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OCR
In 2014, even before the start of the mass migrations of the second millennium, I was asked to write a paper on the term “other” for a journal. I approached the subject from the point of view of literature, myth and fine art, without neglecting its philosophical foundations. Now, however, I feel that these first comments must be supplemented with a great deal more. When it comes to the concept of the same and the other, as well as the alien, the discussion of the question of the same and the differentiated same (=other) becomes unavoidable—and why avoid it? — even though today it has become almost forgotten, unknown to those outside a narrow academic circle. My article was published at the start of the “wave of immigration,” although I did not write it to reflect on it. As crowds flooded, emotions were almost immediately let loose. At one end was an unconsidered “Willkommenskultur”, on the other was the ideology of not only a wall, but of a (thus far yet) virtual mine barrage. To be fair, neither side felt that their position needed any manner of foundation, but rather it was the beliefs and the powerful emotions—chief among them hate—arising from those beliefs that engaged and engage each other. However, sober and rational thought is indispensable. While Blaise Pascal rightly asks: ‘I would like to add to this that there is pity in me ,, How comes it that a cripple does not offend us, but that a fool does? Because a cripple recognises that we walk straight, whereas a fool declares that it is we who are silly; if it were not so, we should feel pity and not anger.” (Pascal, 1958. IL.80.) Now, it is important for us to clarify what we are talking about, especially as emotions tend to get out of control when talking about
