Table Of ContentLiminality and the Philosophy
of Presence
This book departs from the attempt by political theory to confront the chal-
lenges of political life with new concepts, offering instead a mode of thought
so far excluded from the canon of political theory: the philosophy of pres-
ence. Making the experience of liminality the very centre of thought, it shows
how embracing ‘in-betweenness’ allows us to discern the limits of both the
political order and contemporary political theory. Through an examination
of the works of Gustav Landauer, Eric Voegelin, Simone Weil and Václav
Havel, the author demonstrates the manner in which ‘in-betweenness’ may
be cultivated by way of the philosophy of presence as a method of self-
enquiry into existence as it is experienced subjectively. Arguing that since
externalisation is the essence of politics and that the way to a more just soci-
ety lies inwards, through a confrontation with liminality, this study of how
to read philosophers of presence renders their work intelligible to the con-
temporary discourse of crisis and will appeal to scholars of social, political
and anthropological theory and philosophy.
Franziska Hoppen holds a doctorate in Politics and Government from the
University of Kent, UK, and currently works as a journalist in Berlin,
Germany.
Contemporary Liminality
Series editor: Arpad Szakolczai, University College Cork, Ireland.
Series advisory board: Agnes Horvath, University College Cork, Ireland;
Bjørn Thomassen, Roskilde University, Denmark; and Harald Wydra,
University of Cambridge, UK.
This series constitutes a forum for works that make use of concepts such as
‘imitation’, ‘trickster’ or ‘schismogenesis’, but which chiefly deploy the notion
of ‘liminality’, as the basis of a new, anthropologically-focused paradigm in
social theory. With its versatility and range of possible uses rivalling main-
stream concepts such as ‘system’, ‘structure’ or ‘institution’, liminality by now
is a new master concept that promises to spark a renewal in social thought.
While charges of Eurocentrism are widely discussed in sociology and an-
thropology, most theoretical tools in the social sciences continue to rely on
approaches developed from within the modern Western intellectual tradition,
whilst concepts developed on the basis of extensive anthropological evidence
and which challenged commonplaces of modernist thinking, have been ei-
ther marginalised and ignored, or trivialised. By challenging the taken- for-
granted foundations of social theory through incorporating ideas from major
thinkers, such as Nietzsche, Dilthey, Weber, Elias, Voegelin, Foucault and
Koselleck, as well as perspectives gained through modern social and cultural
anthropology and the central concerns of classical philosophical anthropol-
ogy Contemporary Liminality offers a new direction in social thought.
Titles in this series
12 Modern Leaders
Between Charisma and Trickery
Edited by Agnes Horvath, Manussos Marangudakis and
Arpad Szakolczai
13 Political Alchemy
Technology Unbounded
Agnes Horvath
14 Liminality and the Philosophy of Presence
A New Direction in Political Theory
Franziska Hoppen
For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.
com/Contemporary-Liminality/book-series/ASHSER1435
Liminality and the Philosophy
of Presence
A New Direction in Political Theory
Franziska Hoppen
First published 2021
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 Franziska Hoppen
The right of Franziska Hoppen to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78
of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
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Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hoppen, Franziska, 1990– author.
Title: Liminality and the philosophy of presence : a new direction in
political theory / Franziska Hoppen.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2021. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020046093 (print) | LCCN 2020046094 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780367484545 (hardback) | ISBN 9781003039839 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Political science—Philosophy. | Liminality. |
Presence (Philosophy)
Classification: LCC JA71 .H6395 2021 (print) | LCC JA71 (ebook) |
DDC 320.01—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020046093
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020046094
ISBN: 9780367484545 (hbk)
ISBN: 9781003039839 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by codeMantra
Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Introduction 1
1 Liminality and the discourse of crisis 6
2 An introduction to the philosophy and practices of presence 22
3 Gustav Landauer – Absonderung 46
4 Eric Voegelin – Anamnesis 79
5 Simone Weil – Malheur 115
6 Václav Havel – Neklid 150
Conclusion 185
Bibliography 201
Index 213
Acknowledgements
I am deeply thankful to my PhD supervisor Dr Stefan Rossbach for his
relentless support and guidance and for encouraging me to write this book.
Without his attention, patience and trust, this project would not have
happened.
Sincere appreciation is also extended to Dr Iain Mackenzie for providing
support, feedback and suggestions throughout the research and writing pro-
cess, challenging my ideas and helping them grow.
I would also like to thank the friends who gave many hours to reading
this work, correcting mistakes and suggesting how it could be improved:
Mohamed Niazi, Muzzafer Kutlay, Eske van Gils, Chris Henry, Ben Turner,
Dr Sean Molloy, Paul Caringella and Elmira Esmaeili. Among them, I owe
a special debt to Petr Barta for taking much time over the years to listen to
and discuss this project and for lending me many books, especially from his
collection of Czech authors, as well as to Mohamed Niazi for his insight,
patience and love.
The research community at the University of Kent, especially at the
Department of Politics and International Relations, and at the Library of
Congress Kluge Center, as well as the Hoover Institution Archives, has been
vital in developing this research.
Finally, I must thank my parents for their mental and moral support
throughout the years.
Introduction
American novelist Kurt Anderson has recently diagnosed American soci-
ety with a “lurch towards fantasy”. From satirical talk show host Stephen
Colbert’s comical segment on “truthiness” (Colbert, 2017)1 to Kellyanne
Conway’s “alternative facts,” Anderson writes: “The original embodiment
of the great Enlightenment idea of intellectual freedom, whereby every in-
dividual is welcome to believe anything she wishes, has metastasized out of
control” (Andersen, 2017). The problem which Anderson describes is not
a tendency towards lying – as lying would presuppose some knowledge of
truth. Rather, truth as a category appears to have often enough become
altogether irrelevant – also in the realm of politics. This phenomenon can
be observed around the globe and even lead to the coinage of the new term
post-truth-politics, which has been assigned, for example, to Donald Trump
accusing the media of fake news, to aspects of the Brexit-R eferendum
campaign, to Vladimir Putin’s insistence that there is no Russian occu-
pation of the Krim, or to the German AfD party’s emphasis on citizens’
feelings over factual, statistical proof. Some political commentators even
announced the West had reached the “age of post-truth politics” (Davies,
2016). Whether this term really corresponds to a new phenomenon or simply
expresses heightened awareness of spin – the fact that it has emerged, that
the discourse surrounding it juxtaposes politics as fantasy with politics as
truth – deserves closer investigation.
Moreover, “post-truth” is only one of a range of new prefixes that have
recently been added to the political discourse in mainstream and critical po-
litical thought, seeking to diagnose modern Western politics: post-politics,
anti-politics, meta politics, para politics, ultra-politics and infra politics,
amongst others. Together they signify “a profound reorientation that occurs
within the realm of political thought” (Bosteels, 2020, p.20). Although each
of these concepts stands for a complex variety of characteristics and has orig-
inated in a different philosophical tradition, formulating either criticisms of
the current form or propositions for new types, they share in common the
notion that conventional political theory and practice are out of their depth.
In the face of such widespread disdain for “truth” or confronted with the
desertion of the political arena and growing support for anti-establishment
