Abstract

The author of this article carried out a historical and philosophical reconstruction of the philosophy of culture of the German philosopher Walter Benjamin, what made it possible to reveal the allegory as a methodological device and the essence of art criticism that grows out of the work of art itself. The author of the article emphasized the antinomic nature of allegory, what made it possible to reveal the dialectics of the baroque drama. In the article, allegory is considered not only as an artistic method or philosophical and literary criticism, but also as a methodological principle, through which W. Benjamin could to go beyond the historical approach and understand the timeless essence of the Baroque through the German Baroque drama. Using allegory as a methodological principle, the author of the article shows the drama of modernity: instead of solving the problem of alienation of man, there was a total conquest of man by technology; instead of affirming the integrity of the world, its fragmentation and increasing disunity take place. Not being modern for its time W. Benjamin anticipated such significant ideas today as the end of history, criticism of the referential concept of the sign, focus on the interpretive nature of human knowledge and many other ideas that are relevant in modern social and humanitarian knowledge.