Dhruv Raj Nagar

PhD Student, Philosophy of Religions

On the Various Branches of An Other Philosophy: Thinking Otherwise & thinking the Othered in Western Metaphysics“

Wednesday, May 17, 4:30pm, Swift 201

The paper can be read here

A critique of Western metaphysics, whether directed at its ocularcentrism or logocentrism, ontotheology or metaphysics of presence, may be negotiated in two ways. Firstly, as has been done, by identifying and exposing precisely the elements that contribute to it and recommending remedial substitutes. Or secondly, by simply circumventing the very project of recuperative dialogue and instead initiating another way of doing philosophy that shares almost nothing with the language, premises and content of Western philosophy, while still addressing similar concerns. Only through such an other thinking, which is quite possibly an other of thinking, may it be possible to execute the critical project without in some way being already complicit with the ideology such a project seeks to critique.

An outline of such an other philosophy will be presented here (inspired by the system of Advaita Vedānta). Thus, instead of being constrained by traditional categories of metaphysics, epistemology, theology or ethics dealing with well-established themes of substance, being, presence, autonomy, knowledge, existence and essence, a new branching and thematization of philosophy will be introduced which speaks of magic (magistics), of light and darkness (photology), caves and caverns (speleology), of sleep (somnology), and finally of matters of the heart (cardiology), themes that have often stood neglected in the historical preoccupations of Western philosophy.

Refreshments will be served