Nancy J. Holland 
Ontological Humility [EPUB ebook] 
Lord Voldemort and the Philosophers

Neither self-effacing modesty nor religious meekness, ontological humility is a moral and philosophical attitude toward transcendence—the unknown and unknowable background of existence—and a recognition and awareness of the contingency and chance that influence the course of our lives. It is a concept that Nancy J. Holland finds both throughout the history of philosophy and across the volumes of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Tracing it through the philosophical thought of figures ranging from Descartes, Hume, and Kant to Heidegger, Beauvoir, Merleau-Ponty, and Derrida, Holland uses the Harry Potter saga as a guide to illustrate the concept, revealing a whole set of ethical imperatives. Connecting the concept to contemporary gender and race theory, she demonstrates its implications both for our understanding of the philosophical tradition and for the way we live our own lives.

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Acknowledgments



Prologue: Defining Ontological Humility



In the Beginning

Lord Voldemort and the Philosophers…

The Arrogant Eye and the World Picture

The Wizard of Infinite Resignation?

The End of it All



1. Epistemological Humility



Descartes

Hume

Kant



2. Ontological Humility in Heidegger



The Thrownness of Dasein

The Humility of Ancient Greek Philosophy

The Arrogance of Technology



3. Existential Humility and Its Other



Sartre

Beauvoir

Merleau-Ponty



4. Postmodern Humility and Its Order



Foucault

Derrida – Linguistic Humility

Derrida – Humility Unto Death



5. Feminist Humility



Epistemologies of Ignorance

Humility beyond the Divides – Race/Gender

Humility beyond the Divides – Race/Sexuality



Conclusion

Bibliography

Endnotes

Mengenai Pengarang

Nancy J. Holland is Professor of Philosophy at Hamline University. She is the author of
Is Women’s Philosophy Possible? and
The Madwoman’s Reason: The Concept of the Appropriate in Ethical Thought. She is also the editor of
Feminist Interpretations of Jacques Derrida and the coeditor (with Patricia Huntington) of
Feminist Interpretations of Martin Heidegger.