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BY 4.0 license Open Access Published by De Gruyter Open Access October 30, 2019

The Two Times of Objects: A Solution to the Problem of Time in Object-Oriented Ontology

  • Arjen Kleinherenbrink EMAIL logo
From the journal Open Philosophy

Abstract

One of the main criticisms of object-oriented ontology in its current formulation by Graham Harman is that it includes a notion of time that, upon closer inspection, renders the overall theory inconsistent. I argue that while this is indeed the case, Harman’s notion of time can be modified in a way that leaves the framework of object-oriented ontology intact. More specifically, Harman’s theory of time as a single surface tension between sensual objects and their qualities should be expanded into a theory of time as a twofold of related yet irreducible temporalities. Such a theory can already be found in Gilles Deleuze’s The Logic of Sense. I argue that much of the latter theory is already tacitly presupposed in Harman’s ontology, and show that the proposed modification successfully addresses the most salient criticisms that have been voiced at Harman’s notion of time.

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Received: 2019-05-30
Accepted: 2019-10-15
Published Online: 2019-10-30

© 2019 Arjen Kleinherenbrink, published by De Gruyter

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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