The Flat Ontology of Emergence

Graham Harman (American University in Cairo)

The Emergence of Experience, Lecture Series Institute of Advanced Study University of Durham, 2014-2015

Graham Harman

The Flat Ontology of Emergence

Monday, 15 December, 18.00 for 18.15-20.00

Room ER 140, Elvet Riverside 1

Object-oriented philosophy begins by insisting that objects, at all scales, must not be reduced either downwards to their smallest components (undermining), upward to their observable effects (overmining), or both of these simultaneously (duomining). Most schools in the history of Western philosophy have either performed such reductions explicitly, or lapsed into them eventually despite contrary intentions. But given that all literal explanations of objects require either undermining or overmining methods, we seem to be left with little to say about objects once we discard both of these tools. Here I will address this theme, explaining how to talk about objects without making them disappear in favor of either their components or their effects.