The current paper explores the existential motivation for the formation of extremist echo chamber... more The current paper explores the existential motivation for the formation of extremist echo chambers through a phenomenological analysis. We advance two claims. Firstly, following Ortega y Gasset, that virtuality is a constant framework for experience. And secondly, following Merleau-Ponty, that there is persistent embodiment in online spaces. On this account virtuality is a permanent feature of embodiment, existing prior to technological intervention while at the same time being modifiable by technological artefacts. Understanding virtuality in this way allows us to analyse the existential phenomenological characteristics of extremist echo chambers online. We argue that due to the persistence of embodiment throughout, and the restructuring of the virtual axes of experience, such online spaces can and do influence political praxis in offline spaces.
Daniel O’Shiel recently identified four categories of virtuality, which he terms “real virtualiti... more Daniel O’Shiel recently identified four categories of virtuality, which he terms “real virtualities”, that are perpetually present in human perception. These virtual horizons (Self, World, Others, and Values) continuously structure our experience without themselves being directly experienced. This essay argues that O’Shiel’s four categories of the virtual correspond strongly to the concept of the Fourfold found in the writings of the later Heidegger, and that Heidegger’s Fourfold can be fruitfully understood as a phenomenological framework of the virtual.
This paper explores the existential motivation for the formation of extremist echo chambers throu... more This paper explores the existential motivation for the formation of extremist echo chambers through a phenomenological analysis. We advance two claims. Firstly, following Ortega y Gasset, that virtuality is a constant framework for experience. And secondly, following Merleau-Ponty, that there is persistent embodiment in online spaces. On this account virtuality is a permanent feature of embodiment, existing prior to technological intervention while at the same time being modifiable by technological artefacts. Understanding virtuality in this way allows us to analyse the existential phenomenological characteristics of extremist echo chambers online. We argue that due to the persistence of embodiment throughout, and the restructuring of the virtual axes of experience, such online spaces can and do influence political praxis in offline spaces.
Oswald Spengler is best known as a philosopher of history. However, one can trace in volume one o... more Oswald Spengler is best known as a philosopher of history. However, one can trace in volume one of his The Decline of the West a sustained consideration of philosophical issues pertaining to the nature and practice of science that I suggest can be considered to be a philosophy of science. Not only has Spengler’s philosophy of science been largely overlooked, so too has its peculiar fictionalist character. By elaborating on the fictionalist character of Spengler’s scientific views I shall consider his work in comparison with that of Hans Vaihinger, a contemporary of Spengler and noted fictionalist with regards to science. This comparison not only supports my interpretation of Spengler’s philosophy of science as fictionalist, it also throws into relief the numerous affinities between the thought of two philosophers who are not usually associated, in particular with regards to their accounts of the origins of science in the structures of human consciousness. This fictionalist affinity in turn suggests the need for a wholesale reappraisal of Spengler’s philosophical outlook.
The debate between instrumentalist and technological determinist positions on the nature of techn... more The debate between instrumentalist and technological determinist positions on the nature of technology characterised the early history of the philosophy of technology. In recent years however technological determinism has ceased to be viewed as a credible philosophical position within the field. This paper uses Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology to reconsider the technological determinist outlook in phenomenological terms as an experiential response to the encounter with the phenomenon of modern technology. Recasting the instrumentalist-determinist debate in a phenomenological manner enables one to reconcile the apparent dualism of the instrumentalist and determinist positions through Merleau-Ponty’s ontology of the flesh. This ontology has recently been used to ground accounts of virtual embodiment. We argue that in addition to explaining away the classical form of technological determinism, it can also phenomenologically ground a novel understanding of technological determinism. Namely, a technological determinism of virtual embodiment.
This paper argues that histories of the Green Revolution are often underpinned by commitments to ... more This paper argues that histories of the Green Revolution are often underpinned by commitments to theoretical models of technology and science in ways which shape the parameters of such narratives in politically normative ways. This paper explores the accounts of the Green Revolution in India given by Vandana Shiva and Govindan Parayil and demonstrates the ways in which their respective accounts of the Green Revolution are influenced by their models of technology and science. It is argued that that Shiva and Parayil represent key theoretical positions in technological theory, determinist and instrumentalist respectively, and that examination of their Green Revolution narratives clearly indicates the ways in which such theoretical commitments can determine the scope and content of analyses of technology-driven development, and thereby exclude political content necessary for the evaluation of the efficacy of such development and the validity of theoretical model.
Philosophy of technology has never been a consolidated field of inquiry, involving as it does the... more Philosophy of technology has never been a consolidated field of inquiry, involving as it does the interaction of diverse fields of knowledge. Recently however, under the influence of sociology and pragmatist philosophy, something resembling a consensus has emerged in a field hitherto marked by the notable lack of agreement amongst its practitioners. This influence has given the field a greater sense of structure and yielded interesting research. However the loss of the ‘messy’ state of earlier philosophy of technology has resulted in a limitation of the field’s scope and methodology that prevents a complete view of the problematic inherent in technological issues. We argue that the heterodox disunity of earlier philosophy of technology was not a mark of theoretical immaturity, but was necessitated by the field’s subject matter, and that philosophy of technology should return to its pluralistic role as a meta-analytical structure linking insights from different fields of research.
This paper addresses the generally neglected topic of Vandana Shiva’s ontology. It is argued that... more This paper addresses the generally neglected topic of Vandana Shiva’s ontology. It is argued that there is a significant ontological component to Shiva’s ecofeminist philosophy and that this ontology underpins her ecological and feminist views. Shiva’s ontology provides a standpoint from which she can critique dichotomous ontologies of domination and oppression, and from which she can identify life-sustaining modes of existence. It is argued that this ontology is implicit in most of her works and is best grasped through the analysis of her critique of Western scientific metaphysics. It is further argued that this implied ontology is a continuation of the Hindu-ecofeminist ontology of Prakriti explicitly set forth in Shiva’s Staying Alive (1989). Both forms of Shiva’s ontology, the explicit and the implicit, will be reconstructed and their points of continuity detailed.
Philosophical Journal of Conflict and Violence (Special Issue: Counter-Enlightenment, Revolution and Dissent), 2020
In The Decline of the West, Spengler argues that cultures have lifecycles. Although he warns that... more In The Decline of the West, Spengler argues that cultures have lifecycles. Although he warns that the end of Faustian (western) culture is nigh, Spengler suggests that the death of the culture might be forestalled if a rapprochement can be brought about between the technologized powers of Reason and the remains of cultural life. This portrayal of Reason as a salvific force seems to contradict Spengler’s typical depiction of Reason as a violent anti-cultural force. This paper reconstructs Spengler’s account of Reason as both killer and preserver of western culture and argues that in both roles it remains inherently violent.
Feminist Philosophy of Technology (Volume 2 - Techno:Phil - Aktuelle Herausforderungen der Technikphilosophie), 2020
Ecofeminist philosophy is a development of feminist philosophy that addresses the intersection of... more Ecofeminist philosophy is a development of feminist philosophy that addresses the intersection of sexism and environmental issues. Coined by Francoise d’Eaubonne, the term “ecofeminism” refers to a diverse collection of feminist thought that shares the conviction that the present environmental crisis is due not solely to the anthropomorphic nature of dominant conceptualisations of human-nature relations, with their emphasis on notion of mastery and control, but also to their androcentric nature. Ecofeminists hold that there is a strong connection between the oppression of women and the oppression of nature and that failure to pay heed to this women-nature connection threatens to compromise both environmental and feminist activism. Opinion differs amongst ecofeminists on the correct way to address this issue, with some arguing that liberation necessitates that women should reject the women-nature connection and others that they should affirm it.
Spengler's work is typically represented as speculative philosophy of history. There is good reas... more Spengler's work is typically represented as speculative philosophy of history. There is good reason, however, to consider much of his thought as preoccupied with existential and phenomenological questions about the nature and ends of human existence, rather than with history per se. In this paper, Spengler's work is considered in comparison with Heidegger's history of Being and analysis of technological modernity. It is argued that Spengler's considerable proximity to much of Heidegger's thought compels us to reconsider the nature and scope of Spengler's philosophical project.
Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology, 2020
In The Decline of the West Spengler puts forward a type of philosophical anthropology, an account... more In The Decline of the West Spengler puts forward a type of philosophical anthropology, an account of the structures of human experiential consciousness and a method of 'physiognomic' analysis, which I argue has dimensions that can be understood as akin to existential phenomenology. Humanity, for Spengler, is witness to the creative flux of 'Becoming' and constructs a world of phenomena bounded by death, underpinned by the two prime feelings of dread and longing and structured by the two forms of Destiny (Time) and Direction (Space). Human existence, Spengler argues, is future-directed and open in the sense that there is a certain degree of freedom in the ways in which humanity can actualise its existential possibilities. In the course of elaborating the existential implications of this future-orientation, Spengler introduces the concept of care (Sorge), the fundamental experiential structure.
This paper argues that the concept of authenticity has evolved since the time of Adorno's critiqu... more This paper argues that the concept of authenticity has evolved since the time of Adorno's critique in The Jargon of Authenticity, and that the analysis of tourism offers a way of grasping the altered status of concept of authenticity and its current ideological function in the contemporary capitalist system. It is suggested that authenticity no longer refers to an existential state but instead to a purchased experiential moment. This paper traces the alterations in the understanding of existential authenticity from its origins in existential phenomenology to its current status as a key concept in tourism research. It suggests that whilst Adorno's critique of authenticity has become somewhat outdated due to changes in the social relations of modern capitalism, its central argument still holds true, in that contemporary notions of authenticity still play an ideological role in securing the socioeconomic status quo by both expressing and concealing the sense of alienation caused by social relations under capitalism.
Haack classifies Spengler's views on the end of science as what she terms annihilationist in that... more Haack classifies Spengler's views on the end of science as what she terms annihilationist in that he forecasts the absolute termination of scientific activity as opposed to its completion or culmination. She also argues that in addition to his externalist argument that Western science, as cultural product, cannot survive the demise of Western Culture, Spengler also puts forward an internalist argument that science, regardless of the imminent demise of Western Culture, is in terminal decline as evidenced by its diminishing returns. I argue against Haack that Spengler's argument for the diminishing returns of modern science is in fact an externalist one, in that he locates the sources of science's current decline outside the discipline of science itself, attributing them to a change in cultural attitude towards scientific endeavours. I further argue that Spengler's prediction of the imminent end of science was directed specifically at pure science, and that he in fact held that applied science would continue to develop. I also take issue with Haack's suggestion that Spengler's views on science were outmoded at the time that he wrote them.
This paper argues that the recent renewal of interest in the philosophy of Oswald Spengler, parti... more This paper argues that the recent renewal of interest in the philosophy of Oswald Spengler, particularly concerning its warnings of the imminent demise of Western Civilisation, is misplaced. Arguments concerning the accuracy of his predictions or cultural analysis have overlooked the necessity of evaluating the coherence of the philosophical system that Spengler used to generate and justify his speculative declarations. Such an evaluation indicates a number of apparent contradictions at the heart of Spengler’s historical model. The attempt to resolve these contradictions has resulted in a sharp division of interpretation amongst Spengler commentators, into positivist and relativist camps. Neither interpretation, I suggest, is capable of rendering Spengler’s historical system coherent. It is therefore argued that Spengler’s philosophy is fundamentally flawed.
This paper argues that Oswald Spengler has an innovative philosophical position on the nature and... more This paper argues that Oswald Spengler has an innovative philosophical position on the nature and interrelation of mathematics and science. It further argues that his position in many ways parallels that of Martin Heidegger. Both held that an appreciation of the mathematical nature of contemporary science was critical to a proper appreciation of science, technology and modernity. Both also held that the fundamental feature of modern science is its mathematical nature, and that the mathematical operates as a projection that establishes in advance the manner in which an object will present itself. They also assert that modern science, mathematics and metaphysics all have their roots in the ‘mathematical’, whose essence is itself nothing numerical.
South African Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 33, Number 2, Jun 2014
Throughout its brief history the philosophy of technology has been largely concerned with the deb... more Throughout its brief history the philosophy of technology has been largely concerned with the debate over the nature of technology. Typically technology has been viewed as being essentially another term for applied science, the practical application of scientific theory to the material world. In recent years philosophers and cultural critics have characterised technology in a far more problematic fashion, as an authoritarian power with the ability to bring about far-reaching cultural, political and ecological effects. Proponents of the former view are often termed instrumentalists, and those of the latter technological determinists. The debate between them revolves around the question of the fact/value distinction, namely whether technology can be deemed to be value-neutral.
I argue that employing a phenomenological approach to technology grants us a fresh perspective on the instrumentalism-determinism debate. It enables us to recast the instrumentalist/determinist debate as a debate between technological idealism and materialism, and to ground the instrumentalist and determinist positions in different experiential relations to technology. It also gives us a better grasp of the function of the different critiques of technology, with idealists concerned primarily with the misapplication of technology as a form of knowledge, and materialists with the existential implications of concrete technological relations.
This paper outlines the fundamental aspects of a Heideggerian-ecofeminist philosophy. It aims to ... more This paper outlines the fundamental aspects of a Heideggerian-ecofeminist philosophy. It aims to be suggestive rather than definitive regarding the form and function of such a philosophy and will, consequently, be somewhat partial and incomplete. It is intended to highlight the enormous potential of such a hybrid philosophy. To this end it will provide a brief account of the philosophy of the later Heidegger, with particular emphasis on his analysis of technology and his account of the Greek concept of truth as aletheia, or unconcealment. It will also focus on Heidegger’s account of the connection between the Greek concept of nature as physis and his own ontology of Being, “letting-be” as the appropriate attitudinal stance to existence, and the bearing of all the above on contemporary ecological concerns.
A major problem that faces any attempt to construct a Heideggerian-ecofeminism concerns Heidegger’s reticence regarding gender issues, which stem from his view that Dasein, human beings, are ontologically prior to any sexual difference. This article acknowledges the lacuna in Heidegger’s thought regarding gender, but argues that one can educe a coherent and credible account of gender difference and oppression from Heidegger’s later philosophy without distortion.
The later Heidegger, as he develops his critique of technological modernity, moves beyond the position put forward in Being and Time. In light of his later account of the Gestell, the Enframing, we can see why this was the case. Being and Time, to use the later Heidegger’s terminology, is an “enframed” work. It is an account of the fundamental categories of existence as perceived from within the Enframing and, as such, its account of Dasein and its relation to Being is necessarily skewed. However, Being and Time can still be of considerable use if it is read against itself, in light of later Heideggerian philosophy, as an enframed work. And it is the key contention of this paper that when we do so, such a re-reading leads us to a Heideggerian account of gender. In other words, by retrospectively applying later Heidegger to Being and Time, we arrive at a new understanding of its key concepts, such as ready-to-hand and present-at-hand. These in turn lead us to a Heideggerian account of gender and nature and their intrinsic inter-connection that both captures and accords with key ecofeminist insights. To be more specific, we arrive at an ontologically grounded theory that can be used to provide an account of patriarchy in terms of Dasein’s ontological homelessness and which in turn points the way to a more positive relationship towards Being, physis/nature, and death. In an attempt to demonstrate the compatibility of Heidegger-based ecofeminism with pre-exisiting forms of ecofeminist philosophy, this paper will refer throughout to other ecofeminist philosophers, in particular Susan Griffin and Vandana Shiva. This is not to suggest that these two philosophers are in any way representative of the entirety of ecofeminist philosophy. Indeed, given the near infinite variety of ecofeminist philosophies, this would be a most foolish claim. Rather, this paper holds that Griffin and Shiva are especially useful for elucidating the numerous resonances between ecofeminist philosophy and the philosophy of the later Heidegger. They are also both exemplars of the form of anti-dualist ecofeminist philosophy that this paper endorses.
The current paper explores the existential motivation for the formation of extremist echo chamber... more The current paper explores the existential motivation for the formation of extremist echo chambers through a phenomenological analysis. We advance two claims. Firstly, following Ortega y Gasset, that virtuality is a constant framework for experience. And secondly, following Merleau-Ponty, that there is persistent embodiment in online spaces. On this account virtuality is a permanent feature of embodiment, existing prior to technological intervention while at the same time being modifiable by technological artefacts. Understanding virtuality in this way allows us to analyse the existential phenomenological characteristics of extremist echo chambers online. We argue that due to the persistence of embodiment throughout, and the restructuring of the virtual axes of experience, such online spaces can and do influence political praxis in offline spaces.
Daniel O’Shiel recently identified four categories of virtuality, which he terms “real virtualiti... more Daniel O’Shiel recently identified four categories of virtuality, which he terms “real virtualities”, that are perpetually present in human perception. These virtual horizons (Self, World, Others, and Values) continuously structure our experience without themselves being directly experienced. This essay argues that O’Shiel’s four categories of the virtual correspond strongly to the concept of the Fourfold found in the writings of the later Heidegger, and that Heidegger’s Fourfold can be fruitfully understood as a phenomenological framework of the virtual.
This paper explores the existential motivation for the formation of extremist echo chambers throu... more This paper explores the existential motivation for the formation of extremist echo chambers through a phenomenological analysis. We advance two claims. Firstly, following Ortega y Gasset, that virtuality is a constant framework for experience. And secondly, following Merleau-Ponty, that there is persistent embodiment in online spaces. On this account virtuality is a permanent feature of embodiment, existing prior to technological intervention while at the same time being modifiable by technological artefacts. Understanding virtuality in this way allows us to analyse the existential phenomenological characteristics of extremist echo chambers online. We argue that due to the persistence of embodiment throughout, and the restructuring of the virtual axes of experience, such online spaces can and do influence political praxis in offline spaces.
Oswald Spengler is best known as a philosopher of history. However, one can trace in volume one o... more Oswald Spengler is best known as a philosopher of history. However, one can trace in volume one of his The Decline of the West a sustained consideration of philosophical issues pertaining to the nature and practice of science that I suggest can be considered to be a philosophy of science. Not only has Spengler’s philosophy of science been largely overlooked, so too has its peculiar fictionalist character. By elaborating on the fictionalist character of Spengler’s scientific views I shall consider his work in comparison with that of Hans Vaihinger, a contemporary of Spengler and noted fictionalist with regards to science. This comparison not only supports my interpretation of Spengler’s philosophy of science as fictionalist, it also throws into relief the numerous affinities between the thought of two philosophers who are not usually associated, in particular with regards to their accounts of the origins of science in the structures of human consciousness. This fictionalist affinity in turn suggests the need for a wholesale reappraisal of Spengler’s philosophical outlook.
The debate between instrumentalist and technological determinist positions on the nature of techn... more The debate between instrumentalist and technological determinist positions on the nature of technology characterised the early history of the philosophy of technology. In recent years however technological determinism has ceased to be viewed as a credible philosophical position within the field. This paper uses Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology to reconsider the technological determinist outlook in phenomenological terms as an experiential response to the encounter with the phenomenon of modern technology. Recasting the instrumentalist-determinist debate in a phenomenological manner enables one to reconcile the apparent dualism of the instrumentalist and determinist positions through Merleau-Ponty’s ontology of the flesh. This ontology has recently been used to ground accounts of virtual embodiment. We argue that in addition to explaining away the classical form of technological determinism, it can also phenomenologically ground a novel understanding of technological determinism. Namely, a technological determinism of virtual embodiment.
This paper argues that histories of the Green Revolution are often underpinned by commitments to ... more This paper argues that histories of the Green Revolution are often underpinned by commitments to theoretical models of technology and science in ways which shape the parameters of such narratives in politically normative ways. This paper explores the accounts of the Green Revolution in India given by Vandana Shiva and Govindan Parayil and demonstrates the ways in which their respective accounts of the Green Revolution are influenced by their models of technology and science. It is argued that that Shiva and Parayil represent key theoretical positions in technological theory, determinist and instrumentalist respectively, and that examination of their Green Revolution narratives clearly indicates the ways in which such theoretical commitments can determine the scope and content of analyses of technology-driven development, and thereby exclude political content necessary for the evaluation of the efficacy of such development and the validity of theoretical model.
Philosophy of technology has never been a consolidated field of inquiry, involving as it does the... more Philosophy of technology has never been a consolidated field of inquiry, involving as it does the interaction of diverse fields of knowledge. Recently however, under the influence of sociology and pragmatist philosophy, something resembling a consensus has emerged in a field hitherto marked by the notable lack of agreement amongst its practitioners. This influence has given the field a greater sense of structure and yielded interesting research. However the loss of the ‘messy’ state of earlier philosophy of technology has resulted in a limitation of the field’s scope and methodology that prevents a complete view of the problematic inherent in technological issues. We argue that the heterodox disunity of earlier philosophy of technology was not a mark of theoretical immaturity, but was necessitated by the field’s subject matter, and that philosophy of technology should return to its pluralistic role as a meta-analytical structure linking insights from different fields of research.
This paper addresses the generally neglected topic of Vandana Shiva’s ontology. It is argued that... more This paper addresses the generally neglected topic of Vandana Shiva’s ontology. It is argued that there is a significant ontological component to Shiva’s ecofeminist philosophy and that this ontology underpins her ecological and feminist views. Shiva’s ontology provides a standpoint from which she can critique dichotomous ontologies of domination and oppression, and from which she can identify life-sustaining modes of existence. It is argued that this ontology is implicit in most of her works and is best grasped through the analysis of her critique of Western scientific metaphysics. It is further argued that this implied ontology is a continuation of the Hindu-ecofeminist ontology of Prakriti explicitly set forth in Shiva’s Staying Alive (1989). Both forms of Shiva’s ontology, the explicit and the implicit, will be reconstructed and their points of continuity detailed.
Philosophical Journal of Conflict and Violence (Special Issue: Counter-Enlightenment, Revolution and Dissent), 2020
In The Decline of the West, Spengler argues that cultures have lifecycles. Although he warns that... more In The Decline of the West, Spengler argues that cultures have lifecycles. Although he warns that the end of Faustian (western) culture is nigh, Spengler suggests that the death of the culture might be forestalled if a rapprochement can be brought about between the technologized powers of Reason and the remains of cultural life. This portrayal of Reason as a salvific force seems to contradict Spengler’s typical depiction of Reason as a violent anti-cultural force. This paper reconstructs Spengler’s account of Reason as both killer and preserver of western culture and argues that in both roles it remains inherently violent.
Feminist Philosophy of Technology (Volume 2 - Techno:Phil - Aktuelle Herausforderungen der Technikphilosophie), 2020
Ecofeminist philosophy is a development of feminist philosophy that addresses the intersection of... more Ecofeminist philosophy is a development of feminist philosophy that addresses the intersection of sexism and environmental issues. Coined by Francoise d’Eaubonne, the term “ecofeminism” refers to a diverse collection of feminist thought that shares the conviction that the present environmental crisis is due not solely to the anthropomorphic nature of dominant conceptualisations of human-nature relations, with their emphasis on notion of mastery and control, but also to their androcentric nature. Ecofeminists hold that there is a strong connection between the oppression of women and the oppression of nature and that failure to pay heed to this women-nature connection threatens to compromise both environmental and feminist activism. Opinion differs amongst ecofeminists on the correct way to address this issue, with some arguing that liberation necessitates that women should reject the women-nature connection and others that they should affirm it.
Spengler's work is typically represented as speculative philosophy of history. There is good reas... more Spengler's work is typically represented as speculative philosophy of history. There is good reason, however, to consider much of his thought as preoccupied with existential and phenomenological questions about the nature and ends of human existence, rather than with history per se. In this paper, Spengler's work is considered in comparison with Heidegger's history of Being and analysis of technological modernity. It is argued that Spengler's considerable proximity to much of Heidegger's thought compels us to reconsider the nature and scope of Spengler's philosophical project.
Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology, 2020
In The Decline of the West Spengler puts forward a type of philosophical anthropology, an account... more In The Decline of the West Spengler puts forward a type of philosophical anthropology, an account of the structures of human experiential consciousness and a method of 'physiognomic' analysis, which I argue has dimensions that can be understood as akin to existential phenomenology. Humanity, for Spengler, is witness to the creative flux of 'Becoming' and constructs a world of phenomena bounded by death, underpinned by the two prime feelings of dread and longing and structured by the two forms of Destiny (Time) and Direction (Space). Human existence, Spengler argues, is future-directed and open in the sense that there is a certain degree of freedom in the ways in which humanity can actualise its existential possibilities. In the course of elaborating the existential implications of this future-orientation, Spengler introduces the concept of care (Sorge), the fundamental experiential structure.
This paper argues that the concept of authenticity has evolved since the time of Adorno's critiqu... more This paper argues that the concept of authenticity has evolved since the time of Adorno's critique in The Jargon of Authenticity, and that the analysis of tourism offers a way of grasping the altered status of concept of authenticity and its current ideological function in the contemporary capitalist system. It is suggested that authenticity no longer refers to an existential state but instead to a purchased experiential moment. This paper traces the alterations in the understanding of existential authenticity from its origins in existential phenomenology to its current status as a key concept in tourism research. It suggests that whilst Adorno's critique of authenticity has become somewhat outdated due to changes in the social relations of modern capitalism, its central argument still holds true, in that contemporary notions of authenticity still play an ideological role in securing the socioeconomic status quo by both expressing and concealing the sense of alienation caused by social relations under capitalism.
Haack classifies Spengler's views on the end of science as what she terms annihilationist in that... more Haack classifies Spengler's views on the end of science as what she terms annihilationist in that he forecasts the absolute termination of scientific activity as opposed to its completion or culmination. She also argues that in addition to his externalist argument that Western science, as cultural product, cannot survive the demise of Western Culture, Spengler also puts forward an internalist argument that science, regardless of the imminent demise of Western Culture, is in terminal decline as evidenced by its diminishing returns. I argue against Haack that Spengler's argument for the diminishing returns of modern science is in fact an externalist one, in that he locates the sources of science's current decline outside the discipline of science itself, attributing them to a change in cultural attitude towards scientific endeavours. I further argue that Spengler's prediction of the imminent end of science was directed specifically at pure science, and that he in fact held that applied science would continue to develop. I also take issue with Haack's suggestion that Spengler's views on science were outmoded at the time that he wrote them.
This paper argues that the recent renewal of interest in the philosophy of Oswald Spengler, parti... more This paper argues that the recent renewal of interest in the philosophy of Oswald Spengler, particularly concerning its warnings of the imminent demise of Western Civilisation, is misplaced. Arguments concerning the accuracy of his predictions or cultural analysis have overlooked the necessity of evaluating the coherence of the philosophical system that Spengler used to generate and justify his speculative declarations. Such an evaluation indicates a number of apparent contradictions at the heart of Spengler’s historical model. The attempt to resolve these contradictions has resulted in a sharp division of interpretation amongst Spengler commentators, into positivist and relativist camps. Neither interpretation, I suggest, is capable of rendering Spengler’s historical system coherent. It is therefore argued that Spengler’s philosophy is fundamentally flawed.
This paper argues that Oswald Spengler has an innovative philosophical position on the nature and... more This paper argues that Oswald Spengler has an innovative philosophical position on the nature and interrelation of mathematics and science. It further argues that his position in many ways parallels that of Martin Heidegger. Both held that an appreciation of the mathematical nature of contemporary science was critical to a proper appreciation of science, technology and modernity. Both also held that the fundamental feature of modern science is its mathematical nature, and that the mathematical operates as a projection that establishes in advance the manner in which an object will present itself. They also assert that modern science, mathematics and metaphysics all have their roots in the ‘mathematical’, whose essence is itself nothing numerical.
South African Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 33, Number 2, Jun 2014
Throughout its brief history the philosophy of technology has been largely concerned with the deb... more Throughout its brief history the philosophy of technology has been largely concerned with the debate over the nature of technology. Typically technology has been viewed as being essentially another term for applied science, the practical application of scientific theory to the material world. In recent years philosophers and cultural critics have characterised technology in a far more problematic fashion, as an authoritarian power with the ability to bring about far-reaching cultural, political and ecological effects. Proponents of the former view are often termed instrumentalists, and those of the latter technological determinists. The debate between them revolves around the question of the fact/value distinction, namely whether technology can be deemed to be value-neutral.
I argue that employing a phenomenological approach to technology grants us a fresh perspective on the instrumentalism-determinism debate. It enables us to recast the instrumentalist/determinist debate as a debate between technological idealism and materialism, and to ground the instrumentalist and determinist positions in different experiential relations to technology. It also gives us a better grasp of the function of the different critiques of technology, with idealists concerned primarily with the misapplication of technology as a form of knowledge, and materialists with the existential implications of concrete technological relations.
This paper outlines the fundamental aspects of a Heideggerian-ecofeminist philosophy. It aims to ... more This paper outlines the fundamental aspects of a Heideggerian-ecofeminist philosophy. It aims to be suggestive rather than definitive regarding the form and function of such a philosophy and will, consequently, be somewhat partial and incomplete. It is intended to highlight the enormous potential of such a hybrid philosophy. To this end it will provide a brief account of the philosophy of the later Heidegger, with particular emphasis on his analysis of technology and his account of the Greek concept of truth as aletheia, or unconcealment. It will also focus on Heidegger’s account of the connection between the Greek concept of nature as physis and his own ontology of Being, “letting-be” as the appropriate attitudinal stance to existence, and the bearing of all the above on contemporary ecological concerns.
A major problem that faces any attempt to construct a Heideggerian-ecofeminism concerns Heidegger’s reticence regarding gender issues, which stem from his view that Dasein, human beings, are ontologically prior to any sexual difference. This article acknowledges the lacuna in Heidegger’s thought regarding gender, but argues that one can educe a coherent and credible account of gender difference and oppression from Heidegger’s later philosophy without distortion.
The later Heidegger, as he develops his critique of technological modernity, moves beyond the position put forward in Being and Time. In light of his later account of the Gestell, the Enframing, we can see why this was the case. Being and Time, to use the later Heidegger’s terminology, is an “enframed” work. It is an account of the fundamental categories of existence as perceived from within the Enframing and, as such, its account of Dasein and its relation to Being is necessarily skewed. However, Being and Time can still be of considerable use if it is read against itself, in light of later Heideggerian philosophy, as an enframed work. And it is the key contention of this paper that when we do so, such a re-reading leads us to a Heideggerian account of gender. In other words, by retrospectively applying later Heidegger to Being and Time, we arrive at a new understanding of its key concepts, such as ready-to-hand and present-at-hand. These in turn lead us to a Heideggerian account of gender and nature and their intrinsic inter-connection that both captures and accords with key ecofeminist insights. To be more specific, we arrive at an ontologically grounded theory that can be used to provide an account of patriarchy in terms of Dasein’s ontological homelessness and which in turn points the way to a more positive relationship towards Being, physis/nature, and death. In an attempt to demonstrate the compatibility of Heidegger-based ecofeminism with pre-exisiting forms of ecofeminist philosophy, this paper will refer throughout to other ecofeminist philosophers, in particular Susan Griffin and Vandana Shiva. This is not to suggest that these two philosophers are in any way representative of the entirety of ecofeminist philosophy. Indeed, given the near infinite variety of ecofeminist philosophies, this would be a most foolish claim. Rather, this paper holds that Griffin and Shiva are especially useful for elucidating the numerous resonances between ecofeminist philosophy and the philosophy of the later Heidegger. They are also both exemplars of the form of anti-dualist ecofeminist philosophy that this paper endorses.
Presentation given at the CAS SEE seminar, 6th April 2023
Violence plays an integral role in Oswald Spengler’s historico-philosophical project. In his best... more Violence plays an integral role in Oswald Spengler’s historico-philosophical project. In his best known work, The Decline of the West, Spengler argues that expansionist violence is the only way left for an enervated Western Civilisation to prolong its existence. I suggest that the theme of violence remains central to Spengler’s less known later works, particularly Man and Technics. In Spengler’s later philosophy violence is no longer presented as a last resort for Western cultural preservation but rather operates as a result of a tragic technological addiction. This addiction, Spengler claims, can never be abandoned even though it guarantees the death of the culture that wields it.
Presentation given at the Oswald Spengler Society Conference, Blankenheimerdorf, 2018
Contemporary interest in Spengler’s thoughts on science tend to be restricted to his pronouncemen... more Contemporary interest in Spengler’s thoughts on science tend to be restricted to his pronouncements on the imminent demise of science. However, the considerable attention given to scientific matters in the philosophy of the early Spengler indicates the significance that he attached to the topic of science. Spengler’s analysis of science, when reconstructed, constitutes a coherent and developed philosophical position on the nature and practice of science. In other words, I argue that Spengler has a philosophy of science. Furthermore, I argue, this philosophy of science is not simply the application of Spengler’s views on world-history to the field of science, but varies significantly from the views taken to be typical of Spengler’s philosophy of history. As such, Spengler’s philosophy of science is not a reiteration of his received philosophical position in a scientific context but represents aspects of Spengler’s philosophical outlook that have not been fully appreciated or explored hitherto, namely his commitment to a form of philosophical fictionalism. In addition to detailing the key components of Spengler’s philosophy of science, this paper will draw out the fictionalist implications of his position through comparison with the philosophy of Hans Vaihinger. Spengler’s fictionalism, I suggest, bears enough similarity to Vaihinger’s to suggest the influence of the latter on the former. I shall argue however that Spengler’s commitment to fictionalism is far more radical and thoroughgoing than that put forth by Vaihinger and extends beyond the realm of science to all forms of human activity. In this way it raises the possibility that not only is Spengler’s philosophy of science fictionalist, but that his general philosophy is likewise fictionalist. The consideration of this possibility suggests a radical reinterpretation of Spengler’s philosophy of history, and a possible solution to the interpretative debate over the relativist or positivist nature of Spengler’s philosophy.
The outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020 and the various measures taken subsequently, either by ind... more The outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020 and the various measures taken subsequently, either by individual countries or by government and nongovernment bodies with a global reach, have had a profound effect on human lives on a number of levels, be it social, economic, legal, or political. The scramble to respond to the threat posed by the rapid spread of the virus has, in many cases, led to a suspension of ordinary politics whilst at the same time throwing into sharp relief the profoundly political nature of the pandemic. In addition to the new issues that have arisen regarding detection and treatment of the COVID-19 virus, perennial political issues regarding the limits of political authority, racial and gender justice, and populism and demagoguery have thrust themselves to the forefront of mainstream political discourse. This special issue, titled simply Pandemic politics, is a collection of papers that casts a critical perspective upon the political dimensions of the current pandemic. We have invited papers covering a broad spectrum of pandemic-related topics, especially with the focus on aspects of the pandemic in relation to the Southern hemisphere. The eight papers that made it to this volume are reflective of this broad approach and fall, roughly, into three categories, namely power and mistrust, disaster capitalism, and COVID-19: crisis or opportunity.
Dark Tourism represents the intersection of reflections on mortality with the commodification and... more Dark Tourism represents the intersection of reflections on mortality with the commodification and consumption of death as a tourist experience. It is a complex and contested concept that has been approached from a variety of theoretical standpoints. In this paper I suggest that a phenomenological analysis of the experiences of those who engage in dark tourism can provide a means of approaching the subject that can both accommodate the diversity of experiences sought by the dark tourist, and deepen our understanding of the nature and purpose of dark tourism. More specifically, I repurpose Cohen's (1979) typology of tourist experience to suggest a phenomenological typology of dark tourist experiences. Following Cohen, I suggest that we can chart dark tourist experience as a continuum ranging from pleasure-seeking experience to meaning-seeking experience, and qualified by authenticity-seeking or alienation-avoiding motivations, and the individual tourist's proximity to or distance from the 'centre' of their worldview. Such an analysis allows us to differentiate between tourists whose motivations are more recreational in nature, and those whose motivations are more existential. A phenomenological analysis also enables us to further differentiate amongst the different modes of existential experience sought by the 'pure' dark tourist, and to consider the conditions of possibility necessary for their realisation.
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Papers by Gregory Swer
I argue that employing a phenomenological approach to technology grants us a fresh perspective on the instrumentalism-determinism debate. It enables us to recast the instrumentalist/determinist debate as a debate between technological idealism and materialism, and to ground the instrumentalist and determinist positions in different experiential relations to technology. It also gives us a better grasp of the function of the different critiques of technology, with idealists concerned primarily with the misapplication of technology as a form of knowledge, and materialists with the existential implications of concrete technological relations.
A major problem that faces any attempt to construct a Heideggerian-ecofeminism concerns Heidegger’s reticence regarding gender issues, which stem from his view that Dasein, human beings, are ontologically prior to any sexual difference. This article acknowledges the lacuna in Heidegger’s thought regarding gender, but argues that one can educe a coherent and credible account of gender difference and oppression from Heidegger’s later philosophy without distortion.
The later Heidegger, as he develops his critique of technological modernity, moves beyond the position put forward in Being and Time. In light of his later account of the Gestell, the Enframing, we can see why this was the case. Being and Time, to use the later Heidegger’s terminology, is an “enframed” work. It is an account of the fundamental categories of existence as perceived from within the Enframing and, as such, its account of Dasein and its relation to Being is necessarily skewed. However, Being and Time can still be of considerable use if it is read against itself, in light of later Heideggerian philosophy, as an enframed work. And it is the key contention of this paper that when we do so, such a re-reading leads us to a Heideggerian account of gender. In other words, by retrospectively applying later Heidegger to Being and Time, we arrive at a new understanding of its key concepts, such as ready-to-hand and present-at-hand. These in turn lead us to a Heideggerian account of gender and nature and their intrinsic inter-connection that both captures and accords with key ecofeminist insights. To be more specific, we arrive at an ontologically grounded theory that can be used to provide an account of patriarchy in terms of Dasein’s ontological homelessness and which in turn points the way to a more positive relationship towards Being, physis/nature, and death. In an attempt to demonstrate the compatibility of Heidegger-based ecofeminism with pre-exisiting forms of ecofeminist philosophy, this paper will refer throughout to other ecofeminist philosophers, in particular Susan Griffin and Vandana Shiva. This is not to suggest that these two philosophers are in any way representative of the entirety of ecofeminist philosophy. Indeed, given the near infinite variety of ecofeminist philosophies, this would be a most foolish claim. Rather, this paper holds that Griffin and Shiva are especially useful for elucidating the numerous resonances between ecofeminist philosophy and the philosophy of the later Heidegger. They are also both exemplars of the form of anti-dualist ecofeminist philosophy that this paper endorses.
I argue that employing a phenomenological approach to technology grants us a fresh perspective on the instrumentalism-determinism debate. It enables us to recast the instrumentalist/determinist debate as a debate between technological idealism and materialism, and to ground the instrumentalist and determinist positions in different experiential relations to technology. It also gives us a better grasp of the function of the different critiques of technology, with idealists concerned primarily with the misapplication of technology as a form of knowledge, and materialists with the existential implications of concrete technological relations.
A major problem that faces any attempt to construct a Heideggerian-ecofeminism concerns Heidegger’s reticence regarding gender issues, which stem from his view that Dasein, human beings, are ontologically prior to any sexual difference. This article acknowledges the lacuna in Heidegger’s thought regarding gender, but argues that one can educe a coherent and credible account of gender difference and oppression from Heidegger’s later philosophy without distortion.
The later Heidegger, as he develops his critique of technological modernity, moves beyond the position put forward in Being and Time. In light of his later account of the Gestell, the Enframing, we can see why this was the case. Being and Time, to use the later Heidegger’s terminology, is an “enframed” work. It is an account of the fundamental categories of existence as perceived from within the Enframing and, as such, its account of Dasein and its relation to Being is necessarily skewed. However, Being and Time can still be of considerable use if it is read against itself, in light of later Heideggerian philosophy, as an enframed work. And it is the key contention of this paper that when we do so, such a re-reading leads us to a Heideggerian account of gender. In other words, by retrospectively applying later Heidegger to Being and Time, we arrive at a new understanding of its key concepts, such as ready-to-hand and present-at-hand. These in turn lead us to a Heideggerian account of gender and nature and their intrinsic inter-connection that both captures and accords with key ecofeminist insights. To be more specific, we arrive at an ontologically grounded theory that can be used to provide an account of patriarchy in terms of Dasein’s ontological homelessness and which in turn points the way to a more positive relationship towards Being, physis/nature, and death. In an attempt to demonstrate the compatibility of Heidegger-based ecofeminism with pre-exisiting forms of ecofeminist philosophy, this paper will refer throughout to other ecofeminist philosophers, in particular Susan Griffin and Vandana Shiva. This is not to suggest that these two philosophers are in any way representative of the entirety of ecofeminist philosophy. Indeed, given the near infinite variety of ecofeminist philosophies, this would be a most foolish claim. Rather, this paper holds that Griffin and Shiva are especially useful for elucidating the numerous resonances between ecofeminist philosophy and the philosophy of the later Heidegger. They are also both exemplars of the form of anti-dualist ecofeminist philosophy that this paper endorses.
In addition to detailing the key components of Spengler’s philosophy of science, this paper will draw out the fictionalist implications of his position through comparison with the philosophy of Hans Vaihinger. Spengler’s fictionalism, I suggest, bears enough similarity to Vaihinger’s to suggest the influence of the latter on the former. I shall argue however that Spengler’s commitment to fictionalism is far more radical and thoroughgoing than that put forth by Vaihinger and extends beyond the realm of science to all forms of human activity. In this way it raises the possibility that not only is Spengler’s philosophy of science fictionalist, but that his general philosophy is likewise fictionalist. The consideration of this possibility suggests a radical reinterpretation of Spengler’s philosophy of history, and a possible solution to the interpretative debate over the relativist or positivist nature of Spengler’s philosophy.
themselves to the forefront of mainstream political discourse.
This special issue, titled simply Pandemic politics, is a collection of papers that casts a critical perspective upon the political dimensions of the current pandemic. We have invited papers covering a broad spectrum of pandemic-related topics, especially with the focus on aspects of the pandemic in relation to the Southern hemisphere. The eight papers that made it to this volume are reflective of this broad approach and fall, roughly, into three categories, namely power and mistrust, disaster capitalism, and COVID-19: crisis or opportunity.