Dialogues and Criticism
1. O Realismo Especulativo
This text strongly aligns with the Realismo Especulativo contemporary (Quentin Meillassoux, Graham Harman), specifically in the critique of "correlationism". OCE agrees that philosophy has become trapped in a vicious circle where we only talk about the man-world relationship, forgetting the world itself.
"The real does not need to be known to exist, but knowing is always a situated symbolic gesture."
Pontos Robustos
- Recovery of the ontological dignity of raw matter.
- Full compatibility with natural sciences (geology, astronomy).
- Overcoming philosophical anthropocentrism.
Reception Weaknesses
It can be accused of "naive realism" by those who argue that we have no access to anything outside our mind. OCE responds by distinguishing "access" (epistemology) from "existence" (ontology).
2. Dialogue with Phenomenology
The criticism of phenomenology (Husserl, Heidegger) is direct. For phenomenology, the world is a "horizon of meaning" for the subject. For OCE, the world is a field of forces indifferent to meaning. Meaning is something we add, not something the world has.
Three Proposed Ruptures
- Contra a Intencionalidade: Consciousness is not the measure of all things.
- Against the World-for-us: The world exists "in itself", not just "for us".
- Against the Primacy of Language: Language does not create reality; it only organises it symbolically.