The Philosophy of Matter: A Meditation (Theory in the New Humanities)

__The Philosophy of Matter__ is a journey in thinking through the material fate of the earth itself; its surfaces and undercurrrents, ecologies, environments and irreparable cracks. With figures such as Spinoza, Gilles Deleuze and Michel Serres as philosophical guides and writings on New Materialism, Posthumanism and Affect Theory as intellectual context, Rick Dolphijn proposes a radical rethinking of some of the basic themes of philosophy: subjectivity, materiality, body (both human and otherwise) and the act of living. This rethink is a work of imagination and meditation in order to conceive of “another earth for another people”. It is a homage to courageous thinking that dares to question the religious, capitalist and humanist realities of the day. A poetic philosophy of how to live in troubling times when even the earth beneath us feels unstable, Dolphijn offers a way to think about the world with depth, honesty and glimpses of hope. "The Philosophy of Matter is a journey in thinking through the material fate of the earth itself; its surfaces and undercurrrents, ecologies, environments and irreparable cracks. With figures such as Spinoza, Gilles Deleuze and Michel Serres as philosophical guides and writings on New Materialism, Posthumanism and Affect Theory as intellectual context, Rick Dolphijn proposes a radical rethinking of some of the basic themes of philosophy: subjectivity, materiality, body (both human and otherwise) and the act of living. This rethink is a work of imagination and meditation in order to conceive of "another earth for another people". It is a homage to courageous thinking that dares to question the religious, capitalist and humanist realities of the day. A poetic philosophy of how to live in troubling times when even the earth beneath us feels unstable, Dolphijn offers a way to think about the world with depth, honesty and glimpses of hope"-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Contents 8 Acknowledgements 10 Permissions 13 PART ONE Imagining the Undercurrent 15 I Don’t Know Where This Is Going but I Know Where to Begin... 18 The history of Cartesianism is the history of critique 24 Why our world demands a different form of thinking 28 Rewriting humanism 34 Imagination is what matters – it nurtures everything 38 PART TWO This is not the Earth! 43 The philosopher is the geometer 46 The Deserted ... 54 The pathologists of the earth 60 Become a target 66 PART THREE I Can See Something 75 I am not a person, right? 78 Shadows in shadows 86 The cracks of the contemporary 92 The wound (I was born to embody) 104 PART FOUR Geometer, Show Me a New Earth 117 The geometer starts from a physics beyond critique 120 The geometers first axiom: A body is that which folds 134 The geometer maps that which is savage, irregular, alive 146 The geometer maps how art objects 152 Earth – You are everywhere 160 References 165 Index 172 Part I. Imagining the undercurrent. I don't know where this is going but I know where to begin ; The history of Cartesianism is the history of critique ; Why our world demands a different form of thinking ; Rewriting humanism ; Imagination is what matters? ... it nurtures everything -- Part II. This is not the earth! The philosopher is the geometer ; The deserted ... ; The pathologists of the earth ; Become a target -- Part III. I can see something. I am not a person, right? ; Shadows in shadows ; The cracks of the contemporary ; The wound (I was born to embody) -- Part IV. Geometer, show me a new earth. The geometer starts from a physics beyond critique ; The geometers first axiom: a body is that which folds ; The geometer maps that which Is savage, irregular, alive ; The geometer maps how art objects earth ... You are everywhere