Mark takes a very close look at pages 1–4 of the first chapter of On Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection (1980). This close reading assumes that you've listened to our episode 202. Read along: Buy the book or try this online version. You may also want to consult this wiki page on object relations theory. Note that there's nothing in there to indicate that "object" Continue Reading …
Close Reading: Heidegger’s “On the Essence of Truth”
A sentence-by-sentence interpretation of Heidegger's "On the Essence of Truth," (1943) first half, by Mark and Seth, recorded Feb. 3, 2015. Heidegger describes truth as "unconcealment," as "letting beings be the beings the are," and thinks that this is more informative than the traditional correspondence theory (propositions match reality), which he thinks already Continue Reading …
Close Reading: Kant’s “Critique of Judgment” on the Sublime
A sentence-by-sentence interpretation of Kant's Critique of Judgment, sections 23-25 by Mark and Wes, recorded 1/8/15. In episode 105, we explained Kant's account of how we recognize beauty and and in episode 107, we presented the view of one of Kant's influences, Edmund Burke, on the difference between recognizing beauty and experiencing something as sublime. With this Continue Reading …
Close Reading: Sartre’s “Being and Nothingness,” Section I
Mark reads the section line by line, stopping every sentence or two to explain what's going on. The point is to teach you how to decode a difficult text, to make you more comfortable reading any text deliberatively and critically. Recorded 11/19/11. This was released in association with our ep. 47 on Sartre and serves as a compliment to both it and to our more recent ep. 87, Continue Reading …