ABSTRACT
This chapter summarises to what extent the concepts of liminality, specifically of permanent liminality, and the philosophy of presence can contribute to the discourse of crisis and to its overwhelming sense that politics (and the political) have become total. By making visible externalisation, and by seeking to restore and cultivate the direct link between experience and knowledge, the philosophy of presence can put politics in its place. Gustav Landauer, Eric Voegelin, Simone and Vaclav Hável have shown how. Despite having lived in different times and contexts, each thinker also connects in a remarkable way to the contemporary discourse of crisis. This chapter, then, summarises: the philosophy of presence is understood not as a fixed set of ideas but as an exegetical method of inquiry into existence as it is experienced subjectively. There are many philosophers of presence. This book merely provides an initial foray into “presence” as a theme, into the many ways in which the relationship between experience, philosophy and politics has manifested itself. A relationship that may be examined further in future research.
