Vision's invisibles : philosophical explorations

145 Pages·2003·1.745 MB·English

by  Fóti, Véronique Marion

Vision’s
Invisibles
SUNY series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy
Dennis J.Schmidt,editor
Vision’s
Invisibles
Philosophical Explorations
Véronique M. Fóti
State University of New York Press
Published by
State University of New York Press,Albany
© 2003 State University of New York
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fóti,Véronique Marion.
Vision’s invisibles :philosophical explorations / Véronique M.Fóti.
p. cm.— (SUNY series in contemporary continental philosophy)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7914-5733-8 (alk.paper) — ISBN 0-7914-5734-6 (pbk.:alk.paper)
1.Vision—History.2.Philosophy—History.I.Title.II.Series.
B105.V54F68 2003
121'.35—dc21
2002045255
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In memory ofmy father,Lajos Fóti,
my grandmother,Róza Fóti,née Rubinstein,
and other members ofthe Fóti family
who were victims ofthe Shoah,and
whom it was not my privilege to know.

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Prospect 1
PART I
GREEK PHILOSOPHY
1 Glimpsing Alterity and Differentiation:
Vision and the Heraclitean Logos 13
2 Beauty,Eros,and Blindness in the Platonic Education of Vision 25
PART II
THE LEGACY OF DESCARTES
3 Mechanism,Reasoning,and the Institution of Nature 41
4 The Specularity of Representation:
Foucault,Velázquez,Descartes 53
PART III
POST-PHENOMENOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES
5 The Gravity and (In)Visibility of Flesh:
Merleau-Ponty,Nancy,Derrida 69
6 Imaging Invisibles:Heidegger’s Meditation 81
Retrospect 99
vii
viii Contents
Notes 105
Selected Bibliography 121
Index of Persons 131
Index of Topics 133
Acknowledgments
Although the writing of this book has been a solitary labor,I want to thank
my sons and daughters, Sunil Sharma, Leila Sharma, Ravi K. Sharma, and
Amina Sharma,for their inspiring presence and conversation.To Ravi,trained
in ancient philosophy, I also am indebted for philosophical discussions.
Among persons whose friendship has been meaningful, I want to thank, in
particular,Ed Casey,Alphonso Lingis,and Piet Hut.David Michael Levin,
himself the author and editor of major books on the philosophy of vision,has
offered much collegial support.
This book originally was under contract with the University of California
Press but was withdrawn when it decided to cease publishing in the field of
philosophy.I want to thank the former philosophy editor,Eric Smoodin,for
his commitment to the book (as well as for an enjoyable e-mail correspon-
dence about a shared passion for beautiful plants). I owe special thanks to
Dennis J.Schmidt,the series editor,and Jane Bunker,the acquisitions editor,
at State University of New York Press,for generously renewing their offer of
publication.I am deeply appreciative of Adrian Johnston’s expert assistance,
which enabled me to resolve difficulties regarding permissions; his help was
essential to getting the book into print without delay.Finally,I wish to thank
Joicy Koothur,not only for her personal and artistic friendship but for taking
much trouble to produce a presentable black-and-white photograph of me.I
would have been quite happy to submit a photo showing more of my cat than
of myself.
I also wish to acknowledge the permission given by the Prado to repro-
duce Velá quez's Las Meninas and to Alinari/Art Resource, NY for the re-

production of daVinci's The Virgin On The Rocks.
ix