The shadow of the image and the light of affect

the duality of truth in Michel Henry's Phenomenology

Abstract

Based on the philosophy of Michel Henry, the article discusses the duality of truth. The first, the "truth of the world," is revealed in the plane of light where phenomena manifest in their exteriority, being perceived through human experience. However, this truth is contingent and temporal, and its appearance is merely an image that continuously fades into nothingness. The second, the "truth of Life," is a category of pure and absolute truth that reveals itself and is identified with the manifestation of God. The text argues that, unlike the traditional search for God in the exteriority of the world, His manifestation can only be perceived in the interiority of Life, through feeling and affect. It is concluded that love is the very revelation of God, which is accessible through the enjoyment of life.