Graham Harman on Metaphysics, Art, & Speculative Realism

source: Philosophical Overdose    2013年4月22日
In this talk, Graham Harman discusses two types of philosophical paradox pertaining to human knowledge, and the relation that art has to both. The first is one discussed by Meno and Socrates, resulting in the Socratic claim that we both have and do not have the truth. Our inability to gain direct access to reality is what justifies philosophy as philosophia (the love of wisdom rather than wisdom itself) and rules out both mathematism and scientism as defensible models of philosophy. The second paradox is the familiar dispute over whether truth is discovered or constructed. Given that no direct access to reality is possible, the observation of truth itself seems to be part of the truth, yet the observer also cannot create truth ex nihilo. These two paradoxes are not new, but if we look at them carefully, we can draw new conclusions from them. In this way, a different light is shed on the relation between philosophy and art.
Graham Harman is part of the object-oriented and speculative realist movement. For Harman, objects aren't reducible to mere bundles of properties/qualities, or their various relations to and effects on, other objects. Instead, Harman understands the nature of objects as real independent substances in their own right, over and above their manifold appearances and qualities. Otherwise, objects lose their underlying identity as something real, and end up being mere appearances, analyzable in terms of something else more fundamental. This object-oriented approach leads Harman to a pluralistic vision of the world, in contrast to the more holistic and monistic tendency which has characterized much traditional and contemporary philosophy.
Credit goes to 'The Matter of Contradiction' for this. For more information, check out the following:http://lamatiere.tumblr.com/