This article introduces the basic notions of the widely neglected Philosophical Anthropology of Helmuth Plessner. Instead of defining man as a privileged holder of consciousness, Plessner claims that all living organisms can be defined by their specific relation to their physical boundaries. In contrast to other living organisms such as plants and animals, however, the ‘eccentric’ nature of man allows for a comparatively high degree of freedom from the physical environment, which enables him to transcend, objectify, and deconstruct the boundaries of the same. The article concludes by outlining Plessner’s original contribution to contemporary debates in social theory, in particular constructivism and post-humanist studies.

中文翻译：

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在开放与封闭之间：赫尔姆斯·普莱斯纳与社会生活的界限

本文介绍了 Helmuth Plessner 被广泛忽视的哲学人类学的基本概念。Plessner 没有将人定义为意识的特权持有者，而是声称所有生物都可以通过它们与其物理边界的特定关系来定义。然而，与植物和动物等其他生物体相比，人的“古怪”本性允许从物理环境中获得相对较高的自由度，这使他能够超越、客观化和解构物理环境的界限。文章最后概述了普莱斯纳对当代社会理论辩论的原始贡献，特别是建构主义和后人文主义研究。