Kyla Bruff
I am an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. My research interests lie primarily in 19th and 20th century German and French social and political philosophy. In general, I investigate the metaphysical commitments and historical roots of contemporary ideological orientations. I am currently researching different concepts of civil society in relation to questions of the state and identity in German Idealism and Critical Theory. An additional one of my ongoing projects develops a critical analysis of populism out of the work of Theodor W. Adorno. I wrote my doctoral dissertation on F.W.J. Schelling’s political philosophy—the first standalone monograph on the topic in English.
In addition to my research, I am committed to innovative, practical approaches to carrying out philosophy in public. My work in applied and social philosophy is particularly exemplified through my activities as Co-Director of the ecological NPO For A New Earth (FANE). In this role, I have mobilized philosophy in the public sphere and contributed to policy debates in Newfoundland and Labrador. I am particularly passionate about local, grass-roots action addressing climate change and related ecological issues. FANE has accordingly hosted numerous public events on the ecological effects of specific industries and government megaprojects. My op-ed articles and radio interviews have also addressed themes in feminism and other current political and ecological matters.
I am an active translator from French and German into English. My published translations include the first appearance of Schelling’s Late Political Philosophy: Lectures 22-24 of the Presentation of the Purely Rational Philosophy in English.
My other roles in bringing Schelling’s work to contemporary audiences include serving as the Managing Editor of Kabiri: The Official Journal of the North American Schelling Society, the Treasurer of the North American Schelling Society, and Co-editor of the Palgrave Schelling Handbook.
Address: Kyla Bruff
Department of Philosophy
3A35 Paterson Hall
1125 Colonel By Drive,
Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6
Canada
In addition to my research, I am committed to innovative, practical approaches to carrying out philosophy in public. My work in applied and social philosophy is particularly exemplified through my activities as Co-Director of the ecological NPO For A New Earth (FANE). In this role, I have mobilized philosophy in the public sphere and contributed to policy debates in Newfoundland and Labrador. I am particularly passionate about local, grass-roots action addressing climate change and related ecological issues. FANE has accordingly hosted numerous public events on the ecological effects of specific industries and government megaprojects. My op-ed articles and radio interviews have also addressed themes in feminism and other current political and ecological matters.
I am an active translator from French and German into English. My published translations include the first appearance of Schelling’s Late Political Philosophy: Lectures 22-24 of the Presentation of the Purely Rational Philosophy in English.
My other roles in bringing Schelling’s work to contemporary audiences include serving as the Managing Editor of Kabiri: The Official Journal of the North American Schelling Society, the Treasurer of the North American Schelling Society, and Co-editor of the Palgrave Schelling Handbook.
Address: Kyla Bruff
Department of Philosophy
3A35 Paterson Hall
1125 Colonel By Drive,
Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6
Canada
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Published Papers by Kyla Bruff
(Daniel Whistler, Tilottama Rajan, eds.)
After describing Schelling’s early defence of the organic state in the context of the political conditions in which he lived, the second half of this paper delineates Schelling’s chronological journey away from the organic state towards his positive philosophy of history. I outline this departure beginning with Schelling’s focus on the fall of finitude from the Absolute (in the 1804 Philosophy and Religion), then moving on to his emphasis on particularity (in the 1806 Aphorisms as an Introduction to the Philosophy of Nature), which coincides with his ascription of a unique role of religion vis-à-vis particularity and unity (in both the 1806 Aphorisms and 1807 On the Essence of German Science). These works all preface Schelling’s 1809 proposition that the unity achieved by love is higher than necessity in the Freedom Essay. After this point, Schelling permanently moves away from his earlier idea that the state should mediate the genuine, communal relations between human beings and accordingly that it could produce the unity that is the goal and destiny of the human project.
Merleau-Ponty et Foucault partagent un héritage ontologique commun particulièrement redevable à Heidegger et à sa réponse à Husserl, sans proposer une ontologie fondatrice. À cet égard, Hubert Dreyfus et Paul Rabinow écrivent, «Husserl’s transcendental phenomenology gave rise to an existential counter-movement led by Heidegger in Germany and Maurice Merleau-Ponty in France. Foucault was steeped in the thought of both these existential phenomenologists ». Heidegger rejette la possibilité de réduire notre expérience de l’étant à un ego Husserlien, organisateur et fondateur, et de même, Merleau-Ponty comme Foucault refusent tous deux l’établissement d’une conscience originaire qui fonderait tout, ainsi que la postulation d’un sujet autonome transcendantal dans leurs conceptions du sujet incarné-dans-le monde. Néanmoins, cela n’implique pas nécessairement l’affirmation d’un fond ontologique connaissable à partir duquel nous expliquerions notre propre existence.
Papers by Kyla Bruff
(Daniel Whistler, Tilottama Rajan, eds.)
After describing Schelling’s early defence of the organic state in the context of the political conditions in which he lived, the second half of this paper delineates Schelling’s chronological journey away from the organic state towards his positive philosophy of history. I outline this departure beginning with Schelling’s focus on the fall of finitude from the Absolute (in the 1804 Philosophy and Religion), then moving on to his emphasis on particularity (in the 1806 Aphorisms as an Introduction to the Philosophy of Nature), which coincides with his ascription of a unique role of religion vis-à-vis particularity and unity (in both the 1806 Aphorisms and 1807 On the Essence of German Science). These works all preface Schelling’s 1809 proposition that the unity achieved by love is higher than necessity in the Freedom Essay. After this point, Schelling permanently moves away from his earlier idea that the state should mediate the genuine, communal relations between human beings and accordingly that it could produce the unity that is the goal and destiny of the human project.
Merleau-Ponty et Foucault partagent un héritage ontologique commun particulièrement redevable à Heidegger et à sa réponse à Husserl, sans proposer une ontologie fondatrice. À cet égard, Hubert Dreyfus et Paul Rabinow écrivent, «Husserl’s transcendental phenomenology gave rise to an existential counter-movement led by Heidegger in Germany and Maurice Merleau-Ponty in France. Foucault was steeped in the thought of both these existential phenomenologists ». Heidegger rejette la possibilité de réduire notre expérience de l’étant à un ego Husserlien, organisateur et fondateur, et de même, Merleau-Ponty comme Foucault refusent tous deux l’établissement d’une conscience originaire qui fonderait tout, ainsi que la postulation d’un sujet autonome transcendantal dans leurs conceptions du sujet incarné-dans-le monde. Néanmoins, cela n’implique pas nécessairement l’affirmation d’un fond ontologique connaissable à partir duquel nous expliquerions notre propre existence.