Nostalgia for transcendence: on its meaning in B. Strauß' work

Abstract

In his writing Botho Strauß deals with the question of a longing for transcendence over a number of years and from a number of different perspectives. The article firstly considers the way in which social theories and world views which Strauß originally followed have led this longing in the wrong direction and ignored the true role of technology. Strauß' own analysis, which incorporates considerations in particular from the natural sciences, fails to take adequate account of creative activity. Another perspective emerges from Strauß' representation of the unhappy consciousness of the modern individual and of the attempts made to transcend this. Finally, Strauß' own attempt to achieve transcendence through art is examined. The article draws attention here again to the under-developed role of creative activity in his work.