Udstigere, akrobatik og træningsprogrammer: Om sproglig fremmedgørelse og erkendelsesmæssige gevinster

Abstract

The article discusses selected topics from Peter Sloterdijk’s You Must Change Your Life (2013). The main focus of the article is on Sloterdijk’s emphasis on asceticism in the sense of ‘training’ or ‘practice’ and its vital part in the general history of culture and religion. In particular, the article focuses on the original, although alienating, vocabulary through which Sloterdijk presents his observations and the initially mystifying impact it has on the reader, but also on the possible cognitive gains inherent in the specific Sloterdijkian terminology: With his redefinitions (asceticism as practice) and recategorizations (religions and cultures as training programs and immune systems), Sloterdijk emphasizes essential aspects of the religious breakthroughs taking place in the Axial Age: First and foremost, the Axial religions are learning programs aimed at continuous improvement, but con-stantly faced with the challenge of maintaining their followers. Consequently, their primary focus is on the cognitive content and the cultivation of ‘the right disposition’ through practice.