sein Gegenüber

English translation: his interlocutor

13:44 May 24, 2018
German to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Philosophy / Book blurb
German term or phrase: sein Gegenüber
This is from a book blurb about a book on spirituality. Could anyone help me shed light on what 'sein Gegenüber' might refer to here. I thought at first it was to do with Existenz, but then surely it would be 'ihr' rather than 'sein'. Is it therefore talking about the author's 'counterpart'? 'Er' refers here to the author.

Er hinter fragt und zeigt wie Aussagen und Ansichten entstehen.
Wortgewandt und philosophisch provoziert er die menschliche Existenz und sein Gegenüber. Er regt zum Hinschauen an und führt dich hinter die Frage selbst.

Many thanks in advance
Laura Massey
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:32
English translation:his interlocutor
Explanation:
If the author is talking about a human interlocutor or conversation partner.
Selected response from:

Marc Svetov
United States
Local time: 15:32
Grading comment
Thank you! The penny drops at last. Really helpful suggestions which clarified the text for me brilliantly. Thanks all.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +3his interlocutor
Marc Svetov
3his counterpart in this discussion
Anna Augustin
3his opponents
Herbmione Granger


  

Answers


2 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
his interlocutor


Explanation:
If the author is talking about a human interlocutor or conversation partner.

Marc Svetov
United States
Local time: 15:32
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thank you! The penny drops at last. Really helpful suggestions which clarified the text for me brilliantly. Thanks all.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Helen Shiner: Or could be plural, if there are more than one. Maybe the wider context will make this clear.
20 mins

agree  Johanna Timm, PhD: yes - he's addressing the reader
5 hrs

agree  Thayenga: :)
19 hrs
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22 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
his counterpart in this discussion


Explanation:
Maybe a broader sense might work out? It seems to be written rather freely, so maybe an explanatory phrase can work in this case.

Example sentence(s):
  • He is talking to his counterpart in this discussion.
Anna Augustin
Germany
Local time: 21:32
Native speaker of: German
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22 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
his opponents


Explanation:
Often "provoziert." But I agree that it's ambiguous.

http://www.langenachtderphilosophie.ch/speakers/17-was-ist-m...
Bei Sören Kierkegaard (1813 – 1855) bekommt der Begriff „Existenz“ eine neue Bedeutung. Der dänische Philosoph spricht nämlich von den Menschen als Existierenden, vom Existieren des konkreten, einzelnen Menschen, von der Not des Existierenden. Existenz bezeichnet also die besondere Seinsweise des Menschen.

http://braungardt.trialectics.com/philosophy/philosophers/ki...
Kierkegaard considered G. W. F. Hegel as his philosophical opponent. As a student, Kierkegaard studied with Friedrich Schelling in Berlin. Schelling denounced Hegel’s philosophy as “negative.”

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Note added at 6 hrs (2018-05-24 20:03:27 GMT)
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I'm leaning towards "counterpart," if he is addressing the "higher self." It did seem to me like Gegenüber was general (hence the plural suggestion). It helps to know that he is borrowing from Eastern philosophy.

https://www.epubli.de/preview/publication/74745
Frage dich selbst - Frage das Selbst. Die Antwort steckt immer hinter der Frage.

http://www.seele-und-gesundheit.de/spiritualitaet/leere.html
Der Begriff Leere (Sanskrit शून्यता = ⇗Shunyata) ist in der buddhistischen Religionspraxis von zentraler Bedeutung. Shunyata verweist auf die Auffas­sung, dass keinem der zusammengesetzten Erscheinungen der Wirklichkeit ein eigenständiges, also separates Selbst innewohnt. Da auch die Person eine Erscheinung ist, die aus Bestandteilen besteht, ist sie, was ein Ich betrifft eigentlich leer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_self
Higher self is a term associated with multiple belief systems, but its basic premise describes an eternal, omnipotent, conscious, and intelligent being, who is one's real self. Blavatsky formally defined the higher self as "Atma the inseparable ray of the Universe and one self. It is the God above, more than within, us". Each and every individual has a Higher self.

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Note added at 16 hrs (2018-05-25 06:26:51 GMT)
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Übermensch is a similar idea. Unfortunately, often translated as Superman.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Übermensch

Brahman is similar and may be a more suitable basis for spiritual exploration.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahman

https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-the-self-450193
The Self Is No-Self
What's most important to understand about the skandhas is that they are empty. They are not qualities that an individual possesses because there is no-self possessing them. This doctrine of no-self is called anatman or anatta.

"The existential self and its counterpart" should work (assuming that this is consistent with the book's contents and style).


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Note added at 1 day 17 hrs (2018-05-26 07:15:04 GMT)
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They also mention that the author is a "Keyser Soze" in der spirituellen Szene. Had to look that up. Spoiler alert follows!


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyser_Söze
According to petty con artist Roger "Verbal" Kint (Kevin Spacey), Söze is a crime lord whose ruthlessness and influence have acquired a legendary, even mythical, status among police and criminals alike. Further events in the story make these accounts unreliable, and, in a twist ending, a police sketch identifies Kint and Söze as one and the same.

I'm not saying that I'm right but that we're all speculating here, and the actual meaning is what the writer of the blurb intended.

Herbmione Granger
Germany
Local time: 21:32
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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