The Poverty and Richness of the Imaginary

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-100

There is an ambiguity in Jean-Paul Sartre’s The Imaginary (1940). On the one hand, Sartre describes mental images as impoverished in contrast to the fullness and depth of the world of perception. On the other hand, Sartre identifies the imagination with human freedom, and in this sense the imaginary can be seen as an enrichment of the real. This paper explores this ambiguity and its import for understanding both racist and antiracist ways of relating to others. Part One explores Sartre’s argument for the “essential poverty” of the image through examples of racist images. Part Two discusses the enriching power of the imaginary for cultivating more just social and political arrangements in the context of racial oppression. Part Three argues that bad faith can take the form either of fleeing from reality into the impoverished world of the imaginary, or of failing to see the imaginary possibilities implicitly enriching the real.

2021 ◽  
pp. 142-176
Author(s):  
Nicholas F. Stang

There is a tension in Leibniz’s mature metaphysics that has received considerable attention in the last several decades of scholarship. On the one hand, there are texts that support a phenomenalist reading, according to which bodies are simply the coordinated phenomena of minds. On the other hand, there are texts that support a realist reading, according to which bodies are aggregates of the real constituents of the world, monads. Likewise, there is a structurally similar tension in Kant’s metaphysics between “two world” and “one world” interpretations of transcendental idealism. This chapter develops an interpretation of Leibniz’s metaphysics that does justice to both his realism and his phenomenalism, and then shows how that interpretation can be applied to Kant’s transcendental idealism.


2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-47
Author(s):  
Julia Langkau

AbstractThis paper argues that we should distinguish two different kinds of imaginative vividness: vividness of mental images and vividness of imaginative experiences. Philosophy has focussed on mental images, but distinguishing more complex vivid imaginative experiences from vivid mental images can help us understand our intuitions concerning the notion as well as the explanatory power of vividness. In particular, it can help us understand the epistemic role imagination can play on the one hand and our emotional engagement with literary fiction on the other hand.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg W. Bertram

AbstractThe concept of second nature promises to provide an explanation of how nature and reason can be reconciled. But the concept is laden with ambiguity. On the one hand, second nature is understood as that which binds together all cognitive activities. On the other hand, second nature is conceived of as a kind of nature that can be changed by cognitive activities. The paper tries to investigate this ambiguity by distinguishing a Kantian conception of second nature from a Hegelian conception. It argues that the idea of a transformation from a being of first nature into a being of second nature that stands at the heart of the Kantian conception is mistaken. The Hegelian conception demonstrates that the transformation in question takes place within second nature itself. Thus, the Hegelian conception allows us to understand the way in which second nature is not structurally isomorphic with first nature: It is a process of ongoing selftransformation that is not primarily determined by how the world is, but rather by commitments out of which human beings are bound to the open future.


Author(s):  
Ю. А. Абсалямова

В статье анализируются особенности восприятия лесного пространства башкирами. На основе языковых, фольклорных материалов сделана попытка раскрыть различные аспекты взаимоотношений лес - человек, образ леса в картине мира башкир. Как и в большинстве традиционных культур, в целом мифологический образ леса носит отрицательный характер. В фольклоре он часто описывается как тёмный, мрачный, неизвестный, таящий опасности, противопоставляясь обжитому и освоенному пространству селений. Лесной пандемониум также представлен в основном отрицательными персонажами. В целом образ леса в традиционной картине мира башкир предстаёт довольно неоднозначным. С одной стороны - это категория, связанная с потусторонним миром, неизведанная, «чужая» территория. С другой - лес издавна являлся источником различных благ - в виде строительного материала, пушнины, различных продуктов питания, укрывал от врагов. The article analyzes the features of Bashkirs' perception of the forest space. On the basis of the materials of the epos, folklore, folk ideas, an attempt was made to reveal the various aspects of the relationship between forest and man, the image of the forest in Bashkirs' world view. As in most traditional cultures, the mythological image of the forest as a whole is negative. In folklore, it is often described as dark, gloomy, unknown, fraught with danger, being contrasted with the inhabited and developed space of the villages. The forest pandemonium is also represented mainly by negative characters. On the other hand, in the domestic perception forest is valued for the benefits derived from it: shelter, food, protection from enemies. In addition, Bashkirs, distinguished by a developed aesthetic perception and contemplative thinking, appreciated its beauty, which is also reflected in folklore. In general, the image of forest in the Bashkirs' traditional view of the world appears rather ambiguous. On the one hand, it is the category associated with the other world, unknown, «foreign» territory. On the other hand, the forest has long been a source of various benefits - in the form of construction materials, furs, various food products, and it sheltered them from enemies.


Humanities ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Annabelle Dufourcq

This article investigates the meaning of Merleau-Ponty’s concept of the flesh of the world. This concept brings a cosmological tone to existentialist phenomenology and challenges the grim and gnostic approach that prevails in Heidegger’s and Sartre’s works in particular. Is horror the key mood in ontology as argued by Malabou? This article contends that bright metaphors and magic realism are at least as fundamental, but under one condition: ontology must come to terms with what the author has coined as the “Chandos complex”, namely a form of ambivalence and oscillation between Gnosticism and holism that makes both positions fake and hollow. Dreaming of being one with the world and fantasizing an estrangement from nature work hand in hand and are equally staged. Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy occasionally falls prey to the Chandos complex, which makes his concept of the flesh of the world vulnerable to criticism. This article examines the claim put forward by Renaud Barbaras that “the flesh of the world” is a failed metaphor. It argues that this blissful metaphor is ontologically fundamental as soon as its intrinsic paradoxes are recognized and accepted: the Chandos complex then becomes the key to an ontology that recognizes the imaginary as an essential dimension of being. At stake is an essential link between ontology on the one hand and, on the other hand, metaphors as well as myth-building and narrative-building processes.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (13) ◽  
pp. 33-48
Author(s):  
Myroslava Khutorna

This paper is devoted to the consideration of the preconditions and results of the banking sector of Ukraine transforming, its influence on the sector’s productivity, stability and significance for the real economy. It’s grounded that banking sector of Ukraine has seriously weakened its potential for the economic development stimulation. On the one hand, due to the banking sector clearance from the bad and unscrupulous banks the system has become much more sensitive to the monetary instruments and its state is going to be more predictable and better controlled. But on the other hand, massive banks’ liquidations have caused the worsening of the confidence in financial system and radical increasing of the market concentration the highest degree of which is observed in the householders’ deposit market.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-52
Author(s):  
Nashuddin Nashuddin

True education makes people more respectful of differences and understanding diversity. Schools offer openness, moderation, and peace, not closure, extremism, and violence. But in reality on the ground, schools are actually not sterile from the outbreak of intolerance and the virus of radicalism. A number of studies show at one conclusion - which is almost agreed on - that intolerance in the world of education is increasing. Starting from rejecting leaders of different religions, do not want to respect the flag, the veil obligation, to those who openly support the khilafah. The entry of intolerance is assessed entering from three doors. First, teacher. Teacher understanding often determines how students behave and act. Second, the curriculum which is still dogmatic-doctrinaire does not provide space for dialogue and imagination. Third, extra activities are loaded with certain ideologies. In this context, it is necessary to return to voice moderation in schools. Attitudes that are not extreme right, always negate everything; nor extreme left, accommodating anything from outside; but rather be selective-accommodating. Teaching selective-accommodative attitude to students, has its own challenges. Not to mention the tendency of religious ways that are practical, instant, and do not want to be complicated, on the one hand; plus the penetration of social media - borrowing the language of Tom Nicholas (Death of Expertise, 2017) - there is a democratization of information, everyone is equal in it, on the other hand. Making moderation mainstreaming projects in schools has its challenges. Pendidikan sejatinya membuat manusia lebih menghargai perbedaaan dan memahami keragaman.Sekolah mengarjakan keterbukaan, moderasi, dan kedamaian, bukan ketertutupan, ekstrim, dan kekerasan.Akan tetapi fakta di lapangan, sekolah justru tidak streril dari wabah intoleransi dan virus radikalisme. Sejumlah penelitian menunjukkan pada satu kesimpulan –yang hampir disepakati—bahwa intoleransi dalam dunia pendidikan semakian meningkat. Mulai dari menolak pemimpin beda agama, tidak mau menghormat bendera, pewajiban jilbab, sampai yang terang-terangan mendukung khilafah. Masuknya intoleransi dinilai masuk dari tiga pintu. Pertama, guru. Pemahaman guru sering menentukan cara bersikap dan bertindak siswa. Kedua, kurikulum yang masih dogmatis-doktriner, tidak memberikan ruang untuk berdialetika dan berimajinasi. Ketiga, kegiatan ekstra yang sarat dengan ideologi tertentu. Dalam konteks inilah, perlu kembali menyuarakan moderasi di sekolah. Sikap yang tidak ekstrim kanan, selalu menegasikan semuanya; juga tidak ekstrim kiri, menampung apapun dari luar; melainkan bersikap selektif-akomodatif. Mengajarkan sikap selektif-akomodatif kepada peserta didik, mendapat tantangan tersendiri. Belum lagi adanya  kecenderungan cara beragama yang praktis, instan, dan tidak mau ribet, di satu sisi; di tambah penetrasi media sosial –meminjam bahasa Tom Nicholas (Matinya Kepakaran, 2017) – terjadi demokratisasi infomasi, semua orang setara di dalamnya, di sisi lain. Membuat proyek pengarusutamaan moderasi di sekolah mendapat tantangannya tersendiri.


REFLEXE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (60) ◽  
pp. 29-63
Author(s):  
Martin Rabas

The present article has two objectives. One is to elucidate the philosophical approach presented in the so-called Strahov Systematic Manuscripts of Jan Patočka in terms of consciousness and nature. The other is to compare this philosophical approach with Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s theses on nature, as elaborated in 1956–1961, and to point out some advantages and limitations of both approaches. In our opinion, Patočka’s philosophical approach consists, on the one hand, in a descriptive analysis of human experience, which he understands as a pre-reflective self-relationship pointing towards the consciousness of the world. On the other hand, on the basis of this descriptive analysis Patočka consequently explicates all non-human life, inorganic matter, and finally the whole of nature as life in its own right, the essence of which is also a certain self-relation with a tendency towards consciousness. The article then briefly presents Merleau-Ponty’s theses on nature, and finally compares them with Patočka’s overall theses on nature. The advantage of Patočka’s notion of nature as against Merleau-Ponty’s is that, in Patočka’s view, nature encompasses both the principle of unity and individuality. On the other hand, the advantage of Merleau-Ponty’s understanding of nature as against Patočka’s lies in the consistent interconnectedness of the infinite life of nature and the finite life of individual beings.


Poligrafi ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 107-127
Author(s):  
Victoria Dos Santos

This article aims to explore the affinities between contemporary Paganism and the posthuman project in how they approach the non-human natural world. On the one hand, posthumanism explores new ways of considering the notion of humans and how they are linked with the non-human world. On the other hand, Neopaganism expands this reflection to the spiritual domain through its animistic relational sensibility. Both perspectives challenge the modern paradigm where nature and humans are opposed and mutually disconnected. They instead propose a relational ontology that welcomes the “different other.” This integrated relationship between humans and the “other than human” can be understood through the semiotic Chora, a notion belonging to Julia Kristeva that addresses how the subject is not symbolically separated from the world in which it is contained.


Author(s):  
Joshua C. Gellers

Could robots have rights? On the one hand, robots are becoming increasingly human-like in appearance and behavior. On the other hand, legal systems around the world are increasingly recognizing the rights of nonhuman entities. Observing these macro-level trends, in this paper I present an ecological framework for evaluating the conditions under which some robots might be considered eligible for certain rights. I argue that a critical, materialist, and broadly ecological interpretation of the environment, along with decisions by jurists establishing or upholding the rights of nature, support extension of rights to nonhuman entities like robots.


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