New Bachelards? Reveries, Elements and Twenty-First Century Materialism

Gaston Bachelard has been dead since 1962, and yet his ideas remain flexible, in transition. Can it be said that his position within discourse is solely that of an historical figure? This eccentric and engaging French philosopher remains a changing discursive entity in his own right, occupying a position within a long chain of influential and influenced philosophy. His ideas change and morph to fit new ideologies, new discursive landscapes and new applications. His work, to this day, is present within new and unfolding theories touching upon topics that were once of great interest to him. Although his many ideas regarding the interpretation of the elements, the poetics of reverie and the imagination remain of interest as a part of the history of continental and material philosophy, there are other possibilities for engagement that are more ad hoc, more plastic. The overall spirit of Bachelard’s poetic projects endures independently of his historiographical footprint. Although he was a scholar very much of his own milieu, albeit a highly innovative scholar preoccupied with the problems of his day, there are many valuable and topical lessons to be learned by placing Bachelard’s work into remediating dialogue with philosophical goals beyond his experience or lifetime. The boon of workin