Indexicalism

'One of the most important books in metaphysics to appear in recent years. Arguing that our metaphysical, epistemological, and ultimately ethical engagements with the world must fundamentally affirm the existence of indexicals, Bensusan's position is both radically new and yet centrally situated within the most significant currents of contemporary philosophy.' Paul M. Livingston, University of New Mexico 'This invaluable work interrupts metaphysical speculation to show how receptivity is always grounded in hospitality. The horizon of thought is determined by that which lies beyond it. The others who remain outside resist totality, thus freeing us for infinite responsibility. Bensusan's paradoxico-metaphysics allows us to warmly welcome the Other's call.' Christopher RayAlexander A radical new metaphysics where reality is not substantive but is indexical Hilan Bensusan clarifies the logic and structure of an essentially situated and indexical metaphysics that adds a paradoxical new chapter to the critique of metaphysics. The book articulates a metaphysical view of the other, both human and non-human (or the Great Outdoors as Meillassoux called it), that can never be totalised into a single or univocal whole. An innovative account of perception is developed, as a matter of our irreducibly situated relationship to this non-totalisable Outdoors. A coda then underscores the social-political implications of the critical position of this radical metaphysics through a post-colonial meditation on the sites of Potosi and Yasuní National Park. Engaging with analytic and continental philosophy, Bensusan enlists Levinas, Whitehead, Heidegger, Kripke, Deleuze, Derrida, Benso, Harman, Garcia, Cogburn, McDowell and Haraway, in such a way that proves to be transformative for both crucial aspects of their work, as well as for contemporary approaches to thinking about what it means to be in our world and to reckon with the responsibilities that press upon us from the outside. Hilan Bensusan is Professor of Contemporary Philosophy at the University de Brasilia, Brazil. Cover image: (c) Raquel Nava Cover design: Stuart Dalziel [EUP logo] edinburghuniversitypress.com ISBN 978-1-4744-8029-1 [PPC] ISBN 978-1-4744-8030-7 [cover] Barcode