- University of Toronto, Victoria College: Ideas for the World, Faculty Memberadd
- Continental Philosophy, Noam Chomsky, Jean Jaques Rousseau, Ethics, Afghanistan, Political Philosophy, and 16 moreHumanities, Adam Smith, Jean Paul Sartre, Friedrich Nietzsche, International Studies, Phenomenology of the body, Hermeneutics, Husserl, Peace Research, Peace and Conflict Studies, Michel Foucault, History of Philosophy, Existentialism, Philosophy, Public Policy, and Françoise Dasturedit
- John Duncan is an Associate Professor at Trinity College in the University of Toronto (U of T). He completed his PhD ... moreJohn Duncan is an Associate Professor at Trinity College in the University of Toronto (U of T). He completed his PhD in the interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Social and Political Thought at York University in 1998, after which he joined the faculty at the University of King’s College in Halifax. In 2002 he founded the society for the study of Existential and Phenomenological Theory and Culture (EPTC) and served as its president until May 2009. During a 2004-05 sabbatical leave he was Ashley Fellow at Trinity College in the University of Toronto, a year in which he co-founded PhaenEx, EPTC's interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal. In the summer of 2005 he was appointed assistant professor and director of the Faculty of Arts and Science major program in Ethics, Society, and Law ("E-S-and-L"), hosted by Trinity College in the U of T, as well as an instructor in the Margaret MacMillan Trinity One Program in public policy, ethics, international relations, and health science, for which he served as director from July 2012 to August 2014. From 2006 to 2011 he was an executive member of the U of T’s Centre for Ethics, for which he organized the October 2011 Public Issues Forum: “On the very idea of a good war: Afghanistan ten years in.” Beginning at Trinity in 2007 and continuing in partnership with Victoria College in the University of Toronto (where he is an associate) from 2010, he co-founded the Humanities for Humanity (“H4H”) engagement/outreach program and remains its academic director. Since 2011 he has served as the academic director for the Theatre for Thought engagement/outreach program, part of Victoria College’ Ideas for the World program. In January 2014 he became the first holder of the appointment of Academic Director for the Ideas for the World program at Victoria. In September 2013 he founded Trinity's Humanities for Humanity.2 (“H4H.2”) engagement/outreach program. He served from June 2013 to June 2015 as Vice President of the Canadian Peace Research Association (CPRA), from June 2015 to July 2017 as the CPRA National Editor, and since June 2015 as a Board Member for Science for Peace at the University of Toronto. In September 2017 he launched the Trinity, U of T Forum on Canadian and Commonwealth Indigenous-Settler Relations. He has co-edited volumes on the thought of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (_Rousseau and Desire_, University of Toronto Press, 2009) and peace studies (_Peace Issues in the 21st Century Global Context_, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017), as well as issues of PhaenEx, and written chapters, articles, reviews and opinion pieces on the history of philosophy, continental philosophy, politics, and engaged/outreach education. His feature article on close air support and civilian casualties in Afghanistan, “Death from Above,” first published in _This Magazine_ (March/April, 2010), was re-published in Tightrope Books’ _The Best Canadian Essays: 2011_.edit
Please disseminate the following CALL widely: CALL FOR JOURNAL SUBMISSIONS: Existential and Phenomenological Theory and Culture The open-access peer-review journal PhaenEx has published 25 issues. The journal's core is the set of... more
Please disseminate the following CALL widely:
CALL FOR JOURNAL SUBMISSIONS: Existential and Phenomenological Theory and Culture
The open-access peer-review journal PhaenEx has published 25 issues. The journal's core is the set of philosophical, literary, political, etc., traditions that develop into, from and against existential and phenomenological theory and culture, but we are open to a wider variety of submissions as long as they are well written and interesting.
Please consider submitting your relevant work.
For more information, please consult the PhaenEx website: https://phaenex.uwindsor.ca/index.php/phaenex
CALL FOR JOURNAL SUBMISSIONS: Existential and Phenomenological Theory and Culture
The open-access peer-review journal PhaenEx has published 25 issues. The journal's core is the set of philosophical, literary, political, etc., traditions that develop into, from and against existential and phenomenological theory and culture, but we are open to a wider variety of submissions as long as they are well written and interesting.
Please consider submitting your relevant work.
For more information, please consult the PhaenEx website: https://phaenex.uwindsor.ca/index.php/phaenex
Research Interests:
Since the two Hague (Netherlands) multilateral peace conferences of 1899 and 1907, the fundamental issue of world peace and its long-term realization has engaged scholars, diplomats, statesmen, and students of international relations.... more
Since the two Hague (Netherlands) multilateral peace conferences of 1899 and 1907, the fundamental issue of world peace and its long-term realization has engaged scholars, diplomats, statesmen, and students of international relations. This book presents a new endeavor in this direction through a collection of papers selected from the recent conferences of the Canadian Peace Research Association and independent scholars. Descriptive, analytical, constructive and balanced ideas and solutions in this text represent alternatives for the global community to be collectively secure and peaceful.
This volume examines world peace in its foundational, descriptive, conceptual, and prescriptive aspects, and as a social and human concept in positive and negative contexts, including: the nonviolent perspective of peace; women theorists on peace and war; empowerment of women as peacemakers; and, peace research and education under siege. On violence and war, the topics included are the theory of violence, the new faces of war, including military robots, electromagnetic and information weapons, the cyber warfare and the militarization of neuroscience. In the area of case studies, Iran and nuclear deterrence, the Baha’i faith and Iran; the Western Sahara, Sudan and South Sudan, and the challenges of a Palestinian Nation are analysed. In addition, there is focus on the need to establish a Department of Peace in Canada and an attempt to seek establishment of world peace through direct democracy.
This book will advance an understanding of the historic struggle and failures, as well as the accomplishments and shortcomings for peaceful change and a just world order. It will be of direct interest to students of political science, diplomacy, history, social science, international law, human rights, and other cognate disciplines.
This volume examines world peace in its foundational, descriptive, conceptual, and prescriptive aspects, and as a social and human concept in positive and negative contexts, including: the nonviolent perspective of peace; women theorists on peace and war; empowerment of women as peacemakers; and, peace research and education under siege. On violence and war, the topics included are the theory of violence, the new faces of war, including military robots, electromagnetic and information weapons, the cyber warfare and the militarization of neuroscience. In the area of case studies, Iran and nuclear deterrence, the Baha’i faith and Iran; the Western Sahara, Sudan and South Sudan, and the challenges of a Palestinian Nation are analysed. In addition, there is focus on the need to establish a Department of Peace in Canada and an attempt to seek establishment of world peace through direct democracy.
This book will advance an understanding of the historic struggle and failures, as well as the accomplishments and shortcomings for peaceful change and a just world order. It will be of direct interest to students of political science, diplomacy, history, social science, international law, human rights, and other cognate disciplines.
Research Interests:
The nature and meaning of desire in Jean-Jacques Rousseau's work have thus far received little attention in Rousseau scholarship. *Rousseau and Desire* is the first examination of the eighteenth-century philosopher's conceptualization of... more
The nature and meaning of desire in Jean-Jacques Rousseau's work have thus far received little attention in Rousseau scholarship. *Rousseau and Desire* is the first examination of the eighteenth-century philosopher's conceptualization of desire in relation to his understanding of modernity.
The essays in this interdisciplinary collection combine close textual analyses with historical and intellectual inquiry to present a complex, yet concise portrayal of desire in Rousseau's political thought. Broad in scope, Rousseau and Desire opens new fields of inquiry by exploring Rousseau's formulation of desire as it relates to a range of subjects, including feminist phenomenology, political theory, natural reproduction, and early modern economic thought. As a whole, this important volume of essays ultimately affirms that the place of desire in Rousseau's work is integral to our understanding of this seminal thinker and, by extension, the notion of the self in modernity.
Mark Blackell is a professor in the Liberal Studies Department at Vancouver Island University.
John Duncan is the director of Ethics, Society, and Law at Trinity College, University of Toronto.
Simon Kow is an associate professor in the Early Modern Studies Programme at the University of King's College.
The essays in this interdisciplinary collection combine close textual analyses with historical and intellectual inquiry to present a complex, yet concise portrayal of desire in Rousseau's political thought. Broad in scope, Rousseau and Desire opens new fields of inquiry by exploring Rousseau's formulation of desire as it relates to a range of subjects, including feminist phenomenology, political theory, natural reproduction, and early modern economic thought. As a whole, this important volume of essays ultimately affirms that the place of desire in Rousseau's work is integral to our understanding of this seminal thinker and, by extension, the notion of the self in modernity.
Mark Blackell is a professor in the Liberal Studies Department at Vancouver Island University.
John Duncan is the director of Ethics, Society, and Law at Trinity College, University of Toronto.
Simon Kow is an associate professor in the Early Modern Studies Programme at the University of King's College.
Research Interests:
~1300 words
In The Science for Peace Newsletter Issue 25
February 24, 2023
…
Focus on Members: John Duncan
A Peace Odyssey from the Disastrous Afghanistan War to the War in Ukraine
In The Science for Peace Newsletter Issue 25
February 24, 2023
…
Focus on Members: John Duncan
A Peace Odyssey from the Disastrous Afghanistan War to the War in Ukraine
Research Interests:
A 900-word commentary/analysis in _The Conversation_ (Canada edition, March 13, 2022), arguing that NATO's expansion, refusal to negotiate Ukrainian neutrality, and explicit policy both to withhold NATO troops and to confine the war to... more
A 900-word commentary/analysis in _The Conversation_ (Canada edition, March 13, 2022), arguing that NATO's expansion, refusal to negotiate Ukrainian neutrality, and explicit policy both to withhold NATO troops and to confine the war to Ukraine, have set the stage for a tragedy we must hope does not spill beyond Ukraine or conventional warfare: https://theconversation.com/3-nato-gambles-that-have-played-a-big-role-in-the-horrors-of-war-in-ukraine-178815?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=bylinetwitterbutton
Research Interests:
2700-word comment piece on COVID-19, worse than Ebola (Feb 26, 2022) -- available at link: https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/covid-19a-perfect-storm As we approach a third pandemic spring in Canada we are surfing down the... more
2700-word comment piece on COVID-19, worse than Ebola (Feb 26, 2022) -- available at link: https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/covid-19a-perfect-storm
As we approach a third pandemic spring in Canada we are surfing down the tail of a fifth COVID-19 wave. The spring weather promises open windows and more outdoor activities, which decreases viral transmission. Furthermore, being a rapid spreader, the Omicron variant has been infecting millions, but because most of us (at least in counties like Canada) are now well-vaccinated, the majority of those infected have been suffering relatively mild symptoms, creating the sense that we can start returning to pre-pandemic life, and live with COVID-19 as if it were another one of the coronavirus colds already circulating in the population.
The coincidence of the coming spring, the Omicron tail, and thorough vaccination coverage seems to be lighting the fuse for an explosive rebound from two years of restrictive pandemic measures, propelling everyone toward a summer of freedom. We may even hope we are riding out the pandemic’s final wave.
During our first pandemic spring, I wrote an essay for Canadian Dimension, in which I explored what we knew then about the new virus in the context of Albert Camus’ seminal 1947 novel The Plague. Two years later, the message remains similar: if COVID-19 has fight left in it, mere hope will do nothing to deter it. After five waves we are permitted to cross our fingers, but we are obliged to prepare for more.
....
As we approach a third pandemic spring in Canada we are surfing down the tail of a fifth COVID-19 wave. The spring weather promises open windows and more outdoor activities, which decreases viral transmission. Furthermore, being a rapid spreader, the Omicron variant has been infecting millions, but because most of us (at least in counties like Canada) are now well-vaccinated, the majority of those infected have been suffering relatively mild symptoms, creating the sense that we can start returning to pre-pandemic life, and live with COVID-19 as if it were another one of the coronavirus colds already circulating in the population.
The coincidence of the coming spring, the Omicron tail, and thorough vaccination coverage seems to be lighting the fuse for an explosive rebound from two years of restrictive pandemic measures, propelling everyone toward a summer of freedom. We may even hope we are riding out the pandemic’s final wave.
During our first pandemic spring, I wrote an essay for Canadian Dimension, in which I explored what we knew then about the new virus in the context of Albert Camus’ seminal 1947 novel The Plague. Two years later, the message remains similar: if COVID-19 has fight left in it, mere hope will do nothing to deter it. After five waves we are permitted to cross our fingers, but we are obliged to prepare for more.
....
Research Interests:
~1150 word comment piece on the war, with background. Available at link: https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/our-disastrous-war-in-afghanistan
Research Interests:
Duncan, John (2020). The Relation/Difference between Spirit and Nature in Horkheimer and Adorno. Researcher. European Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences. 2 (3), 97–115. Abstract: Horkheimer’s 1947 Eclipse of Reason is examined... more
Duncan, John (2020). The Relation/Difference between Spirit and Nature in Horkheimer and Adorno. Researcher. European Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences. 2 (3), 97–115.
Abstract: Horkheimer’s 1947 Eclipse of Reason is examined closely in order to develop a fundamental approach regarding the relation and difference between spirit and nature. Adorno’s 1969 “Subject and Object” is also examined, in order to develop its relevant contributions to the approach. Horkheimer’s largely Freudian major critical argument most often has its sights set on late modern realist philosophical traditions. Adorno is critically concerned with late modern idealist philosophical traditions, and the problem of constitution with respect to the relation and difference between subject and object. It is in the domain of the complicated between of relation/difference that we find crucial philosophical roots of the social and political critique of instrumental reason made by the first generation Frankfurt School.
Abstract: Horkheimer’s 1947 Eclipse of Reason is examined closely in order to develop a fundamental approach regarding the relation and difference between spirit and nature. Adorno’s 1969 “Subject and Object” is also examined, in order to develop its relevant contributions to the approach. Horkheimer’s largely Freudian major critical argument most often has its sights set on late modern realist philosophical traditions. Adorno is critically concerned with late modern idealist philosophical traditions, and the problem of constitution with respect to the relation and difference between subject and object. It is in the domain of the complicated between of relation/difference that we find crucial philosophical roots of the social and political critique of instrumental reason made by the first generation Frankfurt School.
Research Interests:
2,745 words on the COVID-19 pandemic in the light of Albert Camus' _The Plague_. Published June 1, 2020
Research Interests: Albert Camus and Covid-19
Special Topic Issue of PhaenEx (available: https://phaenex.uwindsor.ca/index.php/phaenex/issue/archive)
Issue Editors : Iulian Apostolescu and Susi Ferrarello
PhaenEx Managing Editor: John Duncan
Issue Editors : Iulian Apostolescu and Susi Ferrarello
PhaenEx Managing Editor: John Duncan
Research Interests:
This 2,000-word magazine article is focused on the current U.S.-led strategy of "maximum pressure" on Iran, with its goals of regime change or regime collapse. However, the strategy is set in the intersecting contexts of (1) the failed... more
This 2,000-word magazine article is focused on the current U.S.-led strategy of "maximum pressure" on Iran, with its goals of regime change or regime collapse. However, the strategy is set in the intersecting contexts of (1) the failed US-led regime change strategies of the last 20 years (from Afghanistan to Venezuela), and (2) the relevant consequences of the 1953 US-led change of regime in Iran.
John Duncan, “Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ Iran strategy in historical perspective,” Canadian Dimension, February 21, 2020: https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/trumps-maximum-pressure-iran-strategy-history
John Duncan, “Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ Iran strategy in historical perspective,” Canadian Dimension, February 21, 2020: https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/trumps-maximum-pressure-iran-strategy-history
Research Interests:
Editorial Introduction for PhaenEx 13.1 (Spring 2019) on --Commodity Fetishism, Colonialism, Fanon & Marx, --Ecstasy, Phenomenology & Colin Wilson, & --Dance, Social Imagination & Castoriadis, plus reviews on --Foucault & on Hegel... more
Editorial Introduction for PhaenEx 13.1 (Spring 2019) on
--Commodity Fetishism, Colonialism, Fanon & Marx,
--Ecstasy, Phenomenology & Colin Wilson, &
--Dance, Social Imagination & Castoriadis, plus reviews on
--Foucault & on Hegel
https://phaenex.uwindsor.ca/index.php/phaenex/issue/view/544
--Commodity Fetishism, Colonialism, Fanon & Marx,
--Ecstasy, Phenomenology & Colin Wilson, &
--Dance, Social Imagination & Castoriadis, plus reviews on
--Foucault & on Hegel
https://phaenex.uwindsor.ca/index.php/phaenex/issue/view/544
Comment piece argues that there is significant reasonable support for Maduro in Venezuela. We ignore this support foolishly.
Research Interests:
Discussion of "slavery is a choice" -- on Kanye West, racism, torture, freedom, robots and Jean-Paul Sartre. Published by The Cultural History of Philosophy blog (https://blogs.history.qmul.ac.uk/philosophy/) hosted by the School of... more
Discussion of "slavery is a choice" -- on Kanye West, racism, torture, freedom, robots and Jean-Paul Sartre.
Published by The Cultural History of Philosophy blog (https://blogs.history.qmul.ac.uk/philosophy/) hosted by the School of History at Queen Mary University of London, edited by Dr Thomas Dixon (https://qmul.academia.edu/ThomasDixon).
Published by The Cultural History of Philosophy blog (https://blogs.history.qmul.ac.uk/philosophy/) hosted by the School of History at Queen Mary University of London, edited by Dr Thomas Dixon (https://qmul.academia.edu/ThomasDixon).
Research Interests:
Since 2007, the Humanities for Humanity (“H4H”) course has brought together student experience beyond the classroom, educational experiences for community members who could not otherwise attend university, discussion of social justice,... more
Since 2007, the Humanities for Humanity (“H4H”) course has brought together student experience beyond the classroom, educational experiences for community members who could not otherwise attend university, discussion of social justice, and studies in the humanities. By discussing a selection of rich and influential primary texts from the humanities, course members are introduced to a rudimentary history of the present, focussing on who we have become as members of a concrete social and political reality intersected by capitalism, bureaucracy, liberalism, socialism, anti-essentialism, and post-colonialism. Both the texts and the student-participant encounters are rich, and the sessions are guided by two central classical ideals: the activity of learning is primarily an end in itself, and the most important thing to learn may be who we are. The core course content of H4H is outlined, and the ways in which H4H connects student mentors and community participants are discussed. Implications are drawn regarding what makes H4H a unique form of community service-learning in which service is virtually eclipsed by learning in a process that subverts barriers between people.
Research Interests:
Iran is not an irrational terrorist state aimed at regional or global domination. Rather, a recent history of neo-colonial subjugation, failed secular nationalism, and powerful cultural-religious nationalism have made this large,... more
Iran is not an irrational terrorist state aimed at regional or global domination. Rather, a recent history of neo-colonial subjugation, failed secular nationalism, and powerful cultural-religious nationalism have made this large, strategically located, and petroleum-rich state calculating and assertive regarding its interest in establishing itself as a major player in a hostile region and world system. Iran is fixed in the crosshairs of the U.S. and the latter’s regional allies, which generates an interest in nuclear deterrence, itself deepening the conflict. Barring changes at the fundamental levels of identity that constitute the hostility, which are unlikely, it is difficult to see how resolution of the nuclear issue can advance significantly. Many problems remain in play, and so optimism about progress on the nuclear issue must be cautious.
Research Interests:
"The war that never left Afghanistan" Afghanistan has been notoriously easy to seize but difficult to hold. John Duncan explains why the country’s lack of centralized government has kept effective and ongoing occupation out of reach for... more
"The war that never left Afghanistan"
Afghanistan has been notoriously easy to seize but difficult to hold. John Duncan explains why the country’s lack of centralized government has kept effective and ongoing occupation out of reach for one great power after another.
BY: JOHN DUNCAN / JULY 26, 2016
https://www.opencanada.org/features/war-never-left-afghanistan/
Afghanistan has been notoriously easy to seize but difficult to hold. John Duncan explains why the country’s lack of centralized government has kept effective and ongoing occupation out of reach for one great power after another.
BY: JOHN DUNCAN / JULY 26, 2016
https://www.opencanada.org/features/war-never-left-afghanistan/
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The interview is copy-pasted here, but please see the original with proper formatting in the linked magazine. John Duncan: Your book is a moving collection of stories about events in Afghanistan that gives readers an intimate view of... more
The interview is copy-pasted here, but please see the original with proper formatting in the linked magazine.
John Duncan: Your book is a moving collection of stories about events in Afghanistan that gives readers an intimate view of a distant and complex struggle. How did you select and document events, and craft the stories?
Graeme Smith: You give me too much credit with the delicate phrase, ‘select and document events,’ because in reality I spent a few years in southern Afghanistan as a journalist, recording audio: interviews, conversations, sometimes whole days of battle.
Then I sat down in cafés from Toronto to Delhi, plugged in my headphones, and leafed through my stacks of notebooks. Some-times I sat there and stared into space with glassy eyes, completely overwhelmed by memory and the task of condensing the awful chaos into book chapters. What you get is a collection of stories that, hopefully, provide an intuitive sense of that strange time when NATO, the greatest military alliance in history, screwed up its biggest mission outside of its own territory.
JD: An arc of the book runs from untutored hopes to an experience-based skepticism. What is your sense of learning curves in the intervention?
GS: Afghanistan made me deeply interested in the various ways the international community learns — or, more often, fails to learn. You had this collection of multilateral agencies, donor countries, military organizations, intelligence groups, private actors — the whole circus — failing to think clearly about what was happening. Information did not percolate from the ground up to the decision-makers; major organizations failed to reach consensus about basic facts. As we speak, more than a dozen years into the intervention, the Pentagon and the UN have published divergent assessments of the 2013 fighting season. The Pentagon says fighting cooled down, and the UN says it heated up. These should not be matters of debate. We should be able to count how many things go ‘bang,’ how many explosions, assassinations, attacks. Personally, after extensive field research in 2013, I’m convinced the Pentagon is wrong. This war is escalating. You can label me a skeptic, but I would suggest that such labels also represent shoddy thinking. Should we be optimistic about the Afghan forces’ ability to stand on their own, and pull out all the international troops? Should we be pessimistic about corruption in the Government and cut off the supply of aid funding? I’d say ‘no’ to both questions. This false dichotomy between optimism and pessimism, between pro- and anti-war camps, has clouded our ability to figure out what’s best for Afghanistan. We need to be clear in our understanding that the situation has gotten worse in the last several years and think about ways of mitigating the problems.
JD: What is the most important thing you would tell Canadians about Afghanistan?
GS: Canadians need to know that their soldiers, and other personnel generally worked very hard in Afghanistan and did their best to salvage a good outcome from a difficult situation. That’s part of why the whole thing is so heartbreaking. Blood, sweat, tears, millions of dollars — we gave it everything.
JD: Why did you leave the Globe and Mail, and what is it like to work for the International Crisis Group in Afghanistan?
GS: I quit my dream job with a great newspaper because I wanted a front-row seat as Afghanistan went through the troop withdrawals of 2014. I was offered a job in Kabul and I leaped at the opportunity. I’m still a writer, except now my writing has footnotes, which, surprisingly, are fun. Wouldn’t it be great if newspapers had footnotes? Life in the wealthy heart of Kabul remains mostly safe — a world apart from the rest of Afghanistan. My girlfriend and I take yoga and salsa classes. I like to cook, which makes up for the lack of great restaurants.
John Duncan: Your book is a moving collection of stories about events in Afghanistan that gives readers an intimate view of a distant and complex struggle. How did you select and document events, and craft the stories?
Graeme Smith: You give me too much credit with the delicate phrase, ‘select and document events,’ because in reality I spent a few years in southern Afghanistan as a journalist, recording audio: interviews, conversations, sometimes whole days of battle.
Then I sat down in cafés from Toronto to Delhi, plugged in my headphones, and leafed through my stacks of notebooks. Some-times I sat there and stared into space with glassy eyes, completely overwhelmed by memory and the task of condensing the awful chaos into book chapters. What you get is a collection of stories that, hopefully, provide an intuitive sense of that strange time when NATO, the greatest military alliance in history, screwed up its biggest mission outside of its own territory.
JD: An arc of the book runs from untutored hopes to an experience-based skepticism. What is your sense of learning curves in the intervention?
GS: Afghanistan made me deeply interested in the various ways the international community learns — or, more often, fails to learn. You had this collection of multilateral agencies, donor countries, military organizations, intelligence groups, private actors — the whole circus — failing to think clearly about what was happening. Information did not percolate from the ground up to the decision-makers; major organizations failed to reach consensus about basic facts. As we speak, more than a dozen years into the intervention, the Pentagon and the UN have published divergent assessments of the 2013 fighting season. The Pentagon says fighting cooled down, and the UN says it heated up. These should not be matters of debate. We should be able to count how many things go ‘bang,’ how many explosions, assassinations, attacks. Personally, after extensive field research in 2013, I’m convinced the Pentagon is wrong. This war is escalating. You can label me a skeptic, but I would suggest that such labels also represent shoddy thinking. Should we be optimistic about the Afghan forces’ ability to stand on their own, and pull out all the international troops? Should we be pessimistic about corruption in the Government and cut off the supply of aid funding? I’d say ‘no’ to both questions. This false dichotomy between optimism and pessimism, between pro- and anti-war camps, has clouded our ability to figure out what’s best for Afghanistan. We need to be clear in our understanding that the situation has gotten worse in the last several years and think about ways of mitigating the problems.
JD: What is the most important thing you would tell Canadians about Afghanistan?
GS: Canadians need to know that their soldiers, and other personnel generally worked very hard in Afghanistan and did their best to salvage a good outcome from a difficult situation. That’s part of why the whole thing is so heartbreaking. Blood, sweat, tears, millions of dollars — we gave it everything.
JD: Why did you leave the Globe and Mail, and what is it like to work for the International Crisis Group in Afghanistan?
GS: I quit my dream job with a great newspaper because I wanted a front-row seat as Afghanistan went through the troop withdrawals of 2014. I was offered a job in Kabul and I leaped at the opportunity. I’m still a writer, except now my writing has footnotes, which, surprisingly, are fun. Wouldn’t it be great if newspapers had footnotes? Life in the wealthy heart of Kabul remains mostly safe — a world apart from the rest of Afghanistan. My girlfriend and I take yoga and salsa classes. I like to cook, which makes up for the lack of great restaurants.
Research Interests:
The interview is copy-pasted here, but please see the original with proper formatting in the linked magazine. John Duncan: As a successful Harvard academic you had an impact, for example in the development of the Responsibility to... more
The interview is copy-pasted here, but please see the original with proper formatting in the linked magazine.
John Duncan: As a successful Harvard academic you had an impact, for example in the development of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine, an emerging international norm designed to stop mass atrocities. You left that to enter Canadian politics, and toward the end of your book you say that political life can drive intellectual curiosity out of your system. Is there some kind of incommensurability between academic ideas and politics?
Michael Ignatieff: Ideas are immensely important in politics: to differentiate yourself from the competition, to define yourself as a political actor and to inspire your followers. I had a few ideas in politics: the idea that we should recognize the national identity of Quebeckers, the idea that we should eliminate all remaining obstacles to postsecondary education (‘if you get the grades you get to go’), the idea of a national home-care payment to ensure that families aren’t crushed by the burden of looking after loved ones; and quite a few more — but these were policy ideas, not academic ideas. A politician’s job is to translate good ideas into effective ones, and I don’t think there’s any incommensurability between academic and political thinking in principle: The issue is to create parties smart enough and open enough to welcome academic ideas.
JD: The book portrays challenges unique to the political arena, for which the study of politics is insufficient preparation, including how to navigate the tug of war between authenticity and dissimulation.
MI: Yes, studies of great politicians — Roosevelt, Lincoln, Laurier — show that concealing your hand is essential to successful political strategy, yet too much dissimulation erodes the trust you need in order to win power and govern successfully. Every politician has to navigate that fine line. But nothing in my education prepared me for the adversarial character of politics or for the need to become strategic and armoured. There are some things — politics for example — that can be learned, but they can’t be taught.
JD: Amid the dissimulation, the public apathy, the attack ads, the data monkeys, and the dumpster bills you describe, where do you see the greatest possibilities for a more civil politics in Canada?
MI: I wanted to write a book that would inspire young people to go into politics while at the same time showing them exactly what it feels like. The two purposes are in some tension: you have to have ideals if you’re going into politics and you have to be extremely realistic. The greatest hope for a more civil politics lies in the next generation, in their refusal to play the old games and in their capacity to imagine a better politics. I mean a politics that works from the recognition of the distinction between enemies and adversaries, and that accepts the right of opponents to be in the ring, a politics that fights fair and abides by results even when they go against you, above all a politics willing to listen and engage with those we disagree with, a politics that brings into the arena, finally, those who are disenchanted, disillusioned or excluded.
John Duncan: As a successful Harvard academic you had an impact, for example in the development of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine, an emerging international norm designed to stop mass atrocities. You left that to enter Canadian politics, and toward the end of your book you say that political life can drive intellectual curiosity out of your system. Is there some kind of incommensurability between academic ideas and politics?
Michael Ignatieff: Ideas are immensely important in politics: to differentiate yourself from the competition, to define yourself as a political actor and to inspire your followers. I had a few ideas in politics: the idea that we should recognize the national identity of Quebeckers, the idea that we should eliminate all remaining obstacles to postsecondary education (‘if you get the grades you get to go’), the idea of a national home-care payment to ensure that families aren’t crushed by the burden of looking after loved ones; and quite a few more — but these were policy ideas, not academic ideas. A politician’s job is to translate good ideas into effective ones, and I don’t think there’s any incommensurability between academic and political thinking in principle: The issue is to create parties smart enough and open enough to welcome academic ideas.
JD: The book portrays challenges unique to the political arena, for which the study of politics is insufficient preparation, including how to navigate the tug of war between authenticity and dissimulation.
MI: Yes, studies of great politicians — Roosevelt, Lincoln, Laurier — show that concealing your hand is essential to successful political strategy, yet too much dissimulation erodes the trust you need in order to win power and govern successfully. Every politician has to navigate that fine line. But nothing in my education prepared me for the adversarial character of politics or for the need to become strategic and armoured. There are some things — politics for example — that can be learned, but they can’t be taught.
JD: Amid the dissimulation, the public apathy, the attack ads, the data monkeys, and the dumpster bills you describe, where do you see the greatest possibilities for a more civil politics in Canada?
MI: I wanted to write a book that would inspire young people to go into politics while at the same time showing them exactly what it feels like. The two purposes are in some tension: you have to have ideals if you’re going into politics and you have to be extremely realistic. The greatest hope for a more civil politics lies in the next generation, in their refusal to play the old games and in their capacity to imagine a better politics. I mean a politics that works from the recognition of the distinction between enemies and adversaries, and that accepts the right of opponents to be in the ring, a politics that fights fair and abides by results even when they go against you, above all a politics willing to listen and engage with those we disagree with, a politics that brings into the arena, finally, those who are disenchanted, disillusioned or excluded.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Chapter 12 of _Phenomenology and Virtue Ethics_, edited by Kevin Hermberg and Paul Gyllenhammer. Bloomsbury Publishing, Fall 2013. Descent to the Things Themselves: Th e Virtue of Dissent John Duncan In what follows I explore the... more
Chapter 12 of _Phenomenology and Virtue Ethics_, edited by Kevin Hermberg and Paul Gyllenhammer. Bloomsbury Publishing, Fall 2013.
Descent to the Things Themselves:
Th e Virtue of Dissent
John Duncan
In what follows I explore the classical Greek idea that to live the best life one must understand, and live according to, the natural order of things, but I do so from an existential-phenomenological perspective. Aft er sketching the classical idea, which is a core idea of classical virtue ethics, I turn very briefly to Husserl,
Heidegger, and Nietzsche, but it is Sartre who is at the center of the view developed here — not Sartre the champion of freedom and responsibility, but rather Sartre the literary-phenomenological traveler to the abyss of fundamental existential contingency. Unlike so much of Greek — and indeed Western — thought, the
view developed here advances not by ascending to the summit, but rather by descending into the abyss. Because the apparent order of things is grounded in nothing other than the abyss, if we assent to it we do so for unfounded reasons and lead unphilosophical lives. Such lives cannot be virtuous, for to live
according to an order of things would be to live according to a fundamentally false order. Virtue, which requires understanding and living according to nature, requires living according to fundamental orderlessness. Thus, one is obliged to cultivate behaviors, not of assent, but of dissent, to satisfy the requirements of an existential-phenomenological ethics of virtue. (https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/phenomenology-and-virtue-ethics/ch12-descent-to-the-things-themselves)
From Donald A. Landes' REVIEW: "... John Duncan identifies an important phenomenological (existential) insight. He begins by pointing to an important aspect of the classical Greek virtue tradition that involves understanding and living according to the "natural order of things" (191). Yet the natural order of things is revealed by writers such as Nietzsche and Sartre to in fact be a "fundamental orderlessness," an abyss or a foundational contingency. Thus, phenomenological-existential (and literary) description unmasks precisely the order sought by classical ethics in codes and universalizeable rules. The process of descent, or of uncovering the groundlessness of our "familiar stories and concepts," results in a self that must dissent to that readymade world and reject its mystification. Such a "fundamental dissent" is in fact at the "heart of what we are" as ethical agents, and thus ethical agency requires that we embrace ontological pluralism and the failure of codification. Duncan concludes: "[dissent] is the virtue of existence" (210)." (Landes, https://ndpr.nd.edu/news/phenomenology-and-virtue-ethics/).
Descent to the Things Themselves:
Th e Virtue of Dissent
John Duncan
In what follows I explore the classical Greek idea that to live the best life one must understand, and live according to, the natural order of things, but I do so from an existential-phenomenological perspective. Aft er sketching the classical idea, which is a core idea of classical virtue ethics, I turn very briefly to Husserl,
Heidegger, and Nietzsche, but it is Sartre who is at the center of the view developed here — not Sartre the champion of freedom and responsibility, but rather Sartre the literary-phenomenological traveler to the abyss of fundamental existential contingency. Unlike so much of Greek — and indeed Western — thought, the
view developed here advances not by ascending to the summit, but rather by descending into the abyss. Because the apparent order of things is grounded in nothing other than the abyss, if we assent to it we do so for unfounded reasons and lead unphilosophical lives. Such lives cannot be virtuous, for to live
according to an order of things would be to live according to a fundamentally false order. Virtue, which requires understanding and living according to nature, requires living according to fundamental orderlessness. Thus, one is obliged to cultivate behaviors, not of assent, but of dissent, to satisfy the requirements of an existential-phenomenological ethics of virtue. (https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/phenomenology-and-virtue-ethics/ch12-descent-to-the-things-themselves)
From Donald A. Landes' REVIEW: "... John Duncan identifies an important phenomenological (existential) insight. He begins by pointing to an important aspect of the classical Greek virtue tradition that involves understanding and living according to the "natural order of things" (191). Yet the natural order of things is revealed by writers such as Nietzsche and Sartre to in fact be a "fundamental orderlessness," an abyss or a foundational contingency. Thus, phenomenological-existential (and literary) description unmasks precisely the order sought by classical ethics in codes and universalizeable rules. The process of descent, or of uncovering the groundlessness of our "familiar stories and concepts," results in a self that must dissent to that readymade world and reject its mystification. Such a "fundamental dissent" is in fact at the "heart of what we are" as ethical agents, and thus ethical agency requires that we embrace ontological pluralism and the failure of codification. Duncan concludes: "[dissent] is the virtue of existence" (210)." (Landes, https://ndpr.nd.edu/news/phenomenology-and-virtue-ethics/).
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
NATO close air support, civilian casualties, IEDs, etc., in the Afghanistan war.
Research Interests:
Editor’s introduction: On October 7, 2001, U.S. and U.K. forces began an invasion of Afghanistan aimed at capturing or killing the perpetrators of 9/11, believed to be sheltered there by the Taliban. Canadian forces soon joined the... more
Editor’s introduction:
On October 7, 2001, U.S. and U.K. forces began an invasion of Afghanistan aimed at capturing or killing the perpetrators of 9/11, believed to be sheltered there by the Taliban. Canadian forces soon joined the fray as part of the International Security Assistance Force, beginning The Forces' longest and most controversial military engagement in history.
After nearly a decade on the ground in Afghanistan, reaching nearly 3,000 soldiers at their peak deployment, Canadian combat troops withdrew over the summer of 2011. Approximately 950 personnel are scheduled to remain in Afghanistan through 2014, now focussed on training Afghan security forces, including its army and local police.
As we approach the 10-year mark for Canada’s Afghan mission, _This Magazine_ asked three expert observers to talk about Canada’s role in the war-torn country, what has—and has not—been achieved, and what the legacy of this conflict will be for Canada’s military and diplomatic standing on the world stage.
On October 7, 2001, U.S. and U.K. forces began an invasion of Afghanistan aimed at capturing or killing the perpetrators of 9/11, believed to be sheltered there by the Taliban. Canadian forces soon joined the fray as part of the International Security Assistance Force, beginning The Forces' longest and most controversial military engagement in history.
After nearly a decade on the ground in Afghanistan, reaching nearly 3,000 soldiers at their peak deployment, Canadian combat troops withdrew over the summer of 2011. Approximately 950 personnel are scheduled to remain in Afghanistan through 2014, now focussed on training Afghan security forces, including its army and local police.
As we approach the 10-year mark for Canada’s Afghan mission, _This Magazine_ asked three expert observers to talk about Canada’s role in the war-torn country, what has—and has not—been achieved, and what the legacy of this conflict will be for Canada’s military and diplomatic standing on the world stage.
Research Interests:
First paragraph: In 1818 a 21-year old Mary Shelley published Frankenstein—her first novel—the story of which took on a life of its own, replicating itself countless times and in countless ways throughout modern culture. Almost... more
First paragraph:
In 1818 a 21-year old Mary Shelley published Frankenstein—her first novel—the story of which took on a life of its own, replicating itself countless times and in countless ways throughout modern culture. Almost everyone knows the story of the obsessed scientist working alone in his laboratory to artificially create a living being, and succeeding only to lose control of his creation, which then destroys his life. What many do not know is that Shelley’s novel is very much a meditation on love, its fundamental importance for humans, and the great danger of turning away from it.
In 1818 a 21-year old Mary Shelley published Frankenstein—her first novel—the story of which took on a life of its own, replicating itself countless times and in countless ways throughout modern culture. Almost everyone knows the story of the obsessed scientist working alone in his laboratory to artificially create a living being, and succeeding only to lose control of his creation, which then destroys his life. What many do not know is that Shelley’s novel is very much a meditation on love, its fundamental importance for humans, and the great danger of turning away from it.
Research Interests:
Four encyclopedia articles for: George Thomas Kurian, editor in chief, and James E. Alt, Simone Chambers, Geoffrey Garrett, Margaret Levi, Paula D. McClain, associate editors. The Encyclopedia of Political Science in 5 volumes. (CQ Press:... more
Four encyclopedia articles for: George Thomas Kurian, editor in chief, and James E. Alt, Simone Chambers, Geoffrey Garrett, Margaret Levi, Paula D. McClain, associate editors. The Encyclopedia of Political Science in 5 volumes. (CQ Press: Washington, D.C., 2011). Information at: http://www.amazon.com/The-Encyclopedia-Political-Science-Set/dp/1933116447
--John Duncan, “Camus, Albert,” pages 184-185. (546 words).
--John Duncan, “Rorty, Richard,” pages 1488-1489. (534 words).
-- John Duncan, “Sartre, Jean-Paul,” pages 1509-1510. (541 words).
-- John Duncan, “Sophists,” pages 1574-1575. (523 words).
--John Duncan, “Camus, Albert,” pages 184-185. (546 words).
--John Duncan, “Rorty, Richard,” pages 1488-1489. (534 words).
-- John Duncan, “Sartre, Jean-Paul,” pages 1509-1510. (541 words).
-- John Duncan, “Sophists,” pages 1574-1575. (523 words).
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
In a brief discussion in the Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality among Men (1755), Rousseau advances the view that human beings are distinguished from other animals by free agency. Although it would be appealing to use... more
In a brief discussion in the Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality among Men (1755), Rousseau advances the view that human beings are distinguished from other animals by free agency. Although it would be appealing to use this discussion to interpret the major argument of the Discourse on Inequality, Rousseau himself blocks such an interpretation. Perfectibility—not free agency—drives the text’s major argument, which, advanced via an account of the logic of historical transformation, is that the basic moral and political standard of human existence is nothing other than natural individual independence. Rousseau begins with the three stages that constitute the major epoch of natural custom, the essential feature of which is independence. He then moves to the three stages of the major epoch of artificial custom, the essential feature of which is the loss of independence through the progress of inequality. Transformation beyond each one of the stages of natural custom begins in externality, in matters of chance, whereas transformation throughout the stages of artificial custom is rooted in the mechanism of desire multiplication. In the Discourse on Inequality, with respect to the discursive contexts of mechanism and empiricism in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and given Rousseau’s explicit conceptual replacement of free agency with perfectibility, it is clear that chance and the mechanism of desire multiplication are the forces essential to the logic of historical transformation by which Rousseau argues that the fundamental standard of human existence is natural independence.
I have read it on-line through my own library access point here: http://books2.scholarsportal.info.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/viewdoc.html?id=/ebooks/ebooks2/utpress/2013-03-08/1/9781442685376&page=26
I have read it on-line through my own library access point here: http://books2.scholarsportal.info.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/viewdoc.html?id=/ebooks/ebooks2/utpress/2013-03-08/1/9781442685376&page=26
Research Interests:
The aim of this paper is to present Sartre’s early philosophical anthropology and later existential Marxism as part of the development of a pure Critical Theory that, with respect to its content and with respect to the context of its... more
The aim of this paper is to present Sartre’s early philosophical anthropology and later existential Marxism as part of the development of a pure Critical Theory that, with respect to its content and with respect to the context of its production, informs a trajectory that runs through the events of May ’68. Both Sartre’s pure Critical Theory and the events of May ’68 share deep commitments to possibility, agency, and ethics. A different trajectory that runs through May ’68 is the post-humanism of Foucault, which both contrasts directly with Sartrean Critical Theory, and traces useful boundaries around it and its application. In the twenty-first century, significant elements of a Critical Theory that remains committed to possibility, agency, and ethics, but that pays heed to Foucauldian boundaries, may be seen in the contestation of mainstream politics that at the same time stands on its own as an activism best exemplified by the alternative press. The contestation of propaganda is possible, and its completion requires that agents pit subjects against subjection as the way to a better future.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
In this essay I look at *The Birth of Tragedy* in order to explore two related issues. First, beginning with Nietzsche’s own later critical look back at the book, I argue that in lamenting both the influence of Schopenhauer, and the... more
In this essay I look at *The Birth of Tragedy* in order to explore two related issues. First, beginning with Nietzsche’s own later critical look back at the book, I argue that in lamenting both the influence of Schopenhauer, and the inclusion of an extended discussion of contemporary German culture, Nietzsche underplayed the interdependence of these elements and his analysis of tragedy and its significance in the book. Second, I argue that to understand Nietzsche's Schopenhauerian concept of tragedy we may begin from the perspective of the term's common usage, attending to phenomena often labelled tragic, and glimpsing what holds sway just beneath their surfaces. Ultimately, although Nietzsche's expressed understanding of tragedy in these early years drew heavily on Schopenhauerian pessimism, it nevertheless exceeded that influence.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
John Duncan University of Toronto Quarterly, Volume 75, Number 1, Winter 2006, pp. 169-170 (Review) Published by University of Toronto Press DOI: For additional information about this article Access provided at 24 Oct 2019 14:30 GMT... more
John Duncan
University of Toronto Quarterly, Volume 75, Number 1, Winter 2006, pp. 169-170 (Review)
Published by University of Toronto Press DOI:
For additional information about this article Access provided at 24 Oct 2019 14:30 GMT from University of Toronto Library https://doi.org/10.1353/utq.2006.0054
If the gods annihilated potable water, the air we breathe, the earth's bounty, or the sun's fiery energy, we would be destroyed because we depend on the worldly elements to be the living beings we are. In interesting ways, then, we are the world. However, it has often been argued that we are more than the world. If the worldly elements are merely mechanical in nature, then although they might explain how Socrates' muscles contracted when he walked, for example, they will not explain the reason why he walked into jail to accept his death sentence. Perhaps we are not merely the world, but rather something differentiated from it as well. Perhaps we are also psyches that transcend the world. Philosophers have meandered back and forth across this theoretical landscape for more than two thousand years, and they have reached a variety of interesting impasses, one of the most extreme being substance dualism, according to which our bodies are spatially extended substances of the world, our psyches are incorporeal or unextended substances that transcend the world, and each of us consists of both. Alternatively, it has been argued that we are nothing but body, or nothing but psyche, or even the identity of body and psyche. In The Sense of Space, David Morris follows the lead of the twentieth century phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty, for whom the lived body was a primordial and indivisible unity of body and psyche. For Merleau-Ponty, attempts to account for our embodiment not grounded in this unity were built on mere abstractions, not on the concrete experience of the lived body. Morris does not reply to the philosophical tradition so much as construct a theory of the lived body as explicitly interrelated with
University of Toronto Quarterly, Volume 75, Number 1, Winter 2006, pp. 169-170 (Review)
Published by University of Toronto Press DOI:
For additional information about this article Access provided at 24 Oct 2019 14:30 GMT from University of Toronto Library https://doi.org/10.1353/utq.2006.0054
If the gods annihilated potable water, the air we breathe, the earth's bounty, or the sun's fiery energy, we would be destroyed because we depend on the worldly elements to be the living beings we are. In interesting ways, then, we are the world. However, it has often been argued that we are more than the world. If the worldly elements are merely mechanical in nature, then although they might explain how Socrates' muscles contracted when he walked, for example, they will not explain the reason why he walked into jail to accept his death sentence. Perhaps we are not merely the world, but rather something differentiated from it as well. Perhaps we are also psyches that transcend the world. Philosophers have meandered back and forth across this theoretical landscape for more than two thousand years, and they have reached a variety of interesting impasses, one of the most extreme being substance dualism, according to which our bodies are spatially extended substances of the world, our psyches are incorporeal or unextended substances that transcend the world, and each of us consists of both. Alternatively, it has been argued that we are nothing but body, or nothing but psyche, or even the identity of body and psyche. In The Sense of Space, David Morris follows the lead of the twentieth century phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty, for whom the lived body was a primordial and indivisible unity of body and psyche. For Merleau-Ponty, attempts to account for our embodiment not grounded in this unity were built on mere abstractions, not on the concrete experience of the lived body. Morris does not reply to the philosophical tradition so much as construct a theory of the lived body as explicitly interrelated with
Research Interests:
The paper is discussed in the work of Mary Edwards: https://cardiff.academia.edu/MaryEdwards The paper is critically discussed at length in Steven Hendley’s “Realism and Contingency: Elaborating a Viable Sartrean Response to Rorty’s... more
The paper is discussed in the work of Mary Edwards: https://cardiff.academia.edu/MaryEdwards
The paper is critically discussed at length in Steven Hendley’s “Realism and Contingency: Elaborating a Viable Sartrean Response to Rorty’s Anti-Realism,” in *New Perspectives on Sartre*, edited by Adrian Mirvish and Adrian van den Hoven (Cambridge Scholars Publishing: September, 2010), pages161-177. http://www.cambridgescholars.com/new-perspectives-on-sartre-16
The argument is re-engaged and taken in the direction of virtue ethics in: "Descent to the Things Themselves: The Virtue of Dissent" -- chapter for _Phenomenology and Virtue Ethics_. Editors: Kevin Hermberg and Paul Gyllenhammer. Bloomsbury Publishing, Fall 2013.
ABSTRACT: In *Transcendence of Ego* and *Nausea*, drawing on Edmund Husserl and probably Friedrich Nietzsche, the young Jean-Paul Sartre rejected subjective and objective idealism. The resulting realism-all-the-way-down is developed and compared with Richard Rorty's contextualism. Although contextualism is compelling and comparable to realism-all-the-way-down, the latter does not throw out the baby the former throws out with the bathwater. Realism-all-the-way-down does not throw out realism along with subjective and objective idealism, whereas contextualism throws out the whole lot. If important intuitions recommend realism to us, and if Rorty's rejection of realism is not completely convincing, there are good reasons to prefer realism-all-the-way-down.
For/in Adrian van den Hoven and Andrew Leak, editors. *Sartre Today: A Centenary Celebration* (Berghahn Books, 2005). All contents also published in *Sartre Studies International*, Vol. 11, No. ½ (2005). http://www.berghahnbooks.com/title.php?rowtag=VanDenHovenSartre
The paper is critically discussed at length in Steven Hendley’s “Realism and Contingency: Elaborating a Viable Sartrean Response to Rorty’s Anti-Realism,” in *New Perspectives on Sartre*, edited by Adrian Mirvish and Adrian van den Hoven (Cambridge Scholars Publishing: September, 2010), pages161-177. http://www.cambridgescholars.com/new-perspectives-on-sartre-16
The argument is re-engaged and taken in the direction of virtue ethics in: "Descent to the Things Themselves: The Virtue of Dissent" -- chapter for _Phenomenology and Virtue Ethics_. Editors: Kevin Hermberg and Paul Gyllenhammer. Bloomsbury Publishing, Fall 2013.
ABSTRACT: In *Transcendence of Ego* and *Nausea*, drawing on Edmund Husserl and probably Friedrich Nietzsche, the young Jean-Paul Sartre rejected subjective and objective idealism. The resulting realism-all-the-way-down is developed and compared with Richard Rorty's contextualism. Although contextualism is compelling and comparable to realism-all-the-way-down, the latter does not throw out the baby the former throws out with the bathwater. Realism-all-the-way-down does not throw out realism along with subjective and objective idealism, whereas contextualism throws out the whole lot. If important intuitions recommend realism to us, and if Rorty's rejection of realism is not completely convincing, there are good reasons to prefer realism-all-the-way-down.
For/in Adrian van den Hoven and Andrew Leak, editors. *Sartre Today: A Centenary Celebration* (Berghahn Books, 2005). All contents also published in *Sartre Studies International*, Vol. 11, No. ½ (2005). http://www.berghahnbooks.com/title.php?rowtag=VanDenHovenSartre
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Adam Smith, perhaps the greatest theorist of capitalism, is often quoted as a great defender of business interests against the public sector. However, in his famous Wealth of Nations (1776), Smith argued: “The proposal of any new law or... more
Adam Smith, perhaps the greatest theorist of capitalism, is often quoted as a great defender of business interests against the public sector. However, in his famous Wealth of Nations (1776), Smith argued: “The proposal of any new law or regulation of commerce which comes from the order of business ought always to be listened to with great precaution, and ought never to be adopted till after having been long and carefully examined, not only with the most scrupulous, but with the most suspicious attention.” Why, we might ask, should we be so skeptical of suggestions from the business sector? “It comes from an order of people – business people -- whose interest is never exactly the same with that of the public.” That is, business people seek private profits – their interest, not our shared good, which is the public interest. Smith continues, the suggestion “comes from an order of people ... who have generally an interest to deceive and even to oppress the public.” So, because their private interests are increased at the expense of our shared good, business people have an interest in taking advantage of the public, even by deception and oppression. Lobbying provides avenues for the pursuit of business interests not practically available to ordinary citizens. According to the Canadian Lobbyist Registry, over the last 10 years, at the federal level of government in Canada, about 4,300 organizations made 309,000 lobbying contacts with federal government representatives. That is, 110 contacts-per-day every single day for the last decade. 75% of the contacts were made by businesses, business sector associations, and major business councils. That suggests both an excessive influence of private interests, very possibly at the expense of the public interest, and the possibility of deception and oppression. Lobbying ought not to be considered a legitimate form of advocacy.
Research Interests: Adam Smith and Lobbying
Noor Cultural Center, Toronto Getting Informed to Vote: Pre-Election Panels Noor is delighted to offer this series of pre-election panels, featuring expert commentary on critical election issues and different parties’ positions.... more
Noor Cultural Center, Toronto
Getting Informed to Vote: Pre-Election Panels
Noor is delighted to offer this series of pre-election panels, featuring expert commentary on critical election issues and different parties’ positions.
Location: Auditorium, Noor Cultural Centre
Admission: Free
Wednesday October 16, 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Indigenous Justice | Prof Hayden King (Yellowhead Institute, Ryerson University)
National Security | Fahad Ahmad (PhD Candidate, Carleton University)
Militarism | Prof John Duncan (Ethics, Society & Law, Trinity College, University of Toronto)
Getting Informed to Vote: Pre-Election Panels
Noor is delighted to offer this series of pre-election panels, featuring expert commentary on critical election issues and different parties’ positions.
Location: Auditorium, Noor Cultural Centre
Admission: Free
Wednesday October 16, 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Indigenous Justice | Prof Hayden King (Yellowhead Institute, Ryerson University)
National Security | Fahad Ahmad (PhD Candidate, Carleton University)
Militarism | Prof John Duncan (Ethics, Society & Law, Trinity College, University of Toronto)
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Popularly, discrepancy theory is being mentioned in discussions of mental wellness in the context of social media. The relevant results of Higgins influential 1987 discussion of discrepancy theory are summarized and his tentative... more
Popularly, discrepancy theory is being mentioned in discussions of mental wellness in the context of social media. The relevant results of Higgins influential 1987 discussion of discrepancy theory are summarized and his tentative treatment recommendations for depression, etc., arising from discrepancy are considered with respect to social media. It is argued that un-wellness arsing from discrepancy arising from social media is less amenable to mitigation by the same treatment recommendations. A turn to the humanities and social science is urged in order to help understand these issues.
Panelist contribution to the fifth annual Minding Our Minds conference at Victoria University in the University of Toronto, Oct 27 2016.
Co-panelists speaking on related topics:
(1) Romin Tafarodi is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto. The focus of his research is on how cultural practices, institutions, and discourses form and reform our notions of self and subjectivity. He has authored articles for many academic journals, and has contributed chapters to several books, including Self-Esteem Issues and Answers: A Source Book of Current Perspectives (2006), Self-continuity: Individual and Collective Perspectives (2008), Complex Identities in a Shifting World (2016), and Asia's Educational Miracle: Psychological, Social, and Cultural Perspectives (in press). He has been a faculty member with the University of Toronto since 1996.
(2) Claire Midgley is a graduate student and researcher with the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto. She is a member of the Lockwood Lab, which studies on how social comparisons affect everything from relationships to pro-environmental behaviour. Claire’s research focuses on social comparisons in online contexts. She is currently studying how Facebook use may be changing the frequency, direction, domain, and outcomes of social comparisons people make in their daily lives. She is also interested in social comparisons in online dating and the role of motivation and self-esteem in these and other online comparisons.
Panelist contribution to the fifth annual Minding Our Minds conference at Victoria University in the University of Toronto, Oct 27 2016.
Co-panelists speaking on related topics:
(1) Romin Tafarodi is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto. The focus of his research is on how cultural practices, institutions, and discourses form and reform our notions of self and subjectivity. He has authored articles for many academic journals, and has contributed chapters to several books, including Self-Esteem Issues and Answers: A Source Book of Current Perspectives (2006), Self-continuity: Individual and Collective Perspectives (2008), Complex Identities in a Shifting World (2016), and Asia's Educational Miracle: Psychological, Social, and Cultural Perspectives (in press). He has been a faculty member with the University of Toronto since 1996.
(2) Claire Midgley is a graduate student and researcher with the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto. She is a member of the Lockwood Lab, which studies on how social comparisons affect everything from relationships to pro-environmental behaviour. Claire’s research focuses on social comparisons in online contexts. She is currently studying how Facebook use may be changing the frequency, direction, domain, and outcomes of social comparisons people make in their daily lives. She is also interested in social comparisons in online dating and the role of motivation and self-esteem in these and other online comparisons.
Research Interests:
CIC Nipissing District: “Terror and Endless War” – Reflections on the Global War on Terror October 6 , 2016 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm On Thursday October 6th, 2016, the Nipissing District Branch of the Canadian International Council (CIC) is... more
CIC Nipissing District: “Terror and Endless War” – Reflections on the Global War on Terror
October 6 , 2016 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
On Thursday October 6th, 2016, the Nipissing District Branch of the Canadian International Council (CIC) is pleased to present, “”Terror and Endless War” – Reflections on the Global War on Terror.” This presentation will be made by Dr. John Duncan of Trinity College at the University of Toronto. Drawing on his research on philosophy, global terrorism and international relations, Dr. Duncan will reflect on the evolution of the war on terror in the years following 9/11 and the start of the war in Afghanistan.
This talk will be held on Thursday October 6th, 2016 from 7 – 9:00 pm at Nipissing University in Room A122. This event is free to CIC Members, members of the general public and students. It is open to all. Please register with the online registration system before Thursday October 6th, 2016 (Link below). Seating is limited.
Event Partner
Department of Political Science at Nipissing University
Date and Time
Thursday October 6, 2016
7:00pm to 9:00pm
Venue
Nipissing University
100 College Drive, Box 5002
North Bay, Ontario P1B 8L7
Registration
This is a free event. Please register online by clicking the button below.
Event Contact
John Allison | johna@nipissingu.ca | (705)474-3461
October 6 , 2016 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
On Thursday October 6th, 2016, the Nipissing District Branch of the Canadian International Council (CIC) is pleased to present, “”Terror and Endless War” – Reflections on the Global War on Terror.” This presentation will be made by Dr. John Duncan of Trinity College at the University of Toronto. Drawing on his research on philosophy, global terrorism and international relations, Dr. Duncan will reflect on the evolution of the war on terror in the years following 9/11 and the start of the war in Afghanistan.
This talk will be held on Thursday October 6th, 2016 from 7 – 9:00 pm at Nipissing University in Room A122. This event is free to CIC Members, members of the general public and students. It is open to all. Please register with the online registration system before Thursday October 6th, 2016 (Link below). Seating is limited.
Event Partner
Department of Political Science at Nipissing University
Date and Time
Thursday October 6, 2016
7:00pm to 9:00pm
Venue
Nipissing University
100 College Drive, Box 5002
North Bay, Ontario P1B 8L7
Registration
This is a free event. Please register online by clicking the button below.
Event Contact
John Allison | johna@nipissingu.ca | (705)474-3461
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This paper will be presented for the CPRA at the 2015 Congress in Ottawa, at The Jock Turcot University Centre 205, THURSDAY, 4 JUNE, 2015, second paper in the MORNING SESSION: 9:00 A.M.—12:30 P.M. An earlier version was presented: UofT... more
This paper will be presented for the CPRA at the 2015 Congress in Ottawa, at The Jock Turcot University Centre 205, THURSDAY, 4 JUNE, 2015, second paper in the MORNING SESSION: 9:00 A.M.—12:30 P.M. An earlier version was presented: UofT NDP is proud to present a discussion on Canada's military role in Iraq featuring MP Craig Scott and Professor John Duncan on November 12th, 2014, 7:00-9:00 pm in Room B025, Bahen Centre for Information Technology, 40 St. George Street.
Research Interests:
Weekly Public Lectures on Vital Global Issues Fall Term 2014. Sponsored by Science for Peace During the academic term we meet on Wednesdays from 4:00 – 6:00 pm in Room 140, University College, 15 Kings College Circle, U. of... more
Weekly Public Lectures on Vital Global Issues
Fall Term 2014. Sponsored by Science for Peace
During the academic term we meet on Wednesdays from 4:00 – 6:00 pm in Room 140, University College, 15 Kings College Circle, U. of Toronto. (That’s the NE corner of the building.) Students, faculty, and
all concerned citizens are welcome. No charge. Bring a friend.
24-Sep “Nothing Accomplished: Our War in Afghanistan"
John Duncan, Ph.D. Director, Ethics, Society, and Law Program, Trinity College, U of T
Recorded: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiEYSn1_sjU&list=UU6rh_qo4JtrDOJeZ9eXeT3Q
Fall Term 2014. Sponsored by Science for Peace
During the academic term we meet on Wednesdays from 4:00 – 6:00 pm in Room 140, University College, 15 Kings College Circle, U. of Toronto. (That’s the NE corner of the building.) Students, faculty, and
all concerned citizens are welcome. No charge. Bring a friend.
24-Sep “Nothing Accomplished: Our War in Afghanistan"
John Duncan, Ph.D. Director, Ethics, Society, and Law Program, Trinity College, U of T
Recorded: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiEYSn1_sjU&list=UU6rh_qo4JtrDOJeZ9eXeT3Q
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Academic, Social and Community-Oriented Programming – The “Ideas for the World” Programme at Victoria University in the University of Toronto Kelley Castle, John Duncan & Krista Steeves – Victoria University in the University of... more
Academic, Social and Community-Oriented Programming – The “Ideas for the World” Programme at Victoria University in the University of Toronto
Kelley Castle, John Duncan & Krista Steeves – Victoria University in the University of Toronto & Trinity College in the University of Toronto
There are many challenges facing North American universities, not the least of which is that we are often charged with having commodified learning. The massification of higher education has had clear benefits in terms of social mobility, diversification of research, and a burgeoning of what are seen to be generally more accessible university programmes. (See the report from the UNESCO 2009 World Conference on Higher Ed.) It is, though, often argued – both in popular media and in the academy itself – that these changes have had the collateral effects of levelling out the academic experience, making classes less robust and turning learning into a means to an end. The role of student life professionals in this potential crisis in higher education is important, but difficult to see. We are often thought of as working on the periphery of the academic core, and this only hampers our ability to be involved in improving the current university climate. This interactive discussion will review a new program called “Ideas for the World” which brings together students, faculty, university administrators, staff, and financially struggling community members for an intellectually rigorous and personally challenging co-curricular experience. Central to the program is the belief that work with the community need not be “noblesse oblige,” but can instead be reciprocal, meaningful, and intellectually challenging for all involved. Assessment has shown that the success of the program is largely because it bridges groups in and around the university and because it is a social and different way to approach academic learning.
Kelley Castle, John Duncan & Krista Steeves – Victoria University in the University of Toronto & Trinity College in the University of Toronto
There are many challenges facing North American universities, not the least of which is that we are often charged with having commodified learning. The massification of higher education has had clear benefits in terms of social mobility, diversification of research, and a burgeoning of what are seen to be generally more accessible university programmes. (See the report from the UNESCO 2009 World Conference on Higher Ed.) It is, though, often argued – both in popular media and in the academy itself – that these changes have had the collateral effects of levelling out the academic experience, making classes less robust and turning learning into a means to an end. The role of student life professionals in this potential crisis in higher education is important, but difficult to see. We are often thought of as working on the periphery of the academic core, and this only hampers our ability to be involved in improving the current university climate. This interactive discussion will review a new program called “Ideas for the World” which brings together students, faculty, university administrators, staff, and financially struggling community members for an intellectually rigorous and personally challenging co-curricular experience. Central to the program is the belief that work with the community need not be “noblesse oblige,” but can instead be reciprocal, meaningful, and intellectually challenging for all involved. Assessment has shown that the success of the program is largely because it bridges groups in and around the university and because it is a social and different way to approach academic learning.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Afghanistan and Just War
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Polls show that Canadians believe that Canada has a significant heritage of peacekeeping. However, many pundits argue that Canada has really pursued national interests in foreign conflict situations, and that peacekeeping has never guided... more
Polls show that Canadians believe that Canada has a significant heritage of peacekeeping. However, many pundits argue that Canada has really pursued national interests in foreign conflict situations, and that peacekeeping has never guided Canadian foreign policy. Recently, the pundits say, Canadian foreign policy aims have been primarily to improve Canadian credibility at the table of international affairs, which for Canada is a table dominated by the United States. Canadians have to interpret national policy and action between the perception of peacekeeping and the realities of international credibility. From the perspective of elements of Canadian peace movements, the perception of peacekeeping is used as a normative standard against which to evaluate Canadian foreign policy and hold it accountable. However, the dangers of such immanent critique must be acknowledged. Proponents of policy aims in accordance with the realities of international credibility have deployed Canadian perceptions of peacekeeping to cloak the pursuit of real interests within the perceptions of peacekeeping.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This is my PhD thesis, which, shockingly, I came across on-line at "Collections Canada" in November 2015. How it ended up on-line I do not know. It was the madly ambitious and often flawed project of a much younger person than myself,... more
This is my PhD thesis, which, shockingly, I came across on-line at "Collections Canada" in November 2015. How it ended up on-line I do not know. It was the madly ambitious and often flawed project of a much younger person than myself, and I would not list it here if it were not public.
Here is the original abstract:
Presocratic naturalism helps establish the context of Plato's mature cosmogony. In Timaeus, a natural precosmic matrix limits the cosmogonical labour and product of the divine craftsman. In the cosmogonical discussions of the Christian apologists, Plato's natural precosmic matrix -- what would be a material constraint on God's will -- is explicitly rejected. God's creative power is absolutely free. Furthermore, the pure creatio ex nihilo establishes the model for the Christian conception of virtue as purely willed behaviour. Conversely, for the Greeks, acts of free will are not even necessary for virtue. Rather, there is a necessary and sufficient relationship between naturalism
and virtue, such that excellence or virtue amounts to knowledge of nature. The basic concepts of these two great originary and opposing paradigms -- Greek naturalism and Christian volitionism -- are re-enacted in modem western philosophy, especially in the naturalism of Spinoza, and in the volitionism of Kant. For Hegel, who explicitly draws on both Spinoza and Kant, an account of historical existence must conceive natural substance and pure volition together as a differentiated whole. In the twentieth century the basic concepts of the two paradigms are re-enacted in two extreme reactions to Hegel and idealism. Sartre sketches a compelling naturalism in which the contingent nature of all things is fundamental, but he overestimates the freedom of the existential subject. It is Foucault's naturalism which properly grounds historical existence and critical theory by revealing the ever-precedent processes of natural mediation within our consistently contingent cosmological nest.
Here is the original abstract:
Presocratic naturalism helps establish the context of Plato's mature cosmogony. In Timaeus, a natural precosmic matrix limits the cosmogonical labour and product of the divine craftsman. In the cosmogonical discussions of the Christian apologists, Plato's natural precosmic matrix -- what would be a material constraint on God's will -- is explicitly rejected. God's creative power is absolutely free. Furthermore, the pure creatio ex nihilo establishes the model for the Christian conception of virtue as purely willed behaviour. Conversely, for the Greeks, acts of free will are not even necessary for virtue. Rather, there is a necessary and sufficient relationship between naturalism
and virtue, such that excellence or virtue amounts to knowledge of nature. The basic concepts of these two great originary and opposing paradigms -- Greek naturalism and Christian volitionism -- are re-enacted in modem western philosophy, especially in the naturalism of Spinoza, and in the volitionism of Kant. For Hegel, who explicitly draws on both Spinoza and Kant, an account of historical existence must conceive natural substance and pure volition together as a differentiated whole. In the twentieth century the basic concepts of the two paradigms are re-enacted in two extreme reactions to Hegel and idealism. Sartre sketches a compelling naturalism in which the contingent nature of all things is fundamental, but he overestimates the freedom of the existential subject. It is Foucault's naturalism which properly grounds historical existence and critical theory by revealing the ever-precedent processes of natural mediation within our consistently contingent cosmological nest.