Minding the Gap – of Indifference: Approaching ‘Performance Philosophy’ with Salomo Friedlaender (1871-1946)

Alice Lagaay

doi:10.21476/PP.2015.1127

Authors

Alice Lagaay University of Bremen

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21476/PP.2015.1127

Abstract

The concept of "Creative Indifference" put forward by Salomo Friedlaender in his 1918 magnum opus, Schöpferische Indifferenz, provides much food for thought from a Performance Philosophy perspective. Friedlaender's work, which has been largely overlooked by academic philosophers until now, was in fact hugely influential in expressionist Dada circles at the time of its publication. It also contributed to shaping Gestalt Therapy theories and practice, thereby relating to a number of bodywork movements that continue to inform performance practice and Performance Philosophy alike. In this short text, Alice Lagaay begins to explore the manner in which Friedlaender/Mynona can be seen as a Performance Philosopher “avant la lettre”, and how the notion of "Creative Indifference” might be fruitful in the ongoing "Mind-the-Gap”- debate relating to the relation between “Performance" and "Philosophy".

Author Biography

Alice Lagaay, University of Bremen

[email protected]

Alice Lagaay is a post-doctoral researcher and lecturer at the Philosophy Department of Bremen University. She is a founding member and core convener of the Performance Philosophy network and co-editor of the recently launched Performance Philosophy book series with Palgrave Macmillan. Her research focuses on the philosophy of voice, ‘negative’ performance (silence, secrets, seinlassen) and her longstanding interest in the relationship between theatre, performance and philosophy. Her most recent publication is Encounters in Performance Philosophy, co-edited with Laura Cull (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014).

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