Download - Kroker-Augustine as the Founder of Modern Experience-The Legacy of Charles Norris Cochrane
-
7/25/2019 Kroker-Augustine as the Founder of Modern Experience-The Legacy of Charles Norris Cochrane
1/41
Canadi an
J our nal
of P o l i t i c a l and Soci al
Theory Revue canadi enne de t heori e
pol i t i que
et
s o c i a l e Vol
6 No
3 Fal l / Aut omne,
1982)
UGUSTINEASTHE
FOUNDER
OFMODERNEXPEREN E
THE
LEG YOFH RLESNORRSO HR NE
Ar t hur
Kroker
To
t h i s
concept i on
of
wi l l as
an
aut onomous
det er m nat i on of t he t o t a l
s e l f
August i ne adheres
t enaci ousl y
at
a l l st ages of hi s
career
Charl es Nor r i s Cochr ane
Chr i st i ani t y and
Cl as s i c al Cul t ur e
W l l
and
power
a r e
i n
t he
w i l l
t o
power , not
mer el y
l i nked
t oget her
;
but
r at her
t he wi l l
as
t he
w i l l
t o wi l l
i t s e l f
t he
w i l l
t o power
i n
t he
sense
of
t he
empoweri ng
t o power
Mar t i n
Hei degger
The
Word
of
Ni et zsche
Rememberi ng
August i ne
I n hi s c r i t i c a l t e x t ToFreedomCondemned
J ean- Paul
Sartre
r emar ked
t h a t
t he
cont i nuous f l i g h t whi ch
const i t ut es t he bei ng
of a
person
comes
t o
a
sudden
hal t
when
t he Ot her emer ges, f or
t he Ot her
sees
t
and
changes t t her eby
in to an
obj e ct
an
i n - i t s e l f
i
Now t he pr esent medi t at i on
i s
i n t he
way
of
a
report
on
howmy cont i nuous f l i g h t an e f f o r t
at t hi nki ng
t hr ough
at
a f undament al l e ve l
t he
sources
of t he
r adi c al
c r i s i s
of
t went i et h- cent ur y
exper i ence,
has
been
br ought
t o a
sudden
hal t
by
t he Ot her
of
Char l es
Nor r i s
Cochr ane
orgot t en, and c e r t a i n l y
unassi m l at ed,
t h i n k er
whet her i n
hi s
nat i ve
Canada
or i n more
i nt er nat i onal
di scour se, Char l es
Nor r i s
Cochr ane
r epr esent s i n hi s
wr i t i ngs
am
nowconvi nced, an expl osi ve
i nt er vent i on
i n t h e under st andi ng of
modern
cul t ure
Bef or e
r eadi ng Cochr ane, t
was
possi bl e
t o
hol d t o t he
al most
l et hargi c b e l i e f t hat t he
c r i s i s
of
modern
cul t ure coul d be t r a c e d most i m
-
7/25/2019 Kroker-Augustine as the Founder of Modern Experience-The Legacy of Charles Norris Cochrane
2/41
RTHUR
KROK R
medi at el y,
t o
t he
bad
i n f i n i t y
present
a t
t he
begi nni ng
of
t he
r a t i o n a l i s t
c a l c ul us
of
t he Enl i ght enment ; and t h a t ,
f o r better or f o r
worse, t he
i n t e l l e c t u a l
hor i zon of
t he
modern
age
w s
cont ai ned
wi t hi n
t he t raj ect ory of Kant , Hegel ,
Marx and Ni et zsche Af t er Cochr ane, there r emai ns
onl y
t he i mpossi bl e knowl -
edge t hat t he di scour se of
t he modern cent ury began, not
i n
t he
sevent eent h
cent ur y,
but i n t he f our th century a f t e r Chr i st and
t h i s i n
remembrance
of
t he
r e a l meani ng of
August i ne s Conf essi ons
Cochr ane
w s
t he
one
t hi nker i n t he
modern
century, wi t h t he
except i on
of Hannah
Ar endt ,
t o make August i ne
dangerous
agai n
dangerous, t hat i s
as
t he
met aphysi ci an
and
theoret i ci an of
power
who s e t
i n
moti on t he physi cs t r i n i t a r i a n i s m) ,
t he l o g i c
( the
epi st emol -
ogy
of modern
psychol ogy)
nd
t he
e t h i c s
( the f unct i onal i t y of t he
Saecul um)
of
west er n exper i ence I n Cochr ane s
r eadi ng
of August i ne,
one
can al most
hear
that f a t e f u l
r umbl i ng
of ground whi ch
announces
t ha t , a f t er l l t he great
f ounder s
of
t he
west er n
t r adi t i on
may
have been,
i n
t he
end, ei t her i n t he
case
of
P l a t o , Homer
or Lucreti us
precursors
or
ant agoni st s
of t he
August i ni an
di scour se or , i n t he case of Kant ,
t h i s
most modern
of t h i nk er s ,
merel y
secul ari za-
t i ons of a st r uct ur e of west er n consci ousness t he e ss e nt i a l movements of whi ch
were
put
i n pl ace by
August i ne
Yes,
Cochr ane
pr esent s
us
wi t h
t he chal l enge
of
rereadi ng t he
August i ni an
di s c o ur s e , not
s i mpl y wi t hi n t he
t erms
of
Chr i s t i an
met aphysi cs,
but
as
a
great
d i v i d i n g - l i n e ,
perhaps
t he
f undament al
s c i s s i o n ,
bet ween cl assi ci sm
and t he moderni st di scour se
hree
Subver si ons
Thi s
e s s a y , t hen,
i s n
at t empt t o escape t he
gaze
of t he Other to take
up
t he
chal l enge posed by
Cochrane not
by
evadi ng
hi s r a di c a l r et hi nki ng of t he
t r adi t i on
of
west er n
knowl edge, but
rather
by
f o l l ow ng
t hr ough
a strategy of
t hought
whi ch
c ons i s t s
of
three
f undament al
subver si ons
The
f i r s t
two
subver-
si ons ar e
i nt ended
t o
be wi t h
Cochr ane t o showpreci sel y
t he
i mpl i cat i ons
of h i s
t hought f o r a
ret hi nki ng of , a t
f i r s t
t he Canadi an
di scour se
and
t hen, by way of
ext ensi on,
of
t he dom nant
di scour se of t he hi st or y of
west ern consci ousness
Consequent l y,
s h a l l
argue
a t once
t hat
Cochrane has
never been i nt egrat ed i n t o
Canadi an t hought ,
not r e a l l y
because
of
beni gn negl ect ( al t hough t he f o r g e t f u l -
ness
of a r a d i c a l
amnesi a
may
have
i t s pl ace)
but because
there
has been
u n t i l
now
no
obvi ous
f i t
bet ween
t he
recei ved i nt erpret at i on of
Canadi an
di scour se
nd
Cochr ane s
wr i t i ngs
To
absorb
Cochr ane s
t hought
i n t o
t he
t r adi t i on of
Canadi an
i nqui ry woul d
be
t o subvert a good
part
of
Canadi an
i n t e l l e c t u a l i t y t o
demonst r at e, f o r exampl e, a very di f f erent
use
of
t he hi s t o r i c al i magi nat i on
i n
t he
r ol e of a
c r i t i c a l account
of t he phi l osophy of c i v i l i z a t i o n
and
t o
show
t h a t
there e x i s t s
i n
t he met hodol ogy and pract i ce of Canadi an t hought
a
coherent ,
i ndi genous
and
dynam c
phi l osophy of cul t ure whi ch, i n i t s dept h of v i s i o n ,
i s
wi t hout
p a r a l l e l
i n modern
c ul t ur a l
theory
8
-
7/25/2019 Kroker-Augustine as the Founder of Modern Experience-The Legacy of Charles Norris Cochrane
3/41
AUGUSTINE
ND
MODERNSM
Again,
and t hi s s t i l l
wthCochrane,
I w l l
put
forward as a t heor et i cal concl u-
si on that
Cochrane s
phi l osophy
of cul t ure i s subversi veof
and
radi cal l y
di scon-
ti nuous wth themaini nterpretati ons
of the hi story of western knowedge I f
Cochrane i s correct i n
hi s phi l osophi cal
and hi stori cal
ref l ect i ons on the
gene-
al ogy
of thecr i s i s ofwestern
cul t ure,
then
there i s a t
the heart of the
westernv i t i a
i n
i t s physi cs, epi stemology and aest het i cs)
the
r adi cal
i mpossi bi l i ty
of
a
c iv i l i za -
t i on whi ch,
i n the absence of a creati ve pri nci pl e of i nt egrati on,
osci l l ates
between the pol ar i t i es of
thesensate
and
the i deal
I n respondi ngto the
depth
categori es of thecr i s i s of westerncul t ure,
Cochrane
sought
t o thi nkthrough
the
hi story
of
cl assi cal
and modern experi ence
outsi de
of
and agai nst Pl atoni c
di scourse The
provocati ve
i nterpretati onwhi ch i s
announced
by
Cochrane
i s
the
sameas that
whi chwas
earl i er
hi nted at by Netzsche
Chri sti an
metaphysi cs,
preci sel y becauseof
the
r adi cal ni hi l i sm
of i t s w l l to truth, al so
saves
us
f romthe
f a i l u re
of Reasontosecure
a
permanent
andenduri ng
basi s
f or
soci ety
agai nst
the
constant revol t of mutable
andconti ngent experi ence
In a word, August i ne i s
thetruth- sayer of the
f a i l u re
of Pl atoni c
di scourse
yes,
of phi l osophy) to secure
an
adequate
pol i t i cal
order agai nst
the t r agi c
denoue-
ment of poeti c
consci ousness Now whi l eCochraneul timatel y
sought
shel ter i n
the
di scourseof
Augusti ni anreal i sm I
shal l
argueagainst t hi spax
r at i onal i s
that
whi l e
Augusti ne
may,
i ndeed, be
theprecursor
of
and
cartographer of
modern-
i sm
the
di scourse
t o
whi ch he condemns us i s t hat of a total
domnati on
a
domnati on founded i n
the
w l l
to
w l l and i n
the
col oni zati on
of
sensual
experi ence Thus, against
Cochrane
woul d
of f er
one f i nal subversi on the
overcomngof thefundamental pri nci pl es of
Augusti ni an
di scourse
the w l l t o
power, the w l l t o
truth,
and theni hi l i smof the
t r i n i t a r i a n
sol uti on
t o di vided
consci ousness)
i s thebegi nni ng,
agai n
and
agai n, of
a moderni sm
whi ch
i s
based
on the openi ng of the eye of
the
f l esh
.
ToBreach
the
S l ence
err i bl e si l ence has
surrounded thework of Charl es Norri s Cochrane,
denyi ng himrecogni ti on as
Canada s most
i mportant phi l osophi cal
hi stori an
and
as
apri nci pal
contri butor
toamore i nternat i onal debate
on
the
geneol ogy
of
thecr i s i s of westernsoci et y
The
exclusi on
of Cochrane s thought i s a l l themore
i r oni c
gi ven the recommendati ons to readCochranemadeby
two
of Canada s
most
di sti ngui shed
thi nkers
Thus
Harol d
I nni s
sai d
of
Cochrane s
magi steri al
st udy, Chri sti ani ty and Cl assi cal
Cul t ure,
that i t
represented
the
f i r st maj or
contri buti on
by
aCanadi an to the hi story of
i ntel l ectual
thought . 3ndt hi s was
fol l owed,
f romtheperspecti veof
phi l osophi cal
di scourse
as opposedt o pol i t i cal
economy,
by
George
Gant s
sayi ng of the samework that
i t
was the
most
i mportant bookever wri tten
by
a Canadi an. 4
I n
a phi l osophi cal obi tuary wi tten
at the
time
of Cochrane s death i n 1945, S . P Wodhouse
wrote
of
the
-
7/25/2019 Kroker-Augustine as the Founder of Modern Experience-The Legacy of Charles Norris Cochrane
4/41
RTHUR
KROK R
t r a g i c
sense
of h i s l i f e
;
of hi s search f o r
a
pr i nci pl e
of h i s t o r i c al r eal i sm whi ch
woul d
r esol ve
t he
r a di c al
c r i s i s
of
west er n
cul t ur e
;
and
t h a t ,
even
w t h i n
t he
communi ty
of
pr of essed schol ar s , Cochr ane
was not ewor t hy,
above a l l f o r hi s
si ngl e- m nded dedi cat i on
t o t he
l i f e of
schol ar shi p .
I t i s
unf or t unate
that t he i nj unct i on
t o
read
Cochr ane
has not
been
f o l l owed
For,
taken as
a
whol e, hi s
wr i t i ngs
ar e t he
record
of a
t hi nker
who has
adopt ed,
l i ved t hr ough
andovercomemost of
t he
maj or pos i t i ons whi ch
i t
i s possi bl e t o
hol d i n
t he
t went i et h- cent ur y
on
t he quest i on
of what
represents
anadequat e
phi l osophy
of
l i f e nowthat t he
modern
age
verges,
once a ga i n ,
ons t a s i s
To read
Cochr ane
i s t o be
educat ed
anew
i n
t he now- f or got t en i nsi ght that
t he c r i s i s
of
modernsoci et y has
i t s
or i gi ns
i n
t he
c l as s i c al
geneal ogy
of
Eur opean
c i v i l i z a t i o n
and
t h a t , at t he
deepest l e v e l ,
t he
t empest
of
t went i et h- cent ur y exper i ence
( wher e
f asc i sm i s
on
t hemove agai n
as
t he norm
of po l i t i c a l
l i f e )
i s yet a f ur t her
out br eak
of a s i ngl e , cr i si s- moment
i n
t he metaphysi cs
of
west er n exper i ence
The
r et hi nki ng
of t he
c r i s i s
of t hemodern age agai nst i t s c l as s i c al
backgr ound
i n
t he
metaphysi cs
of
t he Graeco-Roman
mnd
i s
t he
cont ext
f o r a l l of
Cochr ane s
wr i t i ngs
Thucydi des
andt he Sci ence
of
Hi stor y (1929) i s
an
at t empt
t o recover
t he c l as s i c al
f oundat i ons f or t he p o l i t i c s
(democr at i c) and epi st em
ol ogy c r i t i cal
empi r i ci sm of pr agmat i c
natur al i sm
agai nst t he i r o n
cage
of
Pl at oni c r at i onal i sm
Chr i st i ani t y
and
Cl as s i c a l
Cul t ur e
(1940) ,
whi ch
centres
on
t he apogee
of Roman
c i v i l i z a t i o n
i n
August us and Ver gi l and t he
dynamsmof
Chr i s t i an metaphysi cs i n
August i ne and
Theodosi us,
i s
a deci s i ve
commentary
on
t he r a di c al
br eak i n
wor l d- hypot heses i n
p o l i t i c s ,
metaphysi cs , e t h i c s and
epi st emol ogy) whi ch
marked
t he t hr eshhol d
bet ween
t he
nat ur al i sm
of c l as s i c al
di scour se and t he r at i onal i sm
of Chr i st i an metaphysi cs
.
The
Lat i n
S p i r i t
i n
Li t er at ur e
a
s h o r t ,
but
summat i onal , a r t i c l e wr i t t en
i n
1942 f o r
t he Uni ver s i t y
of Toronto
Quar t er l y) compl ement s,
I woul d
contend,
Weber s
anal ysi s
of
t he
Protestant e t h i c as
a pr of ound
and
i n c i s i v e
synt hesi s of Roman c i v i l i z at i on t hi s
precursor
of
t he
i mper i al i smof
t he Uni t ed
S t a t e s )
as
t he endur i ng
source
of
t he
wi l l
t o
l i v e
and
t he
wi l l
t o
accumul at i on
so c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of
t he empi r i cal
per sonal i t y
of
modern
po l i t i c al empi r es
. The Mnd
of Edward
G bbon
(del i ver ed
as
a l ecture s e r i e s
at
Yal e
Uni ver s i t y
i n
1944 and,
t hen,
r epubl i shed
i n
t he
Uni ver s i t y
of
Toronto Quart er l y)
i s a f undament al , and
devastat i ng, cr i t i que
of
t he pr oponent s
of
Enl i ght enment Reason
( r angi ng
across
t he
wor ks
of
Hume
Locke and G bbon) and an al most expl os i ve
r eappr opr i at i on of t he
si gni f i cance
of Chr i s t i an metaphysi cs
as
t he truth-sayer of t he f a i l u r e of c l as s i c al
reason
And
f i n a l l y , even
Cochr ane s
doppel ganger ,
Davi d
Thompson
The
Expl or er , l
(wr i t t en
i n 1925 and
often di scount ed
as
a
maj or
publ i cat i on) i s
al most
a
phi l osophi cal
aut obi ogr aphy
of
Cochr ane s
own
tr aj ector y
as
a
c ar t o -
grapher of
i nt e l l e ct u a l
t r adi t i ons
and as
a
t hi nker
who l i ved al ways
w t h
t he
sense
of
t he t r a g i c
di mensi ons of human
exper i ence
I t was
Cochr ane s
gr eat
cont r i but i on
t o
r ecogni ze, and t hi s par al l e l
t o
Ni et zsche,
that Chr i s t i an
met aphysi cs, not i n s pi t e of but
because
of t he ter r or of
i t s n i h i l i sm
a l s o
cont ai ned
a si ngul ar t ruth
i t sol ved
a probl emwhi ch c l as s i c al
reason coul d not
r esol ve w t h i n
t he hor i zon
of
i t s pr esupposi t i ons
. And t hus
-
7/25/2019 Kroker-Augustine as the Founder of Modern Experience-The Legacy of Charles Norris Cochrane
5/41
AUGUSTINE
AND
MODERNSM
Cochrane recogn zed
i n
the thought
of August i ne,
i n t hi s epicentreof
Chri sti an
metaphysi cs,
the
l i m t and thethreshol d
of that
very same
phenomenol ogy
of
mnd, epi stemol ogy
of modernpsychol ogy
and di rect
del i verance
of
personal -
i t y
and hi stor y,
that,
f or
a l l
of
our protests, i s
s t i l l a l l
that
stands between
the
abyss i n cl assi cal
di scourse
and
the moderncentury
I t was Cochrane s si ngul ar
i nsi ght to
see
the
real
i mpl i cati onof
Augusti ne sConfessi ons
;
to
senset hat
to
the
same
extent that August i ne
mght r i ght l y bedescri bed as
the f i r st ci t i zen
of
the
modernworl d
12
then
we, the
i nheri tors of
modern
experi ence,
cannot l i berate
oursel ves f rom
the
r adi cal anxi ety of
the
present
age
unt i l we
have
thought
agai nst ,
overturned,
or
at l east
i nver t ed, the
August i ni andi scourse
Curi ousl y,
t hi s
essay
returns
through
Cochrane
t o
the impossi b e
task
of beginni ng
the
modernage
by
i nvert i ngAugust i ne And, to anti ci pate
j ust
a
bi t i t
i s
my
t hesi s
that August i ne
was
a pecul i ar type
of Col umbus of
modernexperi ence hewas
the
cartographer
of
di rect l y
apprehendedexperi ence , of
the
di r ect del i verance
of
wi l l ,
nature
and
consci ousness,
thi s
embl emati c signof the
erupti on
of the
modern
di scourse
f romthe stasi s
of cl assi cal reason, who
has
f a l s i f i e d
the
maps
t o
the
ci vi t as terrena
I f
f i na l l y ,
the
embodi ment
of
thewi l l
to
power
i n
f l eshl y
bei ngwas
themodernpossi bi l i t y ;
then
i t
was
Augusti ne s
strategy, not
so
much
t o
act
i n forgetful ness
of
bei ng
but i n
repressi on of the corporeal
self ,
by
providi ng
a
method
f or
the i ncarcerati onof that
unhol y
tr i ad, i magi nati on,
desi re
and
conti ngent wi l l
I n
maki ng the
body a
pri son-house
of
the
soul (embodi ed
consci ousness) August i ne
was
al so
the
f i r s t , and most
el oquent, of the modern
st ructural i s ts
Nowwhi l eCochrane
ul timatel y took
refugei n
the
pax rat i onal i s 13
(and i n the
pax
cor por i s, ) of
Augusti ni an
di scoursehe
al so
once
l e t s l i p that,
i n that
bri ef
hi atus between
the
dethronement of
cl assi cal
reason and the
i mposi ti on
of
the
Chri sti an
wi l l
to truth there
were
a t l east
two ph l osoph cal
song-b rds
who,
knowng
f or
whatever reason
the
Garden
of
Edenhad f i n a l l y
materi al i zed, gave
voi ce to
the f reedom
of
embodi ed
bei ng Pl oti nus uttered
the
f i r s t words of
modern bei ng when he spoke
of
the
ecst at i c
i l l umnati on
of
theOne
and
Porphyry took to
the
pr act i ce
of
ascesi s as a wayof
cul t i vat i ng
the dynamc
harmony
of
wi l l , i magi nati on
and f l esh Before
the carceral
the Saecul um of
August i ne
and
after the
rati onal i sm
the
Word
of Pl at o, Pl oti nus
and
Porphyry
were the f i r s t
expl orers of
the new
conti nent of
modern bei ng
.
And
so
Cochrane
went
t o
hi s
death
wth
hi s gaze
always
averted f rom
the
human
possi bi l i t y , and
the
humanterror
whi ch
mght i ssue
f rom
adi r ect
encounter
wth
unmedi atedbei ng From
he
beginni ngof
hi s
thought
t o
i t s end, hepreserved
hi s
sanct i t y,
and yes sani ty unl ess
we
are
madmen
l i v i n g i n a
madhouse
15
by
del i veri ng
up
the i nner
sel f
to
the
normal i zi ng
di scourse
(al ways
hori zontal ,
t edi ous,
and
unforgi vi ng)
of
cr i t i cal
real i sm
to
pragmati c natural i sm
at f i r s t
(Thucydi des andthe Scienceof
H story) and
then
t o
Chri sti an
real i smChr i s-
t i ani t y andCl assi c
Cul ture)
16
Cochrane
never devi ated
f romAugust i ne s
i nj unc-
t i on,
del i vered i n
theConfessi ons,
to avoi d
havi ng the shadow
of
thef l eshl y sel f
fa l l
between
themnd
and i t s f i r s t pri nci pl e to
whi ch i t shoul d
cl eave
17
But
now
after hi s
deathand
i n tri bute to
the
wsdom
of hi s
profound
schol arsh p,
t hi s
-
7/25/2019 Kroker-Augustine as the Founder of Modern Experience-The Legacy of Charles Norris Cochrane
6/41
RTHURKROKER
essay w l l al l ow
the dark
shadow
of the
c r i t i c a l
i magi nati on to
f a l l between
the
texts
of Cochrane s
wri ti ngs
and
i t s
modern
recepti on
I t
woul d
be
i n
bad f a i t h
t o
say that what t hi s w l l permt i s a si mpl e breachi ng
of
the
si l ence whi ch has
i ncarceratedCochrane s thought
and
kept us as NorthAmeri canthi nkers,
f rom
an
i nversi on
of
Augusti ni an
di scourse
and, i ndeed,
f rom
a
f u l l cr i t i que
of c l ass i cal
reason, as
wel l
as
of the
cul t u r e
of the
Od
Wrld
s
Toknow
Cochrane s thought i s
t o di scover a
ser i es
of hi ghl y or i gi nal i nsi ghts i nto the nature of c l ass i cal and
modern
experi ence,
but i t
i s
al so t o recogni ze the l i m t s
and possi bi l i t i es
of
Canadi an
thought For
i t
i s al so
our t hes i s
that
the
i nsi ghts
of
Cochrane concern-
i ngthe
f at ef ul movement f rom
l ass i cal
di scourse t o Chri sti an
metaphysi cs
cou d
onl y
have
ori gi nated
i n
a
tradi ti on of
thought
whi ch
has
transf ormed
a
t r agi c
understandi ng
of
human
experi ence (andthesearch
f or
a r e a l i s t i c sol uti onto the
di vi ded
consci ousness of the
twenti eth-century)
i nto a seari ng cr i t i que of the
foundati ons
of western
c i v i l i z a t i o n
I f i t i s accurate
to
cl aim
that
Cochrane i s
a
precursor
of
Canadi an thought,
wth
the vast expansi on and i nt ens i f i cat i on of
theregi onof
Canadi an
thought contained i n that cl ai m then
i t must al sobesai d
that hi s l im t a t i o n s
hi s r adi cal
f ai l ure
al so i s part of the
Canadi an
l egacy
Simpl y
put, thesi l ence
whi ch
i s
breached
i n
recoveri ng
Cochrane
i s
our own i t i s al so
the
Canadi an
mnd
whi ch i s wagered i n t hi s encounter
wth the
anci ent
hi stori an 19
ThePrecursor of Canadi an Thought
Cochrane s thought
i s
an
i mportant
precursor of the
Canadi an di scourse
because
i t
puts
i nto
pl ayfour tendenci es whi ch
are the
very f i bres
the
i nter i or
of
typography,
of the
Canadi an
mnd O,
to
be
qui te
speci f i c
Cochrane s
i nterventi on, represents l ess the t o t a l i t y of the
Canadi an
i magi nati on
than
one
si de of the
Canadi an
mnd
hi s unnoti cedcontri buti onwas,
perhaps, to provide
the
most
i ntensi ve
and
el oquent
expressi on
possi bl e
of
that permanent
i ncl i nati on
i n
Canadi an
thought whi ch i s expressed
by
a
t r agi c
sense
of
pol i t i c al
experi ence, by a conti nuous recovery of the hi s to r i cal i magi nati on by a search
f or
a creati ve
pri nci pl e
whi ch
woul d
medi ate bi cameral consci ousness ), and,
ul ti matel y, by a c l ass i cal
accounti ng
of the
geneal ogy
of
western c i v i l i z a t i o n I f i t
i s true t o cl ai m
f or
exampl e,
that
the
t r adi t i on of
pol i t i cal
economy (whi chwas
brought t o i t s begi nni ng, and conclusi on, by the natural i smof Harol d I nni s)
represents an
i ndi genous
tendency i n
Canadi an
thought, then i t
must
al so be
sai d
that
the
other
si de of theCanadi an
di scourse i s
represented by an
equal l y
nati vetr adi ti on
of
cul t ur al studi es of modern
c i v i l i z a t i o n
2 I t i s wthi n the
l at ter
tradi ti on that
Cochrane stands ; an
exponent
of a theory of c i v i l i z a t i o n who
i nsi stedthat i f the f at al def i ci ency i nwesternknowedge
i s t o
beovercome then
we
must
be prepared
t o rethi nk
the foundati ons of
anci ent
and
contemporary
cul ture And,
of course
keepi ng i n mnd
what
Cochrane
always
l i ked
to
note
about
Vi rgi l r eal l y
about
the
b i r t h of natural i smi n the pol i t i c al economy of
Romani tas,
that natural i sm
tends
to
devour i t s own
gods
21
then
we
cannot
8
-
7/25/2019 Kroker-Augustine as the Founder of Modern Experience-The Legacy of Charles Norris Cochrane
7/41
AUGUSTINE
AND
MODERNSM
keep
hi dden
f or
l ong
the
i nci pi ent
cr i t i que
of pol i t i cal
economy
that
i s contained
i n
a
vi sion
of
human
experi ence
which
stretches
f rom
a
t r agi c
perspecti ve
on
creati ve
pol i t i cs t o
a
r adi cal cr i t i ci smof both
extremti es, both
pol ar i t i es,
of the
westernmnd-i deal i sm
(animl f ai th)
and natural i sm
the det r i t us of scept i -
ci sm
Thus, what
Cochranehas
tosay
i n The
Lati n
Spi r i t i n Li terature
about
the
sure and cer tai n
di si ntegrati on
of natural i smtheroot
mtaphor
of
pol i t i cal
economy)
i nto
bewl dermnt
appl i es wthas
much
f orce
as ever
to
anyattemt t o
mnopol i ze
knowedge
around the nexus of i deol ogy and, mght i t be
sai d,
power Harol dI nni s , whowas
an
i ntel l ectual fri end
of
Cochrane s
and,
I bel i eve,
wth Eri c
Havelock,
one of
the few
Canadi an thi nkers
who attemted, after
Cochrane s
death, to
cal l
attenti on to
hi s i ntel l ect ual
contri buti ons
was,
i n
the
domainof a t r agi c understandi ng
of pol i t i cal
experi ence,
astudent of
Cochrane s
t was not
i nci dental that
I nni s
recurred
to
the
t r agi c
mti f
of
Chr i s t i ani ty
and
Cl assi cal
Cul ture f or a way, f i nal l y, of expressi ng
the
essence, t h i s bi tt er fut i l i t y,
of
themrgi nal man Between
Cochrane
and
I nni s ,
betweenthe
anci ent hi stori an
and the pol i t i cal economst,
there
was
a
sel f - ref l exi ve
understandi ng of
the
i mpossi bi l i ty of phi l osophy
wthout
a
commtmnt
to
thi nki ng i n bl ood
and
the
undesi rabi l i ty of apol i t i cal economywthout aphi l osophi cal
foundati on
Mght
i t be that
the foundati ons
of a
new
Canadi an di scourse
w l l somday
emrgeon
the
basi s of a cri t i cal renewal of
the
fri endshipofCochrane
and
I nni s
not
i n
the
f l esh f or
the f i n a l i t y
of
deathhas i ntervened
but
i n thepassi ng
i nto
t heor et i cal
di scourse of
that
ti ny, but el emntal , spark
that once
expl oded
between
Cochrane
and
Inni s and,
f or
a
treml i ngmmnt,
began to i l l umnate
the
dark ni ght of
the
Canadi an imgi nati on
f
i ndeed, Cochrane s thought
stands
i n
an
ami val ent
rel at i onshi pto
thetr adi -
t i on, newandol d,
of pol i t i cal
economy (representi ng i t s
best
hope
f or
i nt er nal
regenerati on
and i t s greatest f ear of
bei ng
undermned ), then i t i s even
more
apparent that
the recovery
of hi s l egacy consti tutes acoml ete
and
unforgi ving
i ndi ctmnt of
what
nowpasses f or pol i t i cal phi l osophy i n
Canada Between
cri t i cal
phi l osophy and
pol i t i cal
economy
therestands
a
comortabl e
and
wde
regi on
of commoni nt er est
;
bothare
perspecti ves,
t r agi c andhi stor i cal accounts,
of
thenature
of
dependent
bei ng But
betweencr i t i cal
phi l osophyand
dom-
nant t radi t i ons
of pol i t i cal
phi l osophy
i n
Canada, therei s onl y
the
si l ence,
or
i s
i t
a suppressi onwthout words
of
cr i t i cal phi l osophy,
of i r r econci l abl e
di f ference
Cochrane, together wththeother
founders
of
the
t r adi t i on
of
cri t i cal
phi l osophy
i n
Canada and
have i n
mnd
Eri c
Havel ock s Preface t o
Pl ato
and
George
Brett s comrehensi ve,
and l i t t l e understood, Hstory
of Psychology, were
uni que i ndevel opi ng asystemti c cr i t i que of rat i onal i s t di scourse
For Cochrane
and
Havel ock,
the
l egacyof
Pl atoni crati onal i sm
was
the
i nstal l at i on,
or
perhaps
the
morei ns i ght f ul
term
woul dbel i berat i on, of a t ot al i t ar i an imul se i n western
knowedge f
i ndeed, there i s asi ngl eori gi nal
i nsi ght ,
a comel l i ng t heor et i cal
imul se, i n
the
l egacy
of Cochrane,
Havel ock
and
Brett,
i t i s t hi s ant i - r at i onal i st
imul se
t hei r
cr i t i que
of
the
submrsi on of phi l osophy i n rati onal i sm
begi ns
to
takeroot
i n
psychol ogy,
commni cati ons
theory,
l i t er ar y
anal ysi s, hi story
and
phi l osophy)
i t
f l owers,
i t
spreads out ,
i t
begins to
si ng
of anew
mrni ng
and
8
5
-
7/25/2019 Kroker-Augustine as the Founder of Modern Experience-The Legacy of Charles Norris Cochrane
8/41
ARTHUR
KROKER
then
i t i s si l encedNo i ssures arepermtted toappear ; i t i s as i f that maddeni ng,
wonderful
group
of
th nkers
i n
the
fateful
fourth
century
had
been
strai ned
through
the
conversi on
experi ence agai n
I have
l i vedml i f e i n
fact,
not
on y
under the
si gn
of
r adi cal amnesi a that i s
bearabl e I
understand the
psychol og cal
dynamcs of the
col on sed mnd
But
have
al so l i vedunder somethi ngel se that i s qui te unbearable under, that
i s
the
i mposed
statement
that
there
i s no immnent tr adi ti on
of
Canadi an
theory,
no
i ndi genous
t r adi t i on of Canadi an c r i t i ca l phi l osophy
Thi s
i s
the
repressi on
whi ch wounds,
andwhi ch I
cannot forg ve i t
i mpl i es
t hat
the h gh y ori gi nal
i nsi ghts
of
th nkers
such
as Cochrane,
Fackenhei m
Watson,
Brett,
and
Havel ock
bear
no
i mmedi ate
rel ati ont o
m
exi stence
i t
mans
that
m
bei ng
i s
deni ed
the
possi bi l i t y of bei ng
wageredon
the
success or f ai l ur e of the
ph l osoph cal
proj ect
representedby the
anti -Pl atoni c t r adi t i on I
have
grownup, a mnof f l esh
and
bone ,
a corporeal sel f wei gheddown
by
ci rcumtance
but
I
amondemedtobe
a coward, abei ngnot j ust wthout a hi story but wthout the
possi bi l i t y
of l osi ng
everythi ngon thewager of the ri ddl eof theSphi nx i f
cannot reconnect t o
a
nati ve t r adi t i on of
Canadi an
thought
whi ch
always took phi l osophy as an
experi ment
I f i t
i s possi bl e
that a
c r i t i ca l
phi l osophy can be
foundedon
the
gestureof goi ng
over
to
the si de
of
the
l osers to
the
si de,
that
i s
of the si l enced
voi ces i n
Canadi an
i ntel l ec tual hi s tory, then suppose t hat qual i f i es t hi s medi ta-
t i on as the begi nn ng,
over and
over, of a l ovi ng
recovery
of the r i s k of ph l o-
sophy What I f i nd
most
unbearabl e i s not
the
si mpl esi l encing
of thepast
I t i s
t h i s el emental fact Nowand
f or
som
t i me, the
di scourse
of
Canadi an
pol i t i cal
phi l osophy has
been domnated
as Goya mght i magi ne, wth dread, t h i s
namel ess
domnati on comes
i n the nature of star l i ngs rooti ng en masse) by
Straussi ani sm
by that
very
t r adi t i on of
hyper-rati onal i sm and
thus of
ant i -
phi l osophy, whi ch
was
the
ant i t hesi s andobj ect
of
scornof
the
very best of
the
nowsuppressed
Canadi an
th nkers Can
there
bea more
bi tt er
mockery of the
i nt el l ect ual l i f e of Charl es
Cochrane,
or of Canada s
si ngl e, most
i nsi ght f ul
contri buti on
t o
worl d
phi l osophy,
thanthi s,
that
the
i ncarcerati on
of
i nt el l ect ual
h story
has
been
accompani ed
by
the i nvest i ture of
Canadi an
thought
wth
an
o f f i c i a l
di scourseofCanadi anthought has
i t that weare neo-Kanti ans , z i f not
the
exponents
of a
s tat i c
rati onal i smweare
even
t ol d,
and
th is not un nsightfu l y
as a ref l ecti onon the
product
of the suppressed
mnd,
t hat
Canadi an i nqui ry
hovers wthi nthecl osed
hori zon
of
the
f aces of
reason Thereal i ty,
of
course, i s
the exact
opposi teof
the
f aces of
reason :
Canadi an
thought i s repl ete
wth
i nsi ghts because i t form a sust ai ned,
and
not unqui xot i c,
assaul t
on thepri macy
of reason
For
bet t er or
f or
worse, thethought of
Charl esCochrane,
f or
exampl e,
was
not
a
vacant
defence
of
the
soverei gnty
of
rat i onal i t y,
of
truth,
but
an
effort
at
vindi cati ng humn
experi ence
I t was a
wl dgambl e
wth
a tragi candv i t a l i s t i c
account of
humn
experi ence agambl e that
was i ntended t o di scover, a t
l ast,
the
creati ve
pri nci pl e whi chwoul dprovi de
an
i nternal
i nt egr at i on,
adi rect
medi a-
t i on, of personal i ty, hi story and consci ousness
What wewtness
nowneo
Kanti ani sm the namel ess rel ati onal i smof anal yt i cal phi l osophy)
and neo-
Pl atoni sm
a normal i zed
Pl atoandthus
i ncarceratdwthi ntherat i onal i s t
heaven
8
6
-
7/25/2019 Kroker-Augustine as the Founder of Modern Experience-The Legacy of Charles Norris Cochrane
9/41
UGUSTINE
ND
MODERNSM
of
Straussi andi scourse)are
not
the or i gi nal
movements
of
Canadi an
thought
They
are
more
aki n to
a
ki nd
of
weary
f al l - out
from
the
f a i l u r e
of the
precursors
of
Canadi an
di scourse
to r esol ve, or perhaps
even t o
bri ng
the
threshol d
of
speech
t hat Col umbus s egg
of
modern
experi ence
the body
as
the l i m t and
hori zon of
the
new
worl d ; the f l e sh
as
the unmdi ated centre of
conti nuousl y
experi enced consci ousness After
the l i m t s of
transgressi on i n Cochrane s
thought
had been
reached i n
hi s
r ef usal to thi nk
through and
beyond
the
transparent centreof
Chri sti an
mtaphysi cs t o i t s
i nversi on
i n the
dark
regi onof
corporeal
bei ng,
after th is f i r s t
of the great
ref usal s,
wel l , Canadi an
mtaphysi cs
l ost-and t hi s of a l l
thi ngs-i ts
w l l
Thi s
was agenerati onof Canadi an thi nkers
who
went
t o
the
grave,
and
how
el se
can thi s
be
sai d,
wth
broken
hearts
The
B ack
Watch
Charl es
Cochrane
was
part i cul ar l y
adept
and, i n the
t radi t i on
of
Stephen
Pepper s Wrl d Hypotheses,
4 even
br i l l i ant as a
somti ms
pl ayf ul ,
al ways
i roni c,
phenomnol ogi st
of
thehumanmnd I n accounts of semnal
thi nkers i n
thewestern
t radi t i on,
rangi ng
fromhi s sat i ri cal deconstructi on
of Gbbon s
The
R se andFal l of theRoman
Empire
the chi ef
val ue
of whi ch,
Cochrane
wote,
was not
as
hi story but as l i terature
I t
was a spl endi d exampl e of
howthe
ei ghteenth-century
mnd l ooked at i t s past ) 5 t o
hi s profound
ref l ect i ons
on
Vi rgi l s Aenei d thegeneol ogyof
the
l at i n spi r i t
i n the formti onof
emi ri cal
w l l ) ,
6
Cochrane
drewout the fundamntal presupposi ti ons,
the di scursi ve
assumti ons ,
by
whi ch
the
members
of
the
faml y
of
worl d-hypotheses gai ned
t hei r s i ngul ar i t y and
yet announced
thei r l im ta t i on s I n
ways
mre
deepl y rooted
than
he
may
have suspected,
Cochranewas a
const i t ut i ve
Canadi an thi nker
Not
real l y
as a
si ml e mtter of
content
; af t er
a l l Canadi an
di scourse has
al ways
movedwth
f l e x i b i l i t y between
theNewWorldand the ol dconti nent, between
hi story and technol ogy As a mtter of di rect content,
the greater
part
of
Cochrane s
wi ti ngs
aretobe
i nscri bed
wthi nthat
arc- en- ci el
whi ch
mves f rom
the
f i r s t
whi spers of cl assi cal reason to
the
di si ntegrati on of Chri sti an
mtaphysi cs
But, goodness knows, the i nt ens i t y
of
the encounter wth
Cochrane s oeuvremay
havesomthi ng
to do
wth
the
el l i pt i cal character of
hi s
thought ;
hi s
ref l ect i ons al ways c i rc le
back
and
transform the
obj ect
of
mdi tati on Thus, as i n
the
i nstantaneous
transformti on
of perspecti ve
predi cated by catastrophe t heor y, hi story
shi f ts i nto di al ect i cs, Vi rgi l s Aenei d
becoms a
precursor of the foundi ng i mul ses of Amri can emi re,
and
mtaphysi cs
runs
i nto
ci vi l i zat i on
Even
as
a mtter of content,
i t i s as
i t
the
regi on
of
anci ent hi story i s but a topography i n reverse
i mge of modern
87
-
7/25/2019 Kroker-Augustine as the Founder of Modern Experience-The Legacy of Charles Norris Cochrane
10/41
RTHUR
KROK R
exper i ence And,
of course,
i t
i s
;
f o r
Cochr ane i s worki ngout
a st r at egy of
t hought
whi ch
moves, and
pl a ys ,
and
f a i l s
at
t he
l e ve l
of
metaphys i cs
What
i s
at
stake
i n
hi s
t hought
are a r e l a t i v e l y f ew
l aws
of mot i on
of
t he
t heoret i cal movements of
t he
west ern
mnd He
was,
a f t e r l l
whet her
as
a
pragmat i c n a t u r a l i s t
o r ,
l a t e r , as
a
Chri st i an
r e a l i s t ,
al ways
a
metaphys i ci an of
west ern
c i v i l i z a t i o n
Over
and
beyond cont ent Cochr ane
was an
embl emat i c
Canadi an t hi nker
because
of
t he fo rm t he pr esupposi t i ons , of hi s t hought
The endur i ng
i mpul ses whi chmedi at ed hi s di scour se
were shadowed,
however i nchoat el y,
by
t he
di scurs i ve pr ems es of
t he
Canadi an
ethos, or more
s p e c i f i c a l l y ,
of Canadi an
bei ng
I
pr ef er
t o
t hi nk of
Cochr ane,
or
t o
name
hi m
as
a
member
of
t he
Bl ack
Watchof
phi l osophi cal hi st ory amember t hat i s of t hat br oader t r a d i t i o n of
t hi nker s
i n
Canada
and el sewhere
who
devel oped a s e l f - r e f l e x i v e c r i t i q u e of
modern c i v i l i z a t i o n andwhowere
haunted,
a l l
t he
mor e, by
t he
convi cti on t hat
west ern s oc i e t y cont ai ned
an
i n t e r n a l pr i nci pl e
of
s t a s i s ,
an
unr esol vabl e
contra-
di c t i o n , whi ch
woul d
r el ease agai n
and
agai n t he bar bar i sm
al ways present
i n
t he
west ern
mnd
sChr i s t opher Dawson t he I r i s hChr i st i an
r e a l i s t , put
i t
i n h i s
essay
The
J udgement of
t he
Nat i ons
. t h i s a r t i f i c i a l
r e a l i t y has
col l apsed
l i k e
a
house of
c a r d s , t he demons whi ch haunt ed t he
brai ns of
t hose
outcasts
a
f ew
pr ophet i c
v o i c es , Ni et zsche
and
Dost oevsky) , have i nvaded t he
wor l d
of
man
and
become
i t s
mast er
The
ol d
l andmarks
of
good
and
e v i l
and
t r u th
and
f al sehod
have been swept away
andc i v i l i z a t i o n
i s dr i vi ng bef or e t he
s to rm
l i k e
a
di smant l ed
and
hel pl ess
shi p
.
Or ,
as
E r i c
Havel ock r emar ked
i n
Pr omet heus
Theb i t t e r
d i a l e c t i c of
t he Pr omet heus seems
t o
pursue
us s t i l l As t he i n t e l l e c -
t u a l
powers of man r e a l i z e t hemel ves i n t echnol ogy there seems
t o
be r ai sed
up
agai nst them
t he
f or ce of a r e c k l e s s dom nat i ng wi l l
. z a
To
Dawson s l ament
over
t he
deper sonal i zat i on
of
e v i l and
t o
Havel ock s f or ebodi ngs
concerni ng
t he cert ai n
doomwhi ch
was
i n t e gr a l t o t he c ol l e c t i v e consci ousness of t he
human
s p ec i e s ,
Cochr ane cont r i buted
a t r a g i c under s t andi ng of t he
c l as s i c al
f oundat i ons
i n
west er n
cul ture
and
metaphys i cs ,
of
t he
t ur ni ng
of
nemes i s
i n
t he
European
mnd
I t was Cochr ane s
d i s t i n c t i v e cont r i but i on t o advance beyond
mor al l ament and
prometheanconsci ousness ( Cochr ane
was
t o
say i n Chr i st i an-
i t y
and
Cl a s s i c al
Cul t ur e
t hat promethean consci ousness
i s
t he probl emof
or i gi nal s i n
;
t he t ur ni ng
poi nt , not of sci ence
and t echnol ogy, but
of Chri st i an
met aphys i cs
and t he
embodi ed wi 1 1
9) t o a
sys t emat i c and pat i ent r e f l e c t i o n
on
t he preci se h i s t o r i c a l
and phi l osophi cal
f ormat i ons
whi ch
embodi ed- i n
t he
Gr eek enl i ght enment ,
i n t he
tw l i ght
moments of t he Pax
Augus t a
and
i n
t he
out br eak
of enl i ght enment
i n t he
ei ght eent h- cent ury- t he
i nternal pr i nci pl e
of di scord
whi ch opened
t i me and agai n t he
wound
i n west ern
know edge
That Cochr ane
was abl e
t o surpass
t he
i n t e l l e c t u a l l i m t at i ons of Chr i st i an
real i sm and t o deepen and
i n t e n s i f y
a convergent an a l y s i s such
as t hat
of
Havel ock s
was due, i n
good p a r t , t o t he f our qual i t i es whi ch
he
put
i n to
p l a y,
and
f o r
t he sake of
whi ch
Canadi an di scour se
i s
wager ed
on
t he success
or
f a i l u r e
of h i s
vi ndi cat i on
of
human
exper i ence
-
7/25/2019 Kroker-Augustine as the Founder of Modern Experience-The Legacy of Charles Norris Cochrane
11/41
A
UGUSTINE
AND
MODERNSM
Four Wagers
What i s
most comel l i ng
about
the
wri ti ngs
of Charl es
Cochrane,
whether
i t
be
hi s
studi es of
Thucydi des,
Vi r gi l , Augusti ne,
Gbbon
or
hi s muchdiscounted,
but
semnal , mdi tati onon theCanadi an
expl orer, Davi dThompson i s that they
di scl osethemnd-the
di r ect del i veranceof bei ng i ntowords-of athi nker
f or
whom
he
act
of
thought i s a wayof prepari ng
f or death Indeed, much
mrethan
i s t ypi cal i n the
communi tyof hi s tor i ans or
professional phi l osophers, therei s
no
sense
of estrangemnt i nCochrane swri ti ngs
no
s i l ence of
repressed thought
between
the
word
and
the
mdi tati on
What
i s
at
work
i n
the
texts
i s
i n
fact,
not
an evasion of l i f e but a t r oubl ed,
restl ess
and
t r agi c recordof a thi nker who
gaml ed hi s exi stenceonphi l osophi cal
hi s tory
;
who, as
Sart re sai d
about himel f
i n Words and woul d
now
di r ect
t hi s to Cochrane, wrote, i n
desperati on
and i n
despai r, to save himel f And j ust as Sartrenoted that wri ti nghad condemned
him
not to di e anunknown,
so too, Cochrane s wager
i s
toourgent
and
too
demndi ng
to
al l ow
him
even
i n
memory, t o s l i p
away
f rom
us
i n t o
the
obl i vi on
of death For
Cochrane
hasopenedup a passageway toa r adi cal rethi nkingof the
western tradi ti on-to a
phi l osophi cal
ref l ect i on
on tragedy as the essence of
humn
experi ence,
t o
a
comng
struggl e
w th
and
through
Augusti ne,
to a
reinterpretati on
of thegeneal ogy of
di vi dedconsciousness
Cochrane
has
con-
demnedus to
be passengers
w thout a t i cket Sartre again) between i deal i sm
and
natural i sm to
be,
after
hi s
unmski ng of Pl atoni c rati onal i sm
and
hi s
abandonmnt of cl assi cal sci ent i a
(l ong
beforeJ ohn
Dewey, Cochrane adopted,
mdi tated
upon
and abandoned
an
experimntal soci al
sci ence
w th
i t s
com
mtment
toa l i beral i mgeof creat i vepol i t i cs ) , thi nkerswho
have
nowhere t o
goexcept, f i nal l y, through
and
beyondAugusti ne
And,
i f
truth
be tol d, everythi ng i n Cochrane s l i f e
every
word,
every
tor -
mnted
but somtims
al so
bori ng
turn
of
thought,
i s but a l engthy
prelude,
a
preparati on,
f or hi s
i nterpretati on
of
Augusti ne Al l
of
Cochrane s thought
hovers
around, and f a l l s backfrom
hi s
f i nal mdi tati onon
Augusti ne
a mdi ta-
ti onwhich,
whi l e
i t
occurs w thi n that profound text, Chri sti ani ty
andCl assi cal
Cul ture,
real l y
takes pl ace, recei ves
i t s emodimnt
as i t were,
i none
si ngl e,
but
deci si ve
chapter of that
book- Nostra
Phi l osophi a
I t
i s
of course, towards
thehori zon
of theoutrageous, tumu tuous, br i l l i ant and, t hi nk, qui te
mstaken)
formu ati ons
of that chapter ;
towards,
that
i s
a
r adi cal
ref l ect i on
upon (and
i nversion) of the
t r i ni t ar i an formul a
(seennow,
both
as
the
epi stemologi cal
structure
of
mdern
psychol ogy
and as the mtaphysi cal structure
of modern
power)
;
towards th is
ni ghtmre
and
utopi a
that
t hi s
mdi tati on
tends
I f Coch-
rane
hadwri tten nothi ng
el se
but
that
s i ngl e chapter t hat
si ngl e,
eml emti c
and, yes, myst i cal ,
outpouri ng
of a
l i f e
of
thought),
w th
i t s
qui te
imossi bl e
and
qui tetransparent and, i t
must
be
sai d,
so
troubl i ngaccount of Augusti ne,
then
hi s
woul dhavebeen
a ful l
andworthwhi l e
phi l osophi cal l i f e
For
hewoul d
s t i l l have
taken
us
by
surpri se
he
s t i l l woul d have created
a
sml l
shadow of
anxiety
between the
mnd
and the f l eshl y sel f
;
he
s t i l l
woul d
have com
up
to us
f rom
89
-
7/25/2019 Kroker-Augustine as the Founder of Modern Experience-The Legacy of Charles Norris Cochrane
12/41
RTHURKROK R
behi nd, f rom
t he forgotten dept hs of Chri st i an met aphysi cs, and cut away t he
pretensi ons
of
t he
modern
epi st eme,
t ouchi ng
r aw
nerve- endi ng,
a
deep
evasi on,
i n
west ern
consci ousness
And
he
woul d
have
done
t h i s
by
si mpl y
ut t er i ng
a f ew
words l i k e
t he
underm ni ng
of a
modernTertu l l i an) ,
by
whi sper -
i ng ,
even whi msi cal l y,
that t he
e l s e , nosse, posse, t he consci ousness,
w i l l
and
nature, of t he
t r i ni t ar i an f ormul a,
t he phi l osophi cal
and h i s t o r i c al reasons
f or
August i ne, had
not gone
away
And he
mght not even
hadto say that wewere
merel y
mar ki ng t i me, marked
men
r e a l l y , u n t i l
we
have
returned t o
t heChri st i an
t radi t i on and wrest l ed, not w t h t he devi l t h i s t i me, but
w t h
t he Sai nt Surel y
we
cannot
be bl amed f o r
bei ng angry w t h Cochrane ;
f or
l ament i ng
that
dark
day
when
t he
absence of
hi s
wri t i ngs
f i r s t
demanded
a r epl y
Cochrane
has con-
demned
us t ohi story
;
and
t he
hi story towhi chhe f orces a ret urn, t h i s happy
and
c r i t i c a l
di ssi pat i on
of amnesi a
(and
whi ch
c r i t i c a l
phi l osopher has not begged f or
recovery
of t he p a s t , f or ont ol ogy) , i s
l i k e
t he br eak- up of a l ong and t edi ous
w nt er
But who can
appreci ate
t he
spr i ng- t i me f or l l of
t he corpses
comngt o
t he surface?
To
read
Cochrane
s
t o
be
i mpl i cat ed
i n
t he
hi story of
west ern
met aphysi cs
There i s no
escape
now
s o ,
as
prel ude
t o
Cochr ane s prel ude
i t
woul d
be best
t o
establ i sh, qui ckl y
and
w t h c l a r i t y , t he t hemat i cs
whi ch
l ed hi m
i n t he
end,
t o t he w l l
t o truth
of
August i ne and
whi ch,
I
bel i eved,
doomed
hi s
t hought
t o c i r c l e
forever
w t h i n
t he
August i ni an
di scourse
l
The
Quest f or
a
Creat i ve Pri nci pl e
That
there
i s
no t i n y space of di scord
bet ween
Cochrane s medi t at i on
upon
exi st ence
and
h i s i nscr i pt i on of
bei ng
i n
wr i t i ng
shoul d not be surpri si ng
Cochrane devot ed
h i s l i f e
t o di scoveri ng
a sol ut i on
t o
a f undament al met aphysi -
cal
probl em a probl emwhi ch he
di d not s i mpl y t hi nk about
at
a
di st ance
but
whi ch
he
l i ved
t hrough,
i n bl ood,
as
t he
gambl e
of
mort al i t y
t was
Cochrane s
cont ent i on
that
t he
central
pr obl em
of west ern
know edge
(and,
s uc c es s i v el y ,
of
et h i c s ,
h i s t o r y ,
ontol ogy and p o l i t i c s )
l ay i n
t he cont i nuous f a i l u r e
of
t he Euro-
pean mnd,
and
nowhere
was
t h i s more
evi dent than
i n c l as s i c al
reason,
t o
di s c ov er , outsi de of t he presupposi t i ons of i deal i smand
nat ural i sm
an
adequat e
account i ng
concerni ng
how, w t hi n t he
domai nof
humanexperi ence,
apri nci pl e
mght
be
di scovered
whi chwoul d
ensure
i dent i ty through
change
And
t
was
h i s
convi ct i on t hat i n t he absence of
general t heory of human experi ence whi ch
f urni shed
a
creat i ve pri nci pl e as a d i r e c t l y apprehended way of medi at i ng order
and
process
(the
cont i ngent
and
t he
i mmut abl e)
that
western know edge,
and
thus t s
s oc i a l
f ormat i ons, wer e doomed
t o
successi ve,
predi ctabl e
and r e l e n t l e s s
s er i e s
of
di si nt egrati ons
As
Cochrane had t Chri st i an met aphysi cs was not
i mposed on c l a s s i c a l reason, but arose i n response t o t he i n t e r na l f a i l u r e , t he
erosi on f rom
w thi n , of
c l as s i c al
di scourse
z Consequent l y, t he
truth of
Chr i s t i an di scourse
was t o be referred
t o t he
consti t ut i ve f a i l ur e of
t he west ern
mnd,
and
ori gi nal l y
of
t he Graeco Roman mnd t o vi ndi cat e human ex-
-
7/25/2019 Kroker-Augustine as the Founder of Modern Experience-The Legacy of Charles Norris Cochrane
13/41
UGUSTINEN
MO ERNSM
peri ence
to r esol ve, that
i s
the tensi on betweenw l l
andi nt el l i gence,
between
v i r t u and
fortuna
I n hi s
viewpoint, i t was
the
absence
of a
creat i ve pri nci pl e
for
the
i ntegrati on of humanpersona i ty andhumanhi story
whi ch,
i n
the
end, l ed
the
Geek mnd t o
a tr agi c
sense
of
f ut i l i t y i n
the
f ace
of
a
worl d
seemngl y
governed
by
the
pri nci pl e of nemsi s
;
andwhi ch condemned
the
Roman
mnd
t hi s precursor
of
the
acqui si t i ve andemi ri ca
personal i ty)
t o bewl dermnt
i n
the
presence of the bad
i n f i n i t y
of natura i smand
which, i n themodern
age, has reappeared
under
thesi gnof
i nstrumnta i sm
as enl i ghtenmnt cr i t i que
33
Thi s imossi bl edemandon
hi story f or
a creat i ve pr i nci pl e,
f or
a newvi t al i sm
whi ch
woul d
successf ul l y i ntegrate
theprocess
of human
experi ence
andsol ve,
at
l east
symbol i cal l y, the
i nevi tabi l i t y
of
death (Cochrane s
soci al
proj ecti on
f or
death was the
f ear
of
stasi s) represents
the
fundamnta
cat egory ,
the
gravi tati on-poi nt, around whi ch the
whol e
of
Cochrane s thought
turns
I t
somtims
can
be
sai d, part i cul ar l y
so
i n the
case of seri ous
phi l osophi es
of
l i f e
whi ch thi nk wth
bl ood , that
t hei r conceptua st ructure, thei r mdes
of
i ntel l ec-
t ual expressi ons, thei r
often contrad ctory i nterventi ons and r ever sal s, thei r
attemts
at
taki ng
up the r i sk
of
phi l osophy ,
are
rad ated
wth
a si ngl e,
overri d ng
root
mtaphor
I f t hi s i s so, then the root
mtaphor
of Cochrane s
thought i s the attempt
to sol ve
the r i d d l e
of the
Sphi nx ,
t o
reconci l e
the
Homeri c
mth
of necessi ty
and
chance,
to
answer
the
weepi ng
of
Euri pi des
through
the
creati on
of a
v i t a l i s t i c account
of human
experi ence Thesearch
for a
creati ve pri nci pl e (whi chCochrane ul ti matel y f i nds, i n
the
w l l to
t ruth -
persona i ty i n
God)
i s t hus,
the presupposi ti on whi ch structures
hi s
earl i est
cr i t i que
of
the
arche- the physi cs , et hi cs and l ogi c
of Pl atoni c d scourse
(Thucyd desandtheSci ence
of Hstory), whi ch
grounds
hi s
mst
mature
account
of
the r adi cal def i ci enci es
of enl i ghtenmnt
reason
( The
Mnd
of Edward
Gbbon ) andwhi ch i nform hi s summati onal
cr i t i que
of
the
psychol ogy, pol -
i t i c s
hi story
andepi steml ogy
of the cl assi cal
mnd
Chri st i ani ty
andCl assi cal
Cul ture) 3
4
I f
Cochrane s
rethi nki ng
of
the
western
t r adi t i on from
the
vi ewpoi nt
of
i t s
r adi cal sci ssi on of bei ng and becomng
was
a siml e
apol ogi a f or Chri sti an
mtaphysi cs
agai nst
the
cl am of cl assi cal dscourseor , for
that
matter, aki n t o
Chri stopher
Dawson s
profound, but stati c,
ci r cl i ng back
t o
Chri sti an
theol ogy
under
the
gui se of
thedefence
of
ci vi l i zat i on,
then hi s
thought woul d
pose no
cha l enge
I f
i ndeed, wecoul dbecert ai n t hat t hi s turn to
v i t a l i sm
to
the
search
f or a
new
uni fyi ngpri nci pl ewhi ch
woul d
vi ndi catehuman
experi ence
by l i nki ng
the devel opmnt
of
persona i ty
the
August i ni an
sol uti on
to
the
ml ti pl e
soul )
t o themsteri ous
pl eni tudeof
exi st ence,
was
a l l
a ongonl y
another
way
of
taki ng
up
agai n
the
weary
j ourney
f rom
Athens
t o
J erusa em,
then
we
mght
saf el y say of Cochrane
what
August i ne sai d of
the
St oi cs
Onl y t hei r
ashes
remai n
But
i t
i s
fortunatel y
so, the
danger
of hi s
thought that, whi l e i t
never
succeeded
i n i t s
expl i ci t proj ect of devel opi ng a newvi ta i smwhi ch woul d
preempt
the revol t
of
human
experi ence , hi s d scourse
does
stand
as a
t heatr i -
cum
hi stori cum
(Foucaul t)
i n
whi ch
are
rehearsed and then
pl ayed
out ,
the
three fundamnta mvements of
western thought
poeti c
imagi nati on,
phi l o-
-
7/25/2019 Kroker-Augustine as the Founder of Modern Experience-The Legacy of Charles Norris Cochrane
14/41
RTHUR
KROKER
sophy
(both
as
Pl atoni c reason andas posi t i ve
sci ence)
and
theol ogy I t
was,
perhaps, Cochrane s
uni que contri buti on to
recogni ze
i n
the
embl emati c
f i gur es
of
Homer
(myth),
Pl ato sci ent i a)
andAugusti ne
sapi ent i a)
not onl y
powerful
syntheses
of dvergent,
but
coeval ,
tendenci es i n western consci ousness,
but to
thi nk through as
wel l the si gni f i cance of what
was
most
apparent,
that
these
were
representati ve
perspecti ves thepl ay of aest het i cs,
i ntel l ectual i t y
andfa i th,
the fates of
whi ch
were
entangl edand
whoknows,
prophesi edi nthe
gambl e
of
the others
5 I t my
be, of
course that Cochrane s concern,
andhope,
w th
the
pos s i b i l i t y
of the t r i ni t a r i a n formul a ( Nostra
Phi l osophi a TheDscoveryof
Personal i ty )
as the l ong-sought
creati ve
pri nci p e
was but a
product
of a
Chri sti an
f a i t h
whi ch
f i nal l y
permtted
hi m
the
peace
of
thecrede
ut
i nt el l egas
But
mght
i t
not
al so
be,
t hat
the t r i ni t ar i an
formul a was l ess a
hi s tor i cal l y
speci f i c product
of
the Chri sti an
metaphysi c
than
an i mpossibl e, and transpar-
ent , reconci l i at i onof
thewarri ng
dscourses
of Homr
Pl ato
andAugusti ne
I na
passagewhi chapproaches ecstat i c
i l l umnati on but
whi ch
al so carr i es w thi t
the
sounds
of desperati on,
Cochrane,
thi nki ng
t hat
he
i s
at last, at
rest
wthi n
the
i n te r i o r i t y of Augusti ne s cl osure of
humn experi ence,
wri tes
Chri sti an
i nsi ght
f i nds expressi on i n twomdes
As
truth
i t my be
descri bed
as reason
i r r adi at ed by
l ove
as moral i ty l ove i r r adi at ed by
reason
3G
Now
whi l e
th i s
passage
i s
a
wonderful
expressi on
of
the
creati on
of the
val ue-truth whi ch
marks
the threshol d of
power/know edge i n the di sci pl i nary
i mpul ses
of
western soci et y, s t i l l
there
can be
heard i n t h i s passage another
voi ce
whi ch
i s
absent
andsi l enced thi s
ti md
voi ce
whi ch
can j ust be
detected
i n
the
carceral
of
val ue-truth
utters no
words
;
i t i s
not ,
after
a l l
phi l osophy
whi ch makes the
f i r s t protest Thesoundwhi chwe
hear
deep
i n the i nner sel f of
the repressed
consci ousness of
Augusti ne
i s
I bel i eve, that of the
weepi ngof
Euri p des
i t i s
the
returnof poeti c consci ousness, of
myth,
whi ch i s
onceagai n
the
begi nni ng
of the
modern, or i s
i t
anci ent age
Thedanger
of Cochrane
i s
that hi s
quest f or
the
creat i vepri nci pl e,
whi l e
al ways
ai medat si l enci ng
mth
andreason cl ar i f i es the
fundamental categori es of
the
t r i adi c
bei ng
of
western
soci ety
Cochrane
thought
wthandagai nst
Pl atoni c
d scourse
(Thucyddes and
the
Sci ence of
Hstory
was
an
i ntenti onal recovery
of
the
cl assi cal
science
of f i f th century
Greece
against
the
general hypothesi s of
Herodotus andagai nst Pl atoni c
phi l osophy)
becauseof
hi s
convi cti on that
Pl atoni c reasonwas i nadequate
to the task, posed
i n
mythi c
consci ousness, of
d scoveri ng
a creat i ve and
mvingpri nci p e
whi ch
woul d
reconci l ehumn
effort and
fortuna
ndCochrane
f l ed
to theol ogy
as
a
second
st rategi c
l i ne of retreat
after
the debacl e of
cl assi cal reason) f rom
the i nel ucta-
b i l i t y
of
nemesi s
i n humn experi ence
Thus, the cur i os i t y
an
anci ent
hi s-
tori an
whonot onl y med tates
upon
but
l i ves
through
the
root
metaphors,
the
fundamental
categori es
of
thought
and
the immnent
l i mtati ons
of the three
consti tuti ve
structures
of
westernconsci ousness
Whi l eCochrane s
r adi cal def i -
ci ency
l ay
i n
hi s
unw l l i ngness t o rel at i vi ze
Augusti ni an d scourse
that
i s
to
thi nk through
the si gni f i cance of the d scovery
of that
exp osi ve
bond ng
of
power
and
ni h l i smi n
theol ogy nonethel ess
Cochrane has succeeded
i n recess-
i ng the
hi st ori cal
ori gi ns of the r adi cal
sci ss i on to the el emental
p ay i n the
-
7/25/2019 Kroker-Augustine as the Founder of Modern Experience-The Legacy of Charles Norris Cochrane
15/41
AUGUSTINENDMODERNSM
cl assi cal
mnd
among
poetry,
phi l osophy and
theol ogy
and,
moreover,
i n pres-
enti ng
a broad
tr aj ectory
of
the geneal ogy
of western consci ousness
2 The Tragi c Sense
of
Pol i t i c al
Experi ence
Cochrane s
search for a creati ve
pri ncipl ewhi ch
woul dprovi de a
more
ade-
quate
ground f or
the
reconc i l i at i on
of
order
and
process was made themore
urgent
by
hi s t r agi c
sense
of pol i t i cal
l i f e Hewas
a
phi l osopher
of
the
deed ,
one
who transposed
the
essent i al
impul ses
of the tr agi c
imagi nati on i nto
a general
theory of the cl assi cal
sources
of the tr agi c
imaginati on,
i nto
a
general
theory
of
the
cl assi cal sourcesof
European cul ture
and,
moreover,
i nto
a
radi cal rethi nki ng
of Chri sti an
metaphysi cs
as a
necessary response
to
the
i nternal
def i ci enci es
of
the
natural i s t i c
v i t i a of the cl assi cal worl d
From
t s
genesi s i nThucydi des andthe
Sci ence
of
H story
t o i t s
most
mature statement i n
The Mndof Edward
Gbbon
(an
el oquent
c r i t i c i sm
of
the
formal i smof
i nstrumental
reason), Coch-
rane s i ntel l ectual
proj ect
was suffused
wth an exi stent i al i s t
sens i bi l i t y
wth a
sel f - consci ous and
del i berate attempt at
formul ati ng
i n
the
i di omof hi stor i cal
schol arshi p the
pessimsti c
and, i ndeed,
f a t a l i s t i c
i mpul ses
of
the i nner
man
Whether i n
hi s
studi es
of Vi r gi l ,
Lucr et i us, Thucydides,
Theodosi us or Augus-
ti ne, the
hi stor i cal
imagi nati on
was for
Cochrane
an
out l et f or
a
weal th of
psychol ogi cal
i nsi ghts i nto the
meani ng
of sufferi ng i n humanexi stence
t
mght
be
sai d,
i n fact, that
he
el aborated,
and thi s
i n
the
l anguage of hi stor i cal
real i sm
aprofound
psychol ogi cal
anal ysi s
of
thealways
f ut i l e humaneffort,
t hi s
vai n
hubri s, struggl i ngagainst
the
pul l
of
the
f l esh
towards
death Thi s was
a
phi l osopher
of
l i f ewho
arrai gnedthe
main
currents of
Europeancul t ural
hi story
as a
way
of i l l umnati ng
the more
uni ver sal ,
and thus i nti mate, pl i ght
of
reconci l i ng
thebri ef moment
of
l i f e
wth
the
comng
ni ght
of
death But
then,
the
pecul i ar tragedy of Cochrane s hi stor i cal
sens i bi l i t y i s that
hewas broken,
i n
the
end
or
( i f
a Chri sti an) i n
the begi nni ng,
by the
radi cal
i mpossi bi l i ty of
l i vi ng
wthout
hope
of an easy
escape
wthi n
the
term
of the i ntense and i nevi tabl e
vi si on of human
suf feri ng reveal ed by
the
poeti c
consci ousness
of the pre-
Socrati c
Geeks
Cochrane
was
a
phi l osopher
of the deed because hi s wri ti ng
responded,
at
i t s deepest
threshol d, to
the
aest het i cs
of poeti c
consci ousness ;
but the
great
i nt er nal
tensi on
of hi s
thought, and
suspect
the
deep
evasi on
of
hi s
l i f e
was
that
he sought t o
make hi s peace wth the
tragedy
of
f i nal i t y
by
denounci ng as
a
r adi cal
error the hubri s of
promethean
consci ousness ( t h i s i s
the
arche
of
Thucydi des
and
the Sci ence
of
Hstory)
and,
l ater,
by
accepti ngthe
Chri sti an dogmaof ori gi nal
si n the
essent i al
moment
of
Chri sti ani ty
and
Cl assi cal
Cul ture)
as a j ust i f i cat i on f or Augusti ne s
subl imati on
of
di vi ded
con-
sci ousness
i nto
the
w l l to truth
The
peace
made
by
Cochrane
wthexi stence
consi sted
perhaps
onl yof the expedi ent
of
substi tuti ng gui l t over
thehubri s
of
the
Homeri chero
for the unmedi atedand
unrel i eved
i mage
of
nemesi s offered
by
theGeek
poets
Need i t be sai d that, whi l egui l t of f er s
the
promse
of
a f i nal
-
7/25/2019 Kroker-Augustine as the Founder of Modern Experience-The Legacy of Charles Norris Cochrane
16/41
RTHURKROK R
peace
t hr ough
the
mechani sm
of t he
conf essi on ,
or
s ha l l
we
say evacuati on ,
of t he
s e l f , poet i c
consci ousness prom ses onl y t h a t the
s e l f i s condemned t o
t he
l i b e r t y
of
exper i enci ng f u l l y t he v i c i s s i t u d e s
of
cont i ngent and
mutabl e e x -
per i ence
The
hor i zon
of
Cochrane s h i s t o r i c a l real i sm
was
represented
by
t he
f a t e f u l f i gure of August i ne
i t was
not acci dental that Cochrane s
t hought ,
whi l e
i t
may
have
begun w t h and
never escaped
from i t s
ref l ecti on
on Herodotus,
concl uded wi t h
a medi t at i on on The
Conf essi ons
of St
August i ne
Perhaps
Cochrane s
maj or cont r i but i on
may
have been
t o i n s t r u c t us
now
of
t he
mai n
avenues of
evasi on
open the prospects
f o r an
i n t e r n a l
peace whi ch
were
di scl osed by t he uropean mnd
as
i t st ruggl ed to drawaway f romt he t r a g i c
s e n s i b i l i t y
of
t he
Gr eek
c l as s i c al
hi stori ans
Thus,
i n
much t he
sameway that
Cochr ane once
sai d of c l as s i c al h i s t o r i o -
gr aphy
that
i t represented
an
at t empt
t o
escape
from
t he concl usi ons
of
Her odotus
3 7
Cochr ane s h i s t o r i c a l i nqui ry m ght be vi ewed
as
an endur i ng and
progressi vel y ref i ned
e f f o r t at di scoveri ng
anewarche, or starti ng- poi nt
a
new
physi cs,
e t h i c s
and l o g i c ) whi chwoul d respond
f i n a l l y
t o
t he
f a t a l i s m to
t he
i nt ernal pr i nci pl e
of
s t a s i s ,
i n
human exper i ence
di scl osed by aesthet i c
con-
sci ousness I n a n
el oquent
passage
i n
Chri st i ani ty
and
Cl as s i c al Cul ture,
Cochr ane
presented a vi vi d descr i pt i on of the nemesi s
i nherent
i n t he
very
pl ay of
human
exper i ence
The
uni ver se
whi ch
presents
i t s e l f
i n
Her odotus
i s one
of
mot i on
perpetual and i ncessant
38
Transl at ed
i n t o a
pr i nci pl e
of
human behavi our , t he
psyche i s so
const i t ut ed
that now and t hen,
here
and there l i k e
f i r e ) , i t
succeeds
i n
over com ng t he
resi st anceof those el ements whi chmake f o r
depres-
s i o n,
and,
when i t
does,
i t
exhi bi t s
t hephenomenon
of accumul at i on
and
a c q u i s i -
t i on
on
a more
than
ordi nary s c al e
3 9
But ,
Cochrane n o t e s ,
there i s i n t h i s
uni ver se
no evi dence of
organi c
growth
and t h i s
because
t he pr i nci pl e of
expansi on operates at t he
same t i me
as
a pr i nci pl e of l imta t i on
40
Thus,
and
t h i s i s f undament al f or
Cochrane, t he process
t o
whi ch
manki nd
i s
subj ect i s
sel f - def eati ng
i t
i s
l i k e
t he
opposi t i on
of a
pendul um
4 1
I n
t h i s
t r a g i c
denoue-
ment ,
t he
rol e of t he mnd
i s
that of a
passi ve
spectator :
sel f - consci ousness
resol ves
i t s e l f
i nto a consci ousness of
i mpot ence
i n
t he
gr i p
of
materi al neces-
s i t y
4
z
Or ,
i n
a
succeedi ng
passage,
Cochrane medi t ates upon
t he
words
of
Her odotus
whi ch
wer e voi ced
by a
Persi an
nobl e
at
t he Theban
di nner - par t y
gi ven on the eve of Pl ataea :
hat whi ch
i s
dest i ned
t o come
to
pass as
a consequence of
di vi ne a c t i v i t y ,
i t
i s
i mposs i bl e to man
to
avert
Many of us are
awar e
of
t h i s
t r u t h ,
yet
we
f ol l ow because
we
cannot do
other-
wi se
Of
a l l
t he sorrows whi ch a f f l i c t manki nd, t he
b i t t e r e s t
i s
t h i s ,
that one
shoul d have consci ousness
of
much, but control
over not hi ng
4
3
The
el emental and nobl e gesture
of
Cochrane s
t hought
was hi s
e f f o r t , al ways
-
7/25/2019 Kroker-Augustine as the Founder of Modern Experience-The Legacy of Charles Norris Cochrane
17/41
UGUSTINEN
MO ERNSM
schol ar l y
and
nuanced,
t o
f ashi on
a
r esponse
t o
t he
bi t t er ness
whi ch
f l ows
from
t he
r ecogni t i on
of mar gi nal
and
mut abl e
exi st ence
Cochr ane s
t hought
hover ed
ar ound
bi t t er ness
of t he
s o u l , not
i n t h e
modern sense
of
r essent i ment ,
but
i n
t he
more
c l a s s i c a l meani ng
of
bi t t er ness as
an
ac know edgement
t h a t
there
was a
work
i n
t he ver y i n t e r i o r i t y
of
human
exper i ence
a pr i nc i pl e of
l i m t a t i o n ,
of a r r e s t ,
whi ch
out si de of
and
beyond human
agency moved t o dr ag
back t he
most i nspi r i ng of
p o l i t i c a l
exper i ment s
and
of
phi l osophi cal
pr oj ect s
t o nemes i s
and
s t a s i s
What
Vi co has descr i bed
as
t he
i nevi t abl e c y c l e of
r i c o r s o
14
Cochr ane
recurred
t o and
t h i s
o f t e n ,
as
t he c l a s s i c a l
i mage
of wal ki ng
t he wheel
I f i t i s
accurate t o c l a im
t h a t t he t r a g i c i magi nat i on
r epr esent s
t he
l i m t
and
t he
gambl e of Cochr ane s t hought ,
then
we
shoul d
expect
t o
f i nd a
l i n ge r i ng , but
per vasi ve,
sense
of arrested
human
p o s s i b i l i t y
i n
each
of h