Experience and Infinite Task

Reviews / Votes

Tagliacozzo's contribution to Benjamin scholarship within the Italian academia is already well established; her foray into the anglophone industry is a welcome and original addition. * The European Legacy * Experience and Infinite Task is an engaging study of some of the most complex aspects of Benjamin's thought. Taking off from his critique of Kant and neo-Kantianism, Tagliacozzo offers new perspectives on the linguistic and epistemological dynamics that inform his theory of messianic history. -- Jan Mieszkowski, Professor of German and Comparative Literature at Reed College Experience and Infinite Task accomplishes the difficult task of giving readers of Benjamin an experience of the remarkable breadth of his philosophical itinerary. With comprehensive knowledge of the relevant texts and the course of scholarly debates in German, Italian, and English, Professor Tagliacozzo provides a unified, coherent, yet context-sensitive account of Benjamin's revision of Kantian critique, neo-Kantianism, and phenomenology that will be of lasting value to both students of his work and those interested in early twentieth-century German thought in general. -- Peter Fenves, Professor of German, Northwestern University Relying on new readings, this precise reconstruction of Benjamin's early philosophy unearths a unique and almost forgotten constellation of neo-Kantianism, phenomenology, messianic theology and analytic philosophy. -- Sami Khatib, Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Fine Arts and Art History at the American University of Beirut Walter Benjamin confided in his friend and intellectual partner Gershom Scholem that were he ever to have his own philosophy, it would one day be rightfully called a philosophy of Judaism. The attempt to hue a new direction in philosophy also coincided with a mutual interest and exchange of ideas in a different tone: in Neo-Kantianism, but also the concept of revolution, the origins of violence, language and religion as a structural or organizing category. In themselves, these are complex themes. Spoken together with the promise of a philosophical program, the undertaking becomes immense. It is all the more for the scholar who uncovers the systemic features of these ideas in their historical wake. After many years of careful research and archeological restoration of Benjamin's early writings, Tamara Tagliacozzo has brought forth a book of tremendous value. Experience and Infinite Task weaves together these seemingly diverse elements in a comprehensive, rigorous and original manner, revealing an intricate tapestry from the early period of Benjamin's philosophy and the formative role these ideas would play in his work as a whole. This is a rich and valuable guide for any student of Walter Benjamin in his early period. -- Eric Levi Jacobson, Professor of Philosophy and Jewish Studies at Middlebury College and Author of "Metaphysics of the Profane: The Political Theology of Walter Benjamin and Gershom Scholem"