Tragic realism: The philosophy of Clément Rosset in the context of recent realist philosophies

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Robert Hugo Ziegler
• Subject Area: Theoretical Philosophy
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 563200640

The aim of the project is twofold: to give an exhaustive account of the work of the French philosopher Clément Rosset, which has so far received little attention in Germany and can be described as “tragic realism”, and to bring it into a critical dialogue with current versions of philosophical realism. Rosset’s philosophy understands reality as an encounter and interaction between individuals, things and people, which is not governed by any higher laws. This reality is tragic in that it has no relationship to human expectations of happiness: it does not actively prevent happiness, but rather is indifferent to it. People regularly respond to this frustration of their expectations of happiness by denying or evading reality. Reality is thus doubled – in imagination, in scientific or philosophical theories and in moral demands: what simply is is suddenly superseded by what “actually” is or should be or what is “in truth”. Insofar as Rosset’s philosophy is guided by the constant reminder that reality cannot be doubled (a reminder which obviously poses problems for the formation of philosophical theories), it is a particularly critical and methodologically reflected form of realism and can therefore serve as a means to correct and deepen current versions of realism. The same applies to Rosset’s consistent interweaving of ontological and ethical questions which current realistic conceptions tend to separate from each other. In addition, research into Rosset's philosophy promises valuable contributions to the philosophy of the tragic and to the complex and often contradictory history of the reception of Nietzsche's philosophy: No other author has shaped Rosset’s thinking like Nietzsche, to whom he returns again and again. The program of the project consists of five parts: 1. an overall presentation of Rosset’s philosophy is to be written in the form of a monograph. 2. the German translation of one of Rosset’s early major works will be presented, the "Logique du pire" from 1971. 3. two essays will be written and published in which Rosset’s conception is confronted with that of two protagonists of "speculative" or "new" realism: with the philosophies of Quentin Meillassoux and Markus Gabriel respectively. 4. Both the exploration of Rosset’s philosophy and its confrontation with current realistic conceptions are also the central topics of an international workshop that is to take place as part of the project. 5. Veronika Zirbs’ work is part of the project. In this work, which will also result in a monograph, Rosset’s philosophy is brought into dialogue with that of his contemporary Gilles Deleuze. By comparing those two authors with regard to the question of the real, their respective philosophies take a clear shape as different attempts to answer this question.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants