•  9
    Fictionalism and Aesthetic Experience in The Beast and the Sovereign
    Journal of Speculative Philosophy 37 (3): 415-425. 2023.
    ABSTRACT This article analyzes the figure of the end of the world in the final lecture of Derrida’s The Beast and the Sovereign seminar series (the last seminar series he gives). The author argues that Derrida uses the final line of a Paul Celan poem (“The world is gone. I must carry you.”) as a valedictory refrain in order to show the political and existential stakes of his ontological investigations. The article situates these stakes within Derrida’s fictionalism, his belief that (1) ideal ent…Read more
  •  8
    In what follows, I outline the role that pedagogical concerns play in how Derrida structures his Theory and Practice seminars. Framing my discussion with Foucault’s criticism of Derrida’s pedagogy as overly textual and quasi-despotic, I show how Derrida accepts elements of that criticism in his description of his pedagogy. Moreover, by treating these seminars as model exercises for students rather than as a philosophical text advancing a thesis, we can identify connections with Derrida’s commitm…Read more
  •  2
    How Fatherhood will Change Your Life
    In Fritz Allhoff, Lon S. Nease & Michael W. Austin (eds.), Fatherhood ‐ Philosophy for Everyone, Wiley‐blackwell. 2010-09-24.
    This chapter contains sections titled: The Meaning of the World in Heidegger Immortality The World of the Man‐Child Knocked Up Stillbirth After You, the World Will Always Be Empty Notes.
  •  7
    On the Lyrical Presentation of History: Hegel and the Modern Poem
    Veritas – Revista de Filosofia da Pucrs 60 (1): 50-68. 2015.
    The article recasts the pre-history of philosophy as it is understood by G. W. F. Hegel, so as to examine what a “Lyrical Presentation of History” might have been. The essay argues that Hegel’s treatment of history at the end of his Lectures on Aesthetics suffers from an inattention to the specific philosophical content of modern lyrical poetry, which can be located in his claim that lyrical poetry is primarily concerned with the subject. In contrast, the author argues that Hegel’s account ought…Read more
  •  11
    On the Uses and Abuses of Pleasure for Art
    Australasian Philosophical Review 1 (1): 61-66. 2017.
    ABSTRACTI ask whether there is a place for apparently displeasurable experiences in a hedonistic aesthetics. Building on an ambiguity in Mohan Matthen's account of facilitating pleasures, I examine how avant-garde artists can use the ‘perverse’ or ‘difficult’ pleasures to force cognitions that are critical in the Marxist sense.
  • "The Lyrical Age: Reconfiguring Metaphysics, Modernity and Poetry in the Thought of Martin Heidegger," focuses on the intersections in 19th and 20th century philosophy between metaphysics and aesthetics, and the influence they have on Martin Heidegger's understanding of the history of philosophy. Kant's Critique of Judgment suggested that the experience of art should play a central role in synthesizing theoretical and practical forms of knowledge. This suggestion played a crucial role in the dev…Read more
  •  130
    The Divine Logos
    Epoché: A Journal for the History of Philosophy 14 (1): 1-18. 2009.
    In this paper, I address the way in which Plato’s Sophist rethinks his lifelong dialogue with Heraclitus. Plato uses a concept of logos in this dialogue that is much more Heraclitean than his earlier concept of the logos. I argue that he employs this concept in order to resolve those problems with his earlier theory of ideas that he had brought to light in the Parmenides. I argue that the concept of the dialectic that the Stranger develops rejects, rather than continues, the idea reached at the …Read more
  •  72
    How is Philosophy Possible? Blanchot on Secrecy, Ambiguity and the Care for Death
    International Journal of Philosophical Studies 18 (2): 149-175. 2010.
    I examine the contribution that the first part of Maurice Blancot's recit Death Sentence makes to his understanding of the relationship between philosophy and literature. I use a reading of the Kantian, transcendental account of literature in “How is Literature Possible” as the starting point for an analysis of the way in which Blanchot uses secrets in describing J.'s death in Death Sentence, linking secrecy up with the imaginary, ambiguity and dissimulation. The purpose for this refinement is t…Read more
  •  22
    The Divine Logos
    Epoché: A Journal for the History of Philosophy 14 (1): 1-18. 2009.
    In this paper, I address the way in which Plato’s Sophist rethinks his lifelong dialogue with Heraclitus. Plato uses a concept of logos in this dialogue that is much more Heraclitean than his earlier concept of the logos. I argue that he employs this concept in order to resolve those problems with his earlier theory of ideas that he had brought to light in the Parmenides. I argue that the concept of the dialectic that the Stranger develops rejects, rather than continues, the idea reached at the …Read more
  •  16
    Sobre a apresentação lírica da história: Hegel e o poema moderno
    Veritas – Revista de Filosofia da Pucrs 60 (1): 50-68. 2015.
    The article recasts the pre-history of philosophy as it is understood by G. W. F. Hegel, so as to examine what a “Lyrical Presentation of History” might have been. The essay argues that Hegel’s treatment of history at the end of his Lectures on Aesthetics suffers from an inattention to the specific philosophical content of modern lyrical poetry, which can be located in his claim that lyrical poetry is primarily concerned with the subject. In contrast, the author argues that Hegel’s account ought…Read more
  •  44
    The Arts Of The Novel
    Philosophy Today 49 (2): 127-144. 2005.