Vision's Invisibles: Philosophical Explorations (Suny Series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy) (Suny Contemporary Continental Philosophy)

Although philosophy today has abandoned its former fascination with transcendent invisibles, it has left largely unexamined historical articulations of the divide between 'the visible' and 'the invisible.' Vision's Invisibles argues that such a self-examination is necessary for the sensitization of philosophical sight, as well as for engagements with visuality in other domains. To this end, it investigates a range of challenging understandings of visuality in its relation to invisibles, as articulated in the texts of key historical thinkers—Heraclitus, Plato, and Descartes—and of twentieth-century philosophers, including Foucault, Merleau-Ponty, Nancy, Derrida, and Heidegger. Vision’s Invisibles......Page 4 Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Prospect......Page 12 Part I: Greek Philosophy......Page 22 1. Glimpsing Alterity and Differentiation: Vision and the Heraclitean Logos......Page 24 2. Beauty, Eros, and Blindness in the Platonic Education of Vision......Page 36 Part II: The Legacy of Descartes......Page 50 3. Mechanism, Reasoning, and the Institution of Nature: Questioning Descartes’s Reconstruction of Vision......Page 52 4. The Specularity of Representation: Foucault, Velázquez, Descartes......Page 64 Part III: Post-Phenomenological Perspectives......Page 78 5. The Gravity and (In)visibility of Flesh: Merleau-Ponty, Nancy, Derrida......Page 80 6. Imaging Invisibles: Heidegger’s Meditation......Page 92 Retrospect......Page 110 PROSPECT......Page 116 CHAPTER 1......Page 117 CHAPTER 2......Page 119 CHAPTER 3......Page 121 CHAPTER 4......Page 123 CHAPTER 5......Page 125 CHAPTER 6......Page 127 RETROSPECT......Page 131 Selected Bibliography......Page 132 H......Page 142 Z......Page 143 M......Page 144 W......Page 145 Vision’s Invisibles 4 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Prospect 12 Part I: Greek Philosophy 22 1. Glimpsing Alterity and Differentiation: Vision and the Heraclitean Logos 24 2. Beauty, Eros, and Blindness in the Platonic Education of Vision 36 Part II: The Legacy of Descartes 50 3. Mechanism, Reasoning, and the Institution of Nature: Questioning Descartes’s Reconstruction of Vision 52 4. The Specularity of Representation: Foucault, Velázquez, Descartes 64 Part III: Post-Phenomenological Perspectives 78 5. The Gravity and (In)visibility of Flesh: Merleau-Ponty, Nancy, Derrida 80 6. Imaging Invisibles: Heidegger’s Meditation 92 Retrospect 110 Notes 116 PROSPECT 116 CHAPTER 1 117 CHAPTER 2 119 CHAPTER 3 121 CHAPTER 4 123 CHAPTER 5 125 CHAPTER 6 127 RETROSPECT 131 Selected Bibliography 132 Index of Persons 142 A 142 B 142 C 142 D 142 F 142 G 142 H 142 H 143 J 143 K 143 L 143 M 143 N 143 P 143 R 143 S 143 V 143 W 143 Z 143 Index of Topics 144 A 144 B 144 C 144 D 144 E 144 F 144 G 144 I 144 L 144 M 144 N 145 O 145 P 145 R 145 S 145 T 145 V 145 W 145 "Although philosophy today has abandoned its former fascination with transcendent invisibles, it has largely left unexamined the historical articulations of the divide between 'the visible' and 'the invisible.' Vision's Invisibles argues that such a self examination is necessary for the sensitization of philosophical sight, as well as for engagements with visuality in other domains. To this end, it investigates a range of challenging understanding of visuality in its relation to invisibles, as articulated in the texts of key historical thinkers - Heraclitus, Plato, and Descartes - and of twentieth-century philosophers, including Foucault, Merleau-Ponty, Nancy, Derrida, and Heidegger."--Jacket Although philosophy today has abandoned its former fascination with transcendent invisibles, it has largely left unexamined the historical articulations of the divide between 'the visible' and 'the invisible.' [This book] argues that such a self-examination is necessary for the sensitization of philosophical sight, as well as for engagements with visuality in other domains. To this end, it investigates a range of challenging understandings of visuality in its relation to invisibles, as articulated in the texts of key historical thinkers - Heraclitus, Plato, and Descartes - and of twentieth-century philosophers, including Foucault, Merleau-Ponty, Nancy, Derrida, and Heidegger.-Back cover ''Examines the construction of vision in the works of Heraclitus, Plato, Descartes, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Foucault, Nancy, and Derrida.'' Vronique M. Fti is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Penn State at University Park. Véronique M. Fóti. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 121-130) And Index.