Peter Sloterdijk's 'Rules For the Human Zoo' proposes pointed insight's into the history of humanism as a method to tame barbarous instincts of man, ‘its’ failures, and a possible counter-solution.
The methodology to make man cultured operates through the humanist tradition: hommes de lettres -embracing a love of wisdom/friendship, adopted from Hellenistic Greeks & Romans (Cicero). Literature therefore is a gathering by which reading is an 'invitation to become friends', to enter an in-group (of humanists), where cultivated knowledge (archaically) allowed these men to guide historical discourse over the plebeians.
Humanism utilized its universal expansionary influence notably (Kabbalah one foundation of multi-faceted way of Being) within the period of national humanism between 1789-1945; in a pragmatic fashion, where nation states are humanist literary groups sharing the same friendship via shared readings, entering into a canon.
'What are modern nations but effective fictions of literate public's who have become alike minded collective of friends through reading the same books'. Each group of classical philologists were entrusted by power centers to initiate each generation into the circle of recipients of an authorized canon, the nation state its literary product.
However, Sloterdijk interjects that since 1945 the art of letters is no longer sufficient, as a bearer of national spirit, to form a communicative bond between individuals, ergo political/social stability is impaired. Pre-established harmony betwixt author and reader can no longer be supposed. Any revival of renaissance virtues, love of Latin/classics -grounded towards Rome-, entwined with Christian traditions (beatitudes/sermon on the mount) is battling against a now post-literary, post-humanist bestiality of 'bread and circuses' (i.e. entertainment), the prime wielded power of warfare to champion man's beastly impulse.
As humans are subjected to constraining/reposed forces (we are open to suggestion), exposure to the correct literature can calm the inner beast; against unrestrained pleasures of Trajan's Colosseum (human/animal brutality, morphed to public hangings as a spectacle power symbol). Sloterdijk thinks the humanist rightly ashamed by such behavior [although shouldn’t be the prime motivation for deviation].
The central exposition of his work moves to discussion of Martin Heidegger's 1946 'Letter on Humanism', in which Heidegger removes the need for the label of humanism as the chief taming element, labels Christianity, Marxism and Existentialism as evading the final realization of the question of man's essence; proposing as a solution ending the perspective of animalistic man enriched by a spiritual supplement (an existential-ontological outlook classically posed by the Cartesian tradition).
The subject/object distinction is untenable to Heidegger. Hence humanism has been an agent of denial by presuming the question of Being as self-evident and irrefutable, not valuing humanity high enough (and its potential, Heidegger's views especially after Being and Time in 1927).
Man is ontologically separate from animals yet not as a vitalistic/biological position, so the metaphysical/cultural addition cannot be made. Rather, man has a world which he is actualized, in contrast to animals/plants which inhabit a transitory environment, man dwells in the house of language; belonging to the truth of Being and guarding it.
The task of man is to shepherd and speak Being (Dasein), in a world of open circumstances by which is not chosen freely in his own interest. Being appears in the clearing 'die lichtung' (the glade, a border amidst natural & cultural histories), man is set apart by Being. As man is in the house of Being and language, in relationship with Being, this imposes constraints on his behavior, taming him to a greater degree than the humanist reading classics. The public has to realize the individual in question as the tutor of Being, recognizing that Being is speaking within/through him.
Sloterdijk opines that destructive wars of the 20th century were caused by militant humanism acting out domination over Being through anthropocentric power (Bolsheviks, Americanism). Fascism is viewed in variant form as a synthesis between humanism and bestiality, despising imposed values, ergo a metaphysics of disinhibition. We must accept Heidegger's proposition: recognize history in the entrance of the clearing of Being 'Seinsvergessenheit'(forgetting to forget oneself); yet not his conclusion that we remain transfixed to boundaries of thought.
Forgetfulness is when the distinction between Being/non-Being is not considered (Plato's forms and Aristotle's substances are a forgetfulness of Being). Substance and matter have no semiotic relation to the world; they are existent tools (hammer) used for meaningful relation to humans and other worldly objects for future use. When stripped of its matrix of relations does the hammer become merely a thing. 'Reliability is the ontological-categorical determination of Being as it is in itself'.
Heidegger's other insights from this section: commodities are not occurrent in an ontology that accepts a timeless eternal substance as reality; and man is a product of a super-birth created from a nursling-worlding (will need to read more for clarification!).
Sloterdijk moves to interesting musings on the relationship between man, his house (which domesticates him), and his pet (vice-versa); shifting to Nietzschean thought: 'These simple ones want one thing: that no one harm them...to them virtue is whatever makes them modest and tame: this is how they made the wolf into the dog and mankind himself into mankind's favorite pet' (Thus Spoke Zarathustra, 133-135, one expects no politesse from Nietzsche).
Sloterdijk proposes that Zarathustra condemns the false harmlessness by which the good man surrounds himself, the übermensch is a man of the future; he must breed, shepherd, and tame the non übermensch. (This can herald social Darwinism, eugenics, and so on which is why many shy away from such a view, it is difficult to know to what degree Sloterdijk endorses this, as he is only outlining consequences of Nietzsche's proposals).
The influence of breeding influences is thus a battle between the maximization and minimization of man's potential (man as shepherd of Being in house of language & Being, versus entertainment and all else that hinders the former). Sloterdijk thinks that the übermensch as a breedless breeder is mistaken (alike to a uncaused cause, this seems to be Nietzsche's replacement, not all too different?). His crux of thought is seen correct nonetheless, where breeding is the 'defanging' of humanity, for Sloterdijk human's reproduce whereas animals merely breed.
Those needing the power of the vote/rights is critiqued; they are relinquishing guilt due to their lack of responsibility and authority that they have available (this is important):
'Man will become the higher power for man' rather than a God or big other (entwined with Lacan/Žižek/most of 20th century philosophy; although there are clear differences how to achieve this).
In Sloterdijk's closing remarks, he ponders that antiquity defined thinking as the 'achievement of truth through careful separation and division of things, and ideas'. As individuals are not forced into political (he aptly names them theme parks), yet place themselves there as a method of self shepherding/taming (city and national parks are compared); we have the power within ourselves to aim for the übermensch ideal of maximized potential in the Lichtung, within the house of language and Being.
To do so for Sloterdijk we must become instead of humanists, archivists:
'For the few who still peer around in those archives, the realization is dawning that our lives are the confused answers to questions that were asked in places we have forgotten'.
Regardless of if the premises outlined are accepted (in philosophy rarely completely so), Sloterdijk's treatise (despite largely Heidegger's theory) is a must read even simply for the question posed to what it is to be a human Being today.
Summary on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2342404852
Audiobook: