He was friends with Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, and sought to come up with a theoretical alternative to the dichotomy of idealism vs realism. French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty thought that both these positions share the mistaken assumption of a ready-made world that we can know either intellectually (idealism) or empirically (realism). What was … Continue reading Maurice Merleau-Ponty on the Social World
Philosophical Brief: Unexperienced Experience
How can there be an 'unexperienced experience'? Isn't it an impossibility, a contradiction? Not according to the philosopher Jacques Derrida. He uses the term ‘unexperienced experience’ when discussing the experience of imminent death (that is there in suspension and not in actual fact - all simultaneously) in Maurice Blanchot's narrative “The Instant of my Death”. … Continue reading Philosophical Brief: Unexperienced Experience
Literature and Philosophy
What is the relationship between literature and philosophy? It depends on how you understand each and, more broadly, on how you approach the matter of defining things. In his 2001 book "Philosophy's Literature", philosopher Andrew Benjamin explores, among other things, the way philosophy (or rather one of its dominant traditions - stemming from Plato and … Continue reading Literature and Philosophy
What Is Philosophy – Part 4 (Final)
Last week, I began discussing the ‘way’ of philosophy as part of my series of articles that follow a recently published academic paper by philosopher Kuzin Vasily*. If you missed it, I recommend you start with part one and then proceed to the next, one after another (it will make more sense that way). In … Continue reading What Is Philosophy – Part 4 (Final)
What Is Philosophy – Part 3
Last week, I wrote about ‘the way of art’, the second post in a series exploring the question ‘what is philosophy’. The series follows a recently published academic article by philosopher Kuzin Vasily*. In case you missed it, I recommend you start with part one and part two before continuing with this post (it will … Continue reading What Is Philosophy – Part 3
What Is Philosophy – Part 2
Last week, I introduced a series of posts exploring the question ‘what is philosophy’. It follows a recently published academic article of the same title by philosopher Kuzin Vasily*. In case you missed it, I recommend you start with part one before continuing with this post (it will make more sense that way). Here, in … Continue reading What Is Philosophy – Part 2
What Is Philosophy – Part 1
Many of us think we know what philosophy or art is. At least until we are asked to explain them. A universal, clear definition eludes us. That does not mean we should stop reflecting on it. On the contrary, it makes things more interesting! Earlier this year, one more contribution to the debate arrived in … Continue reading What Is Philosophy – Part 1
Where Are You From?
What appears as a straightforward question contains a lot of implicit assumptions. One of those close to the surface is, for example, the idea that 'being from somewhere' means having been born and grown up there. What if a person was born in one place, moved somewhere else before they could even remember themselves, then … Continue reading Where Are You From?
Phenomenology and Bracketing the Familiar
Edmund Husserl (1859 - 1938), the main founder of phenomenology, emphasised the importance of the first step that a phenomenological philosopher must take to investigate the interrelation of the world and us as experiencing subjects. He called that first step epoché - suspending or placing into brackets. What should we bracket? Our natural attitude - the familiar, pre-theoretical, uncritical … Continue reading Phenomenology and Bracketing the Familiar
How to Understand Identity
What is your identity? When someone asks you who you are, what are the first things that come to your mind? Are they your identity? Thinking about our identities is crucial for people, and we do it many times in our lives. It is unsurprising that throughout history, philosophers have engaged with the question of identity … Continue reading How to Understand Identity
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