Towards a Theory of Eccentricity — Page 3:
11 However, does Sitwell’s book get us closer towards an understanding of eccentricity? I think it does for two reasons. The first reason is the affirmation that we are on the right track: we can find the three features of “eccentric” distinguished above in Sitwell’s use of the word as well. When we take a look at all the different people Sitwell tells us about, there is only one feature that they have in common. All of them differ in a very profound way from the “centre,” from that which is supposed to be the usual. This matches our first feature. In her first chapter, Sitwell defines eccentricity as an “exaggeration of the attitudes common to Life” which “has been called eccentricity by those whose bones are too pliant” (16). Here, regardless of how this quote may be understood in its details, the other two features obviously are present: the pejorative sense as well as the fact that it is not the eccentric herself who employs the word “eccentric” but someone who considers himself to be in the centre.
12 The second reason why a look into Sitwell’s book proves to be fruitful for our purposes is that we get a new piece of information concerning the realm of eccentricity. As Sitwell writes in her definition of eccentricity and afterwards shows us throughout the book, eccentricity has to do with the “attitudes common to Life” (16). This tells us something important with regard to where we have to look for eccentricity. Being eccentric is not just a fashion, resulting from a desire to, say, look different. It does not have to do with attitudes relating to hobbies, interests, or style, but with attitudes on how to live. The realm of eccentricity is therefore much more fundamental. It is our attitude towards life, the way we attach value to the things around us and the way we deal with other people. This gets us closer to an understanding of what it means if someone is being described as eccentric because now we know where we have to look: the realm of eccentricity is our relation towards life itself, towards establishing value and participating in culture. And at this point we are in a better position to understand why it is so difficult – or even impossible – to give a positive definition of “eccentric.” We are dealing with such a fundamental question that if someone differs in this respect in a certain way from the others (who consider themselves to be in the centre), it simply might not be possible for the ones who describe this person as eccentric to understand her. Maybe nothing more is possible than to acknowledge: this person is ex-centric. In any case, what we now need is an answer to the question in what way the eccentric person differs from the non-eccentric with regard to fundamental attitudes towards life.[3]Sitwell, of course, talks about an exaggeration of the attitudes common to life. As will become clear on the following pages, my own concept of eccentricity will be somewhat different and it would be interesting to go into the differences between Sitwell’s and my concept.
3. Philosophical Anthropology 1: eccentric positionality
13 It emerged in the previous section that the realm of eccentricity is the attitude towards life itself, the way we attach value to things around us. Thus, we are now, on a very basic level, dealing with the question of how we understand ourselves and our relation towards others. These kinds of questions are discussed in Philosophical Anthropology.
14 Philosophical Anthropology developed as a distinct line of philosophical thought at the beginning of the 20th century in Germany. Its main aim was to overcome the popular conceptual opposition of the natural sciences and the humanities in order to construct a single, unified theory about the various forms of living beings in the world and thereby discovering what distinguishes us humans from animals.
15 Not only does Philosophical Anthropology deal with the questions we are interested in for shaping our concept of eccentricity, but one of its main representatives, Helmuth Plessner, also employs the word “eccentric” very prominently in his theory. According to him, eccentric positionality (“Exzentrische Positionalität”) signifies the human condition as distinguished from that of animals and plants.