Philosophical miniatures: thinking about the party with Jeanne Hersch

Abstract

This article addresses the conception that the Swish Jewish philosopher Jeanne Hersch (1910-2000) had of the feast («fête»). Hersch conceived the feast as a work of art whose matter is a limited fragment of time. The previous time of careful and attentive preparation is very important for the creation of this work of art. For this reason, when the philosopher reflects on the feast she also explores other issues such as time, attention, care, fragility, joy and pain. Sometimes, when Hersch writes «feast», she also refers to –these are her words– the exuberant and tragic feast of the world and of history. Finally, this article also focuses on a brief and concise literary genre used by Hersch, which is proposed to be called «philosophical miniature».

Keywords: Jeanne Hersch, feast, time, attention, care, fragility, joy, philosophical miniature.