to be some sort of church that is shining the color of gold. It seems as if a dog is blocking the way towards the church making it harder to reach. It shows the streets to be red signifying depression. Among the commotion in this painting the corpse seems to go unnoticed as though his death is already forgotten.


 The Love Sick Man 1916, George Grosz

         The gun, right below his heart maybe an indication of suicide over love. He is so miserable he is capable of senseless acts. The empty chairs signify he is lonely and maybe wanting companionship. The pipe and liqour signify him drowning out his sorrows. The letters on the table may appear to be letters written from someone he loves. The dog at his feet appears sick and maybe a stray and a qoute comes to mind "misery loves company". The bones at the bottom right corner and fish bones symbolizing lack of nutrition. Also the one sign of life, the plant at the top corner, lacks any leaves or flowers.

George Grosz, The Eclipse of the Sun, 1926

     George Grosz was born July 26, 1893 and died July 6, 1959 at the age of 65. he was born in Berlin, Germany and was the son of a pub owner. George Grosz cousin encouraged him to attend a drawing class that he went to weekly and was taught by a local painter named Grot. George continued to improve his skills in drawing and took excessive care in the consideration of detail in copies of the drinking and battle scenes. He studied at the
Berlin College of Arts and Crafts. In 1916 he changed the spelling of his name from Georg Ehrenfried Groß to George Grosz because he did not want a German name. He was a well known member of the Berlin dadaist art movement. In November 1914 Grosz volunteered for military service and was given a discharge after hospitalization for sinusitis in 1915. He died on July 6, 1959 from falling down a flight of stairs after a night of drinking. http://www.artinthepicture.com/artists/George_Grosz/Biography/
  
   The painting I chose was The Eclipse of the Sun 1926 by George Grosz. The painting was oil on canvas painting. My interpretation of the painting is that it is very political and it seems as if it focuses on greed and power. In the upper middle of the painting seems to be a leader and a man whispering in his ear. Both men look quite evil and appear to be surrounded by headless men that are around the table which looks as if they are followers of the leader. The sword with blood on the table seems as if the leader is intimidating the followers and they must do as told or suffer the consequences. Both men I feel represent as having lots of power and control. In front of the leader is a funerary cross painted red, white, and black, the colors of the former German imperial flag. On the upper left hand corner there is a dollar sign eclisping the sun which symbolizes money and a desire for wealth and growth. The donkey on the table with blinds on its eyes signify people are blindly following the leader and as they keep following will eventually fall. On the bottom right hand corner shows some sort of prison with someone behind it which I feel shows the people being trapped and can't do anything about whats going on and as the wealthy get richer the poorer gets poor and suffer the most or may represent the future. This painting exhibits inequality, corruption and as I previously stated greed and power. I did a little bit of research and found that President Paul Von Hindenburg was the president of Germany at that time and feel that he represents the leader in this painting. This painting contains varies symbolism and may be interpreted in different ways.

Christianity Origin

Quote: Christianity was from the beginning, essentially and fundamentally, life's nausea and disgust with life, merely concealed behind, masked by, dressed up as, faith in "another" or "better" life.

             from Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy, p.23, Walter Kaufmann transl.

Interpretation: Christianity was used from the beginning of time as a way to disguise the negative affects of life. To give hope for a better life by worshiping a higher power. Everyone has gone through difficult stages in their life. To have faith in a religion is to try and soothe the pain that has been inflicted through out the hardship of life and to have hope that the higher power will help to resolve the issue at hand. Believing that if you dress accordingly it will show that you obey and will be rewarded. No one religion can erase the pain that one has endured through out their life time. You can suppress it but eventually, the suffering will resurface.

German Society

      The capital of Germany is Berlin and it's the fifth largest economy in the world. Germans are 91.5% German, 2.4% Turkish, and 6.1% other such as Greek, Italian, Spanish, Polish and Russian. Germany's language is German and 34% of their religion is Protestant, 34%, Roman Catholic 3.7%, Muslim and 28.3 % is other. The estimated population from July 2012 is 81,305,856 and their birth rate is 8.33 births per 1,000 population. Berlin has a population of 3.438 million, Hamburg has a population of 1.786 million and Munich 1.349 million people.
      There are 12.9% adult prevalence rate of obesity and 1.1% of children underweight that are under the age of 5 years old. School life expectancy is 16 years and 99% of the population that are over 15 years of age can read and write.