This paper sets out an account of hermeneutics as essentially ‘topological’ in character (where ‘topology’ is understood as designating the philosophical inquiry into place) at the same time as it ...also argues that hermeneutics has a key role to play in making clear the nature of the topological. At the centre of the argument is the idea that place and understanding are intimately connected, that this is what determines the interconnection between topology and hermeneutics, and that this also implies an intimate belonging-together of place and thinking, of place and experience, of place and the very possibility of appearance, of presence, of being.
In Mills’ sociological analysis, a central notion is the ‘social milieu’ which encapsulates ‘the social setting of a person that is directly open to his personal experience’. For Mills, sociology ...should entail an investigation of the set of relations and practices that are a feature of human experience. Understanding the significance of Mills’ approach, we argue, requires grasping the way the notion of ‘milieu’ or ‘setting’ itself draws upon spatial and topological notions – notions that have become prominent in much contemporary sociological thinking. From this perspective, Mills’ work turns out to be relevant as a corrective, both to the undue emphasis on empirical particularity that is evident in some contemporary sociology and to what Mills viewed as ‘abstract’ theorisation. A large part of the relevance of Mills’ work for contemporary sociological problems and challenges is thus to be found in the way his emphasis on situation (or ‘place’), as given through the idea of ‘milieu’, allows a more complex and encompassing approach.
The publication of Hans-Georg Gadamer's magnum opus Truth and Method in 1960 marked the arrival of philosophical hermeneutics as a dominant force in philosophy and the humanities as a whole. ...Consequences of Hermeneutics celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of one of the most important philosophical works of the twentieth century with essays by most of the leading figures in contemporary hermeneutic theory, including Gianni Vattimo and Jean Grondin.
These essays examine the achievements of hermeneutics as well as its current status and prospects for the future. Gadamer's text provides an important focus, but the ambition of these critical reappraisals extends to hermeneutics more broadly and to a range of other thinkers, such as Heidegger, Ricoeur, Derrida, and Rorty. Forcefully demonstrating the continuing relevance and power of hermeneutics, Consequences of Hermeneutics is a fitting tribute to Gadamer and the legacy of his thought.
If we are to explore the real possibilities and limits of new media as it stands in relation to cultural heritage and the sense of place then it is important to be clear on the conceptual ground on ...which any such exploration must stand. This essay aims to map out some of the ground that may be relevant here, and to clarify some of the concepts that are at issue. In so doing, it also opens up an examination of the connection between place and heritage, and the possible threats and opportunities that new media seems to offer in regard to this connection.
In the Vicinity of the Human Malpas, Jeff
International journal of philosophical studies : IJPS,
05/2017, Volume:
25, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Beginning with the situated character of the question concerning the human, this paper argues that the problem of the human is itself inextricably bound to the problem of situation or place. ...Consequently, any genuine philosophical anthropology must take the form of a philosophical topology. This line of argument is developed through the work Abraham Heschel, Martin Heidegger, Martin Buber, and also Helmut Plessner.
Although it is understood that the home constitutes one of the ways that individuals articulate a sense of self-identity, housing researchers have largely focussed on the symbolic meaning of home. In ...our paper, we seek to extend the field of housing studies by exploring the relational effects of the home. Our two key arguments are the following: first, the objects have effects that are independent of our awareness of them, and second, the formation of self is constituted in relation to the material world rather than through a separated interiority. We begin our paper with a number of observations about research on the home and the ways that sociologists and anthropologists have viewed the significance of material objects. In the main part of our paper, we draw upon Proust's novel In Search of Lost Time to illustrate our arguments. In the conclusion, we consider how Proust's novel might be used as a resource for a more extensive 'relational' housing research agenda
Through his three films London, Robinson in Space and Robinson in Ruins, Patrick Keiller has sought, inter alia, to provide an incisive commentary on the neo-liberal social order and the way that the ...spaces we inhabit are experienced and represented. Keiller’s films draw from a variety of sources including: surrealism; political economy; cinematic theory; and architecture. Yet, although there is a considerable body of commentary on his work, there is less analysis that engages in a detailed way with the substance of the work itself – its images and techniques – or with the framework within which it operates. Our aims are twofold: first, to redress that omission here, and especially to attend to what appears to be the divergent character of the most recent film, Robinson in Ruins, when considered in relation to the framework established by the first two – a divergence that directly implicates Keiller’s thematisation of landscape; and, second, to reflect more broadly on the wider significance of Keiller’s films for geography and other critically inspired scholarship.
It is difficult not to have noticed that in the last decade or so the notion of resilience has been adopted by many practitioners in Anglophone nations as part of a strategy for political engagement. ...Very often, those who advocate a resilience agenda concede that the insidious effects of globalized forms of capitalism cannot effectively be resisted and therefore it is necessary to accommodate to this reality by adapting and becoming resilient to any shocks that might arise. The aims of this paper are to explore not only some of the reasons why resilience has such appeal, but also to make some critical observations about policy responses at a time of increasing uncertainty. Amongst the questions addressed are: what might the use of resilience by policy-makers reveal about the conduct of government? Can its popularity within government agencies provide some insights as to why tangible reform remains elusive? Is there a form of resilience strategy that could serve to counter the pernicious effects of austerity and neoliberal policy responses? Amongst the arguments proposed is that, at best, resilience has only limited utility and at worst serves as a distraction to developing more incisive and lasting forms of political engagement.
The publication of Heidegger's Black Notebooks (Schwarze Hefte) has provoked a storm of controversy. Much of this has centred on the pro-Nazi and anti-Semitic comments the volumes contain. But these ...aspects of the Notebooks are perhaps the least surprising and important. This essay offers a summary overview of the issues to which the Notebooks give rise, at the same time as it also aims to provide a preliminary assessment of their overall significance, especially in relation to what they show about the nature and development of Heidegger's thinking from the early 1930s to the late 1940s.
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