QA 42. Notes on “Useless suffering”

  • Posted by Helen Douglas
  • On June 29, 2013
A brief reading of the essay by Emmanuel Levinas Phenomenology What is the lived experience of suffering? To an extent, it’s like any other sensory experience, like seeing green or tasting sweet. What sets suffering apart is the way it is too much to bear. We can’t get on top of it or get hold […]
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QA 40. Apr 2013. The ignorant emancipated philosopher

  • Posted by Helen Douglas
  • On April 5, 2013
Last week I attended “Phenomenology and Its Futures”, the inaugural conference of the South African Centre for Phenomenology – and a splendid conference it was! I spoke on “Philosophy as a practice of emancipation”. Followers of this blog will know I’ve been beavering away at this for a while. The paper described my philosophical counselling practice […]
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QA 39. Feb 2013. I am, therefore I think

  • Posted by Helen Douglas
  • On February 22, 2013
“We have a duty to change our mode of thinking,” said David Harvey in a 2010 talk on the crises of capitalism, and I’ve been chanting it ever since. Recently, someone took me to task. “Do you really believe thinking changes anything?” I was astonished. (In my experience, it’s the only thing that has.) “I […]
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QA 38. January 2013. Rocking the foundations of thought

  • Posted by Helen Douglas
  • On January 25, 2013
Education systems that render people stupid, mental health treatment that renders people mad, religions that render people wicked, economies that render people poor, political systems that render people powerless. How is it that our social systems break down (render) precisely what they are meant to serve (render to)?
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