Die moderne Barbarei

Abstract

The Modern Barbarianism - In his work, Eugen Fink often confronted the profound problematicity of the contemporary epoch and attempted to illuminate its enigmatic traits in a productive, future-oriented manner. Despite a philosophical fascination with Nietzsche and Heidegger, he apparently did not want to share and radically appropriate for himselftheir views regarding “the European nihilism.” With a reading of the writings collected in the book Zur Krisenlage des modernen Menschen (On the Crisis Situation of Modern Man), the paper seeks to demonstrate that Fink’s contemplations upon the matter compellingly reveal the obscure sense and nonsense of the actual state of contemporaneity, although they predominantly devote attention solely to its phenomenality. To a certain degree, such an attempt needs to take into account also the philosopher’s speculative thoughts concerning nothingness and death.

Keywords

• eugen fink
• barbarianism
• modernity
• nihilism
• freedom