The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast · Mark Linsenmayer, Wes Alwan, Seth Paskin, Dylan Casey

Ep. 384: Graham Harman's Object-Oriented Ontology (Part Three)

·45 min·4 clips

Harman argues that aesthetics, not knowledge, offers an indirect path to reality through metaphor and art.

This episode concludes the hosts' discussion of Graham Harman's book "Object-Oriented Ontology: A New Theory of Everything," focusing on Chapter Two titled "Aesthetics is the Root of All Philosophy." The hosts, Mark, Wes, Seth, and Dylan, are a group of philosophers who analyze complex philosophical texts for a general audience. They explore Harman's argument that aesthetics and metaphor provide a unique, indirect form of cognition that accesses reality more effectively than literal or rationalist approaches. Harman criticizes both rationalism and mysticism for claiming a direct, complete grasp of reality, which he argues is impossible. He proposes that metaphor, like describing a "wine-dark sea" or a "cypress is like the ghost of a dead flame," offers a superior, indirect access to objects. The chapter heavily draws from philosopher José Ortega y Gasset's essay, which describes how aesthetic experience creates a new object by temporarily destroying our ordinary interpretations. Harman modifies Ortega's view by introducing the concept of "theatricality," where the human observer actively stands in for the real, inaccessible object in a metaphor. He quotes Ortega stating that in art, the image's objective part is subordinated to our subjective, felt experience. A key insight is Harman's claim that "I myself am the sole real object in all experience," meaning we access other objects' hidden inwardness by analogizing it to our own subjective experience. The hosts contrast Harman's theory with a more common "model theory" of metaphor, which finds meaningful isomorphisms between compared items, like Juliet and the sun. They note Harman explicitly avoids justifying metaphors through such literal similarities, focusing instead on the relational, theatrical act. The discussion references Kant's noumena, Heidegger's receding objects, and briefly mentions Schopenhauer's concept of will. One surprising claim is that for Harman, the actual content or rich meaning we derive from a metaphor is secondary to the structural act of theatrical substitution. The hosts debate whether this indirect access constitutes any meaningful cognition about the world or if it becomes an empty, purely formal relation. They question if objects truly have an inaccessible "inwardness" comparable to human consciousness, or if Harman is over-extending a Kantian framework. The example of James Clerk Maxwell using fluid analogies to develop electromagnetic theory is raised as a counterpoint where metaphor clearly yields literal, scientific knowledge. The tone is a detailed, collegial seminar-style analysis, with hosts frequently reading directly from the text to parse dense philosophical claims. The style is conversational and educational, balancing exposition with critical questioning as the hosts work through the arguments step-by-step. Listeners who enjoy deep dives into contemporary continental philosophy, specifically speculative realism and metaphysics, will appreciate this episode. Those seeking practical applications or clear resolutions may find the abstract discussion on the mechanics of metaphor too technical.

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