L'étude entend montrer que, si le temps est finalement unique, l'espace, lui, est originellement (et non du fait de la constitution de l'être-au-monde) multiple. Une analyse d'un passage du Timée où la Chôra est dite tithênê (nourrice) permet d'asseoir une interprétation de la différence foncière entre espace et lieu. Le lieu a progressivement disparu pour s'absorber dans l'espace neutre qui traduit homologiquement l'infinité divine ou pour s'atténuer dans le site. Il est difficile de trouver une analyse adéquate du lieu depuis (...) la mort de Leibniz (1916) jusqu'à la thèse de Bergson en latin sur la notion aristotélicienne de lieu. This study aims at making clear that, if, on the one hand, time is finally unique, while, on the other hand, we can say that space is in itself, and not for transcendantal reasons (the constitution of human subjectivity), a many-fold entity. By considering with great accuracy Plato's Timæus, where topos as chôra appears as tithênê (a nurse), we are able to interpret the very real distinction between space and place. Place has progressively disappeared, being absorbed in this homology of God's infinite, which is indeed Newton's neutral space, or at least being weakened in « site » (Ort). We will hardly find, between Leibniz' death and Bergson's latin thesis on aristotelician conception of topos, one correct study about place. (shrink)
This piece extends Edward Casey’s meditations on the notion of place. Here he specifically looks at “limitrophic” phenomena, including the U.S.-Mexico border as a means for thinking between edge and limit, place and voice.
This essay begins by situating the work of <span class='Hi'>David</span> Carr in relation to the reception of phenomenology in the United States. It addresses Carr's early (and continuing) contributions to the philosophy of history, especially as this topic emerges in Husserl's middle and later writings. The idea of point of view as this emerges in Carr's own writings on history is examined, with special attention to differences between its spatial and temporal instantiations. Carr's emphasis on the primacy of temporality in (...) human experience is contrasted with an approach that is more appreciative of the role of place in this experience. It is suggested that place offers an important alternative to time as a basis for the understanding of history and narrative. (shrink)
This essay begins by situating the work of David Carr in relation to the reception of phenomenology in the United States. It addresses Carr’s early (and continuing) contributions to the philosophy of history, especially as this topic emerges in Husserl’s middle and later writings. The idea of point of view as this emerges in Carr’s own writings on history is examined, with special attention to differences between its spatial and temporal instantiations. Carr’s emphasis on the primacy of temporality in human (...) experience is contrasted with an approach that is more appreciative of the role of place in this experience. It is suggested that place offers an important alternative to time as a basis for the understanding of history and narrative. (shrink)
The activities of glancing and attending are rarely compared, yet they have significant affinities to the point where we may say that glancing is a mode of attending while the latter, in turn, often proceeds by glances. This paper explores these affinities, showing that each activity is a form of reactive spontaneity (James) and that each engages in a particular version of advertence. Mental as well as ordinary perceptual glances are examined, with examples being taken from laboratory studies, everyday life, (...) meditation, and the psychotherapeutic technique of focusing. In the end, the two acts collaborate closely, enhance each other, and can be considered conterminous in many of their aims and procedures for reaching them. (shrink)
It is remarkable how much we can understand about an environmental problem at a mere glance. By means of a glance - at once quick and comprehensive - we can detect that something is going wrong in a given environmental circumstance, and we can even begin to suspect what needs to be done to rectify the situation. In this paper I explore the unsuspected power of the glance in environmental thought and practice, drawing special lessons for an ethics of the (...) environment. Specific examples are analyzed, and authors as diverse as John Dewey and Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari are invoked in an effort to develop a coherent vision of how the human glance helps to locate and remedy environmental crises. (shrink)
In this essay I discuss the idea of deploying workshops in phenomenology -- i.e., teaching the discipline by practising it. I focus on the model proposed by Herbert Spiegelberg, the first person to give systematic attention to this idea and the first to institutionalize it over a period of several years. Drawing on my experience in several of the workshops he led at Washington University, St. Louis, I detail the method he recommended in preparation for a workshop I ten led (...) at the inaugural meeting of To the Things Themselves at the University of New Hampshire. (shrink)
