Non-Dualism in Context

with Nathan Bjorge

Non-dualism is a concept usually encountered within Eastern philosophical traditions. However, it is also a theme in Western philosophy. In this series of presentations we will attempt to trace common and divergent threads of this idea as it works its way through various contexts. Our approach will involve close analytical readings of specific representative texts from a critical perspective.

Syllabus:

1 - Understanding is Transcendent: Exploring a key argument of Ludwig Wittgenstein in his work the Philosophical Investigations.

2 - The Clearing of Being: Martin Heidegger's ontology in Being and Time. Being-in-the-world and temporality.

3 - The Self as Neumenon: Transcendental subjectivity in Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. The transcendental aesthetic and the synthetic unity of apperception.

4 - Fichte's Vedanta: The deduction of the transcendental subject as Absolute Spirit in Fichte's Wissenschaftslehre in comparison with Advaita Vedanta. German Idealism I.

5 - Freedom and Spirit: Summary of F.W.J. Schelling's System of Transcendental Idealism of 1800 and Philosophical Inquiries into the nature of Human Freedom. German Idealism II.

6 - The Adventure of the Absolute Spirit: Outline of Hegel's dialectic from the Phenomenology of Spirit and The Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences. German Idealism III.

The series has stopped. These are lectures that would have been presented had it continued:

7 - Marxism as Non-Dualism: Marx's philosophy as a response to Hegelianism. Marxist dialectical theory and practice.

8 - The Unscientific Anxiety: Kierkegaard philosophical theology and its relationship to Hegelianism.

9 - Falling, Death, Authenticity: Heidegger's account of authenticity in Being and Time.

10 - The Sinister Ideal: Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Representation.

11 - Like a Hammer to Idols: The philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche.

12 - The Nausea of Being: Existentialism. Jean-Paul Sartre's Being and Nothingness.

February 4 - Non-Dualism and the Body: Maurice Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology of Perception.

March 3 - Heidegger's Gathering: Heidegger's response to Existentialism in the Letter on Humanism [PDF]. Late Heidegger.

April 7 - History and Totality: Sartre's Marxism in Search for a Method. Camus' The Rebel and Sartre's letter of reply in Situations. The idea of commitment and the problem of violence.

End of Series