Modernism

Exploring the Core Tenets of this Modern Era

December 2023
5DLL

Christmas

special

INSIDE

K. Marx ● F. Nietzsche ● S. Freud ● H. Bergson
Cubism ● Surrealism ● Stream of Consciousness

Liceo V. Gambara
Brescia

Welcome

08-09

TO MODERNISM

Modernism, a cultural and artistic movement of the late 19th to early 20th centuries, emerged as a response to societal violent unrest. It broke from tradition, embracing innovation and experimentation in literature and beyond. Modernist writers, challenging established norms, explored fragmented narratives and subjective consciousness. The movement, spanning art, architecture, music, and philosophy, encapsulated the uncertainties and dynamism of a rapidly changing world.

“Philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it”.

Karl Marx (1818/1883) is often seen more as a revolutionary than a philosopher, credited with inspiring communist regimes. Despite his activist image, Marx, initially trained as a philosopher, maintained philosophical threads throughout his works. These include his views on human nature, historical theory, economic analysis, critique of capitalism, and vision of a communist future.

Economics
On Economics alone, he made important observations that influenced our understanding of the role of boom cycles, the link between market competition and rapid technological advances, and the tendency of markets towards concentration and monopolies. Marx also made various observations regarding what we now call "globalisation”. He emphasised “the newly created connections […] of the world market” and the important role of international trade.

Society
His primary interest wasn't simply Capitalism. It was human existence and our potential. Marx observed Capitalism wasn't only an economic system by which we produced food, clothing and shelter; it was also bound up with a system of social relations. Work structured people’s lives and opportunities in different ways depending on their role in the production process: most people were either part of the “owning class” or “working class”. Marx predicted the inevitable collapse of Capitalism leading to equally inevitable working-class revolutions.

NIETZSCHE

LIFE
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) was a German philosopher of the late 19th century who challenged the foundations of Christianity and traditional morality. He was interested in the enhancement of individual and cultural health, and believed in life, creativity, power, and down-to-earth realities, rather than those situated in a world beyond.

FUNDAMENTAL IDEAS

1. God is dead
Nietzche doesn't believe in the existence of any God anymore. Consequently, everyone can act freely and the human being becomes the center of everything.

2. Nihilism
If God is dead, existence loses its purpose. This is where nihilism comes from, assuming two different attitudes; the passive nihilist is unable to find a valid goal in life, the active one progressively improves their spiritual condition.

3. The Übermensch
For Nietzsche one must become an Übermensch (literally "Beyond-man") by overcoming the chains of moral, ethical and social values dictated by the era. This idea will be deformed by Nazists into the concept of the "Superman", for this reason Nietzsche is sometimes referred to as the Nazi-philosopher.

4. Will to Power
This concept is developed in one of Nietzsche's masterpieces “Thus spoke Zarathustra” and consists in the ability to form a point of view rejecting a presumed truth.

5. Perception of Time
According to Nietzsche, time is cyclical, which means that everything that has already happened will happen again. He gives the example of the universe that was born, dies, is reborn and dies again.