Lasha Matiashvili | Tbilisi State University (original) (raw)

Thesis Chapters by Lasha Matiashvili

Papers by Lasha Matiashvili

META: RESEARCH IN HERMENEUTICS, PHENOMENOLOGY, AND PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY , 2024

This paper examines the phenomenological structure of liturgical experience, highlighting the rol... more This paper examines the phenomenological structure of liturgical experience, highlighting the role and function of affectivity in constituting the sense and feeling of-us‖ in liturgy. First, it emphasizes the role of a plurality of prereflective bodily awareness of each other as one of the minimal preconditions for the affective constitution of a liturgical-we‖. Second, considering the corporate nature of worship and the theological primacy of the-we‖ in liturgy, it elaborates on the proposal that affective experiential structure of it hinges on the constitutive interdependence of I, you, and we, rejecting an undifferentiated homogeneity of the liturgical we.

Metaphilosophy

This article is an attempt to scrutinize the phenomenological social ontology of Dietrich von Hil... more This article is an attempt to scrutinize the phenomenological social ontology of Dietrich von Hildebrand and Karol Wojtyla by drawing on the particular role and nature of interpersonal relatedness and second-person engagement in the constitution of first-person-plural perspective. Both Hildebrand and Wojtyla endorse the unique value of the person and personality as the foundational principle for different dimensions of community, including the face-to-face “I-thou” way of being together and more complex, even anonymous, we communities. Both philosophers deny the constitutive primacy of first-person plural over first-person singular, the only exception being the mystical body of Christ when “I” is conditioned and formed by “we.” Moreover, what they have in common is the critical reappraisal of one stream in the phenomenological movement, first and foremost associated with Max Scheler's conception of the possibility of a “collective person.” Drawing on Hildebrand's and Wojtyla's accounts, the article endorses the view regarding the relational character of “I,” “thou,” and “we,” claiming that “we” hinges on an experiential dimension of “I.”

METAPHILOSOPHY, 2023

This article is an attempt to scrutinize the phenomenological social ontology of Dietrich von Hil... more This article is an attempt to scrutinize the phenomenological social ontology of Dietrich von Hildebrand and Karol Wojtyla by drawing on the particular role and nature of interpersonal relatedness and second-person engagement in the constitution of first-person-plural perspective. Both Hildebrand and Wojtyla endorse the unique value of the person and personality as the foundational principle for different dimensions of community, including the face-to-face “I-thou” way of being together and more complex, even anonymous, we communities. Both philosophers deny the constitutive primacy of first-person plural over first-person singular, the only exception being the mystical body of Christ when “I” is conditioned and formed by “we.” Moreover, what they have in common is the critical reappraisal of one stream in the phenomenological movement, first and foremost associated with Max Scheler's conception of the possibility of a “collective person.” Drawing on Hildebrand's and Wojtyla's accounts, the article endorses the view regarding the relational character of “I,” “thou,” and “we,” claiming that “we” hinges on an experiential dimension of “I.”

META: RESEARCH IN HERMENEUTICS, PHENOMENOLOGY, AND PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY, 2022

In this paper, I seek to challenge some contemporary accounts of collective affective intentional... more In this paper, I seek to challenge some contemporary accounts of collective affective intentionality by arguing for irreducibility of ontological autonomy of individual affective experiences. By elaborating on several requirements for reciprocal affective responses, I propose that instead of endorsing tendency of experiential unification, phenomenal fusion and token identity accounts and conceiving of single body of collectivity in terms of extended self, as the ontological bearer of affective intentionality, one has to maintain at least minimal asymmetry of self and other. Moreover, I discuss the role of embodied interaffectivity and mutual incorporation accounts for collective affective experiences.

In what follows, I will interpret the works of post-revolutionary Russian writer Andrey Platonov ... more In what follows, I will interpret the works of post-revolutionary Russian writer Andrey Platonov through the lenses of critical theory and assume that there is a certain biopolitical element in his literature. Platonov's fictional characters represent the "creaturely dimension" of "bare life" constructed by the Soviet governmental machine. They experience a shattering sense of longing for lost revolutionary ideals and manifest some kind of existential alert to the upcoming total colonization of private, as well as social life. What do the notions of "bare life" and "creaturely life" mean and how are these concepts interrelated? To what extent one can apply them to interpret the works of Andrey Platonov? "Bare life" is the conceptual construction, meaning an extra-juridical dimension of existence, produced by sovereign decision. It represents the zero degrees of life without a legal and political framework, where excluded subjects are, like other creatures, living in a natural environment under the constant sense of ontological insecurity. Platonov's literary experiments are not mimetic reflections of reality. Apart from purely existential themes, his texts are imbued with the nihilistic atmosphere of Soviet social and political order and manifest the real and symbolic structure of power.

Brolly: Journal of Social Sciences , 2020

In this article, I will address the following theoretical and historical problems. I would assume... more In this article, I will address the following theoretical and historical problems. I would assume that Lenin, during the pre-revolutionary period, thought that \ violence was necessary for seizing the state power but later on, after taking it, his utopian ideals about the temporal exercise of violence has been disappeared. Lenin's idea about the necessary and temporal application of violence as an element of revolutionary constituent power was far from realization because, in his first decrees, he attempted to vindicate the terror and violence within the legal body of the state. One of the most provocative hypotheses would be that Carl Schmitt, despite his negative attitude towards both liberalism and bolshevism could have been the perfect theoretical ally for Lenin. Lenin's dream about the abolition of violence and the state has become fiction in itself. If there is certain parallelism or convergence between the messianic deactivation of the law and the revolutionary effacement of the old order, one has to ask the question "What kind of law can be installed and exercised in the post-revolutionary state?" "What becomes the law after the revolutionary fulfilment and how is it possible to conceive the law without the state?" In addition, in the second part of the article, I will argue that Lenin's political strategy was a certain form of Foucault's theory of the governmental paradigm of power and, in fact, this was the foundation of the Soviet biopolitical machine.

Abstract: This paper examines the so-called post-Foucauldian genealogy of power undertaken by It... more Abstract:

This paper examines the so-called post-Foucauldian genealogy of power undertaken by Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben. Agamben’s basic interest is why and in which ways power assumed the form of economy, which, according to Foucault’s genealogical research, means the “government of men”. For Foucault, the origin of managerial-administrative power is the paradigm of a pastorate, in which the main objective is to subjugate, control and govern the soul of every human being. For Agamben the time horizon determined by Foucault is not sufficient. Therefore, he tries to develop further the theory of bio-power and bio-politics through the paradigm of economic theology, using a wide range of materials from early medieval period to 20th century theology. Using archeological and genealogical methods, this investigation aims to show the process of a paradigm shift from political theology to economic theology within the context of power relations. Moreover, it tries to verify whether Agamben’s assumption is correct, or it is not credible. By analyzing certain concepts such as divine anarchy and co-lateral effect, I intend to pose the question whether Christian economy, as action and administration, is an archetype of modern form of power or not.

In recent years Giorgio Agamben within his “Homo Sacer” project has elaborated the theory of “tw... more In recent years Giorgio Agamben within his “Homo Sacer” project has elaborated the theory of “two ontologies”, in which his challenging and crucial assumption was the juxtaposition of the ontology of ἐστi (to be or is) to the ontology of ἔστω (ought). At first glance, this central claim of Agamben can be seen as innocent and neutral for any kind of philosophical discourse. However, His archeological investigation of the concepts of duty and commandment turns out to be the mere preliminary stage for his explosive hypothesis, according to which ontological machine and entire philosophical tradition of the west oppressed and ignored the so called modal ontology of commandment. The main aim of this article is to ascertain the meaning, field and function of non-apophanitic discourse, which can be placed beyond propositional truth and falsity. We are going to analyze three forms of non-apophantic discourse, namely, prayer, commandment and oath, which according to their essence is linked to the modal ontology. Another purpose is to demonstrate that in modern structurally differentiated and secularized societies non-apophantic logos is a concealed form and source of power.

ენა და ფიცი: ფილონ ალექსანდრიელიდან სამეტყველო აქტების თეორიამდე, ენა, კულტურა, ფილოსოფია ეძღვნებ... more ენა და ფიცი: ფილონ ალექსანდრიელიდან სამეტყველო აქტების თეორიამდე, ენა, კულტურა, ფილოსოფია ეძღვნება ფილოსოფოს მამუკა ბიჭაშვილის ხსოვნას. რედ. ა ყულიჯანაშვილის, მ. ქერქაძე, „მერიდიანი“, თბილისი, 2016, გვ. 196-201

In the following article on the basis of Agamben's and Arendt's philosophical tradition the idea ... more In the following article on the basis of Agamben's and Arendt's philosophical tradition the idea of authority will be examined and interpreted in the light of the Agamben's most provocative and crucial concept-idea of Homo Sacer. Genuine understanding of the concept will be attempted by using genealogical and hermeneutical method. Despite the historical and philosophical richness and depth of material, Arendt's investigation lacks precise definition of the term and also nothing is said about the place and function of authority in modern social and political context. Arendt confines herself with historical elucidation and negative representation of authority. She tells more about what was not its meaning, rather defining it in positive terms. However, opposite can be said on Giorgio Agamben. Methodological resemblance of authors is evident, both chose archeological and historical form of inquiry, but as Agamben characterized his attitude, his aim was to develop the problematic thought and to say what remains unsaid and concealed in other's writings without any ambition of fulfilling it. Therefore, we can interpret the notions of authority and power, as they are mixed with each other in the sovereign's figure of indifference.

META: RESEARCH IN HERMENEUTICS, PHENOMENOLOGY, AND PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY , 2024

This paper examines the phenomenological structure of liturgical experience, highlighting the rol... more This paper examines the phenomenological structure of liturgical experience, highlighting the role and function of affectivity in constituting the sense and feeling of-us‖ in liturgy. First, it emphasizes the role of a plurality of prereflective bodily awareness of each other as one of the minimal preconditions for the affective constitution of a liturgical-we‖. Second, considering the corporate nature of worship and the theological primacy of the-we‖ in liturgy, it elaborates on the proposal that affective experiential structure of it hinges on the constitutive interdependence of I, you, and we, rejecting an undifferentiated homogeneity of the liturgical we.

Metaphilosophy

This article is an attempt to scrutinize the phenomenological social ontology of Dietrich von Hil... more This article is an attempt to scrutinize the phenomenological social ontology of Dietrich von Hildebrand and Karol Wojtyla by drawing on the particular role and nature of interpersonal relatedness and second-person engagement in the constitution of first-person-plural perspective. Both Hildebrand and Wojtyla endorse the unique value of the person and personality as the foundational principle for different dimensions of community, including the face-to-face “I-thou” way of being together and more complex, even anonymous, we communities. Both philosophers deny the constitutive primacy of first-person plural over first-person singular, the only exception being the mystical body of Christ when “I” is conditioned and formed by “we.” Moreover, what they have in common is the critical reappraisal of one stream in the phenomenological movement, first and foremost associated with Max Scheler's conception of the possibility of a “collective person.” Drawing on Hildebrand's and Wojtyla's accounts, the article endorses the view regarding the relational character of “I,” “thou,” and “we,” claiming that “we” hinges on an experiential dimension of “I.”

METAPHILOSOPHY, 2023

This article is an attempt to scrutinize the phenomenological social ontology of Dietrich von Hil... more This article is an attempt to scrutinize the phenomenological social ontology of Dietrich von Hildebrand and Karol Wojtyla by drawing on the particular role and nature of interpersonal relatedness and second-person engagement in the constitution of first-person-plural perspective. Both Hildebrand and Wojtyla endorse the unique value of the person and personality as the foundational principle for different dimensions of community, including the face-to-face “I-thou” way of being together and more complex, even anonymous, we communities. Both philosophers deny the constitutive primacy of first-person plural over first-person singular, the only exception being the mystical body of Christ when “I” is conditioned and formed by “we.” Moreover, what they have in common is the critical reappraisal of one stream in the phenomenological movement, first and foremost associated with Max Scheler's conception of the possibility of a “collective person.” Drawing on Hildebrand's and Wojtyla's accounts, the article endorses the view regarding the relational character of “I,” “thou,” and “we,” claiming that “we” hinges on an experiential dimension of “I.”

META: RESEARCH IN HERMENEUTICS, PHENOMENOLOGY, AND PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY, 2022

In this paper, I seek to challenge some contemporary accounts of collective affective intentional... more In this paper, I seek to challenge some contemporary accounts of collective affective intentionality by arguing for irreducibility of ontological autonomy of individual affective experiences. By elaborating on several requirements for reciprocal affective responses, I propose that instead of endorsing tendency of experiential unification, phenomenal fusion and token identity accounts and conceiving of single body of collectivity in terms of extended self, as the ontological bearer of affective intentionality, one has to maintain at least minimal asymmetry of self and other. Moreover, I discuss the role of embodied interaffectivity and mutual incorporation accounts for collective affective experiences.

In what follows, I will interpret the works of post-revolutionary Russian writer Andrey Platonov ... more In what follows, I will interpret the works of post-revolutionary Russian writer Andrey Platonov through the lenses of critical theory and assume that there is a certain biopolitical element in his literature. Platonov's fictional characters represent the "creaturely dimension" of "bare life" constructed by the Soviet governmental machine. They experience a shattering sense of longing for lost revolutionary ideals and manifest some kind of existential alert to the upcoming total colonization of private, as well as social life. What do the notions of "bare life" and "creaturely life" mean and how are these concepts interrelated? To what extent one can apply them to interpret the works of Andrey Platonov? "Bare life" is the conceptual construction, meaning an extra-juridical dimension of existence, produced by sovereign decision. It represents the zero degrees of life without a legal and political framework, where excluded subjects are, like other creatures, living in a natural environment under the constant sense of ontological insecurity. Platonov's literary experiments are not mimetic reflections of reality. Apart from purely existential themes, his texts are imbued with the nihilistic atmosphere of Soviet social and political order and manifest the real and symbolic structure of power.

Brolly: Journal of Social Sciences , 2020

In this article, I will address the following theoretical and historical problems. I would assume... more In this article, I will address the following theoretical and historical problems. I would assume that Lenin, during the pre-revolutionary period, thought that \ violence was necessary for seizing the state power but later on, after taking it, his utopian ideals about the temporal exercise of violence has been disappeared. Lenin's idea about the necessary and temporal application of violence as an element of revolutionary constituent power was far from realization because, in his first decrees, he attempted to vindicate the terror and violence within the legal body of the state. One of the most provocative hypotheses would be that Carl Schmitt, despite his negative attitude towards both liberalism and bolshevism could have been the perfect theoretical ally for Lenin. Lenin's dream about the abolition of violence and the state has become fiction in itself. If there is certain parallelism or convergence between the messianic deactivation of the law and the revolutionary effacement of the old order, one has to ask the question "What kind of law can be installed and exercised in the post-revolutionary state?" "What becomes the law after the revolutionary fulfilment and how is it possible to conceive the law without the state?" In addition, in the second part of the article, I will argue that Lenin's political strategy was a certain form of Foucault's theory of the governmental paradigm of power and, in fact, this was the foundation of the Soviet biopolitical machine.

Abstract: This paper examines the so-called post-Foucauldian genealogy of power undertaken by It... more Abstract:

This paper examines the so-called post-Foucauldian genealogy of power undertaken by Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben. Agamben’s basic interest is why and in which ways power assumed the form of economy, which, according to Foucault’s genealogical research, means the “government of men”. For Foucault, the origin of managerial-administrative power is the paradigm of a pastorate, in which the main objective is to subjugate, control and govern the soul of every human being. For Agamben the time horizon determined by Foucault is not sufficient. Therefore, he tries to develop further the theory of bio-power and bio-politics through the paradigm of economic theology, using a wide range of materials from early medieval period to 20th century theology. Using archeological and genealogical methods, this investigation aims to show the process of a paradigm shift from political theology to economic theology within the context of power relations. Moreover, it tries to verify whether Agamben’s assumption is correct, or it is not credible. By analyzing certain concepts such as divine anarchy and co-lateral effect, I intend to pose the question whether Christian economy, as action and administration, is an archetype of modern form of power or not.

In recent years Giorgio Agamben within his “Homo Sacer” project has elaborated the theory of “tw... more In recent years Giorgio Agamben within his “Homo Sacer” project has elaborated the theory of “two ontologies”, in which his challenging and crucial assumption was the juxtaposition of the ontology of ἐστi (to be or is) to the ontology of ἔστω (ought). At first glance, this central claim of Agamben can be seen as innocent and neutral for any kind of philosophical discourse. However, His archeological investigation of the concepts of duty and commandment turns out to be the mere preliminary stage for his explosive hypothesis, according to which ontological machine and entire philosophical tradition of the west oppressed and ignored the so called modal ontology of commandment. The main aim of this article is to ascertain the meaning, field and function of non-apophanitic discourse, which can be placed beyond propositional truth and falsity. We are going to analyze three forms of non-apophantic discourse, namely, prayer, commandment and oath, which according to their essence is linked to the modal ontology. Another purpose is to demonstrate that in modern structurally differentiated and secularized societies non-apophantic logos is a concealed form and source of power.

ენა და ფიცი: ფილონ ალექსანდრიელიდან სამეტყველო აქტების თეორიამდე, ენა, კულტურა, ფილოსოფია ეძღვნებ... more ენა და ფიცი: ფილონ ალექსანდრიელიდან სამეტყველო აქტების თეორიამდე, ენა, კულტურა, ფილოსოფია ეძღვნება ფილოსოფოს მამუკა ბიჭაშვილის ხსოვნას. რედ. ა ყულიჯანაშვილის, მ. ქერქაძე, „მერიდიანი“, თბილისი, 2016, გვ. 196-201

In the following article on the basis of Agamben's and Arendt's philosophical tradition the idea ... more In the following article on the basis of Agamben's and Arendt's philosophical tradition the idea of authority will be examined and interpreted in the light of the Agamben's most provocative and crucial concept-idea of Homo Sacer. Genuine understanding of the concept will be attempted by using genealogical and hermeneutical method. Despite the historical and philosophical richness and depth of material, Arendt's investigation lacks precise definition of the term and also nothing is said about the place and function of authority in modern social and political context. Arendt confines herself with historical elucidation and negative representation of authority. She tells more about what was not its meaning, rather defining it in positive terms. However, opposite can be said on Giorgio Agamben. Methodological resemblance of authors is evident, both chose archeological and historical form of inquiry, but as Agamben characterized his attitude, his aim was to develop the problematic thought and to say what remains unsaid and concealed in other's writings without any ambition of fulfilling it. Therefore, we can interpret the notions of authority and power, as they are mixed with each other in the sovereign's figure of indifference.