Questions tagged [benjamin]

Walter Benjamin (1892 – 1940) was a German philosopher and cultural critic. His best known works include "The Task of the Translator" (1923), "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" (1936) and "Theses on the Philosophy of History" (1940).

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When did Walter Benjamin say "We collect books in the belief that we are preserving them when in fact it is the books that preserve their collector"?

In for instance this source, it is stated that Walter Benjamin once said or wrote the following: "We collect books in the belief that we are preserving them when in fact it is the books that ...
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What is Benjamin saying in thesis VI in On the Concept of History?

What is Benjamin saying in thesis VI in On the Concept of History? I quote it in full from here, having annotated the key points I'm struggling with in bold To articulate what is past does not ...
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Does Benjamin claim that revolution is a corporeal meaninglessness?

Breton notes: 'Quietly. I want to pass where no one yet has passed, quietly! ' After you, dearest language.' Language takes precedence. Not only before meaning. Also before the self... the writings of ...
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Can photography or film have its own new type of aura?

Can photography or film, according to Benjamin, have its own new type of aura, a uniqueness which allows for reproduction? This author, Silliman, suggests they cannot, because photography as art is ...
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