Schelling como antecedente de las filosofías del acontecimiento

In recent years, the notion of the “event” (Ereignis, événement, acontecimiento) has been a popular topic of conversation. Some thinkers have characterized this recent boom as a “turn towards the event” (Lazzarato, 2006) or a “rebirth of the event” (Dosse, 2015). The event has come to occupy a central place in the thought of various contemporary thinkers, and the concept has surfaced in public debates regarding certain historical events. For instance, Derrida famously characterized the attacks of September 11th as a paradigmatic event. In 2016, “Brexit” and Trump’s ascent to power were often characterized as unprecedented events. In what follows, I reveal the extent to which Schelling’s late philosophy could be considered a forerunner of the contemporary notion of the event. Taking the Schellingian roots of the event and important philosophical context (that is, the philosophical questions the late Schelling hopes to address) into account will help sharpen our contemporary understanding of the event as well as the conceptions of time, history and freedom it aims to undermine. In closing, as a means of touching on one of the crucial themes underlying Schelling’s discussion of the event, I consider the relationship between the event as a radical theory of history and his key interpretive principles of religion.