Die Theorie der Seele in Plessners Grenzen der Gemeinschaft als Beitrag zu einer „existenzphilosophischen Anthropologie“

Abstract

The Theory of the Soul in Plessner’s Grenzen der Gemeinschaft as a Contribution to an “Existential Philosophical Anthropology”. In Grenzen der Gemeinschaft , Plessner develops a theory of the psyche as a central element of his work, framed by the structural analogy between the interpersonal relationships of community and society on the one hand, and the relationship between body and soul within the person on the other. His thesis of the simultaneous need for expression and unfathomability of the self highlights an existential problem that underpins Plessner’s theory of society. The dynamic tension between these two tendencies of the soul defines the circularity in the understanding of an individual’s identity within the body-bound social sphere, which also leads to the risk of ridicule. Society, as both a space of distance and expression, seeks to resolve this tension. For Plessner, the corresponding existential attitude is the “ethos of grace.” Outwardly defined as a measured, conscious expression towards others, it manifests “inwardly” as an individual’s attitude towards the ambiguity of the soul, overcoming the self-referential antagonism between “vain expression” and “shamefulness”.