The Hypostatization of Finitude: A Critical Reconstruction of Meillassoux's Argument for the Absoluteness of Contingency
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
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Result on the web
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DOI - Digital Object Identifier
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Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
The Hypostatization of Finitude: A Critical Reconstruction of Meillassoux's Argument for the Absoluteness of Contingency
Original language description
This paper reconsiders Meillassoux's argument for a "speculative absolute" or the absoluteness or necessity of contingency, as opposed to the "dogmatic" or "metaphysical" notion of the absolute. Meillassoux tries to establish a positive notion of the absolute, while trying to avoid a relapse into dogmatic metaphysics. At the same time, he wants to move beyond the prescriptions of critical philosophy, that is, he wants to move from an epistemological towards an ontological stance that promises nothing less than to provide us with the meaning of the notorious "thing in -itself". Naturally, the boldness of the enterprise combined with its ingenuity fascinates many readers. However, nobody seems to be willing to follow Meillassoux and accept his conclusion, despite his apparently perfectly rational and persuasive argument. The aim of this paper is to provide a new reading of Meillassoux's argument for the necessity of contingency that explains why he fails in his attempt to attain the absolute: the order and nature of his main premises prevent the possibility of establishing a viable notion of the absolute. Instead, Meillassoux's absolute turns out to be an absolutization of finitude itself. In its spiral movement, the paper follows the circularity of Meillassoux's thought. This spiral movement should not be confused with any kind of dialectics, however. As his insistence on the integrity of the principle of non -contradiction demonstrates, Meillassoux himself never considered dialectics to be a viable method for his project. Rather than applying external or normative standards in its analysis and criticism, the paper exposes the problems inherent in Meillassoux's argument from a perspective that follows his very own reasoning.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
C - Chapter in a specialist book
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
60301 - Philosophy, History and Philosophy of science and technology
Result continuities
Project
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Continuities
I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace
Others
Publication year
2016
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Book/collection name
Ročenka pro filosofii a fenomenologický výzkum
ISBN
978-80-7476-111-9
Number of pages of the result
24
Pages from-to
143-166
Number of pages of the book
294
Publisher name
Togga
Place of publication
Praha
UT code for WoS chapter
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