more monist idealism article review of graham harmans bells and whistles(1)
TRANSCRIPT
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MORE MONIST IDEALISM:
Review of Graham Harman's BELLS AND WHISTLES
by Terence Blake
Argument: Graham Harman judges science and common sense in
terms of the crude philosophical criteria of another age andfinds them lacking in knowledge of reality. He posits a shadowy
"withdrawn" realm of real objects in order to explain the
discrepancies between his naive abstract model of knowledge as
access and the concrete reality of the sciences. Works such as
THE QUADRUPLE OBJECT, THE THIRD TABLE and BELLS AND WHISTLES,
like the whole of his philosophy, are the record of Harman
noticing the discrepancies, but refusing to revise the model.
His solution is a dead-end, the timid, nostalgic, and
fundamentally misleading propounding of an antiquated
epistemology under the cover of a "new" ontology.
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MORE MONIST IDEALISM 2
OOO: A DEMI-POST-STRUCTURALISM
1)NOSTALGIA FOR THE STRUCTURE vs DECONSTRUCTION ALL THE WAY DOWN
We are living through a period of intellectual regression
in the real of !ontinental "hilosoph#$ a ne% regression that
proclais itself to &e a decisive progress &e#ond the erel#
negative and critical philosophies of the recent past' (et the
pluralist philosophies of Deleu)e$ *oucault$ Derrida and L#otard
cannot &e sued up in the one+sided iage of pure criti,ue'
Their critical dissolution of the dogatic residues contained in
even the ost innovative philosophies the# had encountered did
not leave us in a po%erless void of negativit# and paral#sis'
Their -deconstruction- %ent all the %a# do%n$ deconstructing
even the notion of criti,ue and li&erating the possi&ilit# of
ne% asse&lages and ne% processes of su&.ectivation' /e#ond the
criti,ue of the ne% figures of transcendence and ontotheolog#
the# gave concrete s0etches of ho% to see the %orld in ters of
a ver# different sort of ontolog# &ased on ianence 1 a
diachronic ontolog#'
2) OOO AS REGRESSIVE SUCCESSION
The recent prootion of philosophical successors to this
constellation of thin0ers of ianence$ such as /adiou and
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3i)e0$ has not led to an# real progress &ut to a la&our of
travest#ing the past 4one has onl# to loo0 at /adiou5s DELE63E
and 3i)e05s OR7ANS WIT8O6T /ODIES9 and to a return to such
intellectual dead+ends as Lacanian ps#choanal#sis' /ut even
these regressive philosophers reain in dialogue$ ho%ever one+
sided and un.ust$ %ith their illustrious predecessors$ and
strive to confront the at the level of conceptual richness that
characterised their %or0'
3) OOO AS POP FORMALISM
The ne:t step %as ta0en the epigoni; Meillassou:$ %ho
still retains an elevated st#le and at least an intention of
conceptual rigour< and its pop variant in 8aran5s adaptation of
/adiousian foralist ontolog# for the asses' The ethod %as to
0eep up the general aura of having -gone &e#ond- the older
supposedl# negative thin0ers &ut to radicall# siplif# the
conceptual level$ presenting eas# suar# presentations of the
ne% thought %hile convenientl# forgetting the conceptual paths
follo%ed'
4) DEMI-POST-STRUCURALISM
Thus certain figures have eerged in !ontinental "hilosoph#
that occup# a conceptual space that is half%a# &et%een
structuralis and post+structuralis' One could call the dei+
post+structuralists' /adiou is a good e:aple$ %ith his
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MORE MONIST IDEALISM =
atheatical reductionis' Still stuc0 in the pro&leatic space
opened up the Althusser+Lacan con.uncture$ these thin0ers tr#
to privilege Lacan as an alternative %a# out of structuralis
#et the# tr# to -rationalise- their pro&leatic appeals to
notions of speculative 0no%ledge &ased on ethodological rigour'
5) ONTOLOGICAL CRITIUE IS A FORMALISM
The pro&le %ith the priac# of foralist ethod is that it
is not content neutral' A foral ethod a0es su&stantive clais
a&out its doains of application coded into it' The opponents of
-ethod- are not cra)# spontaneit#+addicted narcissists &ut
people li0e /ohr and Einstein %ho claied that the epirical
ethod %as either the &otto+up heuristic li&ert# to e:plore an#
h#pothesis eans of an# suita&le procedure or else a post hoc
clarification$ not an a priori foralist topdo%n iperative' The
sta0es do not involve &lindl# insisting on the priorit# of
creation$ &ut ipl# having a place for the possi&ilit# of
novelt# and creation versus closing off in advance soe possi&le
developents$ often %ithout even noticing'
!) "ADIOU REMAR#ETISED:
SET-THEORETIC REDUCTION FOUNDS OOO$S AFFECTIVE REDUCTION
One can agree %ith &oth Mehdi /elha. >ace and Ale:ander
7allo%a# that it is /adiou5s set theoretic philsoph# that
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MORE MONIST IDEALISM ?
e:presses in its purest and ost general for the ne% paradig
that articulates e:plicitl# %hat is else%here .ust &lithel#
presupposed as a for of thought too evident to even &e a%are
of' The# indicate that the ne:t step in consolidating the
regression that /adiou5s philosoph#$ ho%ever innovative$ does
not initiate &ut rather registers and legitiates$ corresponds
to the far less a&itious productions of the o&.ect+oriented
ontologists' I sa# far less -a&itious- in the sense of
conceptual a&ition$ &ecause their a&ition is of a different
order' The# are the ar0etised version of the /adiou+3i)e0
constellation$ and so the e:treel# politicised tone has &een
discreetl# dissolved to leave a ore deagogic pac0aging to the
stale ideas that OOO trupets a&itiousl# as the ne%
construction after so uch criti,ue' The# proulgate a du&ed
do%n de+ar:ised version of the set+theoretic universe
e:plicated /adiou'
%) OOO AS SYNCHRONIC ONTOLOGY LAGS "EHIND LARUELLE$S NON-
STANDARD PHILOSOPHY
It is noral that in this conte:t *ran@ois Laruelle5s
philosoph# is at last coing into its o%n' It could not full#
succeed %hile the %or0 of Deleu)e and Derrida %ere in progress$
as his criti,ues of that %or0 %ere onl# half+true$ &ased on
giving it an ultiatel# uncharita&le reading as reaining %ithin
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the nors of standard philosoph#$ and refraining fro
considering other possi&le readings' Laruelle has pursued over
the decades his un%avering coitent to ianence and his
criti,ue of sufficient philosoph#$ and this pro.ect shines forth
no% against the &ac0ground of the regression that /adiou+3i)e0+
Meillassou: and the OOO:ians represent'
&) OOO AS SYNCHRONIC ONTOLOGY LAGS "EHIND LATOUR$S COMPOSITIONISM
Despite his insinuations to the contrar#$ /runo Latour %ith
his copositionis is the direct application of
deconstructionist and post+structuralist thought$ %hich he is
ver# failiar %ith' 8is tal0 a&out his -epirical- research is
ver# isleading and contains overtones of scientistic &ravado$
as his s#ste is in an# places a logical continuation of the
%or0 of on these predecessors' 8e is ho%ever a good populariser
of good ideas$ and his %or0 should &e encouraged as long as %e
do not accept his o%n conte:tualisation of his ideas' Latour is
ve# uch an inheritor of Deleu)e$ L#otard$ *oucault$ Derrida$
and Serres$ and also the intellectual conteporar# of Laruelle
and Stiegler' It is this philosophical inheritance that gives
his %or0 its superiorit# over /adiou5s and of 8aran5s$ not an#
priac# of the epirical over the philosophical'
') OOO AS SYNCHRONIC ONTOLOGY LAGS "EHIND "ERNARD STIEGLER$S
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PHARMACOLOGY
/ernard Stiegler is activel# re+reading and re+thin0ing
thin0ers such as L#otard$ Deleu)e and 7uattari$ *oucault$ and
Derrida &ecause he finds that despite the conceptual advances
achieved this generation the# represent also a degree of
failure in not helping us thin0 ade,uatel# the transforations
in the econo# and in digital technologies that are ipacting
our lives and re,uiring of us a ne% orientation in our
e:istences' 6nli0e /runo Latour$ Stiegler is ,uite up front
a&out the influences on his ideas and the need to re+read such
philosophical sources %ith ne% e#es$ i'e' in relation to
conteporar# events'
1() HARMAN$S ONTOLOGICAL CRITIUE IS TECHNOCHRATIC FORMALISM
/ernard Stiegler has argued that it is regretta&le that in
!ontinental "hilosoph# a direct confrontation %ith Althusser5s
positions on the science+ideolog# distinction never too0 place'
This non+engageent %ith Althusser5s dualist and dearcationist
episteolog# left the field free not .ust for scientis 4or its
&inar# opposite$ relativis9 &ut also unprotected fro the
hegeon# of technocrats and the t#rann# of e:perts$ and also
fro the priac# of anageent over politics' A distant
conse,uence of this neglect has &een the rise of 7raha 8aran5s
OOO pac0aged as conteporar# !ontinental "hilosoph# %hen it is
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MORE MONIST IDEALISM C
in fact its e:act opposite$ a regression to a for of
Althusseris$ onl# de+ar:ed$ depoliticised$ and de+scientised'
11) HARMAN CANNOT UNDERSTAND SCIENTIFIC ANTI-REDUCTIONISM
*or e:aple$ in T8E T8IRD TA/LE 7raha 8aran gives a
popularised version his o%n theoretical position in the for of
a fla%ed reading of and an unsatisf#ing response to Sir Arthur
Eddington5s faous parado: of the t%o ta&les' 6nfortunatel#$
8aran sho%s hiself incapa&le of grasping the anti+
reductionistic iport of Eddington5s arguent and proposes an
a&stract philosophical dualis to replace Eddington5s pluralist
vision of scientific research' It is tacitl# iplied that the
theoretical .ustification for this unsatisf#ing presentation is
to &e found else%here in 8aran5s %or0s$ &ut this is not the
case'
12) HARMAN CANNOT UNDERSTAND EPISTEMOLOGICAL ANTIREDUCTIONISM
8aran5s position is one of a surface pluralis 4for 8aran
there are ultiple rgies of 0no%ing for an O&.ect9 overcoded
a deep onis and dearcationis 4the huanist$ the
scientific$ and the coon sense o&.ects are -siulacra-$ onl#
the %ithdra%n o&.ect is real9 e&edded in a s#nchronic
ontological frae 4tie is not an ontologicall# pertinent
feature of real o&.ects'
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MORE MONIST IDEALISM
13) OOO: ONTOLOGICAL ACTIVISM POLITICAL PASSIVISM
Toda#$ o&.ect+oriented philosoph# is at a loss' Its
hac0ne#ed set of critical ters 4philosoph# of access$ shas and
siulacra$ lavalap# overining$ atoistic underining$ streas
of &ecoing$ correlationis9 clearl# have no point of
application at all to the ne% lines of research opened up in
recent !ontinental "hilosoph# a.or thin0ers such as /runo
Latour$ /ernard Stiegler$ and *ran@ois Laruelle' One has onl# to
loo0 at the utter incoprehension that OOO:ians anifest %ith
regard to Laruelle5s non+philosoph# to see that their clai to
-ove &e#ond- deconstruction is an ept# &luff'
14) OOO$S FAILED ENCOUNTERS: TRAVESTY OF THE PAST
INCOMPREHENSION OF THE PRESENT
The OOO:ians never understood the arguents of their
philosophical predecessors$ despite their pretentions To &eing
the conteporar# response to and inheritors of the philosophies
of deconstruction and of post+structuralis that flourished at
the end of the last centur#' Thus the# are ille,uiped to engage
the ideas of the true creative successors' *ar fro inaugurating
a ne% ore constructive philosoph# that &uilds on the positive
achieveents of the past %hile rectif#ing or a&andoning its
erroneous pro&leatics and procedures$ 7raha 8aran5s /ELLS AND
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MORE MONIST IDEALISM FG
W8ISTLES; MORE S"E!6LATIHE REALISM is a sterile copendiu of
OOO5s failiar &ut disappointing histor# of isunderstandings
and failed encounters$ and its pu&lication is a fitting funerar#
onuent to a set of affective gesticulations that never ,uite
cohered into a philosoph#'
2( THESES ON GRAHAM HARMAN$S A"STRACT MONIST IDEALISM
1) OOO *s +, +s./+0. ,*s
8aran5s ontolog# reduces the ultiplicit# and a&undance of
the %orld to -eergent- unities that e:clude other approaches to
and understandings of the %orld 1 his o&.ects are the -onl#
real- o&.ects$ all the rest are -utter shas-' More iportantl#$
his o%n 4philosophical9 0no%ledge of o&.ects is the onl# real
0no%ledge' All that is ordinaril# thought of as 0no%ledge$ &oth
theoretical and practical$ is also utter sha; -8uan 0no%ledge
deals %ith siulacra or phantos$ and so does huan practical
action- 4/ELLS AND W8ISTLES$ F29' 8aran5s -realis- de+realises
ever#thing e:cept his o%n a&stract 0no%ledge and his %ithdra%n
o&.ects'
2) OOO *s /,678 /960.*,*s.
Repeatedl#$ 8aran goes to great lengths to criticise a
generic &ut non+e:istent -reductionis-$ #et he sees to have no
idea %hat reductionis is' 8e easil# %ins points against stra%
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MORE MONIST IDEALISM FF
en$ and then proceeds to advocate one of the %orst fors of
reductionis iagina the reduction of the a&undance of the
%orld to an a&stract hidden real of untoucha&le$ un0no%a&le$
#et intelligi&le$ -o&.ects-'
3) T9 ;*.6/+;, /9+7 *v0+7
In OOO %ords do not ean %hat the# see to' 8aran
e,uivocates %ith the failiar connotations and associations of
-o&.ect- to give the ipression that he is a concrete thin0er$
%hen the level of a&straction ta0es us to the heights of a ne%
for of negative theolog#; the invisi&le$ un0no%a&le$ ineffa&le
o&.ect that %ithdra%s' No concrete e:aple can &e given$ as it
%ould &e ta0en fro the sensual$ i'e' sha$ real' (et 8aran
repeatedl# gives e:aples$ %hich in his o%n ters is the ver#
categor# ista0e that his philosoph# is designed to prevent'
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MORE MONIST IDEALISM F2
5) OOO *s ,.7=*0+7 ,**7*s: .9/9 +/9 , ?/9+7
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MORE MONIST IDEALISM F
and cople:it# of the real %orld &ut in fact replaces the
ultiplicitous and variegated %orld of science and coon sense
%ith a set of &loodless and lifeless a&stractions 4-siulacra-$
-phantos-$ -ghostl# o&.ects-9'
%) OOO$s /9+7
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MORE MONIST IDEALISM F=
un0no%a&le$ uncaptura&le realit# and the idea that it can &e
captured in soe ver# a&stract and indirect %a#' In virtue of
the un0no%a&ilit# of his o&.ects he is o&liged to place all
t#pes of 0no%ledge$ including the scientific one on the sae
plane 40no%ledge of -siulacra or phantos-9$ as illusor#$ and
at the sae tie presue that %e can 0no% soething a&out these
o&.ects 4e'g' that the# e:ist$ and that the# %ithdra%9'
1() OOO 07+*s . @,; .9 ,@,;+79
"hilosophical intellection in 8aran5s s#ste has the
contradictor# role of 0no%ing ontologicall# the real$ as that
%hich %ithdra%s fro 0no%ing' In effect$ science is deoted to
the status of non+0no%ledge$ as the real cannot &e 0no%n' 8aran
is caught in a series of contradictions$ as he %ants to have his
un0no%a&le realit# and #et to 0no% it' !oon sense cannot 0no%
realit#$ nor the huanities$ nor even science'
11) OOO *s +, 9*s.97=8 +s>9/+6*,= +s +, ,.7=8
The &asis of 8aran5s s#ste is an episteological criti,ue
of so+called -philosophies of access-$ %hich leads hi to
propose an alternative episteolog# disguised as an ontolog#'
The as,uerade is necessar# to give the ipression that he has
found a solution to %hat he sees as the ipasse of access'
6nfortunatel# no solution is given &ecause 8aran is still
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MORE MONIST IDEALISM F?
oving inside the pro&leatic of access$ a pro&leatic %hich %as
a&andonned ever# a.or philosoph# of the 2Gth !entur#' To
hide the a&sence of solution 8aran is led to posit a solution
in a previousl# un0no%n ontological diension' This o&fuscation
accounts for the strange i:ture of ontological and
episteological considerations that caracteri)es 8aran5s
philosophical st#le' This generates such contradictions as
pretending to accoplish a return to the concrete and giving us
in fact a&straction$ and pretending to critici)e reduction and
in fact perforing an even ore radical reduction'
11) OOO *s 9*s.97=*0+7 /97+.*v*s
8aran5s episteolog# is relativist$ deoting science to an
instance of the general relativis of fors of 0no%ledge$ all
&elonging to the %orld of siulacra' 8o%ever$ fiat$ his o%n
philosophical intellection and soe artistic procedures are
partiall# e:cluded fro this relativisation' (et no criterion of
dearcation is offered' 8aran di:it ust suffice'
12) F/ OOO /9+7 @,;796=9 *s *ss*79
8aran .udges science in ters of the crude philosophical
criteria of another age and finds it lac0ing in 0no%ledge of
realit#' 8e is then o&liged to posit a shado%# -%ithdra%n- real
of real o&.ects to e:plain the discrepancies &et%een his naive
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MORE MONIST IDEALISM F
a&stract odel of 0no%ledge as access and the realit# of the
sciences' /ELLS AND W8ISTLES9$ li0e the %hole of his philosoph#$
is the record of 8aran noticing the discrepancies$ &ut refusing
to revise the odel' 8is solution is a dead+end$ a tiid$
nostalgic action propounding an anti,uated episteolog# under
the cover of a -ne%- ontolog#'
13) OOO *s *69+7*s
7raha 8aran proclais that his philosoph# is realist$
%hen it is one of the ost thoroughgoingl# idealist philosophies
iagina&le' Tie is unreal$ and so is ever# coon sense o&.ect
and ever# ph#sical o&.ect' All are declared to &e -siulacra-'
-Space-$ one a# o&.ect$ is real for 8aran$ &ut that is no
space one %ould ever recognise; neither coon sense space nor
ph#sical space 4&oth -siulacra-9$ 8aranian space is an
a&stract -%ithdra%n- intelligi&le space'
14) O,.7=8 *s ,. /*+/8 / H+/+,
8aran5s real poleic is in the doain of episteolog#
against a stra% an position that he calls the philosoph# of
huan access' No iportant philosoph# of at least the last ?G
#ears is a philosoph# of access$ so the illusion of a revolution
in thought is an illusion generated the isuse of the notion
of -access-$ inflating it into a gra&+all concept under %hich
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MORE MONIST IDEALISM FB
an#thing and ever#thing can &e su&sued' /ut a philosoph# of
non+access is still episteological$ in 8aran5s case it ta0es
the for of a pessiistic negative episteolog# that su&tracts
o&.ects fro eaningful huan theoretical 0no%ledge and
practical intervention 4cf' T8E J6ADR6"LE O/KE!T$ %here Eg#pt
itself is declared to &e an o&.ect$ al&eit$ strangel# enough$ a
-non+ph#sical- one$ and so un0no%a&le and untoucha&le9'
15) #,;796=9 +,6 /+0.*09 +/9 *77s/8: /+6*0+7 0+,=9 *s
*ss*79
One conse,uence of the reduction of 0no%ledge and practice
to the status of ept# phantass and illusions of access is that
glo&al change is ipossi&le' The ontological neutralisation of
our 0no%ledge is allied to its practical 4and thus political9
neutralisation' This e:plain5s 8aran5s ina&ilit# to deal %ith
criti,ues such as that of Ale:ander 7allo%a#$ an# eans other
than denial'
1!) OOO *s 0,09.+778 *,09/9,. +,6 .9/*,7=*0+778
0,s96
8aran s#steaticall# confuses access$ contact$ relation
and interaction' 8is arguent to esta&lish the ina&ilit# of
relational ontologies to e:plain change e:hi&its rather his
ina&ilit# to understand relations and to a0e siple conceptual
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distinctions'
1%) H; 0+, + ;*.6/+;,
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The notion of cuts$ .ups$ ruptures$ intervals$ or
discontinuities is a far ore useful concept than the %holesale
&ifurcation operated the notion of -%ithdra%al-$ %hich is
&oth too siple and too a&solute 4there are no degrees of
%ithdra%al$ all %ithdra%al is of the sae t#pe$ there are no
special conditions for %ithdra%al$ it is a purel# non+epirical
concept9 and splits the %orld in t%o 4realsensual9' 8aran5s
s#ste is too a&solute %ith its suar# dualiss to &e a&le to
deal %ith the fine+grained distinctions that coe up in our
e:perience'
2() OOO$s /9+7 /9+7 +7**96 +,6 69-
>+,.**96 v*6
Real o&.ects are not ,ualifia&le in ters of the epirical
predicates of coon sense or of science$ &oth declared to &e
reductionist' Nor are real o&.ects ,uantifia&le' In /ELLS AND
W8ISTLES 8aran declares several ties that e:plaining things
in ters of atheatical structures is reductionist' So finall#
his real o&.ects are neither ,ualitativel# distinct 4in ters of
epirical predicates &elonging to the phantasatic reals of
coon sense$ the huanities$ the sciences$ and even
atheatics9$ nor are the# nuericall# or ,uantitativel#
distinct 4as atheatics is itself a reductionist phantas9' So
8aran5s real real is a de+,ualified and de+,uantified void and
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MORE MONIST IDEALISM 2G
his philosoph# is an intellectuall# de&ased for of nihilis'
THE SROO PROPAGANDA ?TUTORIAL?
1) P/*+08: ./+,s09,69,.+7 *7s8 vs 9*/*0+7 /9s9+/0
One of the &iggest o&.ections to OOO concerns the ,uestion
of priac#$ %hich reains oot in conteporar# philosoph#'
8aran5s ontological turn gives priac# to 4transcendental$
eta+level9 philosoph#' *e#era&end articulates a Machian
position$ one that gives priac# neither to philosoph# nor to
ph#sics$ &ut defends the open+indedness of epirical 4though
not necessaril# scientific9 research'
2) R9s9+/0 *s ./+,sv9/s+7
This can &e clarified e:aining *e#era&end5s defense of
the -%a# of the scientist- as against the -%a# of the
philosopher-' *e#era&end5s references to Mach 4and to "auli9
sho% that this -%a# of the scientist- is transversal$ not
respecting the &oundaries &et%een scientific disciplines nor
those &et%een the sciences and the huanities and the arts' So
it is ore properl# called the -%a# of research-' *e#era&end
tal0s of Mach5s ontolog#5s -disregard for distinctions &et%een
areas of research' An# ethod$ an# t#pe of 0no%ledge could enter
the discussion of a particular pro&le- 4pFB9'
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MORE MONIST IDEALISM 2F
3) E/,s. M+0: Ps*.*v*s. vs P7/+7*s.
Ernst Mach is often seen as a precursor of the logical
positivists$ an e:ponent of the idea that -things- are logical
constructions &uilt up out of the sensor# ,ualities that copose
the %orld$ ere &undles of sensations' 8e %ould thus &e a 0e#
e:aple of %hat 7raha 8aran in T8E J6ADR6"LE O/KE!T calls
-overining-' *e#era&end has sho%n in a nu&er of essa#s that
this vision of Mach5s -philosoph#- 4the ,uotation ar0s are
necessar#$ according to *e#era&end -&ecause Mach refused to &e
regarded as the proponent of a ne% -philosoph#--$ S!IEN!E IN A
*REE SO!IET($ F29 is erroneous$ &ased on a isreading the
logical positivists that confounds his general ontolog# %ith one
specific ontological h#pothesis that Mach %as at pains to
descri&e as a provisional and research+relative specification of
his ore general proposal'
4) G9,9/+7 M9.67=8
*ollo%ing Ernst Mach$ *e#era&end e:pounds the rudients of
%hat he calls a general ethodolog# or a general cosolog# 4this
a&iguit# is iportant; *e#era&end$ on general grounds &ut also
after a close scrutin# of several iportant episodes in the
histor# of ph#sics$ proceeds as if there is no clear and sharp
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MORE MONIST IDEALISM 22
dearcation &et%een ontolog# and episteolog#$ %hereas 8aran$
%ithout the slightest case stud#$ asserts the e:istence of such
a dichoto#' 8aran5s actual practice$ I have argued$ proceeds
ignoring the distinction and i:ing in a confused %a#
episteological and ontological considerations9'
5) MACH$S ONTOLOGY
*e#era&end discusses Mach5s ontolog# in S!IEN!E IN A *REE
SO!IET(4F+2G9 and a0es it clear that it is one of the
enduring inspirations of his %or0' 8e clais that Mach5s
ontolog# can &e suarised in t%o points;
i9 the %orld is coposed of eleents an their relations
ii9 the nature of these eleents and their relations is to
&e specified epirical research
!) HARMAN$S ONTOLOGY
One a# note a rese&lance %ith 7raha 8aran5s ontolog#$
suarised in his - &rief SROOO tutorial-$ reprinted as !hapter
F of /ELLS AND W8ISTLES;
i9 Individual entities of various different scales 4not
.ust tin# ,uar0s and electrons9 are the ultiate stuff of the
cosos'
ii9 These entities are never e:hausted their
relations'''O&.ects %ithdra% fro relation'
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%) THE ELEMENTS: M+0*+, 9,,9ss vs H+/+,*+, 07s/9
The difference is illuinating' Whereas Mach leaves the
nature of these eleents open$ allo%ing for the e:ploration of
several h#potheses$ 8aran transcendentall# reduces these
possi&ilities to one; eleents are o&.ects 4N/; this reduction
of the possi&ilities to one$ enshrined in a transcendental
principle$ is one of the reasons for calling 8aran5s OOO an
o&.ectal reduction9'
&) THE RELATIONS: As7.9 W*.6/+;+7 vs D9=/99s +,6
+7*.*9s C,,90.*, +,6 D*s0,,90.*,
/# allo%ing epirical research to specif# the relations$
Mach does not give hiself an a priori principle of %ithdra%al;
here again -%ithdra%al- is .ust one possi&ilit# aong an#'
Another advantage of this ontolog# of unspecified eleents is
that it allo%s us to do research across disciplinar# &oundaries$
including that &et%een science and philosoph#'
') TEMPORALITY: S8,0/,*0 vs D*+0/,*0
Mach5s ontolog# is diachronic$ evolving %ith and as part of
epirical research' !onversel#$ 8aran5s ontolog# is s#nchronic$
dictating and fi:ing transcendentall# the eleents of the %orld'
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1() INTRA-WORLD REDUCTION: 9v9/8,9 97s9 . H+/+, *s
?/960.*,*s.?
8aran has invented a ne% voca&ular# to descri&e various
t#pes of reductionis that he &elieves he has discerned in
various philosophical oves' The ove of e:plaining a
acroscopic o&.ect such as a ta&le in ters of its atoic and
su&+atoic is called -underining-' E:plaining the ta&le in
ters of the flu: of perceptions is called -overining-' 8aran
has recentl# detected arguents that a0e &oth oves at once$ so
he has &aptised the -duoining-' A nota&le feature of all three
oves is that their reduction operates inside onl# one of the
%orlds that 8aran discusses 1 the %orld of -utter shas-'
11) TRANSWORLD REDUCTION: H+/+, *s + s907+.*v9
/960.*,*s.
/ut 8aran hiself operates a different sort of reduction
that reduces the realit# of one %orld$ the -sha- %orld of
sensual o&.ects$ to that of the -real- %orld of %ithdra%n
o&.ects' As this reduction cuts across &oth %orlds$ I propose to
call it transining-' The difference %ith the preceding is that
intra+%orld reduction is an epirical h#pothesis$ that is to &e
tested and to /e discarded if it does not hold up to epirical
investigation' 8aran5s o&.ectal reduction is an apodictic
posit$ invulnera&le to epirical testing'
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HARMAN$S TEMPORAL DENIALISM: 0+,=9 *s
?/*669,? 8 /97+.*,+7 ,.7=*9s
We coe no% to one of 8aran5s ore aggressive arguents
against pluralist relationis 1 that it cannot accoodate
change' 8aran5s philosoph# in fact denies all realit# to tie
and is an e:tree for of spatialised s#nchronic ontolog#$ #et
he pro.ects his difficult# %ith the concept of real tie onto
the positions that he supposedl# goes &e#ond;
1) H+/+, +=+*,s. /97+.*,+7 ,.7=*9s: 0+,=9 *s /*669,
8aran5s aster arguent against relational ontologies is
that the# cannot e:plain change$ that if ever#thing %ere related
nothing %ould change' This is patentl# false$ as relations
include teporal relations' Deleu)e for e:aple tal0s a&out &oth
0inetic 4relative speeds and accelerations9 and d#naic
4relative forces$ and relative capacities to affect and to &e
affected9 relations' It is ludicrous to clai that Deleu)e5s
s#ste entails that change is ipossi&le'
2) H+/+, 69s ,. ,69/s.+,6 /97+.*,s
This forgetting 0inetic and d#naic relations$ and ore
generall# 8aran5s confusion over teporal relations sho%s that
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8aran5s real %orld has no place for tie and for change and
ultiplicit#' 8aran constantl# and indiscriinatel# conflates
relations in general %ith specific su&sets of relations such as
interactions$ and also %ith specific t#pes of relation such as
contact and access'
3) H+/+,$s *,0/99,s*, 6*+0/,*0 ,.7=*9s
8aran is una&le to understand the positions he is arguing
against$ and that he is supposed to have gone &e#ond' 8e
criti,ues onl# stra% an positions that have never e:isted' 8e
has no understanding of$ for e:aple$ Deleu)e$ and .ust
deprecates his philosoph# %ithout getting into an# detail'
4) H+/+,$s +/=9,.s +/9 +90.*v9 +,6 ,. 0,09.+7
8aran gives pseudo+conceptual affective refutations %ith
no citations and no anal#sis$ ere picture+thin0ing designed to
produce the sae -eure0a- e:perience as a coparative pu&licit#'
There is no su&stance to 8aran5s accusation$ %hich is close to
an Or%ellian parod# 4fro -%ar is peace- to -tie is stasis-9'
*urther$ he has given no su&stantial account of %hat is %rong
%ith so+called -relational- ontologies in general$ e:cept for
his aster+arguent that if ever#thing %ere related change %ould
&e ipossi&le' 8aran tries to insinuate that in his ontolog#
change can &e accounted for'
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5) T*9 *s ,/9+7 / H+/+,
8aran denies the realit# of tie and so his ontolog# is
s#nchronic in a ver# strong sense' 8is understanding of other
philosophers is &ased on a s#nchronic reduction of their st#le'
Even his reading 4in T8E T8IRD TA/LE9 of Eddington5s t%o ta&les
arguent falsifies it e:tracting it fro the %hole oveent
of Eddington5s -Introduction- to his &oo0 T8E NAT6RE O* T8E
"8(SI!AL WORLD$ and fro his vision of the oveent of research
in general'
!) H+/+,$s 69,*+7 .9/+7*.8
8aran .ust doesn5t -get- teporal relations' 8ence his
repeated$ and a&surd$ clai that if ever#thing %as coposed of
relations nothing %ould change' As if oving faster or slo%er
than$ accelerating faster or slo%er than$ &eing attracted or
repelled or pushed or %hirled around %ere not relations'
HARMAN$S A"STRACTIVE ONTOLOGY: 0+/*s, ;*.
"+6*
1) H+/+, +,6 .9 ,97*9/+7 8.9s*s
We have traversd a period of polarisation during %hich the
neoli&eral do:a reigned uncontested alost ever#%here$ e:cept in
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a fe% acadeic and para+acadeic enclaves$ %here a -refined- or
aristocratic criti,ue %as ela&orated' The philosophical result
of the e:tenuation of this cognitive polarisation is in part the
developent of an a&stractive 4and a+political9 ontolog# of
o&.ects as legitiation$ rela# and effectuation of the
neoli&eral h#pothesis 47raha 8aran9$ and in part the
ela&oration of the su&tractive ontolog# of ultiples as
legitiation$ rela# and effectuation of the counist h#pothesis
4/adiou9'
2) T/,0+.96 P7/+7*s +,6 D*+0/,*0 S799,.
In &oth /adiou and 8aran %e have a truncated for of
pluralis; a s#nchronic ontolog# of o&.ectal ultiples %here the
diachronic diensionis added on after%ards as a suppleent'
/adiou has t%o ontologies grafted together 4/eing AND the
event9$ 8aran has ontologicall# real o&.ects$ and sha tie'
3) U,/9+7*.8 .*9
*or 8aran tie is not a real relation &et%een real
o&.ects$ &ut rather a -sensual- relation &et%een sensual
o&.ects$ in the illusor# doain of siulacra 4T8E T8IRD TA/LE
calls these sensual o&.ects$ i'e' the o&.ects of coon sense
and of the sciences$ -utter shas-$ /ELLS AND W8ISTLES calls
the -phantos- and -siulacra9' *or /adiou tie in the strong
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MORE MONIST IDEALISM 2
sense &elongs to the event in the naing intervention$ and there
also$ as for 8aran$ sees to &e dependent$ at least in part$ on
su&.ectivit#'
4) S/+09 P7/+7*s +,6 Ov9/06*,= M,*s
There is also a onis %hich coes to overcode this
ontological pluralis$ at &oth the ontological and the
episteological level' At the aterial or sensual level %e have
ultiples of ultiples or plural o&.ects$ prehended in ultiple
0no%ledges' At the foral or eta+level %e have transcendental
restrictive categorisation and the priac# of philosophical
intellection'
5) O,.7=*0+7 M,*s
*or 8aran the real is a uni,ue and separate doain$ real
o&.ects are -%ithdra%n-< the o&.ects of coon sense$ of the
huanities and of the sciences are pure siulacra' *or /adiou
the real is the non+,ualified atheatical ultiple$ and the
o&.ects of coon sense$ &ut also of the sciences and of the
-huanities-$ are constructed out of these ultiples 4it is to
&e noted$ and this signals an iportant difference &et%een
/adiou5s and 8aran5s s#stes$ that for /adiou these constructed
o&.ects are not necessaril# siulacra$ nor is 0no%ledge of the
necessaril# sha9' In &oth cases there is ontological priac# of
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MORE MONIST IDEALISM G
one doain placed over and a&ove the others' *or /adiou the
un,ualified doain of ultiples of ultiples has priac# and so
Matheatics is ontolog#' *or 8aran the doain of real o&.ects
is un,ualified in ters of 0no%a&le coon sense or scientific
properties$ even if it is ,ualified in ters of its o%n nouenal
properties'
!) E*s.97=*0+7 M,*s
*or 8aran coon sense and scientific 0no%ledge do not
accede to the realit# of o&.ects$ the onl# possi&le 0no%ledge is
indirect and appertains to philosophical intellection or to the
arts under the control of o&.ect+oriented ontolog#$ %hich
dissipates the ontological and episteological illusions$ such
as the naturalist pre.udice and the scientistic pre.udice'
Siilarl#$ for /adiou$ to each doain there corresponds a
generic and paradigatic truth+procedure 4athee$ poe$
political invention$ love9' "hilosoph# in /adiou5s s#ste is not
itself a truth procedure$ &ut serves to asse&le the truths of
an epoch and to enounce the coon configuration of the
paradigatic procedures of the con.uncture and also to dissipate
the pre.udices resultng fro the suture of philosoph# to .ust
one of these truth+doains' /adiou here is again ore pluralist
than 8aran$ as he recognises the e:istence of four truth+
doains$ and not .ust one'
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MORE MONIST IDEALISM F
%) T9 6907*,9 H+/+,$s +s./+0.*v9 ,.7=8 +,6 "+6*$s
s./+0.*v9 ,.7=8
A&stractive and su&tractive ontologies are in regression
copared to the pluralist philosophies of their predecessors'
The# are the copleentar# representatives 4a politicised
counist version in /adiou5s case$ a -de+politicised-
neoli&eral version in that of 8aran9 of truncated pluralis$
the s#nchronic shado% of the diachronic ontologies that the# ape
%ithout &eing a&le to rival in their force of thought'
&) H+/+,$s "+6*s*+,*s: M+.9/*+778 P7/+7*s. F/+778 M,*s.
8aran5s OOO is a specific variant %ithin the general
paradig set out /adiou5s philosoph#' The terinological
differences are iportant' /adiou spea0s in ters of ultiples
and events$ 8aranin ters of o&.ects' /adiou e:plicitl#
ephasises the pluralist aspect of his ontolog# the choice of
the ontologicall# &asic ter of -ultiples- and anages to a0e
roo for tie and change 4events9$ even if he gives the a
secondar# place in his ontolog#' 8aran prefers the ore unitar#
ter of -o&.ect-$ and consigns tie and change to the real of
the -sensual-$ i'e' of shas and siulacra'
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HARMAN$S CONFUSIONISM: +*=s .9/*,7=8 +,6
0,09.+7 0,7+.*,
1) HARMAN CONFLATES #NOWLEDGE AND ACCESS
8aran argues against -philosophies of access-$ &ut this is
.ust to redo$ onl# uch ore sloppil#$ the critical %or0 done
"opper and Sellars$ Juine and >uhn$ /achelard and *e#era&end$
Lacan and Althusser$ Wittgenstein and Rort# refuting and
disantling the dogas of epiricis' *ar fro going &e#ond the
post+structuralists 8aran has not even caught up %ith the
structuralists' No iportant philosoph# of the 2Gth !entur# has
&een a philosoph# of access$ and 8aran5s OOO is a regression on
ost of the preceding philosoph# that he clais to criti,ue and
surpass'>no%ledge is not -access-'
2) HARMAN CONFLATES RELATIONS AND INTERACTIONS
>no%ledge is neither access nor contact' "ropositional
relations are not access' An interaction is not in general
access$ either' More iportantl#$ a relation is not the sae
thing as an interaction' 8aran conflates all this to o&tain
soe &lurr# stra%+an that even a FG #ear old child %ould have
no trou&le refuting' So the %hole picture of relations as not
-e:hausting- the ,ualities of the o&.ect accessed is erroneous'
Thus -%ithdra%al- has no sense as a general concept' These ters
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MORE MONIST IDEALISM
-access-$ -e:haust- -%ithdra%al- are norall# part of a
teporal$ d#naic voca&ular#' The# are used illegitiatel# in
8aran5s s#ste and serve to give an allure of teporalit# to
%hat is in fact an ontolog# of stasis'
3)HARMAN DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THE PLURALIST CRITIUES OF MONISM
8aran is so concentrated on criticising the privilege
given to huan access and to anthropocentric assuptions in
general$ a rearguard action if ever there %as one$ that he has
no understanding at all for the recent and conteporar#
pluralist philosophies that attept to trac0 do%n and dissolve
the privilege given to reified categories and to onist
assuptions in general' 8aran5s ontolog# falls under the
pluralist criti,ues of the post+structuralists and the post+
epiricists'
4) HARMAN$S CONTRADICTIONS ARE DISGUISED "Y AM"IGUOUS
TERMINOLOGY AND CONCEPTUAL CONFLATION
8aran5s OOO relies on a s#steatic a&iguit# in his 0e#
ters 4o&.ect$ %ithdra%al9 &et%een their use as eta+categories
and their use as categories' We can never see or touch or 0no%
an o&.ect 4eta+categor#9 &ut he constantl# gives e:aples fro
different doains 4categor#9' Withdra%al eans ultiate
a&straction fro sensual ,ualities and relations$ a&solutel# no
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MORE MONIST IDEALISM =
direct contact or relation 4eta+categor#9$ or it .ust eans the
sensual richness of o&.ects$ al%a#s ore than our iediate
e:perience of the' We get a contradictor# s#nthesis &et%een a
Northern asceticis and a Mediterranean sensualis' /ut in the
last instance this concrete a&undance$ this aesthetic sensualis
is declared to &e an -utter sha-'
5) HARMAN$S SYSTEM IS "ASED ON HOMOLOGY
It is at the level of his ontolog# as rudientar# set of
eta+categories that the hoolog# of 8aran5s OOO %ith
speculative capitalis can &e affired' /adiou accepts the
e:istence of this hoolog# for his o%n ontolog#$ and ta0es it
ver# seriousl# as a pro&le' 8ence his repeated engageent %ith
the concepts of the event and change$ re,uiring hi to coplete
his s#nchronic ontolog# %ith a diachronic suppleent' 8aran5s
response is .ust incoprehension and denialis$ as %ith all the
other criti,ues that his s#ste has received' Nevertheless it is
the internal hoolog# &et%een eta+categories and the categories
that instantiate the 4%hich a0es of 8aran5s s#ste an
ela&orate pla# on %ords9 that a0es possi&le the e:ternal
hoologies &et%een 8aran5s s#ste and various concrete doains$
including the econo#'
!) OOO$S PHILOSOPHICAL INTELLECTION HAS PRIMACY: +77 97s9 *s
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*77s*,
The ,uestion of priac# reains oot in conteporar#
philosoph#' Despite repeated allusions to the collapse of
foundations and the attept to construct a post+foundationalist
philosoph#$ conteporar# thin0ers still grapple %ith this
,uestion' One ust as0 of each philosoph#; to %hat does it give
priac# 1 to philosoph#$ science$ art$ religion$ or coon sense
4or to none9 /adiou and 8aran give priac# to 4transcendental$
eta+level9 philosoph#' Laruelle is ore a&iguous$ giving
priac# to science$ #et including non+standard philosoph# on the
sae level as the sciences' Deleu)e and 7uattari in W8AT IS
"8ILOSO"8( are soe%here &et%een the t%o positions$ and so see
to avoid the pitfalls of priac#; the# situate philosoph# on the
sae level as the sciences 4and the arts9 &ut a0e philosoph#
capa&le of eta+operations that ta0e -functions- in ph#sics 4and
affects and percepts in the arts9 as o&.ects of its o%n
philosophical concepts'
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HARMAN$S CONTRADICTORY HERMENEUTICS OF
SU"ECTIVITY
1) OOO SPLITS EPERIENCE INTO A"STRACT INTELLECTION AND
CONCRETE ILLUSION
8aran5s OOO splits hereneutic$ i'e' participative$
e:ploration of the %orld into o&.ective speculation 4an
a&solutised and thus -%ithdra%n- conte:t of .ustification9 and
sensual or su&.ective encounter 4an a&solutised$ and thus
-sha-$ conte:t of discover#9' This splitting deotes the
su&.ect to the %orld of shas$ %hich leads to a -reurn of the
repressed-$ in the for of an iplied su&.ectivit#$ &ut one that
he is either una%are of or un%illing to endorse e:plicitl#$
adapted to the neo+li&eral order' *ar fro eliinating
su&.ectivit# fro the %orld of o&.ects 8aran5s OOO is su&tended
an all+pervasive degraded su&.ectivit# as,uerading as its
opposite' 8aran then proceeds to re+su&.ectif# his
philosophical vision %ith e:pressions connoting a su&.ectivit#
that is ruled out the strict application of that philosoph#'
2) WITHDRAWAL CAN "E PARTIALLY OVERCOME: O"ECTUAL LOVE AND
THE ART OF O"LIUITY
Wa:ing l#rical$ 8aran tal0s of ho% %e ust love the
o&.ect; -The real is soething that cannot &e 0no%n$ onl# loved-
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4T8E T8IRD TA/LE$ F29< thin0ing ust &e indirect$ -its approach
to o&.ects can onl# &e o&li,ue- 4F29$ and -allude to o&.ects
that cannot ,uite &e ade present- 4F=9' All this tal0 of loving
and hunting and approaching and alluding to$ all these
e:pressions are strictl# ill+fored' A sensual su&.ect cannot
love$ hunt$ approach$ or even allude to a real o&.ect' It5s not
that o&.ects cannot -,uite- &e ade present$ the# cannot &e ade
present at all' Withdra%al is all or
none$ it does not adit of degrees'
3) OOO IS A CONTRADICTORY MI OF NOETIC ASCETICISM AND
SENSUAL HEDONISM
(et to give appeal to the theor# 8aran has need of
descriptors of the su&.ective attitude of those %ho endorse it'
8ence the constant tal0 of o&.ects that redounds in untheatised
su&.ective participation in the theor# as vision of the %orld'
The o&.ectal conversion as the passage to the constructed
-naivet- that sees o&.ects ever#%here is thus a su&.ective
conversion to a hard+headed noetic asceticis of intelligi&le
o&.ects coupled %ith a soft+hearted sensual e:oticis of the
aesthetic pla# of siulacra' (ou can &e a gee0 and an esthete at
the sae tie$ %ith the contradiction &eing covered up the
edial su&.ectivit# of loving indirectness$ of hunterl#
o&li,uit#$ and of diaphonous allusion'
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4) OOO PROSCRI"ES THE ETHICAL ENCOUNTER
Despite appearances to the contrar#$ 8aran in fact
privileges su&.ectivit# in various 0e# aspects of his
philosoph#; %hile tr#ing desperatel# to contain it %ithin his
conceptual reductions it seeps out and containates the %hole
%ith a gee0o+esthetic copound su&.ectivit# fusing cold
intellectual anipulation and %ar sensual en.o#ent$ thus
proscri&ing the ethical encounter %hich can &e neither erel#
conceptual nor erel# esthetic nor soe conflicted h#&rid of the
t%o'
5) OOO CANNOT ACCOUNT FOR #NOWLEDGE
8aran is in denial of hereneutics$ and as %ith his
denegation of episteolog# 4%hich results in his ela&orating a
&ad episteolog# under the guise of ontolog#9$ ends up doing &ad
hereneutics' 8is hereneutics of specific te:ts such as
Eddington5s -Introduction- is ,uite inade,uate and erroneous$ as
is his hereneutics of the histor# of philosoph#' 8aran5s 0e#
ters$ such as -%ithdra%al- and -access-$ are ill+fored
hereneutical concepts$ giving a grotes,ue siplification and
deforation of the histor# of philosoph# and of conteporar#
rival philosophies' *e#era&end and Latour argue that the
sciences are not a&stract cognition onl#$ &ut also have a
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constitutive$ and thus necessar#$ hereneutic diension' This is
%h# even the sciences provide soe resistance against neo+
li&eral neo+lei&ni)ian a&straction and speculative odeling and
anipulation' 8aran5s odel is not enough to account for
0no%ledge$ and it is he %ho is &eing reductionist %ith his real
o&.ects and their supposed sensual instanciations'
OOO: A SU"ECT WITH A NOT SO GREAT PAST
Over the last fe% #ears the OOO:ian oveent has ultiplied
signs of success at the sae tie as sho%ing unista0a&le
s#ptos of decline' /ased on a denial of episteolog# and on
&lindness to its o%n status as 4&ad9 episteolog# OOO %as a&le
to capture the attention of those %ho %ere loo0ing for a ne%
speculative st#le$ after the Science Wars and in opposition to
those %ho %ere content to .ust parrot Deleu)e or Derrida or
*oucault' Stanle# !avell and Richard Rort# had each in his o%n
%a# sought to attain to the status of hoegro%n Aerican
!ontinental "hilosoph#$ &ut their Wittgensteinian and
8eideggerian frae%or0 %as too o&scure and a&struse$ too litist
and erudite' A ore pop version of the sae a&ition %as needed
and 7raha 8aran5s OOO satisfied a strongl# felt need to have
done %ith deconstruction and return to -naivet- 48aran5s %ord
fro the opening of T8E J6ADR6"LE O/KE!T9' 8aran is far the
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ore radical thin0er %hen %e copare his ontolog# of %ithdra%n
o&.ects to the atheatis of Meillassou:$ the scientis of
/rassier$ and the Lacanian naturalis of /r#ant' 8aran alone
has &een %illing to discard the scientistic pre.udice that
vitiates the %or0 of these thin0ers'
(et this superiorit# of 8aran5s position could onl# &e
aintained stic0ing to the pathos of an escape fro
episteolog#' As long as 8aran did not e:plicitl# engage %ith
episteological thees in his o%n nae the denegation of its
status as episteolog# on %hich his %or0 %as &uilt gave it even
ore force of conviction and persuasive po%er' The o&.ectual
conversion reained a potent possi&ilit#' With the pu&lication
of T8E T8IRD TA/LE this anti+epsteological posture %as revealed
as an iposture$ OOO %as revealed not as superior insight over
and a&ove coon sense and scientific realities$ thus gratif#ing
the narcissis of the artistic counit# %hile saving it fro
the accusation of postodern relativis$ &ut rather as a ode of
philosophising that %as intellectuall# incopetent to give a
satisf#ing account of the doains of science$ the huanities and
coon sense' Instead of an account %e get disissive
gesticulation; these doains are -sha-$ their o&.ects are
-siulacra- or -phantos-' The a&sence of an# understanding of
diachron#$ fro the diachron# of science and that of coon
sense$ to the diachron# of a siple arguent is patent' Real
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philosophical positions and arguents are replaced %ith a&surd
caricatures %hich are then easil# re&utted$ giving the
ipression of a livel# poleical force read# to accept and repl#
to o&.ections'
ON DISAPPOINTMENT IN PHILOSOPHY: .9 0+s9 OOO
We easil# tal0 a&out our enthusiass in philosoph#$ as if
our path of thin0ing %as one of the accuulation of truths and
eliination of errors$ one of progress' /ut disappointent is
.ust as iportant a driving force$ a non+philosophical affect
that shado%s our enthusiass' A philosoph# can see to e:press
%hat %e find essential to hear at a turning point in our life$
and to proise a ne% %orld of insight and freedo$ onl# to turn
out to &e a lure$ a deceitful irage una&le to live up to its
proises'
When I first read 7raha 8aran5s &oo0s I found the
proising' At least there %as a reference to conteporar#
pluralist thin0ers and a %illingness to engage in e:planation
and arguent' It too0 e onl# a couple of onths to realise that
the proised e:planations %ere either totall# inade,uate4the
#th of -episteologies of access- for e:aple is aintained
onl# loft# ignorance of huge parts of recent philosoph#$ and
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refusing to engage an# real reading of te:ts; .ust glo&al
denunciation9 or not forthcoing'
The initial shoc0 of recognition %as tepered the
realisation that 8aran %as &uilding on ideas that %ere
%idespread in !ontinental circles ? #ears ago$ and that I had
alread# su&.ected to a thoroughgoing criti,ue &efore oving on
to soething else' 8is -progress- %as in fact a regression to
&arel# disguised rehashes of old refuted ideas' I %as astounded
at the pretentiousness of the clais of OOO$ given their flis#
&asis$ and at the credulousnesss of the supporters$ too #oung to
have personal 0no%ledge of the prior avatars of these ideas'
Luc0il#$ I ,uic0l# found far ore satisf#ing and
intellectuall# challenging thin0ers 4/runo Latour$ Kohn La%$
Andre% "ic0ering$ Willia !onnoll#$ /ernard Stiegler$ !atherine
Mala&ou$ and *ran@ois Laruelle$ to nae a fe%9 and &egan to
ela&orate the non+standard pluralist philosoph# that I had
discovered in Deleu)e and *e#era&end and 8illan$ and that I
thin0 has still not seen its da#' I decided to deconstruct OOO
as a %a# of clarif#ing %h# I had initiall# &een attracted and
%h# I thought it %as a great step &ac0%ards'
I do not care for OOO in an# of its variants$ and I thin0
its onl# value is pedagogical; a %arning of the stupidit# that
dogs us all of enthrallent %ith the plausi&le products of
cognitive ar0eting' I thin0 that OOO5s popularit# is &ased on a
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cruel isunderstanding' "eople see to thin0 that OOO announces
a return to the things theselves$ &ut as %e have seen this is
not so' Nor is it a return to the concrete diversit# and
a&undance of the %orld' This ipression is an illusion' OOO
gestures at the %orld$ even as it %ithdra%s an# real possi&ilit#
of e:ploring it and coing to 0no% it'
In # o%n case$ I have used OOO to help e clarif# # o%n
ideas on pluralist ontolog#$ and especiall# on Deleu)e and
*e#era&end' OOO is a de&ased s#nchronic travest# of the
diachronic pluralis that *e#era&end and Deleu)e espouse' What
people are loo0ing for and thin0 the# find in OOO is the e:act
opposite of %hat is there' "eople are loo0ing for
intellectualit#$ strange ne% concepts to go further on the paths
opened the preceding generation of philosophers$ and
concreteness$ an engageent %ith the a&undance of the %orld$ its
passions$ its pleasures$ and its pro&les' /ut OOO5s
intellectualit# is a ta%dr# sha$ and its concreteness is a
c#nical &luff'
8aran5s OOO is the %orst for of dualis iagina&le$ a
dualist episteolog# and ontolog# in regression fro the great
pluralist philosophies that preceded it' Are these pluralist
philosophies that I adire perfect No the# are ver# incoplete
and one+sided$ developped in response to concrete conte:ts that
are no% &ehind us' Are the#$ these deconstructive philosophies$
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theselves iune to deconstruction Not at all The# theselves
even call for their o%n deconstruction$ and Stiegler$ Latour$
and Laruelle continue the effort and deconstruct$ each in their
o%n %a#$ %hat reains undeconstructed in their predecessors5
ideas'
A li&eration fro the conceptual scheas of philosoph# is
possi&le if$ as "aul *e#era&end invites us$ %e thin0 and act
outside sta&le frae%or0s 4-There are an# %a#s and %e are using
the all the tie though often &elieving that the# are part of a
sta&le frae%or0 %hich encopasses ever#thing-9 and fi:ed paths
4-Is arguent %ithout a purpose No$ it is not< it accopanies
us on our .ourne# %ithout t#ing it to a fi:ed road-9' This is
%hat I have &een calling diachronic ontolog#' It is the e:act
opposite of the path that OOO has chosen$ %here %e find a
s#nchronic ontolog# incapa&le of dealing %ith tie and change$
and a onis of transcendent %ithdra%n entities'