| CODE | PHI2052 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | New Realism and Materialism | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Philosophy | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | After a long period of being rejected as a “pseudo-problem” by the absolute majority of thinkers after Kant, twenty-first century continental thought is witnessing a renewed interest in rekindling questions concerned with the nature of philosophical realism and materialism. By confronting a series of pressing issues pertaining to the nature of reality and matter as well as the possibility of accessing that which exceeds human thought, a number of new realists and materialists are seeking to challenge the implicit yet prevailing forms of philosophical idealism which have, until recently, dominated continental thought. This study-unit aims to investigate and critically assess the rise and nature of this contemporary turn to realism and materialism. Through the detailed exploration of a number of primary texts by key contemporary thinkers such as Karen Barad, Jane Bennett, Manuel DeLanda, Maurizio Ferraris, Graham Harman, and Quentin Meillassoux, students shall be able to tackle the following questions: can we accede to a reality existing independently of human thought? if so, what might this reality look like? Is reality, at its most fundamental level, material? how do new forms of realism and materialism differ from classical realism and materialism? To what extent can science offer a definitive answer to metaphysical questions? Study-Unit Aims: - facilitate the exploration of primary works by prominent continental realists and/or materialists; - allow for the interrogation of the nature and limits of the contemporary turn to metaphysics in continental thought; - enable students to familiarise themselves with two of the most prominent areas of interest within twenty-first century thought; - encourage students to methodically evaluate and challenge different continental forms of realism. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - define and employ key concepts related to contemporary continental realism and materialism (correlationism, onto-taxonomy, duomining, intra-action, vibrant matter, fields of sense, etc.); - analytically and rigorously assess major theories related to continental realism and materialism; - familiarise themselves with the central ideas and issues shaping contemporary thought; - directly engage with the systematic readings of key contemporary texts related the topics covered in the study-unit. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - evaluate the relevance of the contemporary turn to realism and materialism in continental thought; - write a critical essay on a particular topic covered in the study-unit; - develop critical thinking skills; - construct arguments and interpret concepts and ideas in a written assignment; - assess the merits and deficiencies of different philosophical views related to continental realism and materialism. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Barad, Karen (2010) “Quantum Entanglements and Hauntological Relations of Inheritance: Dis/continuities, SpaceTime Enfoldings, and Justice-to-Come.” Derrida Today, 3, pp. 240-268. - Bennett, Jane (2010) Vibrant Matter: A Political Ecology of Things. Durham: Duke University Press. - Coole, Diana, and Frost, Samantha (eds) (2010) New Materialisms: Ontology, Agency, and Politics. Durham: Duke University Press. - DeLanda, Manuel (2016) Assemblage Theory. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. - DeLanda, M. (2013) "Ontological Commitments", Speculations IV: A Journal of Speculative Realism, pp. 71-73. - Ferraris, Maurizio (2014) Manifesto of New Realism. New York: State University of New York Press. - Harman, Graham (2010) "I am Also of the Opinion that Materialism Must be Destroyed", Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 28, pp. 772-790. - Harman, Graham (2011) "Realism without Materialism", Continent, 3.1, pp. 171-179. - Harman, Graham (2013) "An Outline of Object-Oriented Philosophy", Science Progress, 96(2), pp. 187-199. - Meillassoux, Quentin (2014) Time Without Becoming. Fano: Mimesis Edizioni. Supplementary Readings: - Barad, Karen (2010) Meeting the Universe Halfway: Quantum Physics and the Entanglement of Matter and Meaning. Durham: Duke University Press. - Harman, Graham (2011). The Quadruple Object. Winchester: Zero Books. - Shaviro, Steven (2014) The Universe of Things: On Speculative Realism. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. - Meillassoux, Quentin (2008). After Finitude: An Essay on the Necessity of Contingency. New York: Continuum. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Niki Young |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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