ANGAŽOVANJE I TRPLJENJE
ENGAGEMENT AND SUFFERING

Summary/Abstract: The first part of the paper is devoted to the linguistic and logical analysis of the term, that is, the notion of engagement. It is argued that, contrary to its accustomed meaning, engagement implies a kind of sufferance; moreover, that it has the character of suffering. The second part of the paper draws on this conclusion and deals with the possibility that something not only passive but private can be the subject – or even the task – of the social sciences, since it might make sense to speak of engagement as a mental state. The concluding part of the paper suggests that it is instructive to make a semantic distinction between “being engaged” and “engaging yourself”, and points to the more general troubles arising from the different understandings of that “self”. Finally, the possibility of a more nuanced understanding of engagement is exposed, if it is viewed from the aspect of the notion that was seemingly opposed to it, the notion of suffering.

• Details
• Contents