Error, Truth, and Anxiety against Death: Reading Georges Canguilhem’s ‘On Science and Counter-Science’.

Philosophy, Politics and Critique 1 (3):349-358 (2024)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Here I consider Georges Canguilhem's remarkable essay ‘On Science and Counter-Science’ (1971) as a reflection on both the life and the philosophy of his departed friend Jean Hyppolite. I begin by suggesting that Canguilhem's essay takes up and critiques Hyppolite's critique of empirical reason in Logic and Existence (1953). Drawing upon materials from the Canguilhem archives, I then demonstrate that Canguilhem composed the 1971 essay by returning to and drawing from a seminar he gave in 1955–56 on ‘Science and Error’. I consider the significance of this ‘return’ as a kind of memento mori. In ‘On Science and Counter-Science’ Canguilhem pursues a vivid account of the significance of error within (scientific) reason, as caught between the twin poles of Cartesian correction and Nietzschean affirmation. In his refusal to choose between these poles, Canguilhem affirms the restless vital quality of the trace of the concept, which destabilises the perfection of death and the absolute.

Author's Profile

Christopher O'Neill
Deakin University

Analytics

Added to PP
2024-10-30

Downloads
52 (#98,776)

6 months
52 (#91,559)

Historical graph of downloads since first upload
This graph includes both downloads from PhilArchive and clicks on external links on PhilPapers.
How can I increase my downloads?