Аnthropological aspects of the public sphere transformation: from Mcluhan to Gumbrecht

Abstract

The article describes the correlation between M. McLuhan's concept of media and the approach proposed by H. W. Gumbrecht, which is based on the anthropological study of interaction between  the meaning and the production of presence. Attention to McLuhan's research focused on the dependence of culture upon communication of information finds its continuation in Gumbrecht's studying of what cannot be expressed through the meaning. A parallel is drawn between Gumbrecht's manifesto and research on the transformation produced by the changes of mass communication in the public sphere. McLuhan was the first to discover the effect of media on a person and publicity. Gumbrecht worked out a new approach to aesthetics. My idea is to show how material communication introduced by McLuhan helps us to understand the new cultural approach provided by Gumbrecht. The article examines the public sphere made up of arts, media, and culture undergoing changes in the XXI century, with focus on the anthropological aspects of these changes.