THE CRITIQUE OF ONTOLOGY. THREE ARGUMENTS BY MICHEL HENRY

Abstract

The critique of ontology is preponderant in the philosophy of Michel Henry. However, the terms in which it is expressed are diverse according to the different lines of argument. In my paper I distinguish three arguments with which Henry challenges ontology in three different works and periods of his philosophy; namely: (1) the critique of ontological monism; (2) the critique of phenomenological monism; (3) the critique of ontology. Once exposed those arguments, I describe how they have been received in the secondary literature. I conclude with some reflections on the terminological and argumentative variations characteristic of these three arguments and I express my personal preference for the third, last formulation.