Musil

What Dominique Pagani says

Dominique Pagani refers to Robert Musil almost entirely through the title of The Man Without Qualities, which he cites from 2015 to 2021 in a wide range of sessions. For him, the title says what characterises man: he cannot be defined by qualities1. He sees in it the figure of modern man, who has lost his essence2. This modern hero has no fixed outline and struggles to define his identity3. To have a quality would be to have a determination; he also speaks of a "decentred" modern man. From 2019 onwards, he stresses the German word Eigenschaft, which means both quality and property4. The title then designates man as the animal without properties5, without character or property, which would be what is specific to modernity. He makes these remarks in sessions devoted to Hegel, Thomas Mann, Racine, modal and tonal music, or the logics of the subject.

1. 1Z comme Zéro9 Jan 2015 · 3:27
2. 2#1.4 Entre crise et guerre : Philosopher ?10 Dec 2015 · 31:12
3. 3#3.3 D'Ulysse à Dédale1 Aug 2017 · 1:46:43
4. 4Racine4 Feb 2019 · 1:25:30
5. 5#7 Réponses aux questions (suite)3 Dec 2020 · 47:22

Summary produced automatically from 13 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.