Deaths In Venice: The Cases Of Gustav Von Aschenbach (leonard Hastings Schoff Lectures)
by Philip Kitcher /
2013 / English / EPUB
2.5 MB Download
Published in 1913, Thomas Mann's
Published in 1913, Thomas Mann'sDeath in Venic
Death in Venice is one of
the most widely read novellas in any language. In the 1970s,
Benjamin Britten adapted it into an opera, and Luchino Visconti
turned it into a successful film. Reading these works from a
philosophical perspective, Philip Kitcher connects the predicament
of the novella's central character to Western thought's most
compelling questions.
e is one of
the most widely read novellas in any language. In the 1970s,
Benjamin Britten adapted it into an opera, and Luchino Visconti
turned it into a successful film. Reading these works from a
philosophical perspective, Philip Kitcher connects the predicament
of the novella's central character to Western thought's most
compelling questions.
In Mann's story, the author Gustav von Aschenbach becomes
captivated by an adolescent boy, first seen on the lido in Venice,
the eventual site of Aschenbach's own death. Mann works through
central concerns about how to live, explored with equal intensity
by his German predecessors, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. Kitcher
considers how Mann's, Britten's, and Visconti's treatments
illuminate the tension between social and ethical values and an
artist's sensitivity to beauty. Each work asks whether a life
devoted to self-sacrifice in the pursuit of lasting achievements
can be sustained and whether the breakdown of discipline undercuts
its worth. Haunted by the prospect of his death, Aschenbach also
helps us reflect on whether it is possible to achieve anything in
full awareness of our finitude and in knowing our successes are
always incomplete.
In Mann's story, the author Gustav von Aschenbach becomes
captivated by an adolescent boy, first seen on the lido in Venice,
the eventual site of Aschenbach's own death. Mann works through
central concerns about how to live, explored with equal intensity
by his German predecessors, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. Kitcher
considers how Mann's, Britten's, and Visconti's treatments
illuminate the tension between social and ethical values and an
artist's sensitivity to beauty. Each work asks whether a life
devoted to self-sacrifice in the pursuit of lasting achievements
can be sustained and whether the breakdown of discipline undercuts
its worth. Haunted by the prospect of his death, Aschenbach also
helps us reflect on whether it is possible to achieve anything in
full awareness of our finitude and in knowing our successes are
always incomplete.