6,383 words
1. Introduction: Remind me, why Fichte?
Readers have been asking me why I am devoting multiple essays to J. G. Fichte, an exceedingly difficult and seldom-read German Idealist born in 1762. The simple answer is that these essays are a continuation of my series on Heidegger’s “history of metaphysics.” Having devoted several essays to Kant, I am continuing with Fichte, then will move on to Schelling and Hegel, and then, finally, to Nietzsche. (more…)
J. G. Fichte meets Immanuel Kant, 1791
6,194 words
1. “The circumference of my world is equivalent to the limits of my will.”
In my last essay, we established that for Fichte self-consciousness is an ultimate fact. We saw via our own experiments in introspection that the “I” — this “presence” that says, in effect “I am” — is not simply a feature of the self, it is the self. (more…)
6,227 words
1. Martin Heidegger Reads Fichte
On June 25, 1929, Heidegger wrote to Karl Jaspers, “At the present moment I am lecturing on Fichte, Hegel, and Schelling for the first time — and once more a new world opens up before me. (more…)
Caspar David Friedrich, Paysage avec un lac de montagne au matin, 1823.
4,095 words
English original here
Parmi les gens de droite qui s’occupent de la relation de l’homme avec le reste du monde naturel, on trouve un certain nombre d’approches. Il y a les conservatistes anthropocentriques, qui promeuvent l’« utilisation sage » ou la gestion prudente des ressources naturelles pour les générations futures. (more…)
All the rage in L.A.
6,994 words
English original here
Μετάφραση: Λόενγκριν
1. Εισαγωγή
Οι ανήκοντες στη Νέα Δεξιά συνδέονται εν μέρει μέσω κοινών πνευματικών ενδιαφερόντων. Στον κατάλογό μου αυτών των ενδιαφερόντων θα κατέτασσα σε υψηλή θέση τα έργα του Μάρτιν Χάιντεγγερ και εκείνα της Παραδοσιοκρατικής [1] [2] σχολής , ειδικά του Ρενέ Γκενόν και του Ιουλίου Έβολα. Η δική μου δουλειά επηρεάστηκε σε μεγάλο βαθμό τόσο από τον Χάιντεγγερ όσο και από την Παραδοσιοκρατία. (more…)
Philosophy Consoling Boethius and Fortune Turning the Wheel, 15th-century France
1,569 words
As part of an effort to better understand, and if possible, return to tradition, I’ve been plumbing the depths of folk tales, reading accounts of oral traditions, stories, legends, myths, sayings, epic songs, and other linguistic cultural artifacts of times past. One significant understanding I reached in my explorations is that pre-modern man placed a great value on luck as a factor in success or failure. Contrasting that is the modern view that chance plays a lesser role in the world. But what if the old folks had it right? (more…)
1961 West German Bundespost stamp featuring Kant
6,542 words
All essays in this series available here
With this, the tenth essay in this series, we have reached a significant milestone. Our journey has taken us from Plato to Kant, and this is the fourth essay on Heidegger’s Kant interpretation. In the last installment, we saw that Kant is struggling to transcend the representationalist paradigm, but that he is inconsistent in this. (more…)
M. C. Escher, Hand with Reflecting Sphere, 1935.
6,864 words
All essays in this series available here
My two previous essays introduced readers to Kant’s transcendental idealism and discussed the similarities and differences between Kant’s critique of metaphysics and Heidegger’s. It is now time to begin to consider Heidegger’s critique of Kant, and how Heidegger locates him within his history of metaphysics. (more…)
Giacomo Balla, Science Against Obscurantism, 1920
6,034 words
Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 5 here, Part 6 here, Part 7 here
My last essay ended with the observation that there are clear points of convergence between Kant’s thought and Heidegger’s. (more…)
William Powell Frith (1819-1909), A May Day Celebration (private collection)
6,740 words
Throughout Europe and the United States, the chill mornings and blossoming trees of spring are giving way to summer’s warmth and abundance. As the midway point between spring and summer, the month of May has historically been a season of great importance to the peoples of Europe, a joyful time of sowing, revelry, feasting, and courtship. (more…)
2,236 words
James J. O’Meara
Passing the Buck: Coleman Francis and Other Cinematic Metaphysicians
Melbourne: Manticore Press, 2021
Imagine going thirty, forty, fifty, or even sixty years of your life without comprehending the dizzying implications of how some movies, typically — and often charitably — understood to be cringingly awful, actually serve as thaumaturgic runes which reveal glimpses of the painful, beautiful Truth behind this swiftly degenerating stage of Kali Yuga. (more…)
