From Vortices to Clarity
I must die: must I, then, die groaning too? I must be fettered: and wailing too? I must go into exile: does anyone then, keep me from going with a smile and cheerful and serene? "Tell your secrets." I say not a word; for this is under my control. "But I will fetter you." What is that you say, man? Fetter me? My leg you will fetter, but my moral purpose even Zeus himself has the power to overcome. "I will throw you in prison."My paltry body rather? "I will behead you." Well, when did I ever tell you that mine was the only neck that could not be severed? These are the lessons that philosophers ought to rehearse, these they ought to write down daily, in these they ought to exercise themselves.
Epictetus, Discourses, book 1.1.22-25
To follow up on my last post on Stoicism: yes Stoicism is a philosophy concerned more with the conditions of the personal soul then with the souls of others. But thinking in absolutes has never gotten anyone anywhere interesting. It has led me to run around in circles, spirals, vortices around such characters as Negri, Badiou, Spinoza and (again, I always seem to return to) Deleuze. But not, ultimately, to a discursive lesson ameliorating my soul and destabilizing my habitual ways of acting. One must grant Stoicism several positive attitudes: for one thing, it is a practical philosophy, it takes you out of the ivory tower and into the streets. For another it is (as we can see above) a philosophy that befits the concept of resistance. Let's forget then, for now, that it prioritizes the personal over the social, let's, for now, forget about Badiou and Deleuze. Let's focus instead on action and resistance, Negri and Spinoza.
Negri wrote a book on Spinoza in jail, which, I would say, is a very Stoic setting. It is this 1981 book, The Savage Anomaly, which, I will suggest, lies at the basis of the recently so popular concept of the Multitude. It is via Spinoza that I want to chart the influence of Stoicism on this concept (and see where they diverge). To chart, thus, how the ultimate philosophy of individual 'liberation' has influenced the formation of the ultimate concept of social resistance. A rather straightforward line of questioning, but doable in a week, and that's all I have left after my circling around this question.
Whereas Epictetus suggests writing down the philosophers lessons every day, Seneca proposes another strategy: at the end of the day, after your studies, you should take time to, as John Sellars writes, 'call ourselves to account and go over the events of the day.' These two procedures come together in a diary, or a blog (it seems thousands of people have taken Seneca's lesson to heart). And that is why I do it. To explicate my thoughts, to keep focused. If only I had done this everyday this week, I might not have lost myself in time-consuming diversions, in philological dissections. As it is, it is deadline stress again...
To follow up on my last post on Stoicism: yes Stoicism is a philosophy concerned more with the conditions of the personal soul then with the souls of others. But thinking in absolutes has never gotten anyone anywhere interesting. It has led me to run around in circles, spirals, vortices around such characters as Negri, Badiou, Spinoza and (again, I always seem to return to) Deleuze. But not, ultimately, to a discursive lesson ameliorating my soul and destabilizing my habitual ways of acting. One must grant Stoicism several positive attitudes: for one thing, it is a practical philosophy, it takes you out of the ivory tower and into the streets. For another it is (as we can see above) a philosophy that befits the concept of resistance. Let's forget then, for now, that it prioritizes the personal over the social, let's, for now, forget about Badiou and Deleuze. Let's focus instead on action and resistance, Negri and Spinoza.
Negri wrote a book on Spinoza in jail, which, I would say, is a very Stoic setting. It is this 1981 book, The Savage Anomaly, which, I will suggest, lies at the basis of the recently so popular concept of the Multitude. It is via Spinoza that I want to chart the influence of Stoicism on this concept (and see where they diverge). To chart, thus, how the ultimate philosophy of individual 'liberation' has influenced the formation of the ultimate concept of social resistance. A rather straightforward line of questioning, but doable in a week, and that's all I have left after my circling around this question.
Whereas Epictetus suggests writing down the philosophers lessons every day, Seneca proposes another strategy: at the end of the day, after your studies, you should take time to, as John Sellars writes, 'call ourselves to account and go over the events of the day.' These two procedures come together in a diary, or a blog (it seems thousands of people have taken Seneca's lesson to heart). And that is why I do it. To explicate my thoughts, to keep focused. If only I had done this everyday this week, I might not have lost myself in time-consuming diversions, in philological dissections. As it is, it is deadline stress again...
posted by Raymond at
2/07/2007 05:29:00 AM
2 Comments:
Hi, my name is Virginia and I'm studying comparative literature at UCL, london. I found your syte by chance, looking for inputs about Angela Carter, and I was glad to find it! I read you are (or were) studying with Rosi Braidotti, that's great! Anyway, I'll come back to your blog soon to read more! By the way, are you still in London?...well, nice to read you. Virginia.
do you think that stoicism is the only available philosophy which succeeds in escaping from the imprisonment of academic circles? for instance, i think, assuming that one is open and accepting, that wittgenstein's PI is far beyond the isolation of select philosophical circles. however, i have not as of late seen anyone reading the PI on the metro.... as well, i think what seems to be a trend generally in contemporary philosophy, is a movement away from metaphysics. this will obviously make room for more grounded or accessible thinking about the world.
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