Heidegger and Epicurus seem to be separated by a great divide. Where Epicurus seeks ataraxia by minimizing anxiety and our concern with death, Heidegger describes how anxiety and death are factored into authentic living. But looks can be deceiving. A close study of Heidegger’s critique of das Man reveals a distinctly Epicurean line of thinking. His account of curiosity, in particular, parallels Epicurus’s own criticism of normal life as being mired in unnatural/empty desires due to an unconscious fear of death. (...) Despite this similarity, Heidegger’s interest in ontological anxiety, i.e., homelessness, contrasts deeply with Epicurus’s goal of mental tranquility. Yet this difference is overcome, in part, in Heidegger’s turn to peaceful dwelling as an expression of authentic Being-in-the-world. Indeed, Heidegger’s account of the fourfold as the essence of dwelling can be seen as an Epicurean four-part cure to suffering, bringing Heidegger into dialogue with the tradition of philosophical therapy. (shrink)

Husserl and Foucault appear to have little in common when it comes to the question of normality. Husserl often discusses the emergence or constitution of norms from a subjective perspective whereas Foucault targets norms as a coercive problem. But if we recognize that the body is the locus of concern for both thinkers, then we can see that Husserl's interest in norm optimization is at home with Foucault's genealogical critique of bio-power . The essay draws a line of comparison between (...) Husserl and Foucault around the idea of an optimizing practice. (shrink)

The age of the Anthropocene is arguably upon us. Heidegger’s famous discussion of technology helps us understand the attitude that put us in this crisis. Although Sartre’s work in the Critique of Dialectical Reason seems to be distinct from Heidegger’s, I show how his concern with the socially alienating phenomenon of seriality explains why this technological attitude is so persistent. And by studying Heidegger and Sartre together, we get a better sense of how our environmental destitution is correlated to a (...) social-political one. Relational respect is offered as an existential norm that helps us move beyond our violent tendency to objectify beings, both human and other than human. (shrink)

Aristotle’s account of virtue is criticized through John Russon’s existential phenomenology of the human being. For Russon, neurosis is a characteristic of human being, whereas Aristotle would say that neurotic tensions do not arise in genuinely good people. The essay argues that an Aristotelian attitude engenders a particularly destructive form of neurosis by not recognizing the inherently dynamic nature of human identity. The essay seeks to build a theory of virtue that resists the idea of human fulfillment as ending in (...) a final state of well-being and contentment. (shrink)

The collection of essays gathered here under the topic of justice is a welcome text both for scholars in general and for those who were hoping for a follow up to Ricoeur’s Oneself as Another. The essays assembled in The Just are at once essential readings for anyone concerned with the link between ethics, law, and politics and perfect complements to the seventh, eighth, and ninth studies contained in Oneself as Another. However, knowledge of Ricoeur’s earlier writings is not a (...) prerequisite for understanding the content of these essays since he retains the style of a moderator by engaging the most powerful authors on justice available: Aristotle, Kant, Arendt, Rawls, Walzer, to name just a few. (shrink)

Centered on the question of normativity and ethics, neuroscientist Jean-Pierre Changeux and philosopher Paul Ricoeur engage in a lively and informative dialogue. They share a common insight concerning ethics, but let us first look at some of their differences.