The podcast explores Quentin Meillassoux's work on metaphysics and speculation. They discuss topics such as contingency, correlationism, atheism, and the concept of a self-deceiving God. They also delve into critiques of correlationism and the clash between the given and ancestrality. Additionally, they explore the nature of facts and subjectivity and the implications of correlationism on religion.
Correlationism limits understanding of reality to subjective experience, undermining scientific statements and autonomy.
Contingency rejects necessity and predetermined outcomes, challenging pre-given truths and embracing change and evolution.
The ancestral, existing before human consciousness, cannot be comprehended through perception and language, undermining correlationism's retrojection of consciousness into the past.
Deep dives
The Challenge of Correlationism
Mayassou critiques correlationism, which posits that knowledge is limited to our subjective experience, and argues that it undermines the legitimacy of scientific statements and the autonomy of science.
Contingency and the Real
Mayassou explores the concept of contingency, highlighting that not everything can happen and that there is no necessary reason for things to be the way they are. He critiques the idea that consciousness and language determine our understanding of the real, asserting that scientific statements have meaning even without being correlated with consciousness.
The Ancestral and Unthinkable
Mayassou discusses the ancestral, referring to events and phenomena that predate human consciousness. He argues against correlationism's retrojection of consciousness into the past, asserting that the ancestral cannot be comprehended through human perception and language.
Realism and Anti-Realism
Mayassou explores the double impasse between realism and anti-realism, highlighting the challenges they both face. Realism is often undermined by the pragmatist contradiction, while anti-realism can imply a destruction of science. Mayassou seeks to navigate this impasse and find a middle ground.
The Dilemma of Correlationism and Realism
A key point discussed in this podcast episode is the dilemma between correlationism and realism. Correlationism suggests that our access to reality is always tied to our thinking and perception, making it impossible to know a reality independent from our thoughts. Realism, on the other hand, claims that there is a reality that exists outside of our thoughts. However, the speaker argues that realism often leads to a pragmatic contradiction because claiming to access a reality in itself implies that it is given to us to think. This contradiction poses a challenge to ancestral statements made by science, questioning the meaning of thinking about what existed before any thought. The speaker also highlights the danger of postmodern skepticism and rejection of absolutes, as it can inadvertently open the door to a variety of religious discourses, creating a level playing ground for different beliefs.
The Absolute Contingency and the Power of Knowledge
Another important concept discussed is the idea of absolute contingency. The speaker argues that contingency is an absolute feature of being, preventing the existence of necessary beings and challenging any notion of predetermined outcomes. Contingency suggests that things are the way they are for no reason whatsoever, and this answer should be taken seriously. The speaker proposes that knowledge is a human endeavor and can change and evolve, providing descriptions of contingent facts rather than being pre-given or discovered truths. The proliferation of scientific knowledge can generate additional gaps that faith can fill, but the speaker urges against absolutizing thought and argues for a non-dogmatic approach that embraces contingency and prevents the resurgence of absolutes, including religious ones.
Cooper and Taylor take a foray into the work of Quentin Meillassoux, one of the four horseman of Speculative Realism or Speculative Materialism as Meillassoux identifies as his project.
We looked at Metaphysics, Speculation, Correlation translated by mr Taylor Adkins.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quentin_Meillassoux
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Twitter: @unconscioushh
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