Bodily Corporeality as a Condition of the Possibility of Experiencing Authenticity. Walter Benjamin's Concept of Aura, (New) Phenomenology and Digital Mediatisation

Abstract

This article examines the anthropological concept of corporeality (Leiblichkeit) in view of the current progress in digital technologies and the associated decrease in real-life communication. Staying clear of apocalyptic and utopian speech, the term “digitization” is first redefined as “Digital Mediatization”. In a second step, Walter Benjamin’s concept of “aura” and the edition philological notion of genuineness (Echtheit) are adopted in establishing an understanding of authenticity. Finally, drawing on the phenomenological insights of Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Hermann Schmitz, the concept of the “corporeal body” is presented. Putting these results together, it becomes evident that the physical body represents the most primordial originality of human beings and the condition of possibility for unmediated authenticity. Therefore, “Corporeal Authenticity” as anthropological insight serves as a key to apprehend and to shape Digital Mediatization.