Virus and Idea
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Mladen Dolar
Abstract
In the times of the present pandemic the paper attempts to look at the virus as a philosophical problem. The first use of virus in the sense of an agent causing infectious diseases stems from the time of the Enlightenment and happens to coincide with the introduction of the term materialism in the philosophical sense. The first line of inquiry scrutinizes the infectious quality that was traditionally ascribed to the powers of sensuality, the body, ultimately matter and the material, supposed to be endowed with viral capacity. This line leads back to Plato and the problems he had with the contagious nature of mimesis, a paradigmatic case for this stance. Hegel, as opposed to this, ascribed viral powers to spirit itself and saw contagion (Ansteckung) as the key force in the spread of the ideas of the Enlightenment, eventually leading to revolution. The paper proposes a new ‘viral ontology’ that attempts to single out the virus as an entity inhabiting both matter/body and spirit, and ultimately stands at the core of being human.
Abstract
In the times of the present pandemic the paper attempts to look at the virus as a philosophical problem. The first use of virus in the sense of an agent causing infectious diseases stems from the time of the Enlightenment and happens to coincide with the introduction of the term materialism in the philosophical sense. The first line of inquiry scrutinizes the infectious quality that was traditionally ascribed to the powers of sensuality, the body, ultimately matter and the material, supposed to be endowed with viral capacity. This line leads back to Plato and the problems he had with the contagious nature of mimesis, a paradigmatic case for this stance. Hegel, as opposed to this, ascribed viral powers to spirit itself and saw contagion (Ansteckung) as the key force in the spread of the ideas of the Enlightenment, eventually leading to revolution. The paper proposes a new ‘viral ontology’ that attempts to single out the virus as an entity inhabiting both matter/body and spirit, and ultimately stands at the core of being human.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Table of Contents V
- Abbreviations VII
- Introduction: Impulses for a New Idealism IX
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Part I: The Neglected Impulses of Idealism in the History of Philosophy
- How Ideal Is the Ancient Self? 1
- De-Symbolization of the World and the Emergence of the Self: A Historically-Idealist Theory of the Subject 27
- Genesis, Structure, and Ideas: Genetic Epistemology in Early Modern Philosophy 69
- Diluvian Philosophy: Utilitarian Motifs in Moby-Dick 93
- Thinking Free Release in Hegel’s System 111
- Idealism and the Problem of Finitude: Heidegger and Hegel 127
- Hegel’s Metaphysical Alternative to the Choice between an Unrealistic Platonic Realism and an Opposing Skeptical Anti-realism 151
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Part II: Contemporary Impulses for a New Idealism
- A Materialist Defense of an Idealist Subjectivity 171
- Philosophy and Its History 193
- Beyond Realism and Correlationism, the Idealist Path 209
- A Typology of Idealism 231
- Fiction: The Truth of Idealism and Realism 251
- Virus and Idea 269
- Index 283
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Table of Contents V
- Abbreviations VII
- Introduction: Impulses for a New Idealism IX
-
Part I: The Neglected Impulses of Idealism in the History of Philosophy
- How Ideal Is the Ancient Self? 1
- De-Symbolization of the World and the Emergence of the Self: A Historically-Idealist Theory of the Subject 27
- Genesis, Structure, and Ideas: Genetic Epistemology in Early Modern Philosophy 69
- Diluvian Philosophy: Utilitarian Motifs in Moby-Dick 93
- Thinking Free Release in Hegel’s System 111
- Idealism and the Problem of Finitude: Heidegger and Hegel 127
- Hegel’s Metaphysical Alternative to the Choice between an Unrealistic Platonic Realism and an Opposing Skeptical Anti-realism 151
-
Part II: Contemporary Impulses for a New Idealism
- A Materialist Defense of an Idealist Subjectivity 171
- Philosophy and Its History 193
- Beyond Realism and Correlationism, the Idealist Path 209
- A Typology of Idealism 231
- Fiction: The Truth of Idealism and Realism 251
- Virus and Idea 269
- Index 283
