Simon Critchley Quotes about Disappointment

For me philosophy begins with these experiences of disappointment: a disappointment at the level of what I would think of as meaning, namely that, given that there is no God, what is the meaning of life? And, given that

For me philosophy begins with these experiences of disappointment: a disappointment at the level of what I would think of as "meaning," namely that, given that there is no God, what is the meaning of life? And, given that we live in an unjust world, how are we to bring about justice?

Simon Critchley

Disappointment, Philosophy, Thinking

Interview with Jill Stauffer, believermag.com. August 2003.

There are lots of stories about how philosophy begins. Some people claim it begins in wonder; some people claim it begins in worry. I claim it begins in disappointment.

Simon Critchley

Disappointment, Philosophy, People

Simon Critchley, Carl Cederström, Todd Kesselman (2011). “Impossible Objects”, p.31, Polity

The other side of my work is political disappointment - the realization that we are living in an unjust world. "Blood is being spilled in the merriest way, as if it was champagne," Dostoevsky says. That raises the problem of justice, what it might mean in an unjust world and whether there can be an ethics and a political practice that would be able to face and face down the injustice of the present. How might we begin to think about that?

Simon Critchley

Disappointment, Mean, Thinking

"Demand Everything! An Interview With Philosopher Simon Critchley". Interview with Anders Gullestad, truthout.org. May 15, 2010.

There are two forms of disappointment that interest me: religious and political disappointment. Religious disappointment flows from the realization that religious belief is not an option for us. Political disappointment flows from the fact that there is injustice - that we live in a world that is radically unjust and violent, where might seems to equal right, where the poor are exploited by the rich, etc.

Simon Critchley

Religious, Disappointment, Two

Simon Critchley, Carl Cederström, Todd Kesselman (2011). “Impossible Objects”, p.31, Polity