Locating the Messianic: In Search of Causation and Benjamin's Last Message

摘要

Few ideas have had greater influence or caused greater suffering than the concept of the Messiah. Those drawn to the messianic by Walter Benjamin have been led to speculate on a messianic current within history. In order to unearth this current and to think about its causation, a new topographical map must be drawn. An intrinsic and extrinsic messianism are two points at either end of a spectrum. Between these two points, we may return to Benjamin's last message and seek a solution to the problem of a weak messianism in history.