The World on Edge PDF
Preview The World on Edge
THE WORLD ON EDGE Studies in Continental Thought John Sallis, editor Consulting Editors Robert Bernasconi James Risser John D. Caputo Dennis J. Schmidt David Carr Calvin O. Schrag Edward S. Casey Charles E. Scott David Farrell Krell Daniela Vallega-Neu Lenore Langsdorf David Wood THE WORLD ON EDGE EDWARD S. CASEY Indiana University Press This book is a publication of Indiana University Press Office of Scholarly Publishing Herman B Wells Library 350 1320 East 10th Street Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA iupress.indiana.edu © 2017 by Edward S. Casey All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. ∞ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48–1992. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Casey, Edward S., [date] author. Title: The world on edge / Edward S. Casey. Description: Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 2017. | Series: Studies in Continental thought | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016034881| ISBN 9780253025586 (cl : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780253026095 (pb : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Boundaries (Philosophy) | Knowledge, Theory of. | Perception. Classification: LCC BD392 .C37 2017 | DDC 117—dc23 LC record available at https:// lccn.loc.gov/2016034881 1 2 3 4 5 22 21 20 19 18 17 FOR MARY YOU ARE NO LONGER AT THE EDGE OF MY WORLD BUT AT ITS VERY CENTER CONTENTS Acknowledgments ix Prelude xiii PART 1 Sorting Out Edges Preface to Part One 3 1. Borders and Boundaries 7 Interlude I A Panoply of Edges 28 2. Edges and Surfaces, Edges and Limits 39 Interlude II Cusps, Traces, Veils 59 3. Edges of Places and Events 71 Interlude III Frames in/of Painting 97 PART 2 Constructed versus Naturally Given Edges Preface to Part Two 109 4. Natural versus Artifactual Edges 111 5. Wild Edges 136 Interlude IV Listening to Edges in Music 159 6. Landscape Edges 171 7. Intermediate Edges: Parks, Gardens, Neighborhoods, Streets 184 PART 3 Edges of Body and Psyche, Earth and Sky Preface to Part Three 209 8. At the Edges of My Body 211 9. Being on Edge and Falling Apart 233 10. From Earth’s Edge to the Sky and Beyond 267 PART 4 Parting Thoughts A Last Lesson: Not to Put Too Fine an Edge on Things 299 Postlude: Why Edges Matter in Their Very Heterodoxicality 319 Epilogue: Life on the Edge of Danger, Disaster, and Doom 341 Afterword/Foreword: Thinking Edges, Edges of Thinking 355 Index 371 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many hands and many minds went into the making of this book. I am profoundly grateful to each person who has been part of the process. With Dee Mortenson, I discussed the book’s core conception a decade ago, and from that point on she has been nothing but enthusiastic. Quite indispensable has been Lissa McCul- lough, my good friend who became my closest reader and critic at every phase to the final moments. It is an extraordinary situation when a teacher has received such help as I have from my own students. At every stage, I have benefitted immensely from the ener- getic assistance they have given me. Andrés Colapinto provided close critique of early versions of the manuscript, often leading me to reconsider my claims and to make very different ones. At a crucial moment, Adam Blair took over the securing of permissions and the selection of the book’s illustrations with finesse and impec- cable aesthetic judgment. Also fundamental were the detailed remarks given by Julia Sushtyka and Wesley Mattingly, each of whom brought distinctively different perspectives to bear on my writing. I am indebted to Jennifer Carter for her insights into the deeper logic of the caress. Kriszta Sajber advised me wisely and in detail regarding my treatment of the split self. Randy Dible intervened at a critical late stage when his special gift for locating obscure references proved especially timely. Remarkably apt observations, as to both style and basic content, were made along the way by Donald Landes. Brady Heiner pushed me to consider social and po- litical implications that I might have ignored otherwise. Katherine Wolfe made tell- ing comments at several important moments. Kyle Tanaka and Stephen Bourque, both from the master’s program at Stony Brook, helped substantially. Fellow faculty members at Stony Brook and elsewhere have been invaluable interlocutors as well as perceptive readers of this book. These include eminent musicologist Judith Lochhead as well as my treasured colleagues in the philosophy department, among them Megan Craig, Anne O’Byrne, Robert Crease, Eva K ittay, Mary Rawlinson, Lorenzo Simpson, Gary Mar, Harvey Cormier, Lee Miller, Don Ihde, Donn Welton, and Eduardo Mendieta (now at Pennsylvania State). I thank Megan Craig warmly for generously allowing me to use one of her recent paint- ings as the cover of this book. Remembered here fondly and with gratitude is Hugh Silverman. The late Peter Manchester was a primary inspiration to me
The list of books you might like
