“Heidegger’s analysis of metaphysical truth as Aletheia (the unveiled), that of Plato’s myth of the cave, makes clear the continuity in Western definitions of the Truth: the unveiling, bringing to light of that which had been lost, hidden, veiled, badly “represented.”  Truth in the West has always been defined as “exactitude of representation” in which “man thinks everything according to ‘ideas’” (Alice Jardine, Gynesis, 147)

I’ve been waiting to write about this book on this blog for a few months. My thoughts return to José Saramago’s novel, The Cave, periodically, because it left a lasting impression. In addition to all of the crossings of philosophical “ideas” it produces, Saramago’s use of language itself is inviting — an aesthetic route towards a soft and welcoming otherness that is very much appreciated.  The book is a joy to read.  The characters are enigmatic and the overt simplicity of names and…