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Research paper thumbnail of The Uncertain History of Derridean Animal Ethics in Continental Thought, via Heidegger, Levinas, and the Harsh Actualities of Modern Western Civilisation

Jacques Derrida, following on from Martin Heidegger and Emmanuel Levinas, brings the question of ... more Jacques Derrida, following on from Martin Heidegger and Emmanuel Levinas, brings the question of the animal to a prime position in the history of Western thought, where it is perhaps on the brink of a fundamental shift for the better in relation to releasing the animal realm from the chains which once bound both women and individuals of Jewish ethnicity. It appears that Derrida endeavours to change current mentalities in regard to how we human animals treat non-human animals, and how we categorise and distinguish ourselves in relation, or rather in opposition, to the animal. Heidegger, on the other hand, who constructed the greater part of his thought in the early twentieth century before the harsh actuality of World War Two had manifested itself in all its visceral finality, has a more ambiguous approach in relation to the animal. He therefore constructs a notion of the animal in its environment which is merely secondary in importance to the conception of Dasein in relation to its world. While Heidegger questions the traditional assumptions in relation to the human and animal distinction, his conclusions appear quite conservative, even indecisive, and ultimately seem to conform to the anthropomorphism of his era. This essay will attempt to examine the work of both Heidegger and Derrida and to place their thought within their respective contexts, to hopefully demonstrate that while the logic of Heidegger's notions of being-in-the-world and even attunement should seemingly allow for the inclusion of the animal’s worldhood as of equal significance to that of man, in distinction with inanimate objects, he nonetheless remains irresolute on the question of the animal. He essentially lacks the conceptual and methodological tools to attack the human and animal distinction in the same conscious and explicit way as Derrida does. One may also investigate Levinas’s thought on the subject of the face of the animal as an intermediary between Heidegger and Derrida. The question of the animal and its overt subjugation should be of primary concern in our contemporary society, and an elucidation of the thought of these cornerstone thinkers in the field of modern philosophy on the matter of the animal’s being will perhaps help us to come to terms with the implications of these ideas to our own way of living.

Research paper thumbnail of Against Absolute Anxiety

Anxiety is an affect which has been traditionally understood as an emotion which is not subject t... more Anxiety is an affect which has been traditionally understood as an emotion which is not subject to any fluctuation, or dependent on time and place. Taking a Frankfurt School approach, one may call this notion into question.

Research paper thumbnail of The Uncertain History of Derridean Animal Ethics in Continental Thought, via Heidegger, Levinas, and the Harsh Actualities of Modern Western Civilisation

Jacques Derrida, following on from Martin Heidegger and Emmanuel Levinas, brings the question of ... more Jacques Derrida, following on from Martin Heidegger and Emmanuel Levinas, brings the question of the animal to a prime position in the history of Western thought, where it is perhaps on the brink of a fundamental shift for the better in relation to releasing the animal realm from the chains which once bound both women and individuals of Jewish ethnicity. It appears that Derrida endeavours to change current mentalities in regard to how we human animals treat non-human animals, and how we categorise and distinguish ourselves in relation, or rather in opposition, to the animal. Heidegger, on the other hand, who constructed the greater part of his thought in the early twentieth century before the harsh actuality of World War Two had manifested itself in all its visceral finality, has a more ambiguous approach in relation to the animal. He therefore constructs a notion of the animal in its environment which is merely secondary in importance to the conception of Dasein in relation to its world. While Heidegger questions the traditional assumptions in relation to the human and animal distinction, his conclusions appear quite conservative, even indecisive, and ultimately seem to conform to the anthropomorphism of his era. This essay will attempt to examine the work of both Heidegger and Derrida and to place their thought within their respective contexts, to hopefully demonstrate that while the logic of Heidegger's notions of being-in-the-world and even attunement should seemingly allow for the inclusion of the animal’s worldhood as of equal significance to that of man, in distinction with inanimate objects, he nonetheless remains irresolute on the question of the animal. He essentially lacks the conceptual and methodological tools to attack the human and animal distinction in the same conscious and explicit way as Derrida does. One may also investigate Levinas’s thought on the subject of the face of the animal as an intermediary between Heidegger and Derrida. The question of the animal and its overt subjugation should be of primary concern in our contemporary society, and an elucidation of the thought of these cornerstone thinkers in the field of modern philosophy on the matter of the animal’s being will perhaps help us to come to terms with the implications of these ideas to our own way of living.

Research paper thumbnail of Against Absolute Anxiety

Anxiety is an affect which has been traditionally understood as an emotion which is not subject t... more Anxiety is an affect which has been traditionally understood as an emotion which is not subject to any fluctuation, or dependent on time and place. Taking a Frankfurt School approach, one may call this notion into question.