Anchors in the Heavens: The Metaphysical Infrastructure of Human Life

by Rémi Brague, Brian Lapsa (Translation)

"Imagine you suddenly find yourself in the control room of a vast technological apparatus, sometime in the future, where you are told that science has satisfied all the needs of all living humans. Furthermore, you learn, the next generation of the species will not be produced in the usual way, but instead by this machine, provided only that somebody push a little red button. The catch: you have to give a reason for pushing it. You hesitate: what do you say? Our own world is more like this scenario than we at first may be inclined to admit, not least in the fact that, mutatis mutandis, we seem to be struggling to come up with a good answer. The problem, says Raemi Brague, is fundamentally a metaphysical one. Now, mention of 'metaphysics' in decent society these days is likely to elicit a smile or an unimpressed shrug. If there is a shelf with that label on it in your typical bookstore you are as likely to find guides to crystals, chakras, or hemp care there as you are treatises by Aristotle, Aquinas, or Kant. And, in spite of the ongoing revival of academic interest in metaphysics, it remains a rather specialist domain, a marginal sub-discipline in departments of philosophy, be they analytical or continental in cast. But if you should take it too seriously, you'll lose your bearings in the real world, and you'll go adrift in some ethereal sea of dreams. It is, in a word, irrelevant--right?"--

Genres: Philosophy

120 pages, Hardcover

First published March 10, 2011

About the author

French historian of philosophy, specializing in the Arabic, Jewish, and Christian thought of the Middle Ages. He is professor emeritus of Arabic and religious philosophy at the Sorbonne, and Romano Guardini chair of philosophy (emeritus) at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
Brague is the recipient of numerous awards, including honors by both the French National Centre for Scientific Research and the Academy of Moral and Political Science. In 2009, he received both the Josef Pieper Prize and the Grand prix de philosophie de l'Académie française, and he was awarded the 2012 Ratzinger Prize for Theology alongside Brian E. Daley. In 2013, he was named a Chevalier de l'Ordre National de la Légion d'honneur.

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humanity cannot survive without metaphysics. Our very humanity, our ability to weigh, assess and consider our existence suggests it. Therefore the modern crisis of humanity is a crisis of metaphysics. Brague briefly tells the decline away from metaphysics and the problem of existence, setting it in the context of the modern state of things, whether environmental, technological or of the failure of will to survive.

Brague closes with two ominous points:

“Our entire civilisation seems ready to indulge in a gigantic bungee jump. But I am not sure that our cord is fastened to anything. And I wonder, with some concern, whether our doomed experiment has not already begun." (92)

The title of the book comes from a re-purposed quote of Rivarol, “Every state… is a mysterious ship, whose anchors are in the heavens.”(95) Brague concludes the book; “...the anchors of humanity itself are in the heavens. If we are to save our capsizing ship, it is there that we must look.”

Brague is a "French historian of philosophy, specializing in the Arabic, Jewish, and Christian thought of the Middle Ages. He is professor emeritus of Arabic and religious philosophy at the Sorbonne, and Romano Guardini chair of philosophy (emeritus) at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich."

[Patrycja]

Autor wykorzystuje Kantowskie przeniesienie metafizyki do sfery moralnej na podstawie ustawienia przestrzeni rozumu praktycznego w centrum. Równocześnie przestrzega przed ograniczeniem metafizyki do działania, gdyż tak postulowane cele oraz kategorie metafizyczne mogą być jedynie wytłumaczeniem dla osób już w pełni ukształtowanych. Nie stanowią jednak wystarczającego wytłumaczenia dla ludzi dopiero kształtowanych/uczących się postępowania moralnego. Autor sprzeciwia się nihilzmowi, który uznaje za przeczący zamienności transcendentaliów.
Opisuje on prawdę jako oświetlającą rzeczy takimi jakie są i przez ich odbicie również i nas.
Natomiast dobro jako podstawę istnienia rzeczy oraz ich pełnego rozwoju/pełnego osiągnięcia swojej esencji.

Jest to z pewnością ciekawe stanowisko wnoszące coś nowego do dyskursu akademickiego na których dotychczas się natknęłam. Z chęcią rozszerzę/wzbogacę te ramy.

[C. A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinant essai sur la métaphysique et les conséquences de son délaissement. Brague parvient à communiquer des choses complexes avec des mots simples, pour que même quelqu'un sans bagage philosophique (c'est mon cas) puisse non seulement comprendre, mais aussi prendre plaisir et profiter de cette lecture.

[Miriam Uhrínová · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ťažko filozofické, ľahko tému meniace.