What's Left of Philosophy

In Part Two of our two-part mini-series we discuss the work of Ernst Bloch’s The Principle of Hope. We ask what difference there is between the thought of Bloch and Theodor Adorno, how hope and utopia enable political action, and why so many traditions seem to abhor the concept of utopia. Expand your horizons and come learn how to hope again in this episode!This is just a small clip from the full episode, which is available to patrons:patreon.com/leftofphilosophyReferences:Ernst Bloch, The Principle of Hope, vols. 1 &3, trans. Neville Plaice, Stephen Plaice & Paul Knight (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1986).Ernst Bloch and Theodor Adorno, “Something’s Missing: A Discussion between Ernst Bloch and Theodor W. Adorno on the Contradictions of Utopian Longing (1964)” in Ernst Bloch, The Utopian Function of Art and Literature, trans. Jack Zipes and Frank Mecklenburg (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1988).Music: Vintage Memories by Schematist | schematist.bandcamp.com

In part one of our two-part mini-series on hermeneutics and utopia we discuss the thought of Hans-Georg Gadamer in his 1983 text Praise of Theory. We talk about the importance of prejudice and tradition for self-understanding, ask whether the natural sciences or the human sciences have sole claim to truth, and praise the (qualified) freedom of theory from instrumental reason (continental philosophy even gets a positive shout-out!). The purpose of this mini-series is to assess the insights of hermeneutics for theory and social philosophy, so look forward to our Patron exclusive conclusion on Ernst Bloch!leftofphilosophy.com | @leftofphilReferences:Hans-Georg Gadamer, Praise of Theory, trans. Chris Dawson (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998).Hans-Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method, trans. revised by Joel Weinsheimer and Donald G. Marshall (New York: Bloomsbury, 2013).Music: Vintage Memories by Schematist | schematist.bandcamp.com

In this episode we are joined by Martin Hägglund to discuss the existentialist's argument for what makes human life meaningful—and why democratic socialism is the logical conclusion to reach after having considered the matter carefully. We also dig into the limits of social democracy, the need for the state, and the revaluation of value that is yet to come.leftofphilosophy.com | @leftofphilFollow Martin: @martinhaegglund | http://martinhagglund.seReferences:Martin Hägglund, This Life: Secular Life and Spiritual Freedom (New York: Penguin Random House, 2020)What Is Democratic Socialism? Part I: Reclaiming Freedom - Los Angeles Review of Books (lareviewofbooks.org)What Is Democratic Socialism? Part II: The Immanent Critique of Capitalism - Los Angeles Review of Books (lareviewofbooks.org)What Is Democratic Socialism? Part III: Life After Capitalism - Los Angeles Review of Books (lareviewofbooks.org)Music: Vintage Memories by Schematist | schematist.bandcamp.com

In this episode we are joined by James Callahan (aka Crane) to talk about Gillian Rose’s book Hegel Contra Sociology. We explore Rose’s critique of early twentieth-century sociology, which she argues was completely hampered by the limitations of its neo-Kantian framework. Looking to break out of this transcendental circle, Rose turns to Hegel and defends a highly original and sophisticated reading of his speculative political thinking, in order to develop a sociological analysis adequate for grasping and transforming our modern capitalist world. We also talk about why Hegel hated the starry skies above and thought slimes and rashes were way cooler.leftofphilosophy.com | @leftofphilFollow James on twitter: @gruidae_james and check out his substack: https://jamescrane.substack.com/References:Gillian Rose, Hegel Contra Sociology (New York: Verso, 2009)Music: Vintage Memories by Schematist | schematist.bandcamp.com

In today’s episode we talk about Guy Debord’s critique of life under modern capitalism by looking at his scathing and provocative The Society of the Spectacle. Is it true that all that was once lived is now mere representation? That the whole of society is mediated by an endless proliferation of passifying images? That the fullness of life has been replaced by its bloodless negation in survival? Because it sure feels like it! We discuss what exactly he means by spectacle, reflect on whether and how it’s possible to maintain his distinction between real needs and pseudo-needs, and consider what a politics without representation would, ahem, look like. And we talk some real trash on North American suburbia, whose surface-level image of homogeneous conflictless positivity is the true legitimation mechanism of capitalism here in the dying imperial core. It's a lot of fun, actually!leftofphilosophy.com | @leftofphilReferences:Guy Debord, The Society of the Spectacle, trans. Donald Nicholson-Smith (New York: Zone Books, 1994).Music: Vintage Memories by Schematist | schematist.bandcamp.com

In this patron-exclusive episode, we continue our series on the concept of dialectics by talking about Adorno’s Negative Dialectics. We reflect on what a non-closed dialectical system would look like, why Adorno is definitely not the defeatist he’s often caricatured as being, and what it means for us to hold onto utopian promises for a better world from within the administered nightmare of modern capitalism. Along the way we try to hone in on what’s special about Adorno’s negative dialectics, especially in comparison with what we get out of Kant and Hegel. And we give Heidegger an appropriately hard time for being just the worst.This is just a small clip from the full episode, which is available to patrons:patreon.com/leftofphilosophyReferences:Theodor Adorno, Negative Dialectics, trans. E.B. Ashton (New York: Continuum, 2007).Music: Vintage Memories by Schematist | schematist.bandcamp.com

In this episode we are joined by Nathan DuFord to discuss their new book Solidarity in Conflict: A Democratic Theory. We unpack why they believe solidarity ought to be theorized as a political concept rather than moral injunction. For DuFord, we risk missing that solidarity is what the oppressed do with one another and that the oppressed will have disagreements within their solidary groups if we undertheorize the political dimensions of solidarity. We go on to discuss the relationships between trust and conflict, whether groups formed in solidarity can last forever, and contemporary questions concerning conflict in left organizations. If you believe in solidarity you won’t want to miss this episode!leftofphilosophy.com | @leftofphil References:Nathan DuFord [published under Rochelle DuFord], Solidarity in Conflict: A Democratic Theory (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2022).Music:Vintage Memories by Schematist | schematist.bandcamp.com

In this episode we talk about the most important Marxist thinker during the time of the Second International, Karl Kautsky. We talk about his infamous claim that the breakdown of capitalism is historically inevitable, what he thinks socialist praxis should look like in a liberal democracy, and what the concentration of large-scale capital means for your small business. Plus at some point we realize that almost all anti-socialist arguments are actually just confused anti-capitalist ones, which we find irresistibly delightful. We’re in old-school classical Marxist territory for this one, folks! leftofphilosophy.com | @leftofphil References: Karl Kautsky, “The Commonwealth of the Future,” in The Class Struggle (Erfurt Program), translated by William E. Bohn (Chicago: Charles H. Kerr, 1910). Music: Vintage Memories by Schematist | schematist.bandcamp.com

In this episode we talk with the wonderful Jason Read about his work on the concept of transindividuality and what it means for critical social theory, Marxist notions like alienation and reification, and traditional conceptions of freedom and equality. It’s bad news for anyone who thinks politics can be directly derived from ontology, but incredibly productive theoretically and practically if you're willing to think social relations as processes. Also Will admits he’s almost ready to confess his Spinozism, so that’s a clear win.follow us @leftofphilReferences:Jason Read, The Production of Subjectivity: Marx and Philosophy (Leiden: Brill, 2022)Jason's blog: http://www.unemployednegativity.com/Music: Vintage Memories by Schematist | schematist.bandcamp.com

In this episode we talk psychoanalytic theory and practice. With Freud’s Beyond the Pleasure Principle as our touchstone, we get speculative about human desire, the death drive, and the relationship between psychoanalysis and political struggle. We discuss the problem of scaling up from individual psychology to collective organizations, the opacity of the subject, and some of the psychosocial pathologies peculiar to the United States here in the twenty-first century. We could all use a bit more transference!leftofphilosophy.com | @leftofphilReferences:Sigmund Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, trans. and ed. James Strachey (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1989).Music: Vintage Memories by Schematist | schematist.bandcamp.com