James Gallant, writer, reflects on the psychology of creativity. I have been writing fiction, prose-poetry, and essays for a long time now, whenever the business of staying alive has allowed. I have published quite a lot, including four books (well, three now, one having been delisted by its publisher for lack of sales). I do […]
Michael Mocatta finds a practical aid for recovery from addiction in a philosophy of extreme experience. Georges Bataille (1897-1962) had a difficult childhood. In this article I will seek to explain this French philosopher’s thinking, and in particular his conception of extreme exterior experiences and sacred inner ones. We’ll see how Bataille writes of his
Georges Bataille’s Experience Read More »
Les Jones on allegories, specific domains and Wittgenstein’s social ideas. The word ‘creativity’ is derived from the Latin word creare; literally, ‘to cause, to create, to make’. But this definition itself suggests problems. Humans can certainly make things by putting other things together; but do we have the capacity to create something new, as it
Kathleen O’Dwyer asks what Slavoj Žižek means by ‘love thy neighbour’. The postmodern psychoanalyst-philosopher Slavoj Žižek is noted for his flamboyant style, his embrace of contradiction, and his often controversial exposure of the dualities, deceptions and disavowals which characterize contemporary culture. Reflecting on these aspects of Žižek’s work, his biographer Tony Myers states that “Slavoj
Abdelkader Aoudjit thinks about postmodern political thinking. Enlightenment thinkers were optimistic. They thought that the application of the scientific method to all aspects of life would not only liberate humanity from bondage to nature, but also inaugurate a new era of happiness, justice and emancipation. Jean Antoine de Condorcet declared, “one day, the sun will
Political Philosophy After Metaphysics: Habermas & Lyotard Read More »
Christophe Bruchansky asks if we’re living in a global themepark. Walt Disney World opened in Florida in 1971. It was the second theme park built by Disney, the first being Disneyland in California in 1955. Disney World is not one theme park, but a group of four theme parks, two water parks, and many hotels,
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Review of Martin Jay, Genesis and ValidityMimi Howard Can ideas transcend the context of their appearance? Can concepts depose the particularity of their origin to achieve validity? In the opening pages to a new collection of essays on the theory and practice of intellectual history, Martin Jay argues that such questions have been around ‘at
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Review of Sebastian Truskolaski, Adorno and the Ban on Images Hedy Cohen These notes are from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony in C Minor, written between 1804 and 1808. Even listeners who do not read music can easily recognise the melody. It is so easy to understand and memorable, that, as a joke, in a season 16 episode
Cracks and crevices Read More »
Review of Jack Z. Bratich, On Microfascism: Gender, War, and DeathTakin Raisifard Unacquainted readers may think that ‘microfascism’ is perhaps analogous to contemporary terms such as ‘microaggression’: the prefix ‘micro’ implying a simple reduction in scale and scope for actions representing larger systems. But microfascism is not just small fascism. If fascism is a certain arrangement
Witchcraft as praxis Read More »
Review of Thomas Lemke, The Government of Things: Foucault and the New Materialisms Deren Ertas Cars that measure and signal fuel efficiency, expanding markets for weather derivatives, and ‘vital systems security’ infrastructures, among other similar developments, indicate significant transformations in contemporary governmentality at varying scales. New materialist strands of thought have been developing novel understandings of
Governing the non-human Read More »