Aaron Schuster

Aaron Schuster is a philosopher and writer, based in Amsterdam. Among his latest writings are “Kafka Swims,” “Kafka Complains,” “Theory of the Breakup,” and “Communist Ninotchka.” His book How to Research Like a Dog: Kafka’s New Science will be published by MIT Press in Fall 2023.

Speaking at the conference

Thursday, 22 September, 3 pm, Kosovel Hall

Kafka’s Dog: A New Science of Authority

Kafka refers to Diogenes the Cynic, the dog philosopher of antiquity, only once in his work, in a letter to Milena Jesenká, a letter which, I shall argue, also provides the fundamental formula of Kafka’s fiction while containing a rare discussion of psychoanalysis. The figure of the dog, a key Kafkian animal, returns late in the writer’s career, in his under-appreciated story “Investigations of a Dog,” where Kafka outlines a unique system of philosophy, calling for a new science of freedom. In this talk, I will focus on the concept of authority and the problem of the master, between Kafka, the figure of the dog, and psychoanalysis.

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