The problem of the relation and difference between things and objects is one of the most decisive issues for the conception of the real. These words are usually used interchangeably – and not only in their everyday usage. There are some contemporary philosophical positions that consider almost “everything” as an object; on the other hand, there are proponents of a strict separation of objects and things. How did it happen that the concept of thing (res) and object (obiectum) not only (...) began to theoretically “compete” with each other but also sometimes came to represent differently conceived realities, and even occasionally came to represent an identical conception of reality? This article, on the one hand, discusses the philosophical strategies that reveal the difference between objects and things and enable such a conception of reality which takes into account the Kantian distinction between Realität and Wirklichkeit. On the other, it reconstructs Giorgio Agamben’s project of modal ontology. Agamben’s take on the question What is real? is oriented toward the modus of being and could be traced back to the recognition of the difference between objects and things as well as the “restoration of the life of things themselves.”. (shrink)

Resumen: El artículo trata del concepto e imagen de templum y sus transformaciones en un mundo globalizado. El punto de arranque del análisis es la ambiguedad que puede ser revelada en el funcionamiento del concepto de lo sacrum. El concepto de profanación está directamente relacionado con el aspecto negativo de lo sacro. Así la ambiguedad del acto de profanación puede observarse en los casos de la conversión de los santuarios en «instituciones públicas» en el tiempo soviético. El análisis se centrará (...) en el gesto de profanación, que será elucidado a través del caso de des-consagración y re-consagración de la catedral de Vilnius.Key Words: templum; sacer; sacrum; profanum; profanación. (shrink)

The article deals with the concept and image of templum and its transformations in a globalized world. The starting point of the analysis is the ambiguity that could be disclosed in the functioning of the concept of sacrum. The concept of profanation is directly related with the negative aspect of the sacrum. Thus, the ambiguity of the act of profanation can be also seen in cases of the conversion of sanctuaries into «public institutions» in the Soviet period. The analysis will (...) focus on the gesture of profanation, which will be elucidated through the case of the de-consecration and re-consecration of the Vilnius Cathedral. (shrink)