Symbols and politics

Paul Bruno

pp. 189-205

in: Véronique Fóti, Pavlos Kontos (eds), Phenomenology and the primacy of the political, Berlin, Springer, 2017

Abstract

"We will talk about speculation and judgment." These are the words uttered in my mind's ear with the sonorous whisper of his French-Belgian accent that came to mind when I thought of writing something in honor of Professor Jacques Taminiaux. It was common for him to begin class with such an introduction coupled with the forewarning that our discussion must inevitably be "provisional." Mining the history of philosophy requires of our attempt a willingness to continually ask the questions that preceded the questions that preceded the questions. It may well be that the history of philosophy is, as Whitehead averred, a footnote to Plato, but as Taminiaux knew well, Plato's philosophizing was always "in the shadow of the work of art." Indeed, it was Taminiaux's approach to philosophizing that inspired my attempt—humble and provisional to be sure—to explore the roots of the concept of genius as it emerged in Immanuel Kant's thought.

Cited authors

Kant Immanuel

Taminiaux Jacques

Plato