Heidegger without Man?: The Ontological Basis of Lyotard’s Later Antihumanism

Authors

  • Matthew R. McLennan University of Ottawa / Carleton University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/jffp.2013.607

Keywords:

Lyotard, Heidegger, Humanism, Antihumanism

Abstract

The author argues thatJean-François Lyotard’s later antihumanism may be plausibly read as aradicalization of Heidegger’s, on the grounds that a) the philosophy of Beingas Event or Ereignis forms theontological basis of Lyotard’s antihumanism, and b) Lyotard reconfigures theplace of the human being vis-à-vis the revelation of Being – specifically,denying that humankind is the clearing in which Being reveals itself, andtherefore a privileged zone of dispensation. Rather, Being as Ereignis – linguistically cashed out forLyotard, as phrases – structures the human being completely, denying humanmastery of language and thereby decentring human beings as subjects of ethics.

Author Biography

Matthew R. McLennan, University of Ottawa / Carleton University

Matthew R. McLennan is a sessional instructor of philosophy at Carleton University, and teaches in various faculties at the University of Ottawa. His area of specialization is 20th Century French philosophy, with an emphasis on the moral dimensons of French Marxism, structuralism and poststructuralism.

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Published

2013-12-11