Episode 24: Schelling’s Clara: Conversations on the Absolute.

Episode 24: Schelling’s Clara: Conversations on the Absolute.

For episode 24 and part 2 in our Schelling series, James is joined by Imogen and Nora to discuss one of Schelling's unfinished works: Clara, or On Nature's Connection to the Spirit World. After situating the text within Schelling's wider oeuvre and patiently clearing the author from accusations of dark magic, we ruminate on its themes of resurrection, transmigration, the singularity of the soul and the magnificence of beavers. Putting Schelling in discussion with Kant, Fichte, Hegel, Freud, Mao, Bordiga and Kazuo Ishiguro we ask the ultimate question: can Naturphilosophie mourn?

Episode 23: Schelling's Early Philosophy of Nature

In this episode, Anatarah, Bile, and Crane discuss the introduction to Schelling’s 1797 Ideas for a Philosophy of Nature and the introduction to Schelling’s 1799 First Outline. Working up to Schelling’s ambitious declaration that philosophy is a “natural history of our mind,” the hosts discuss some of the fundamental concepts—like force, equilibrium, and organism—in Schelling’s philosophy of nature, the difference between Schelling’s earlier philosophy of nature and his “identity system,” and the relationship between Schelling’s project and those of his contemporaries in philosophy and natural science. In conclusion, we debate whether and, if so, how Schelling’s early philosophy of nature might provide us with a basis for a critical theory of nature and natural science. Recommend readings: * Ideas for a Philosophy of Nature as Introduction to the Study of This Science, 1797. Cambridge University Press, 2001. * First Outline of a System of the Philosophy of Nature. State University of New York Press, 2004. * The Schelling Reader. 1st ed. Bloomsbury Academic, 2020. * The Palgrave Schelling Handbook. Palgrave Handbooks in German Idealism. Palgrave Macmillan, 2026.

Episode 22: Everybody Female

Imogen, Helen, and Nora kvetch about "The Logic of Gender" from Endnotes 3. Topics include whether capital is a totality (it is), whether Butler reduces gender to the value-form (they don't), and whether this article gets into enough detail regarding the history of the family (absolutely not.) Texts: The Logic of Gender in Endnotes Vol 3: https://www.endnotes.org.uk/issues/issue-3/endnotes-the-logic-of-gender [https://www.endnotes.org.uk/issues/issue-3/endnotes-the-logic-of-gender]

Episode 21: A Critical Theory of Christianity? (Ft. Julian Assele)

In this episode, Crane is joined by Julian Assele to discuss Max Horkheimer’s long-running critical engagement with contemporary Neo-Thomism, the history of Catholic thought, and the social content of theological controversies dating back to the early Christian church. Starting from Horkheimer’s 1930s short-form polemics on the church and fascism, the hosts turn to his extensive criticism of Neo-Thomism in “Conflicting Panaceas” from Eclipse of Reason (1947)—as well as the earlier version of the text, the unpublished “The Revival of Dogmatism” (1943)—and conclude with a critical look at the late Horkheimer’s neo-conservative instrumentalization of religion in “Theism and Atheism” (1963), posing the question: what might a “critical theory of religion” look like today? Texts: “On the Concept of God” [or: “Thoughts on Religion”] (1935): https://jamescrane.substack.com/p/collection-horkheimers-fragments [https://jamescrane.substack.com/p/collection-horkheimers-fragments] “On Theodor Haecker’s Der Christ und die Geschichte [The Christian and History]” (1936): https://jamescrane.substack.com/p/collection-the-materialist-as-polemicist [https://jamescrane.substack.com/p/collection-the-materialist-as-polemicist] “The Revival of Dogmatism” (1943): https://jamescrane.substack.com/p/collection-society-and-reason-1944 [https://jamescrane.substack.com/p/collection-society-and-reason-1944] “Conflicting Panaceas,” in Eclipse of Reason (1947) “Theism and Atheism” (1963), in Critique of Instrumental Reason (1974) Follow Julian on Substack https://substack.com/@julesnotes [https://substack.com/@julesnotes] If you want to support the show donate to us on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/c/crittheoryworkgroup] Visit our website for writing and updates [https://ctwgwebsite.github.io/] Follow our socials: Twitter [https://x.com/crit_theory_grp] Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/crittheoryworkgrp.bsky.social] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/criticaltheoryworkinggroup]

Episode 20: Inside the Manesar Labor Movement

Mac and Re are joined by Shreya from the Center for Struggling Trade Unions (CSTU) to discuss the recent workers strikes in various industries of North India. Since March, workers in the automobile and garment industry were joined by domestic service workers to mobilize against low wages, unpaid overtime and deteriorating labor conditions. We also discuss the history of the workers mobilization in North India and raise some questions of the problems of labor organizing today. History of the Manesar automobile workers struggle: https://class-notes.org/2025/06/04/maruti-story-book/ [https://class-notes.org/2025/06/04/maruti-story-book/] If you want to support the show donate to us on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/c/crittheoryworkgroup] Visit our website for writing and updates [https://ctwgwebsite.github.io/] Follow our socials: Twitter [https://x.com/crit_theory_grp] Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/crittheoryworkgrp.bsky.social] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/criticaltheoryworkinggroup]