Figure 1: Shigeru Ban’s “The House Without Walls.” Image via: arquitecturaviva.com. Photograph by: Shinkenchiku Sha. [High modernism] is best conceived as a strong, one might even say muscle-bound, version of the self-confidence about scientific and technical progress, the expansion of production, the growing satisfaction of human needs, the mastery of nature (including human nature), and, … [continue reading]
Author Archives: Otto Paans
A Philosopher’s Diary, #11—There’s Nothing…And Everything.
The descriptive sub-title of this blog—Against Professional Philosophy—originally created and rolled out in 2013, is “A Co-Authored Anarcho-Philosophical Diary.” Now, ten years later, after more than 300,000 views of the site, this series, A Philosopher’s Diary, finally literally instantiates that description by featuring short monthly entries by one or another of the members of the … [continue reading]
Old Empires Die Hard: Some Notes on The Second Cold War. (A Postscript to “2022: The Polycrisis So Far.”)
In response to my recent edgy essay, “2022: The Polycrisis So Far,”[i] we received an interesting question from a reader, Nathan Fifield, asking us whether or not we thought that this complex of crises had the potential to develop into a new Cold War? However, this new Cold War would not only be between China … [continue reading]
2022: The Polycrisis So Far.
The last 20-odd years of the EU are informally known as “the polycrisis.” If we take a brief look at the past decades, we can clearly see why this is so. In the tense aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in 2001, the Iraq and Afghan conflicts, as well as numerous terrorist attacks, the Western mind … [continue reading]
A Philosopher’s Diary, #8–Ambition and Mortality.
The descriptive sub-title of this blog—Against Professional Philosophy—originally created and rolled out in 2013, is “A Co-Authored Anarcho-Philosophical Diary.” Now, nine years later, after more than 300,000 views of the site, this series, A Philosopher’s Diary, finally literally instantiates that description by featuring short monthly entries by one or another of the members of the … [continue reading]
Some Thoughts Written While Visiting the Swedish Countryside.
You can also download and read or share a .pdf of the complete text of this essay by scrolling down to the bottom of this post. Some Thoughts Written While Visiting the Swedish Countryside Recently, I’ve been studying a selection of Henri Lefebvre’s works closely. His output included philosophy, sociology, history, economics, art criticism, and … [continue reading]
A Philosopher’s Diary, #5–Thirty-Six Philosophical Precepts of Martial Arts Practice.
The descriptive sub-title of this blog—Against Professional Philosophy—originally created and rolled out in 2013, is “A Co-Authored Anarcho-Philosophical Diary.” Now, nine years later, after more than 300,000 views of the site, this new series, A Philosopher’s Diary, finally literally instantiates that description by featuring short monthly entries by one or another of the members of … [continue reading]
The New Subjective Body, #6–Conclusion.
This essay is being published in six installments. PREVIOUS INSTALLMENTS: #1 Introduction #2 Modernity and Postmodernity: Two Types of Nihilism #3 Detachment and Stillness #4 On Nishitani’s Anti-Nihilism #5 What is The New Subjective Body? The BIBLIOGRAPHY is included in this sixth and final installment. VI. Conclusion The emergence of the new subjective body is … [continue reading]
The New Subjective Body, #5–What is The New Subjective Body?
This essay is being published in six installments. PREVIOUS INSTALLMENTS: #1 Introduction #2 Modernity and Postmodernity: Two Types of Nihilism #3 Detachment and Stillness #4 On Nishitani’s Anti-Nihilism The BIBLIOGRAPHY will be included in the sixth installment. V. What is The New Subjective Body? The reversal or Gestalt shift that I just described juxtaposes, or … [continue reading]
The New Subjective Body, #4–On Nishitani’s Anti-Nihilism.
This essay is being published in six installments. PREVIOUS INSTALLMENTS: #1 Introduction #2 Modernity and Postmodernity: Two Types of Nihilism #3 Detachment and Stillness The BIBLIOGRAPHY will be included in the sixth installment. IV. On Nishitani’s Anti-Nihilism According to Nishitani, we must start with the distinction between an objectifying view of the world and a … [continue reading]