I mondi simultanei di Ernst Jünger. Su Avvicinamenti e Heliopolis

Abstract

Ernst Jünger’s simultaneous worlds. On Annäherungen and HeliopolisIn this paper two of Jünger’s post-war writings (Heliopolis, 1949; Annäherungen,1970) are examined in order to assess their inner consistencyin relation to one of the key-concepts of Jünger’s philosophicalsystem, the notion of ‘elementary’. Annäherungen is shown to restupon a vision of the Dionysian root of the aesthetic experience – anapproach which is easily traced back to its main forerunner, FriedrichNietzsche: art is the only human activity which is capable to reflectan image of the ‘elementary’, since its unfailing obscurity providesaccess to otherwise unattainable levels of experience. This explicitstance of Annäherungen is shown to correspond to and clarify thehidden structure of Heliopolis, whose apparent obscurity is to be understoodas an effect of the transfiguring power of a paradis artificiel.This is a space where the use of drugs enforces the laws of the‘elementary’, providing the only means of contrasting and possiblysurpassing contemporary nihilism.