Philosophy Program Presents
Philosophy Salon: Kant's Fear of Sex and the Dark: On Fantasy and Obscure Representations
Friday, October 28, 2022
Barringer House Global Classroom
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
Francey Russell, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Barnard College and Columbia University
Throughout his lectures on anthropology and in the published work, Kant describes an unruly form of thinking that he calls fantasy and an usual kind of mental state that he calls "obscure representations." Fantasy, for Kant, is imaginative activity that is "unreined and unruled" by the understanding, that is not object-directed, that is only "dimly conscious," and that is essentially private. What is most striking in these discussions is first, Kant's ethical-aesthetic-pragmatic claim that we human beings “have an interest” in obscurity and enjoy "walking in the dark;" this means we need to clarify the relationship between the pleasure of fantasy and the pleasure of aesthetic judgment. Second, Kant suggests that sexual attraction exemplifies and is constituted by this pleasurably obscure kind of thinking. In this paper I'll give an account of fantasy and obscure representation, clarify its relationship with aesthetic judgment, and argue that it facilitates an alternative interpretation of why Kant thinks sex is morally and psychologically risky. I'll close by raising an important evaluative question. If we want to resist Kant's condemnation of this kind of thinking and this kind of pleasure, we must ask ourselves: what is the good of it?For more information, call 845-758-6822, or e-mail [email protected].
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
Location: Barringer House Global Classroom