The Object of Description is the Description of the Object So Far: Non-dualism and Beyond

Weber, Stefan

Volume 3 · Number 3 · Pages 140–147

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The Object of Description is the Description of the Object So Far: Non-dualism and Beyond

Stefan Weber

Abstract

Context: The short history of the reception of the philosophy of non-dualism in science is a history of misunderstandings and cursory reception – the latter especially concerns Mitterer’s main work Das Jenseits der Philosophie (The Beyond of Philosophy, which still has not been translated into English). Non-dualism so far is mostly seen either as a kind of constructivism replacing the rhetoric of “construction” with a rhetoric of “description” or as an overall philosophical critique of the use of dualisms, dichotomies or polarities in epistemological contexts. The core arguments of non-dualism are often completely ignored. This paper wishes to discuss them precisely and draw some conclusions. Approach: Close critical reading of Mitterer’s texts, trying to avoid as many translation gaps as possible. Findings: Non-dualism reveals the infinite regress of classical philosophy of language: the categorical differentiation between language and the world leads to a systematic contradiction. While non-dualism also helps to deconstruct the pretension to speak “about reality” or to claim that “in fact” something is the case in everyday life, non-dualism refrains from giving satisfying answers to the great questions of mankind in the “metaphysical” context: questions of starting points/origins, meanings, causes, and the (implicitness of the) time arrow. Benefits: The intention of this paper is to stimulate a broader discussion – so far limited by language – extending it beyond German and Polish scientific circles.

Key words: language/object, realism-constructivism controversy, Mitterer’s indication of the object (“Objektangabe”), Wittgenstein’s aspect seeing (“Aspektsehen”), arrow of time

Citation

Weber S. (2008) The object of description is the description of the object so far: Non-dualism and beyond. Constructivist Foundations 3(3): 140–147. http://constructivist.info/3/3/140

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