Philosophy: Joyful Coincidences

Last updated on: June 7, 2007 at 3:12 am by Justin Whitaker

Philosophy: Joyful Coincidences 2007-06-07T03:12:00-06:00 Justin Whitaker

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Flipping around Lakoff and Johnson’s Philosophy in the Flesh today (while foolishly simultaneously composing two emails) I came across this passage in the section on Aristotle:

We have been suggesting that Being, like every other basic philosophical concept, is a human category, the very articulation of which depends on a cluster of common folk theories and conceptual metaphors. Being, regarded as the fundamental ontological category, emerged historically…. (p.388)

They go on to describe pre-Socratic ‘folk theories and metaphors’ that gave Aristotle (and Plato) the material to create his grand metaphysics. Such folk theories, and the search for Being (often construed as the search for God) have sustained much of western philosophy ever since. Noted exceptions to this aimless quest are Merleau-Ponty (an early friend of Sartre and ground-breaking phenomenologist), Dewey, Whitehead, and Rorty. I would add Sartre himself, Quine, and late Wittgenstien, though of them all I’ve only studied Merleau-Ponty and Sartre in any depth.

In any case, it was a joyful coincidence to find this as I start some work on a beginning to my thesis. Many more joyful coincidences to follow, I hope!

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