Some Remarks on the Notion of โCartesian Dualismโ in Continental Philosophy
In the beginning of the 20th century, Western philosophy split into two main schools, analytic and continental philosophy, that โ barring exceptions โ neither read nor understand each other. My own work and influences are mostly within, or closely affiliated with, the analytic school, but occasionally I read some continental philosophy (as well as some non-Western philosophy). One peculiar term I encountered several times in such reading across scholastic boundaries is โCartesian dualismโ, most recently in Saito Koheiโs Marx in the Anthropocene. To be more precise, it is not the term itself that struck me as peculiar โ youโll find...
Armageddon and Utopia
Almost a decade ago two English writers, Paul Kingsnorth and Dougald Hine, published Uncivilisation: the Dark Mountain Manifesto, calling for a literary response to the โsocial, economic and ecological unravellingโ of our time. Surrounded by a nearly deafening silence about the now nearly (?) unavoidable collapse of civilization, this dissident voice seemed a pleasant diversion, and the idea to use literature and art to change the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves and our relation with the world around us is a very sympathetic idea as well. However, the Manifesto itself raised several red flags, and made it very clear...