E37: The Memory of an Old Idea No One Ever Had - Derrida’s Hauntology

To be or not to be, that’s the question, isn’t it?

In this episode, we Dawdlers discuss Jacques Derrida’s idea “Hauntology.” Not an easy philosopher to understand, we do our best to work out what spooks a Frenchman. In the end, this was but a first foray into the thoughts of an intellect that dealt in as much enigma as he did in misunderstanding.

Happy Halloween you cavity-riddled chompers!

-Dawds

P.s. Be warned, there’s some narration in this one.

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00:03:40 – First narration interruption

00:04:54 – Background to Derrida and Deconstruction

00:10:43 – (Metaphysical) Hauntology // Temporal and ontological disjunction // Melody example // Specters of Marx // Commodity/value example // The word itself

00:26:17 – (Cultural) Hauntology // Mark Fisher’s “Ghosts of My Life” // The slow cancellation of the future // Anachronism

00:33:15 – Second narration interruption

00:34:51 – (Cultural) Hauntology cont’d // Role in society and economy // Another Einstein-Brian Greene spacetime loaf idea comparison

00:51:54 – Harland asks, “So what?”

00:52:53 – Third narration interruption

00:53:52 – Ryan’s answer to Harland’s question // Part 1: improving judgments and decision making // Part 2: Hauntology is a symptom of important human cognitive processes // Conceptual blending // Arthur Koestler’s Buddhist monk riddle // Foreshadowing the next episode