Mark takes a very close look at pages 1-4 of the first chapter of On Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection (1980) to follow up on our Kristeva discussion.
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 presupposes the definition of truth. Find out how, and decide for yourself whether Heidegger’s conception is helpful.
Close Reading: Kant’s “Critique of Judgment” on the Sublime
A sentence-by-sentence interpretation of Kant’s Critique of Judgment, Paul Guyer’s translation, sections 23-25 by Mark and Wes, recorded 1/8/15. We learn what Kant’s view on the sublime is and help you to understand Kant’s thicket of terminology.
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.