No pride today

A distinctive mark of Peter Sloterdijk's philosophy, especially within the context of the German tradition, seems to be its striking serenity. Sloterdijk is obviously amused by what he observes (for example, postmodern cynicism), and he comments about it with a polite smile reflecting something between a certain kind of love and a slight contempt for a more or less silly object. This detached attitude appears to save psychic energy and to subsequently allow for a pleasurable release in beautiful and witty poetic verbalizations. So even where Sloterdijk is sharply critical, he is never passionate. This has apparently made him popular and readable even for people who may otherwise stay away from philosophy. It is the reason why some of his “disinvolved” findings have generated more debate and social concern than any “alarmist” criticism would have been able to. And it may also explain why traditional critical academia in Germany finds it difficult to deal with his work.

In keeping with the notorious distinction introduced by Bernard de Mandeville in 1705, one can thus say that Sloterdijk succeeds in always taking the side of the “knave”, but never that of the “fool”. His “criticism” means that he is objectively assessing the structure, i. e., the rationality, necessity, function and power of his object; but never complaining or taking it to task for its impossibilities or lacks compared to an imagined subjective model. He then expresses his findings in a way that allows for amazing clarity and considerable amusement but little identification; and not vice versa. “Whether you like it or not” – such a way of speaking represents a remarkably civilized attitude which does not “bribe” the reader with a favourable opinion, nor bother him with subjective sentimentalities such as vague hopes, wishes, disappointments or angers. This is a rare achievement. We should not forget that, within German culture, after the hopes for bourgeois revolution were dashed, civilizedness was not regarded as a high virtue (as Norbert Elias has pointed out).