"Sleep and the Dream" by László F. Földényi at The Paris Review

Francisco Goya, El sueño de la razon produce monstruos, 1797–1798, Etching and Aquatint. From Wikipedia Commons

At the risk of overwhelming you with Dostoyevsky Reads Hegel in Siberia and Bursts into Tears, I wanted to relay this complete essay by László F. Földényi at The Paris Review posted last week. I'm only about a third of the way through the collection of essays, and one common theme has been looking at dichotomies, "not so that one side would be necessarily defeat the other, but rather so that an argument for a multiplicity could be made." (Preface, page xiii)

One such split or partition Földényi evaluates is that of the Enlightenment and the religious beliefs it meant to replace. In attempting to set aside one metaphysics, a new type of metaphysics sprang forth, demonstrating "that we cannot exist without metaphysics. Even in a secularized age, as sense of our existence within this universe, for the great wonder of the incomparability and unrepeatability of each moment of every one of our lives." (Preface, page xii)

I hope this intro helps frame "Sleep and the Dream" for you. First Földényi looks at the mystery of what happens when we sleep, positing that maybe sleep allows relationship of body and soul to move more in harmony, or at least be less differentiated. Földényi then looks at Goya's etching El sueño de la razon produce monstruos. The sleep of reason produces monsters.

The ambiguous title allows for several interpretations, questions between reason and intellect (and the area that falls outside each), issues that were not raised before the Enlightenment. Are the monsters an external unknown, or do they represent an internal unknown? Maybe the limits of our knowing which is which inspires us to deal with this confusion. Coincidentally, this is somewhat related to my earlier questions regarding the articles on Walker Railey.

I realize the collection won't be for everyone, but hopefully this essay and introduction to it gives you a taste of what is in Dostoyevsky Reads Hegel in Siberia and Bursts into Tears. I'll post more on it once I finish the book.

Articles on László F. Földényi at Hungarian Literature Online

(Pictures from hlo.hu)

László F. Földényi was author of the month for February at Hungarian Literature Online, and they have closed out the month with a bang. Today they provided one of Földényi's essays, "Goya's Dog," at their site. The translation is by Ottilie Mulzet, the same translator for the collection of essays Dostoyevsky Reads Hegel in Siberia and Bursts into Tears, released last month by Yale University Press in The Margellos World Republic of Letters series. "Goya's Dog" is a bonus essay, not included in the collection.

February posts at hlo.hu on Földényi:

• Their announcement of Földényi as author of the month, which includes some background on the author
• More on Dostoyevsky Reads Hegel in Siberia and Bursts into Tears
• An interview with Jozefina Komporaly, translator of The Glance of The Medusa, another collection of Földényi essays, released earlier this year by Seagull Books (I had linked to hlo.hu's excerpt from the collection last fall)
• Interview: László F. Földényi: Being Streamlined Has Become a Universal Criterion
• Additional posts on Földényi at hlo.hu can be found here

I'll see if I can post on these collections later this year, along with notes on Földényi's earlier book Melancholy, once I get my books unpacked.

Excerpt from The Glance of the Medusa by László F. Földényi

Földényi's The Glance of the Medusa: The Physiognomy of Mysticism is a book I have on my Christmas list, so I hope to read more of it soon. Hungarian Literature Online has an excerpt from the book's second chapter:

For this reason, the moment of love is not only about finding oneself but also about dispossession. While those in love are able to compress into someone else all the desire and longing that they have previously considered to be their own, and could not handle to a satisfactory extent, they also find that they ended up beyond themselves. They found their centre, yet this happens to be located outside the boundary of their selves. This does not mean that the existing centre has suddenly ‘shifted’ into another being, but, rather, that this centre has just come into being—sameness is the outcome of difference. In parallel with the ‘lightning glance’ and the ‘silver flash’, it becomes increasingly likely that the individual should lose itself at the very point when it supposedly found itself, because existence itself lacks a centre. Its alleged ‘basis’ is being, which permeates everything yet remains on the outside, so it becomes noticeable only in the lack inherent in things. Whenever one tries to ‘pull oneself together’, one cannot help finding oneself set into motion by a faith placed in some sort of a supposed centre. Beyond a certain point, however, it becomes obvious that this is impossible. The more existence ‘thickens’, the less one can find one’s way around, and ultimately all one is in a position to perceive is the fact of being at the mercy of the impossible.

In an earlier post, HLO included this from the bookflap:

In The Glance of the Medusa, Lászó F. Földényi offers a mesmerizing examination of the rich history of European culture through the lens of mythology and philosophy. Embracing the best traditions of essay writing, this volume invites readers on a spiritual and intellectual adventure. The seven essays bear testimony to Földényi’s encyclopedic knowledge and ask whether it is possible to overcome our fear of passing away. In doing so, they illuminate moments of mystical experience viewed in a historical perspective while inviting readers to engage with such moments in the present by immersing themselves into the process of reading and thinking.