Rebellion Against Conformism: Ernst Junger’s Heroic Realism

Modern societies are generally considered post-heroic societies. It has been thought that in modern conditions, where the market, the state, institutions, mechanisms, and individualism have developed and become established, there is no place for heroes in the classical sense. However, political and intellectual movements that challenge the modern order and aim to transcend it continue their search for heroism. This article will focus on the “heroic realism” of Ernst Jünger, a significant literary figure, thinker, and essayist who explored the possibilities of heroism in the modern era. Jünger attempts to embody the spirit of heroism in figures such as the “Soldier,” the “Worker,” the “Anarchist,” and the “Rebel.” According to him, World War I was a world-historical event that gave birth to heroic personalities. For Jünger, war is the father of all things. Just as the French Revolution was an important event in human history in terms of the new ideas and values it brought, the new human being it created, and the new social world it established, World War I is an event of that same depth and scope. The “Great War,” positioned against the French Revolution, replaced civilization and progress with culture and development; mechanism and machine with organism and spirit; freedom and equality with discipline and hierarchy; security and peace with adventure and war; and the individual and the merchant with character and the hero as humanity's new ideas and values. This article will attempt to interpret Jünger's political writings and literary texts through the lens of the “heroic realism” approach.

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