Axiological problems of the philosopher's calling in Hamann's Socratic Memorabilia

The paper analyses the social-political ramifications of Johann Georg Hamann's 1759 debut treatise Socratic Memorabilia, in which he challenges the cultural and ideological expansion of the ideas of the French Enlightenment in Prussia. Using his own "metaschematism" method, Hamann takes the role of a Socrates of his own time and criticises the policy of enlightened absolutism of Frederick the Great. He poses an axiological alternative to his addressees Immanuel Kant and Johann Christoph Berens: serving the truth irrespective of the consequences or conscientious pleasing those in authority under the slogan of enlightening the public. Hamann rejects the labour ethic of the Enlightenment, which praised even hard and meaningless labour for the sake of the flourishing of society. Instead, he proposes the concept of "leisure" (Lange Weile), which allows him to preserve the freedom of creativity. Hamann attempts to destroy the concept of the public as a societal ideal by viewing it as an abstraction that does not have a referent in the real world. Being a widely spread practice in the Enlightenment context, an attempt to please the public would conceal the fact that it is the elite (and not specific people hidden behind the terminology of the "public" who are being exploited) that becomes the beneficiary of such activities. According to Hamann, a philosopher who views his calling highly will not necessarily count on wide recognition by society, but must be ready to be misunderstood and lead a life full of hardships.

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