Continental Philosophy

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Open Court, publisher of the philosophy and contemporary culture series, has a number of podcasts that could be of interest to some. Here is the link.

Avax forum has posts on Rorty and Vatimo’s The Future of Religion and Gadamer’s Reason in the Age of Science

A new entry at SEP:

Gadamer (1900–2002) does not provide an account of the aesthetic in any customary sense. His approach to art runs, in many ways, against conventional philosophical expectations. Aesthetic qualities are not debated in the manner of the analytic tradition of modern philosophy, nor does he concern himself overtly with the problems of aesthetic pleasure. Gadamer’s approach to aesthetic experience stands squarely in the phenomenological tradition. He is primarily concerned with the place of art in our experience of the world. Furthermore, his approach to aesthetic theory is one of those rare intellectual achievements which are simultaneously deconstructive and constructive. He dismantles elements of the grand tradition of Platonic, Kantian and Hegelian aesthetics and yet offers a phenomenological reconstruction of many of the central insights of that tradition to demonstrate their continuing relevance to our contemporary experience of art. Gadamer is primarily concerned with the cognitive dimension of such experience, with what art works address and what they put at issue. This makes for a flexible philosophical approach capable of ranging freely over a number of art forms and styles, discussing both the singularity of works and their broader significance. The approach is clearly hermeneutical in that it endeavours to re-acquaint us with those received meanings and pre-occupations which underlie our experience of art. Openly influenced by Heidegger, his later essays on language and poetry in particular, Gadamer’s aesthetics is far from traditional.

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Heidegger's famous Black Forest cabin at Todtnauberg (where he wrote many of his key works, including 'Being and Time') is shown here by his son Hermann, commented upon by literary critic George Steiner in terms of its influence, and remembered by acclaimed German philosopher, Hans-Georg Gadamer… Gadamer, recalling visits to the cabin, felt that Heidegger looked like a rural Black Forest resident, dressed as a 'handyman,' but that Heidegger's 'eyes' showed great 'imagination' – undoubtedly underscoring Heidegger's unique, philosophical mission…

TOC

A phenomenology of gender — Johanna Oksala

Betrayal in teaching: Persuasion in Kierkegaard, theory and performance — David A. Borman

Heidegger’s animals — Stuart Elden

Lacan’s subversion of the subject — Ed Pluth

Dialectic and dialogue in the hermeneutics of Paul Ricœur and H.G. Gadamer — Francisco J. Gonzalez

I started a list of continental-related philosophical associations. I would like to bring a new society to your attention as well: The North American Society for Philosophical Hermeneutics. Its mission statement:

NASPH was formed in 2005 in order to further the study of philosophical hermeneutics. While honoring the rootedness of philosophical hermeneutics in the work of Hans-Georg Gadamer, NASPH also recognizes that the future of such thinking depends on engaging with a diverse range of figures and issues. Our intention is to promote dialogue focusing on both the sources of, and the prospects for, philosophical hermeneutics.