Three Contemporary Paths to a Transcendental (Epi)Genetics:

Malabou, the Triple-Turn and Philosophical Epigenesis

Abstract

Catherine Malabou's work is not only positioned within recent trends in philosophy that self-declare as 'turns', but is also capable of exposing some of the generative/genetic vectors of these movements. In the first part of this article, we will try to expose some pertinent questions on the subject of the epigenesis of reason (or thought) for Malabou. Malabou's particular formulation of such epigenetics, which we will briefly explore, will serve as a point of departure for the second part, where we will present the notion of a threefold turn in contemporary philosophy/theory/critique. In this second part, our intention is to show that there are (at least) three tendencies that specify some of these contemporary turns: the material turn; the ontological turn; and the speculative turn. We also intend to show, however, that all three are part of a larger movement, identified by the same transcendental (epi)genetic vector that we find in Malabou's work. In this threefold turn, we find three ways of responding to the same desire to de-/re-stabilise the transcendental, to de-/re-construct a foundation for the continuation of the critical-philosophical mission. The epigenesis of the transcendental is thus revealed as a contemporary strategy for continuing to re-generate philosophy, which today seems to depend on negotiating with the legacy of this materialist-ontological-speculative triple turn.