Abstract

OF ANGER AND HATRED In reference to the works of August Strindberg and Leszek Kołakowski, Bronisław Świderski argues that a new conception of language might be based on the phenomenon of anger. Anger is treated here as an important epistemological tool thanks to which entirely new dimensions of experience may be revealed. In Strindberg’s case anger animates his critique of bourgeois and religious understanding of marriage and premarital relationships. Contrary to Strindberg, Leszek Kołakowski saw anger as a negative rather than an animating force: he associated it with hatred – a form of spiritual suicide which precludes the very possibility of writing. According to Świderski, Kołakowski’s position – akin to Kantian formalism – is tediously moralistic, while Strindberg’s writing is full of life and vigor.