V!

P l> P^
PVVPVP\>?
N1+11Y1
Carrag Acrt|cticr
crncr Mamachcr
Ltt0r
Vl11 l' F
1V|P1P1!>:
anu Uthrr Lr:a
)
:
\or_O P_amDCH
ram/d by O:nd K|s|nk
and S lrdncl
5l`A!1O1 U11A11l!13Y PPTSS
S3A!'O11, CA11TOP>1 :oo
btan0td LnIvctQ tc
btan0rd, L| |0tna
Lnglim tmnsIaton and slaton Motc G 2Oy by tbc oard ol 1mtccs
ol thc Lland bt|otd Junot Unvcnq. AIl t_hts m~.
`at Is RH Aggamttu` W or:@tnzy gubt:hcd n ltaltan n zo undcr
dc udc L rtr NA doertrtw*G zO, P0ttctcmg. `c rcnd w
orgnUy gublumd n u n zo ucr mc tdc Lmim C /,
Mottctcmg. Wt+ |hc Lntcmgr: W ot@nWy gubuhcd tn Ita|
an n zo undcr thc tdc Cw c0c i/ c0nh
[
rnm: 2O8, ouctcmg
Mo g ol thu bk may b Ngmuco or tmmucd n any mm 0t by
any mmns, Hctmn:cr mcchancal, nCludn@ ghotocQyn_ d mm-
n@, of tn My tmotmtton to@ ol tcttwl $yHcm wthum thc rior
wHttcn glmwon o 5unmm LhvcMQ lm.
lrntm n thc Lntcd Jtatc o| mcrm on aCd-l|c, anhv guQ gagcr
LbtaQ ol Ln@t Lmlo@gn-bltcaton Lzta
A@mbn, Lor@o, Iq2
[ty. bn@uh. consJ
at s ztu d otho y l Ltot@o @amDcn ;
Ulato by Lzvd h$hk 1nd tcMn cdcla.
g. 6m.~{mcrd, CmMu@ acthctO)
nOud bbo@aghc n|:mo.
lbP y)8 0 80) 12y 8 (coU. k ggt)
l>P )6-O8D}7)Dq gbk 8k pp)
. owCr (Ph|oghy) z. Kowlm_c o|y o. ). tuut, N|Chc,
tyz-Iy8. q. rcndhg. J. LntcmgN, 1c.
. tlc. . rc: Mcrdan (5tznmm, a(
jI1.q2y 2OOy
ty-dczz
zo8oqy::y
Z
lrontttccc tma_c: Ota| o Lownn >rodn, Apt0rt Im am I4uI
0H m K mdrQm |tJ qJ). o on c|oth. Konv, IA brtn.
Lontcnts
rmwI0r P0n
hat Is in AQQaratus:
hc rcnd
What ls thc IontcmQorary!
N:tcs

Zj
J
V

Jransators` lotc
LD_Ish ttzn1atiOns O sccl:dary sourCcs havc
bccn amcndcd i n Ordcr to take i nto aLCount thc au-
thor`s somcti mcs ditinctivc taian trans| at|ons. Man-
dc|stam`s pocm on pagcs qz-q
J
was ttan8atCd tOm
thc Kuian by )anc NIkkcson. Nc wOuld | i kc to
thank GIotgO Agambcn Ot hi gCnCtOu aiIanCc,
wbicb ba i mprovcd thc gracc and accuracy o| our
transattOn.
V!P l> P^
^VVPVP\>?
s
bat Is an ^ggaratus:
1.
Jcrm|nO|g|ca| qucstions atc i mgortant in gh:!OsO-
phy. As a phi|osopbcr |or wbom I baVc tbc gtcztcst rc-
sQcct oncc sa1d. t0tm1DO!O_y I Ibc QOcIC mOmcnt Ol
tbOu_bt. Jhis is not to say thdt ghi!OsOgbcts must a|-
ways ncccssa:||y dchnc thci t t:chnica| tcrms. atO
ncvcr dchncd |1:a, his mOst i mportant tcrm. Ltbcrs,
| i kL Spinoza and Ici bni z, Qrccrrcd instcad tO dchnc
tbc r tcrm ac|O_y --: :-:-|:-
Jhc hypothLsis that l w:sb tO proposc |s tba1 tbc
wOtd ::-:::] or `apgaratus in Ln_| Isb, Is a dcCIsVc
tccbnca1 tcrm In thc sttatcgy o| Ioucau|t`s thOu_bt.'
lc uscs |t QuItc Oltcn, csgcCia11y |rom thc mid t)os,
whcn hc bc_| ns tO cOncctn hi msc| | wi th what hc
Ca!!s "govcrnmcnta| i ty" Or thc `_ovcmmcn: o| mcn.
hOu_h hc ncvcr o||crs cOmgcIc dcDDti On, hc
So, Foucault's thought has a strategy, which means that it's
also a part of an apparatus, yes?
2 wbat t NN Apparam
comcs c|osc to somcthng |kc it i n an |ntctvicw |rom
I977
hat m tryn_ to s| n
g
c LLl with th s tcrm s, hrst anJ
orcmost, z thotou_h!y hctcmgcncOus sCt cOn t ng
o d scourscs, tnstitut ons, architccrura! orms, rcgu a
tory dccsons, aws, admIDIsttatVc mcasurc, sCcntIhc
stztcmcnts, ghtoghIcz , mota, and Qh:anthrOQC
groQostOnstn tborr, thc sa|d as mucb as thc unsatd.
buch arc t hc ccm:nts o thc aQQarams. hc aQQzratu |t-
sc s thc nctwotk tbat can bc cstahsCd bctwccn thec
cements ...
. . . by t hc tcrm agQaratus l mczD a kInd Ol z Orma-
ton, sO tO sQcak, that zt a gVcn hIstertca mOmcnt has as
ts majot unctton thc rcsQonsc tO zn ur
g
cncy. hc aQQ1-
ratus thcrcorc has a dOmIDaDt ttatr_C unCt|On . ..
. . . l ad that thc nzturc o aD aQaratus | ccnta|y
stratcg c, whch mcans thzt wc atc scaktng about a
ccrta n mznguattOn o rcztons O orccs, Ol a rzttOna
znd concrctc tntcrvcnt on n the rcatOns Ol lOrCc, cthcr
so as to dcvcog thcm n z QattCu!at dt rccttOD, Or tO
bOck tbem, stzb zc thcm, and ta utt |zc thcm. Thc
zQQaratus I8 thus awzys nscrbcd nto a Qzy o Qowcr,
but t s aso awajs nkcd to ccrtza t mts o know cd_c
that ar sc rom tt and, to an cguz dc_tcc, CoDdItIoD t.
hc aQQaratus ts grccscy ths: z sct o st ratc
g
Ics o thc
rc atons o otcc: sugQort n_, and mQgortcd by, ccrta|n
QQc O knowcdgc.'
Lct mc btichy summar|zc tbtcc points:
. It i s a hctctogcncous sct that nc|udcs vi rtua||y
anyth ng, | i nguistic and non | i ngui stic, undcr :hc
Z.
Var r QM Appaam
J
samc hCadng. dsCOutc, nttutOns, bui |di ngs,
| aws, po||cc mcasurcs, phi |osophica| QrOposI
tOns, ad sO On. Jbc a
[
atatus itc|l is thc nct
work that is cstab| ishcd bctwccn thcsc c|cmcnts
b. hc aQatatu a|ways bas a ConCtctc sttatc-
gic Iunction and s a|wajs ocatcd in a powct
tclatOL.
C. As suCh, it aQQcats at thc ntcrscCtOn Ol gOWct
rclatIOn and tclatOns O know|cdgc.
wou|d | ikc now to tty and tracc a bticI gcnca|ogy
o| thi s tctm, tst n thc WOtk Ol lOucault, znd |hcn n
a bto3dct hbIori Ca| ContcXt.
Pt thc cnd Ol thc lys, MOc Ot lc at thc ttmc
whcn hc was wri ti ng 1br Hrcbc00@ 0j n0urdgr,
loutau|t docs not yct usc thc tcrm `aQQatatus in Or
dcr lO dchnc thc ObjcCt Ol hs tcscatCh. ntcad, bc us08
thc tctm
e
t|tiit/, `QOtVty, an ctymo|ogca| ncgh
bot o| dt:0:rtg agan wtbOu| O|lcrng us a dcui |iOn.
o|tcn askcd mysc|| whctC OuCault Ound th:s
tctm, untl tbc mOmcnt Whcn, a lcW mOnth agO, tc-
rcad a book oy ]can Hyppo| itc Cntit|cd ntr0d0Ot0n u
a ]bt/0:0pbt dr l'bistoire dr Hrgr. You ptobab|y know
abot|t thc strong | nk that tc OuCault tO MyQQO|lc
+
w|ar L ao Appa:m?
a ptson whom hc re|crrcd to at tmc as "my mas-
tcr` Hyppo| |tc was n |act h|s tcachcr, hrst dut|ng thc
kbdgc | n thc Lyccc Hcnt-lV jthc prcparatory coursc
|or thc Lco|c norma|c supcticurc[ and tbcn |n thc
Lco|c norma |c).
1bc thi rd part oI Hyppo| |tc`s book bcars thc tidc
Raisoo ct hstoi rc. Lcs idccs dc pos|:|v|t CI dc dcs-
t| o Kcason and History. 1bc Idcas o| Iosi tivi ty and
Ocsti ny). Jhc Iocu hcrc is on tbc ana|ysis o| two
works that datc |rom Hcgc|s ycars i o crn and Irank-
|urt (t;);~p6): Jhc htst |s "Jhc Spi rit o| Chtstan|ty
and I ts Ocsti ny," and thc sccood~hcrc wc hnJ thc
tctm that i mcrcsts us-"Jhc Ios|t|vity o| thc Chtis-
tan Kc| i gion (Die 0tlt0tldl dtr cbr|I/tcbr Kr|gI0n).
Accotd| ng to Hyppo|tc, "dcsti ny aod "posi tivity
at: two kcy conccpts |n Hcgc|`s thought. In patt|cu-
| ar, thc tctm "positivity" hnds n Hcgc| its propcr p|a:c
n thc oppos|ton |twccn "natura| rc| igion and "posi-
t ic tc|gion." Vhilc natura| rc igio s concctncJ wi|h
thc | mmcJiatc and gcncta| rc|ation oI buman tcason
with thc di vi nc, pcsi ti vc or historica| tc| |g|on cncom-
ptsscs thc sct o| bc| |c|s, ru|cs, and t.tcs that i n a ccr-
tai o soc|cty and at a ccrtai n hi stot|ca| momcnt atc cx-
tcma| |y |mposcd on i ndividua| s. "A posi ti vc rc| iion,
|cgc| wr|tcs |n 3 passagc ci tcd by Hyppo| itc, "| mp| ics
|cc| i ngs that arc m:tc or |css mprcsscd througb con-
stra| nt on sou| s, thcsc atc actions that atc thc c||cct o|
How Foucauldian can you get?!
what f un Appurt:m

command and thc |c$uIt o| obcdicncc and atc LLL^
p| i shcd without d rcCt ntctct.`
Hyppo| i tc shOws how thc OQQOstOn bctwccn na-
turc and QOstvty COrrcspOnd, n thIs scHsCg to thc
d alcctcs o| |rccdom and ObIgatOn, as wc|I 2S o| rca-
sOn and h s|Ory. In a Qassa

c that cOud nOt hav: |a |cd

tO provokc lOucaults curOsty, bccausc t |n a Way
ptcsagcs thc notion O agpratsg Hyppo|itc wttcs.
c scc hcrc thc knot oI gucsttons mQ ct n |hc cOnCcQt
ol QosltlVlIy, as wc as Mcgcs succcssvc at|cmQtI tO
oriD_ to_cthcr diacctlcaya d acct:cs tha| :s nO| yc|
conscous o tscl-urr rrd:un | thcOr:t:ca and Ovc a
graCtlCa) and gositlVlly, that l, Ibr httartral dcmcnt. n
a ccrtan scnsc, lc_c consdcn gost:v:ty as an O0s|aC c
tO thc rccdom ol man, and sttch :t :s cOndcmncd. O

nVcstl_atc thc gosittVc ccmcn|s O a rc:g:On, and wc

m_ht add, o a sOcta statc, mcans to d scOvcr :n |hcm
that wh ch s :mQOscd throug a cOnstratnt On man, |ha|
whch Obutcatcs thc Qurty ol rcasOn. Uut, :n anD|h:|
scnscand thts s thc asQcct that cnds uQ hav| ng thc
uQQcr hand n thc coursc O Mc_c s dcvcoQmcnt QOs-
lt vty must bc rccOnccd w th rcason, wht ch thcn Oscs
ts abst ract charzctcr and adaQts to thc cOncrctc rchncss
O c. c cc thcn why thc conccQt o gostlVlty :s at thc
ccntcr ol Mc_c tzn QcrsQcctvo.
lQOs| t| vty is thc namc that, accordi ng to yQ-
QOl|c, |hc young Hc

c|

vcs tO thc hbtorica| clc-

mcnt-|Oadcd as tt ts wi th ruIcs, ritcs, and | nst|tutOns
that C i Mpscd on thc i ndi vidua| by an cXtcrnal
Coercion
wnI Is MN HppnrnIm!
pawcr, but that bccomc, so to spcak, ntcrna| i zcd i n
thc systcm

O bc| cts and |cc| i ogsthcn Ioucau|t,
bj bottowng this tcrm ( |atct to bc.omc "+ppatatus"),
takcs a pos|ton wth rcspcct to a dccsvc Qtob!cm,
whi ch is actua!!y a|so hi s Own prob|cm. t hc rc| at|on
betwccn i ndividua|s as | i vi ng bci ngs and thc hi stor-
ct| c|cmcnt. y "thc htstortca ccmcnt, I mcan t hc sct
o| i nstitutioos, O proccsscs o| subjc:thcaton, and o|
ra|cs n whch QOwcr rc|aton

bccomc conctctc. |ou-
cau|ts u| tmatc am is not, tbcn. as i o Hcgc|, thc rcc-
oac|| |at|on oI thc two c|cmcots, it i: not cvcn to cm-
pasizc thcit conhct. lor Ioucau| t, what s at stakc
s rathcr thc nvcstigat |oo O concrc:c modcs in whcD
thc pos|tvitics [Or thc apparatuscs) act w|tb|n thc rcla-
tions, mccha nisms, and "p|ays o| powct.
1
It shou|d oow b c|car in what scnsc I h3vc ad-
vanccd thc hypothcsi s tbat apparatus i s an csscn-
ta| tcchnica| tcrm in Ioucau|t's thcught. What is at
s:akc hcrc s not a parti cu| ar tcrm that rccrs On|y to
this ot that tccbnc|ogy O QOwcr. It is a gcocra tctm
that has thc samc btcadth as thc tcm "positvity" hzd,
accotdng to Hygpo| tc, Or thc young Hcgc|. Vithi o
Ioucau|ts st ratcgy, it comcs to OccuQy thc p|acc o|
Onc o| thosc tcrm: that bc dchnc

, crit ica| |y, as thc

Why is
this a pro-
blem?
Forces do not reconcile into neat syntheses -- there's always politics.
w|at ao pa-a:?
/
univcrsa| s (ht antux). IocaUt, as you know, a| -
ways rc|Uscd to dca| with thc gcnCra ctegotcs ot
mcnta| consttucts tbat bc cas `thc unvcrsas,` such
as thc otatc, JOvcrcgnty, Lw. and lowcr. ut ths s
not to say tbat thcrc atc no opctattvc conccpts w|th a
gcncta| charctct n hs thoogt. Ppp2atusCs 3C, n
pont o| |act. what takc thc pbcc o| tbc unvctta |n
thc Foocao|dan sttatcgy. not si mp|y tbis or that po-
|cc mcasurc, thi s or that tCchoo|ogy o| powcr, and not
cvcn thc gcn:ta||ty obtancd by thct aDstractOn. In-
stcad, as bc ca ms n thc ntctvcw |rom l, zn appa-
ratUs is "tbc ae~otk [le reav| that can bc cstabI|shcd
b
ctwccn thcsc cIcmcnts."
I| wc now try to cXam|nc thc dchntOn Ol 3gpata-
tus tbat can bc |ound i n common |rcncb di ctonar-
ics, wc scc tbat thcy dstngu!h bctwccn thtcc mcan-
| ngs o| tbc tcrm.
. trCty urdCa cnc: `QQzrztu thc Qart o a
udgmc0t that COnta n tht dcCOn c
[
ztztc tOm
thc OQBOn. hat , thc tcCtOn O a cntcncc thzt
dcCdc, Or thc cnaCt ng Czuc O a aw.
b. tcChn0OgCa mcan ng: `hc way n whch thc
att o a mach nc Or Ol a cChan8m and. by cxtcn-
son, thC mcChanm t8c arc arrangcd.
L. m

tdQ uc. `hc ct O mcan zrrzngcd H CODOt

mty wh Qn.
^
w0at H an Appomm
O sOmc cxtcnt, |hc thrcc dchnti Ons arc a grcs-
cnt n lOuCaut. ut dIctOnarIcs,
[
artcuar thosc
that |ack a btstOttCalctymOlO_tcal charactcr, dtvdc
and scQaratc thi s t:rm nto a varicty O mcani ngs. hs
ta_mcntatOn@ ncvcrthc|css, gcncrx||j cOrrcspOnds
to thc h stOrca dcvcOQmcnt and artcttlatOn o| a
unQuc Otgna mcan ng that wc shOud nOt Osc s_ht
O| hat s ths Ort_na mcann_ or thc tcrm appa
tztus: hc tcrm ccrtnly rclcrs, n ts common |ou-
cxtt|di an usc, tO a sct O practiccs and mcchani sms
bOth ln_ustc a nd nonngustcg urdca| , tcchn-
Czl, and mt xry) thxt xm to txcc xn ur_cnt nccd and
to oDtaID an cHcct that s mOrc ot css mmcdatc. but
Vhat s thc stratc_y O QraCtCcs Or 0 tbOu_bt, what |s
thc histOriCa COntcxt, rOm which thc modcrn tcrm
OrI_Inatcs:
+
Lvcr tDc
[
ast trcc ycars, l havc Ound mysc i n-
crcast n_y Involvcd n an i nvcstI_at|On that i s Ony now
DcgInni n_ tO cOmc lO i|s cnd, Onc that Can rOu_hy
dchnc a a thcOO_|Ca _cncaO_y O cCOnOmy. ln thc
hrst ccnturcs o| Lbutcb bstotykt`s say, bctwccn
thc scCOnd and stx|h C0ntutcs C..-thc Ltcck tctm
0k0n0m: dcvco
[
s dccsvc thcOo_ca unctOn. n
Lrcck, oikonomia sIgnhcs thc adm| ni stlatOn O t hc
0k0: (thc hOmc) a0d, mOrc _cncra| y, mana_cmcn|.
w0a: t NM Appuram
V
c zrc dca| i ng hcrc, as Pt stOt |c says ,P:|/t/cs t:;;bzt),
oot with an CQstcmiC Qaradi _mg Dut wth a Qrax| s,
wth a Qractca actvty thzt must acc a QrObcm and
a QartCu ar |tuatOn cach and cvcry t i mc. Whj, thcn,
dd thc athcts o| thc Church cc thc nccd tO ntrO-
duCc th tcr ntO thcOO_Ca| d sCOursc' MOw dd
thcy cOmc tO sQcak aDOut a dv n econom
)
"?
What s at ssuc hcrc, tO Dc gtccsc, |s an cx|rcmcy
dc| catc and vta| QrObcm, QcrhaQs thc dcc|svc Qucs-
tiOn n thc htOry O Chri stan thcOOgy: thc n ty.
hcn thc athcr o| thc Chu:ch bc_Hn tO ar_uc dur-
n_ thc sccOnd ccntury abOut thc thrccO!d naturc O
thc dvnc h_utc (thc lathcr, thc On, and thc MOy
5g|r|t), thcrc was, as Onc can ma_nc a QOwcru rc-
sstzncc rOm rcasOnaDc-m ndcd QcOQc n thc LhurCh
whO wctc hOtr hcd at thc QrOspcct O rc| ntrOduc-
i og QO|ythcs znd ga_ansm tO thc Chtstan |ath.
n Ordcr to coovi ncc thOsc stubbOrn advCrsarics (whO
wcrc atcr ca|cd `mOnarcham, that s, QrOmOtcrs O
thc _Ovcrnmcnt O a s n_|c Go), thCOOgans suCh as
crtu| an, l rcnacus, QQOyms, and many Othcr
cOud nOt hnJ a Octtct tctm tO scrvc thcr nccd than
thc Grcck 0:k0n0m:n. 1hci r a@umcnt wcnt sOmc-
thn_ | kc thv. `LOd, nsOar 1s hs Ocn
[
and suU-
staDCc conLcrocd, is ccrta n|y Onc, Dut as to h s ::k:-
n0m:-that is tO say thc way i n whi ch hc adm| n stcrs
h hOmc, hs |c, and thc wOr|d t hat hc Ct0atcdhc
the perfection of god lies in his being. how do you get to action?
from perfection. full actualizaiton is stasis. fully perfect is non-historical
no change.
lu w0ar ls an A_araras
:, tatbct, trp|c. |ust as a good |ather can cntrust to
his son thc cxccuton oI ccna n |unctons and duti cs
wthout n so dong |osng hs Qowcr and hs un ty, so
God cnttusts to Cbrst tbc `ccOnomy, thc admnstr1-
tiOn and govcrnment o| human hstoty. Oikanama
thcrc|orc bccamc sQcca zcd tcrm sgn |y ng n pat-
t |Cu ar thc ncarntOn o| thC Son, tocthct wtth thc
oOnOmy o| rcdcmpton and sa|vat|on (ths s thc lC2-
son why i n Gnostic sccts, Lbrst s ca||cd tbc man o|
oonomy," b0 untbrapcr trr a/anamias}. Jhc thco|o
gans sOwy got accustomcd to dstngui sbi ng bctwccn
a "dscoursc~or mgas~o| thCooy and a "sgas o|
ccOnOmy. Ltk0nomtd bccamc t hcrca|tcr an apparatas
through whch thc rntaran doma and thc tdca o|
dvnc
[
rOvidcnta| govctnancc o| thc wor|d wcrc n-
troduccd nto thc Christan |atb.
but, as o|tcn hapQCns, thc |racturc that thc thco-
|ogans had sougbt tO avod by rcmovng t |rom tbc
p|anc O LOds bc|ng, rcappcatcd io thc |olm O a C2C-
sura that scparatcd in m bcn_ and actOn, OntOgy
and QtaXs. Acton (cConomy, but aso po tC$} has oo
|Oundaton n bcng. ths s tbc scmzophrcna that thc
thco|ogica| doCtrDc O 0tk0n0m: c|t as ts |cgacy to
Wcstctn cu|turc.
Y
w0ut Ir un Appumms 1
th nk that cvcn On thc Das O | hs brc cxpO-
|| On, wc Can nOw accOunt Or thc ccntra ty and m-
portancc o| thc uDctOn that :hc nOtOn Ol 0:kn0m:
Qcr0rmcd | n Lhrs|| an |hcOgy. Plrcady n L|cmcnt
O Acxandrd 0:
[
0n0m:d mcrgcs wth thc noton O|
ltOvdcDCc and begns to indicatc thc tcdcmQtvc gOv-
crnaDCc Ol thc wOrd znd humzn h tOry. POw, wha| s
thc transatOn O ths Undamcna Lrcck |crm n thc
wr|t| ngs o| thc Lat| n athcrs! r0r/0.
hc Lat n tcrm

|:0::t:0 tmm whch thc rcnch

tcrm

|.p-s|: Or aQQara| u, dcrvcs, cOmcs thctc|orc

to takc on th COmQcx scman.|c sQhcrc O thc thcO-
lO_Cal 0:
[
0nm:d. hc `dsQO:t s abOut wbCh Ou-
cau|t spcaks zrc sOmchOw nkcd |O |h thcoOgCa|
cgacy. hcy can Dc n Omc wa

ttaCcd batk to thc
|racturc that d| v|dc and, at thc samc ti mc, zrt|cuztcs
n LOd bcng and praxs, thc naturc Or cscncc, On thc
Onc hand, an1 | hc OQcration throu_h wh|ch Hc ad-
m ns|cr and _Ovcrns thc crcatcd wOrd, On thc othcr.
hc term apQara|Us dcsgnatcs tbat n wbcb, and
tbtougb whch, Onc rcazcs a gurc aCtvIty o| _ovcr-
nancc dcvOd O any Ounda|On n bc| ng. hs |s thc
rcasOn why apQaratuc must Z|wz

s mQ|y z Qroccss O|
subjcct bcatonj that |s to say, thcy must QrOdutc | hc r
suhjcct.
The subjects created are subjected to the governmentality of the
apparatus.
The term 'apparatus' designates that in which, and through which,
one realizes a pure activity of governance devoid of any
foundation in being.
2 WbdI It dn z@drdm!
In | ght O| thi s thcO|OgiCa| gcDca|Ogy the FoucauI-
dian appatatuses acqoitc an cvcn morc prcgnant 1Dd
dcci sivc igDi hCaDLc, i nCc thcy intercCt not onIy w|t h
thc COntcXt O| whdt thc young Hcg| Ca| Icd "pOitiv
|ty," but a|O w|th what thc |atcr cidcggcr CaIIcd r-
trh (which is sim|lar |rom an ctyma|ogica| pOi nt O|
Vcw to dt!-Q6!tlt6, du-Q6nrrr, |ust b thc |ctmaD :u/-
k corrcpOnd tO thc Latin Q6nrrr). hcn Mc|dcggct,
in tc 1rhnk dtr Kehre (Thc QucstoD Concctn-
ing TcChDO|Ogy) , wrtcs that Cr-tu mcaD D Ordi-
oaty usagc an apparatus (Grrdt|, but that hc | ntcnd:
oy ths tcrm thc gathcrDg tO

ct hcr O| thc (n)stalla-

t|on jtrhm] that (n)stas man, tb|s is to say, Cha|-
Iengc hi m tO cXpsc thc rca| in the modc o| ordcri ng
rttrhm], thc ptOXi mity O| thi tcrm tO thc thcO|Og|-
cal dttQ6rtIt6, as vcII as to |oocaoh's apparatuscs, is cv-
idcnt.

What is COmDOD tO a| | thcsc tctm | that tDcy
lc|ct back to this 0tk6n6mtd, that i:, to a sct o| prac-
lCc, bOdc O| knOw|cdgc, mcautc, and institotiOD
that aim to manc, govcrn, contra, and oricnt~i a
way that putpOtts tO bc osc|u|~thc bchaviors, gcs-
Iutc, and thOught O| human bci ng.
.
LDc O| thc mct hOdO|OgiLa| pri ncip|cs that COn-
!tantIy |OIIOw |n my i nvcstigations is tO idcDtij in Ihc
IcXt and contcxts OD whCh I work what cucrDaCh
the mechanisms over man
w|ai Ir ao Appa:? lj
uscd to ca| | thc phi |osophica ccmcnt, that s to say,
thc po| nt Ol thct L0iwtck/v0@btgkrtI || tcra|yg Ca-
paOi ty to bc dcvc|opcd), thc |ocus and thc moment
whcrc n thcy 1rc susCcQtbc tO deve|opmcnt. Ncvcr-
thc|cssg wbcncvct wc | ntcrprct and dcvc|op thc tcxt o|
an author n thi s way, thctc comcs a momcnt whcn wc
arc awarc O Or nabty tO QrCccd any urthct w:th-
Lut contravcni ng thc most c|cmcntary ru|cs o| hcrmc
DcutO.
g
mcan |hat t
g
c dcvcOQmcnt O thc tcXt
in gucstOn has tcachcd a pont o| undccidabi | it
whcrc It bccomcs ImgOssb|C to disti nguish bctwccn
thc author and thc | ntcrprctcr. A|though ths s par
ti cu| ar|y happy momcnt lOr thc i ntcrpctcr, hc knOws
that t s nOw tmc tO abandOn thc tcxt that hc t ana-
|yzi ng and to procccd on hs own.
I nvtc you thctcOtc tO abadOn thc COntcXt D
lOuCaud an ghi |o|ogy in which wc havc movcd up to
now i n Ordcr |O situatc appatatuscs n a ncw CoLtcXt
l w|sh to pmposc to you notnng |css than a gn-
cra| and mass|vc parti tonng O| bcngs nto two atgc
groups Or Cascs. On thc onc hnd@ |v|ng bcn

s (or
substanccs), aad on thc othcr, apparatuscs in wli Oh
vn_ bci n_s 8rc nCcssant|y Caturcde Ln Onc s|dc,
tbcn, to tcturn to thc tcrmi no|ogy o| thc thco|ogans
cs thc OntL|Ogy o| crcaturcs, and on t
g
c Othcr udc,
thc 0:k0n0m:u o| aQQara|uscs that scck to govcrn and
guidc thcm |Oward t hc gOOd.
You mean,
you want
to be the
author...

4
w|at lr an Aparam
Iutthct cXpandi ng thc a|rcady |ztgc c|ass o| ou-
cau!dan aQQaIatuscs, hall ca| | aa apparatus ||tcta||y
anythi ng tbat bas n somc way thc capaLi ty to captutc,
oricnt, dctcrminc, | ntcrccQt, mOdcI, COnttOl, Ot sccutc
tbc

cstutcsg bchaviors, opi nons, or dCoutsCs o| liv

ng bc|n
s. Not oMlyg thctc|orc, ptisons, madhouscs,
tbc panopt|con. schoo|s, con|cssioa, |aclotIes dICI-
glincs@ jut|dca| mcasutcs, and so lort h (wbosc conncc-
tion with gowct s n a Ccttan scnsc cvidcnt), but a|so
thc pcn, wri ti ng@ |tctatutc, pbi |osophy, a

ricult utc,
Ligarcttcsg navigation, computcts, Lclu| at tclcQhOncs
znd~why notl angugc IIC, wDICh gcthags thc
most anc|cnt o| a
p
patatuscs~onc i n wb|ch t housaads
and tbousands o| ycars ago a pri mxtc i nadVettently |ct
hi msc|| bc captund, ptobably wthout rca| |7| ng tbc
consc
q
ucnccs t h+t hc was abOu| tO |acc.
Jo tccapi tu|atc, wc bavc tbcn two gtcat c|asscs: | iv-
ng bc ngs (Ot substanccs) and appxratuscs. Pnd, bc-
iwccn tbcsc two, as a th:td classg sJbjcCts CHll a sub-
cct tbat wb|cb tcsu|ts |tom thc tclation and, so to
spcak, |rom tbc tc|cnt|css hght bctwccn liVi ng bc-
.n

s and appatatuscs. atutally, thc substanccs and

tbc sub|cLts a8 in anLicD mc|aQhyscs, sccm to ovcr-
|ap, but not comp|ctc|y. l n tbs scnsc, |ot cXamp|c ihc
samc ndi vdual thc samc substancc can bc thc pIacc
ot mu| tp|c ptocc:scs o| subccti hcxtion: thc t:scr o|
cc| | u| ar Qhoncs, thc wcb sur|cr, thc writct o| stotics,
Rousseau
fallacy
w0at t NN Appam? t
tbc tan

o ahcionado, thc antig|oba| izt ion actiist,

and so on and so |ottb. Jhc bound|css gtowth c| ap-
paratuscs in out ti mc cottcspoads to thc cqua| | , cx-
treme pro| i |crdt ion in proccsscs o| subcctihcation.
Jhis may proJuLc tbc mprcssion tbat n out tmc, thc
catcgo o| subjcctivity is wavcri ng and | osing its con-
sistcncy, but what |s at stakc, t0 bc prcc|sc, |s not an
crasutc or an ovctcomi n, but rathcr a di sscmi nation
that pushcs lC tbc cxttcmc thc masqucradc that has a|-
ways accompanicd cvcty pctsona| idcnti ty.

It wou|d pmbab|y not bc wtong to dchnc thc cx-
trcmc phasc o| capita| i st dCvC|cpmCnt i n wDiCh wc | ivc
as a masstvc a:cumulation and prol i |cration o| appara-
tuscs. It is ccat that cvct si ncc Homo sapicns htst ap-
pcarcd, thctc havc bccn appatatuscs, but wc cou|d say
that today tberc is not cvcn a s.ng|c |nstant in wbicb
thc | | |c o| | nd|vidua|s |s not modc|cd, contam|n1tcd,
or contro| |cd by somc apparatus. In what way, thcn,
can wc con|ront tbis situation, what sttatcgy must wc
|o| |ow in out cvctyday hand-tc-hand st rugg|c wtth ap-
patatuscs! Waat wc atc |ooki ng |or |s ncithct si mp|y to
dcstroy thcm not, as somc naivc|y suggcst, to ux tbcm
in thc corrcct way.
or cxamp|c, I | i vc |n Ita|y, 2 countty whcrc thc gcs-
t utcs and bchaviots o| i ndivi dual s havc bccn rcshapcd
Century of the self!
I think this question above -- how can we confront this situation --
is a moment that has the capacity for development (it's a question,
and attempting to answer it is development)
w|ar I ao Apa:am?
|rom top to toc b, thc cc| | u| at tc|cgonc (which thc
|ta| ans dob thc u/qnine. I bavc dcvc|opcd an i mpla
cab|c battcd |ot this appatatus, which has madc thc rc-
| dtionsbp bctwcca pcop|c a| | tc morc abst tact. A|-
though I |ound mysc| | morc than oncc wondctng
how tO dcstrOy Or dcaCtiv3tc thosc t:|:nini, as wc| |
as how t o c| i mi natc ot at |cast to punsh and impri5on
thosc who do not toQ usIn_ thcm, I do not bc| icvc
that ts |s thc r_t 8OlutOn to tbc ptob|cme
1hc |act is that accotdi ng to a| | . ndications, appa-
DlU5C5 atc DOl 3 mctc accidcnt in which humans arc
caught by chancc, but rathcr arc rOotcd tn thc vcty
proccss o| humanizat|on tat madc humans" oui
o| thc ani ma| s wc c|ass[ undcr lhc rubrIC lOmO sa-
piense n |act, thc cvcnt that has ptoduccd thc human
constitutcs, |or thc |i vi n bcing 5omctbn_ | i kc a divi-
sion, wbicb tcptoJUccs i n somc way thc dvson thzt
thc eikenemia i nt.oduccd n God bctwccu bci ng and
acti on. Jhi s di vi sion scpatatcs thc | ivi ng bcng Itom t-
sc| | and |rom its i mmcdiatc rc| ationship wi th its cnvI-
tonmcnt~that is, wi th what |akob von \cXkull and
thcn leideggct namc thc ci rc|c o| tcccptots-di si nhib-
itorse Jhc btcak ct ntcttuption Ol th8 tc|3tonshi p
produccs In | i vi ng bcns both bodom~that s, thc
capacity tO 8u5pcad tbi s mmcdat: rc|ationshi p with
tbci t disi nhibitotsand thc Lpca whi ch i s tbc pos-
:bi | i ty o| knowi ag bci ng as suCh, Dy const rULti ng
w0at I: NN Appummr I}
wor|d. ut, a| 5n wth thcc Q0D|cs, wc mut a|so
i mmcdatcy constdct thc apparatuscs that crowJ thc
Opcn w|tb |nstrumcnts. ob|ccts, gadgcts, odds and
cnds, and various tcchno|ogics. hrou
g
b thcsc 1QQara-
tusc, man aticmpts to nu!! |y |hc ani ma|stic bcbav-
iors that arc now scparatcd |rom h m, and to cnjoy thc
OQcn as such, |O cnj oy be ng |nso|ar as t s bctnge At
thc toot o| cath appatatus | |c 1n a||-too-buman dc-
strc Iot haQQncss. hc capturc and sub cct hcation o|
thi s dcsi tc i n 1 scQaratc sQhctc consttutcs thc spccihc
powcr o| t hc pQatatuse
.
A| | o| this mcans that thc stratcgy that wc must
adoQ| |n out hand-to-hand combat wi th aQQara|uscs
cannot Dc a s| mQl c onc. Jhs i. because what wc arc
dca|tn
g
witb hcrc is |hc | ibctaton o| that wbch rc-
mai ns capt urcd and scparatcd Dy mcans o| apQara
t uscs, i n ordcr to bri ng t Dack to a Qossib|c common
usc. lt |s |ron th QcrQcCtVc |ha| I wou| d | kc now
to sQcak about a cOnccgt that haQQcn to havc workcd
on rcccn|ye I am tc|ctring to term that origi nstcs
in thc sphcrc o| Romao | aw and rc| igion (|aw aad rc-
|igton atc c!osc|y conncctcd, aad not on| y n an:|cnt
Romc): pro|aaation.
Accotdi ng to Koman |aw obccts that bc|ongcd
in somc way lO the ods wcrc cons|dcrcd sactcd or

I6 w|at r an A_aratu
t:| igious As such thcsc t hi ngs wcrc tcmOVcd |tom
|rcc usc and t tadc among humans. thcy cou|d nci-
thct bc so|d not givcn as sccutityg ncithct tc| i nquishcd
lor thc cnjOymcnt O Othcrs nOr subjcctcd tO scrvtudc.
5acr| |cgious wcrc thc acts that vio|:tcd or transgrcsscd
thc spcci a| unavai| abi | ity o| t hcsc objcctsg whi ch wctc
r:scrvcd c|thcr |or cc|cst|a| bc|ngs +nd so tbcy wcrc
ptopct|y ca| |cd "sactcd) ot |ot thc bci ngs o| thc ncth-
crwor|d i n thi s casc, t hcy wctc si mp|y ca| |cd "rc|i-
gious"). Whi |c "to consecrate" (sactar was thc tcrm
that dcsignatcd thc cxit o| thi ngs rOm thc sQhcrc Ol
human | aw, "to pto|anc signi hcd, on thc contrary, to
testotc thc thi ng to thc |tcc usc o| mcn. to|anc, thc
gtcat ut|st Jtcbatus was tbcrc|otc ab|c to writc, |s, |n
thc ttucst scnsc o| thc wotd, that which was sacrcd ot
n| igiousg but was thcn rcstorcd to thc usc and prop-
crty ol human bcings."
rom thi s pcrspctivc, onc can dchnc tc| igion as
that which tcmovcs thi ngsg p|accs anma| s, ot pco-
p|c |tom common usc and ttansports thcm to a scpa-
rxtc spbctc. Not on|y is thctc no tcl ig|on w|tbout scp-
aration, but cvcry scparation conta. ns or conscrvcs in
itsc|| a gcnui nc|y tc| igious nuc|cus. Jhc apparatus that
acti vatcs and rcgu| atcs scparation is sacri hcc. Jhrogh
a sctics o| mi nutc ti tua| s that vary |tOm cu| tutc to cu-
tutc (which cntl ubctt and NarCc Nauss havc
paticnt|y | nvcntor.cd) , sacri hcc a|wxys saoctioos thc
w0ut r un Appurutm I

passagc o| somcth1ng |rom tbc pto|anc to thc sacrcd,
|rom thc human sphcrc to thc 0ivi nc bu1 wDa1 haS
bccn rtua|ly sepatatcO can a|so bc rcstorcd to th: pto-
|anc Qhctce ro|a1a1IOn :s thc countcr-apparatus tbat
rcstorcs to common usc what sacrthcc had scpa1atcd
dnd O:VOcO
V
rom thi s pctSpcctivcg capta|ism and othct m5dcrn
|otms o| powct sccm to _cn0ta| |Zc and push to thc cx-
t rcmc thc ptoccsscs o| scparat1On that dchnc tc|i

:one
I| wc COn8dcr oncc a
ain thc thco|ogica| cncalo
g
y o|
apQa ratuscs that I bavc ttaccd abovc a gcnca|ogy that
connccts thcm 1o 1hc LD11s1Ia Qa1aO1_m o|
e
i/en
e
-
mia, that s to say, thc di vi nc
g
ovcrnancc o| thc wOr|d)@
wc can 1hcn scc tDat modcrn agparatuscs di ||cr |tom
thc|r tradition1l ptcdcccssors :L a way 1Dat 1cndcr any
attcmpt to prc|anc thcm patt1ca|ar|y prob|cmatic. In-
dccd. cvcry apparatus i mp| ics a ptoccss o| uD]cOIhCa
tion, w1thou1 wbicb it cannot |anct|on as an apgaratus
o|

ovcrnancc, but 1 tathct rcduccd to a mctc cxcrcisc

o| vo|cncc. Cn t hs basis, Foucau|t has dcmonstratcd
how, in 3 di scip|nary socicty, apparatuscs ai m to crc-
atcthrough 3 sctics oI prac1:Cc O1COu18C, and
bodics o| know|cdgcdoci |c, yct |rcc, bodcs that as-
sumc thci r idcnt ity and t hci r "|rccdom" as ubjcCts in
2D w0at : an Apparam
thc vcry QtOccs O thcr dcsub]cCt hcatOn. Pggat1tu,
thcn, htt O a a maCh nc that QrOducc uD]ccth-
catOn, and On j a uch t aso a mach nc O _Ov-
ctnanCc. hc cxmQc O COncOn may cucdatc thc
mattct at hand: thc OrmatOn O ctcrn sub]cctvty
that DOth Qt znd, nOnct hccs, matct and cCurc
thc sc| ncgzrabc rOm th| ccnturcs-Od actvty
O thc aQQatatus O Qcnanccan aQQatatu n whCh a
ncw l COnt|utcd |hrOu_h thc ncgat| On and, at thc
amc tmc, thc aumQtOn O thc Od |. hc sQ t o
thc ubjcCt Qct0tmcd by thc aQQztatu Ol Qcnancc rc-
utcd, thcrcorc, n thc QtOductOn O 3 ncw subjcct,
whch Ound ts rca ttuth n thc nOnttuth O thc al-
tcady rcQud atcd s nn n_ l. AnaO_Ou cOndcratons
can bc madc cOnCcrn ng thc aQQaratu O thc gtOn:
hcrc an aQQatatus that QtOduccs, a a mOrc Ot c
unOrcccn COncgucncc, thc cOnsttutOn O 3 uD] cct
and oI a m cu u dc ngucnt, WhO thcn DccOmc thc
uD]cct O ncw-and, th t mc, Qcrccty Ca| Cu atcd
tcChnQuc O _OvcHanCc.
hat dChncs thc aQQara|uc that wc havc tO dc
w th n thc cuttcnt Qhac O CaQ tz| m |h2t thcy nO
On_ct aCt a much thtOu_h thc QtOductOn O a ub-
jcct, a thrOu_h thc QtOccc O What can bc Cacd
dcub]cct hCatOn. P dcuD]cCt ]D_ mOmcnt ccr-
ta ny mQ Ct n cvcty grOcc O vuD]cCt hcatOn. A
wc havc ccn, thc Qcn tcnt a c tv COnt| tutcd On y
p. 21 'so theyspectral form': Twitter tweets are uncritical
Wat t an Hppamtm 2I
t htoUh its own nc
g
ation. ut what wc arc now wi t-
ncssing is that proccsscs o| subjccthcation and gm-
ccsc o| dcsub|cct|hcat|on sccm to bccomc rccipto-
ca| | y i ndi ||crcm, and so tbcy do not ivc tisc to thc
rccompositoa o| a ncw sub|ccl g cxccpt i n |ara| ot,
as i t wctc, spOtrd| |orm. I n the nOnttutb o| thc sub-
jcct, |ts own ttut h i s no |onCr at stake. He who |cts
hi msc|| bc CaQtutcd by thc cc`|u|at tccphonc appa-
rat u$whatcvct thc |ntcnsty o| thc dCsi rC that has
dtivcn i mcnnot aCqutc a ncw subjcctiVty, but
on|y d numbct t hrough wh|cb hc can, cvcntua||y, bc
contm| |cd. Jhc spcctator who spcnds hi s cvcni n

s | n
|tont o| thc t :|cvision sct on|y gcts, n cXcbanc |ot h|s
dcsubccti hca:on, thc ||usttated mHsk o| thc coach
potato, or hi s i nc|uson in thc ca|cu|at ion o| vicwct-
ship tat ngs.
Hctc | ics thc Vani ty o| t hc w0| |mcani n
g
discoursc
on tcchnu|ugyg wbicb asscrts that thc prob|cm with ap-
paratuscs can bc rcduccd to the qucston o| thcit cor-
tcct usc. 1hox wbo makc sucl c| a|ms sccm to ignorc
a simp|c |act. || a ccrtai n proccs o| subCCti hcat|on (ot,
in this casc, dcsubjccti hcat ion) corrcsponds to cvcry
pparatu tbcn |t is i mpossb|c |or thc subcct o| an
apparatus to usc it "i n thc tiht way. Jbosc who con-
ti nuc to Qmmotc si miat arumcnts arc, |or IhC| parr,
thc ploduct o| thc mcdi a apparatus in wbich thcy atc
capturcd.
And the philosopher and educator? Good luck!
22 wnI It nn Hypnrnm:
L.
LontcmgoraQ sOcctcs thcrcOrc gtcscnt thcm-
scvcs as i ncrt bodcs gon_ through massvc gtoccscs
oI dcsuD]cct hcation w|thOut acknow|cdging any tca
uD]ccthcation- cncc thc cc | Qsc O go| tcs, whCh
uscd tO QrcsuQQoc thc cxistcncc o| sub]cCts aDd tcz
dcnt tcs [thc wOrkcrs mOvcmcnt, thc Dourgcosic,
ctc.), and thc ttiumQh o| thc eikeoema, |ha| s to wy,
o| a gurc actvty o| govcrnmcnt that a| ms at nOth-
| n_ Othct than t: Own rcQ catOn. hc Kght and
thc LcIt, which today a| tcrnatc i n thc mnagcmcm
O gOwct, havc Or th s rcason vcry |itt|c to do wth
thc gO| i tiCa| sQherc i n which thcy Orig natcd. hcy
arc si mgy thc nmcs O two go|cs-thc hrst goi nt i ng
wthout scrug|c to dcsuD]cct hcatOn, thc scCond wnt-
ng i nstcad to h Jc Dch nd thc hyocri ti ca| mask o|
tc _OOd dcmOciatc ctzcnO |hc samc _Ovcrnmcn-
ta mach| nc.
hs, aDOvc a|, s thc sOurcc O thc Qccu| ar uncas-
ncss O gOwct QtcC| scy dmi ng an cta n WhCh t con-
rOnts thc most doci | c and cowardy soca Dody that
has cvct cxstcd n humaD history. t |s ODy an aQgat-
cm Qaradox tbat tbc barm|css ci ti tcn o| posti ndusi ti a|
dcmOcraCcs (|hc 00m, as t has bccn ccctVcy sg-
gcstcd hc Dc ca| | :d), whO rcadi |y dOcs cvcryth| ng :hat
hc i s askcd to do, i nasmuch as hc |cavcs hs cvcryddy
Government is now a system of management, of maintaining
status quo (that's also environmental movement, too).
it's also media dumbing down actual arguments for
mass attention and consumption of advertisements
w0at r an Appumms 2]
_cturc and hI hcalth, h amucmcnt and h OCCu-
QatOns h dict and hi s dcsi rc:, tO bc COmmandcd aDd
COntrOcd n |hc malcst dcta by a
PP
artucsy s asO
consdcrcd by QOwcrpcrhaps Qtccscy bcCauc O
t h as a
P
L|cmia tcrrOrt. h c a ncw LurOQcan
nOrm mQOscs btOmctrtc aQQamtuscs On a | ts c| t zcns
by dcvcOp ng and QctcctIn_ 3nthrOQOmctrc tcChnO-
O_ic | nvcntcd In thc n Dctccnth Ccn|ury n Otdrr tO
dcnty rccd|vst cr m na s [lmm mu_ shOt tO hn-
_crQrIntn_) survclancc by mcans u vdcO Camcras
t ranstorms thc Qub| c QaCc O thc cty ntO thc intcr|Or
O an mmcn:c
P
rsun. ln thc cycs O authottyand
maybc r_hty sOnOth n_ Ook morc | i kc a tcrrOrst
than thc Ord ary man.
Jhc morc QQaratuc Qcrvadc and dIcm na|c
thcr QOwcr u cvcj hcd O l:, thc mOrc _Ovcrnmcnt
wI hnd Itc aCcd wth an c0svc c|cmcnt, whCh
ccms tO cscapc ts _rasQ thc mOrc t dOccy subm:ts
tO t. h s cthcr IO say t ha thi s c|cmcnt consti -
tutcs a rcvO ut Onary subjcct tn :t Own rt _ht, nor that
t Cn ha| t Or cvcn t hrcatcn t hr _Ovcrnmcnta mach nc-
Rathcr than thc QrOCaImcd c0d O hItOry, wc zrc, n
act, wtncss _ thc nccssant thOu_h a mlcss mOt On
O thI maChIDc, whCh, n a 0tt O Cooa Qamdy O
thcOO_ca akanamu, has ass0mcd thc |c_acy o thc
QrOvdcnta gOvcrnancc Ol the wurd, yct i nstcad O tc-
dccmIn_ Our wOrd, th| s machnc (truc tO thc Or_ na
so, government is
threatened
by these apparatuses?
so the internet as an apparatus is not government, but government
can
appropriate an apparatus as a strategy of governmentality.
look up Providence and
oikonomia
2q w|at t ao pa:at?
cschatOOgca voatOn O tOvdcncc} s cad ng Lb tO
CatasttOQhc. hc QtObcm Ol thc QtOlanatOn Ol aQQa-
ratu&cs-that is tO say, thc rcstitutiOn tO cOmmOn 0sc
Ol wha| has bccn CaQ|utcd and scata|cd n |hcm
s, Or th s rcasOn, a thc mOrc urgcnt. ut th| s grO-
cm Cannut bc QoQct
y
rascd as On
g
as t hOsc whO
atc cOncctncd wth t atc unahc to ntctvcnc n thc r
Own QtOccsscs O subjccthcatOn, any mOtc than n
thct OwD aQQatatuscs, n Otdct tO thcn btng tO ght
thc Ln_Ovcrnabc whch s thc bc_nnn_ and, at thc
samc t mc, |hc vznsh ng QOnt Ol cvcty QO|Cs
What is the Ungovernable?!
s
Jbc Ircnd
1.
tcndshp s sO t ght|y | nk0d tO thc dchn t on O
gh| |osoQhy |ha| t can bc sa|d that wi thout |t, ph||os-
Oghy wou|d aot tca||y bc pOss. b|ce 1hc ntmaQ bc
twccn rcndvhQ and phi |osophy s sO grOOund that
phi |osophy cOntaIns thc ]ho:, thc |ticnd, n ts vcry
namc, and as Otcn hapQcns w th such an cxccsVc
Qroxt mttyg thc tik tun hgh ot not mak|n

hc+ds Or
ta s O t. n thc c|assca| wOr|d, th s grOm scu|y, th s
DC3l COnsubtan|a|y, o| thc r|cnd and thc phi |oso-
phct was takCn as a givcn. t s ccrta ny wth a somc-
what alCha zn_ ntcnt, t hcn, |hat a cOntcmgOrry gh-
|osophcr~wHcn pOsIng thc cxtrcmc QuctiOn hat
Is phi |osophy!" -was abc tO wrtc that ths s Qucs-
tIOn tO bc dtscusscd cntrc umr, bCtwCCn tcnds. O-
ddy thc rcat|Onshp Dctwccn |tcndshQ and gh OsO-
phy has 2Ctu1 y acn | nto d|scrcd|t, and |t |s w|th a
2 0c !rcnd
ki nd o| cmbarrassmcnt and bad consccncc t hat pro-
|cssiona| phi |osophcrs try to comc to tcrms wi th th. s
uncom|ortab|c aad, as it wcrc, c|aadcsti nc partncr o|
: hc| t thought.
Many ycars ago my |ricnd |can-Luc Nancy and
had dccidcd to cxchangc somc |ct tcrs on thc thcmc o|
|ricndship. c wcrc pcrsuadcd that this was thc bcst
way o| drawing closcr to-a| most 'stagi ng"~a proo-
|cm that othcrwix sccmcd to rcsist ana|ytica| trcat-
mcnt. I wtotc thc hrst |cttcr and awai tcd h| s rcspon:c,
aot without trcp|dati on. Jh|s is not thc p|acc to at-
tcmpt to comprchcnd what rcasonsor, pcrhaps, what
mi sundctstandi ngs-signa|cd thc cnd o| thc procct
upon thc arri va| o| |can-Iuc`s |cnct. but it is ccrta| n
taat our |ricndshipwhich wc assumcd wou|d opca
up a privi|cgcd po| nt o| acccss to thc prob|cm~was
i astcad an obstac|c, and that |t was, in somc mcasurc,
a: | cast tcmpotari |y, obscurcd.
It is an ana|ogous, aod probab|y conscious, scnsc o|
discomlort t hat |cd |acqucs Ocrt|da IO choosc as 3 |cit-
mot|l |or hi s book on |ricndshi p a siby| | i nc motto, 3l
ttibutcd to Aristot. c by t radi tion, that ncgatcs |r|cnd-
ship with t hc vcry samc gcsturc by which i t sccms to
i nvokc |t. 0 ]hI0t, 0udc: ]ho:, L |ricnds, thcrc arc
no |ricnds." Cnc o| thc thcmcs o| thc book i s, i n |act,
thc crit|quc o| what thc author dchocs as thc pha| |o-
ccntr|c noti on o| Iticndshi p that has dom|natcd our
l:c lrid 2
/
Qh OsOQhca and QO| tca trad| t|On. hcn Lcrrda
was st wot|i ng On thc ccturc that wOu|d bc thc Ot-
_n O thc bOuk, wc dsCusscd |O_cthcr a curOus gh O-
O_ca QrObcm cOnccrn n_ thc motto ot QuQ n Qucs-
tOn. t can bc Ound n NOm_nc aDd n ctr.schc,
bOth O whOm wOu d havc takcn t rOm tO_cucs
acrtus. ut wc OQcn a modctn cdtOn O thc at-
tcrs lie:s -] minent hI0:o]brn tO thc chaQtcr dcd-
catcd tO Pr stOtcs bO_raghy ,t), wc dO nOt hnd thc
ghtasc |n QuctOn but rathcr Onc tO a| aQQcaranccs a-
mOst dcntca, whosc s_n hcancc is ncVcrthccu d -
crcnt and muCh css mystcrOus 0t |Omc_a w th iota
suDscrgt) ]hu0, oudrt: ]hI o:, `c whO has many)
|ticnds, dOcs nOt havc a s| ngc |tcnd.'
A vst tO thc btary was a| it tOOk tO cary thc
mystcty. In t6|6, a ncw cd t|On O thc Ltct aQQctcd,
cdtcd by thc gtcat Lcncvan Qh OO_ st lsaac Lzsau-
DOn. KCachi ng thc gassa_c n gucstOnwhch tt
rcad o ,o|/-| O rcnds) n thc 0dtOn cstab shcd by
h s athcr- n-zw lcnry LsticnacCaaubon w|thOut
hcstatOn cOrrcctcd t hc cngmtC cssOD O thc man-
usCrQts, whC0 thcn bccamc so gcrccty ntc _b|c
that t was takcn uQ by mOdcrn cdtOrs.
o| nCc l h3d mmcdatc|y nOrmcd Crrda O thc
rcsuts o| my rcscarch, was stunncd nOt tO hnd any
tracc o| thc sccOnd tcad n_ whcn hs DOOk r-:o-:
dr / umlrwas gub i shCd. l thc mot toapocrypha|
2 I|e lmd
3ccOrd n_ tO mOdtn ph OOgsts-was rcprOduccd n
thc Or_ na| Orm, t ccrta ny was not duc tO Or_ctm -
0css t was csscnt| a tO thc bOOks tratc_y th2t rcnd-

hQ wOud bc 2l onCC ahtmcd aDd tcvOkcd.

ln th s scnsc, Lcrrdas gcstutc s a rcQct tOn O
ctzsChcs. hc0 hc wa t a smdcD| oI pb|o|ogj,
Nctzschc bad bcgun a wOrk On thc sOurccs O O-
gcncs Lacrtuss boOk, and sO thc tcxtua h stOry O |hc
Luer | hcncc a| sO LasaubOns amcndmcnt) must havc
0ccn Qcrccty known tO h m. Pcvcrthccss, thc nc-
ccss| ty O tcndsh Q and, at thc samc t mc, a Cctta 0
dstrust O rcnds wcrc csscnta| tO Pctzschcs Qh o-
OQhCa sttatc_y. cDCc h lCCOUlSC LO tbc uadtODa
cssOn that was a rcady Out o| datc by ctzschcs tmc
(I Iuebnct's t8z8 cdtOn adOQts thc mOdcrn Vcrs On,
zdd n_ thc annOtt On, /eta:- ph o , rmrndutI
Lu:du0nu:).
.
t s QOssbC that t hc gccu ar scmamc status O
thc tcrm Ircnd has contt butcd | O thc d sCOm-
|Ort O mOdcrn Qh OsOphcrs. lt s LOmmOn know|-
cdgc that nO Onc has cvcr bccn abc tO sdtsactOr y dc-
hnc thc mcant n_ O thc 8ynta_m |OVc yOu, sO muLh
.

th s thc casc t ht Onc m_ht tbnk that t has 2 pcr-
|Otmat vc charactcr. that ts mcan| n

, n Othcr wOrds,
10e red 2
cO| nc|dcs wtth t hc zct Ol ts unerancc. Anaogous con-
sdctat|Ons CO0d bc madc rcgatd ng thc cxQrcsson, `
am yOur rtcnd, a|thOugh rccoarsc to thc pct|otma-
uvc Catc_ory xcms i mpossib|c hctc. l manta n, rat hcr,
that ` rtcnd bc|ongs to thc c ass o| tctms tbat n-
_u sts dchnc as nonptcdicativc, thcsc arc tcrms rOm
wh|ch |t |s nO| QODc fO cstab| |h a cass that tu-
cudcs a t hc t h| ngs to wbch thc prcdtcatc | n Qucs
t ion s attributcd. `h tc, batd, Or "hot arc ccr-
tat ny QrcdtCz|tvc tcrms, Dut s it Qossib|c to say that
`rcnd dchncs a cOnsstcnt czss n thc aDOVc srnsc!
Ps strangc as . t might sccm, ` rcnd sharcs ths Qua|-
ty wth anOthcr typc o| nOnQrcdcatVc tcrm. t nsuts.
|ngusts haVc dcmonstratcd that nsu|ts dO nOt Ocnd
thOsc whO arc subjcctcd tO thcm as a rcsu t o| i oc|ud-
i n

thc t nu tcd QcrsOn n a gartcu ar CatcgOry Or cx-
ampc, that O cxcrcmcnt or thc mac or cmac scxua|
Organs, dcgcnd| ng On thc an_ua_c) sOmcth ng that
wOu d stmp y bc mpossi D|c or, anyway, |a sc. An n-
su| t |s ccctVc Qrccscy bccautc t dOcs nol uncttOn as
a constativc uttcrancc, Du| rat0cr as a ptOpct noun, bc-
causc t uscs xngua_c in Ordcr tO givc a namc |n such
a way that thr namcd cannOt acccQt h s namc, z nd
a_a nst wh c hc cannOt dccnd h msc (as somcOnc
wcrc tO nstst On ca| | i ng mc LzstOnc knOw| n_ that my
namc ts LtOrgtO). hat s Ocnsvc in thc t nsu| s, i n
??
So someone would be offended when called 'bitch' only if they
believed that they were not truly a bitch. Someone who is not
offended by being called a bitch is someone who knows that
they are, in fact, a bitch.
How does this explain 'friend'?
]D 0r lrrnd
othcr words, a purc cxpcricncc o| | anguagc and not a
rc|crcncc tO thc wOrdo
l | th s s truc, rcnd sharcs t: cOnd tOn oOt Oay
wtth tnsu| ts but d|so w|th gh| |osoph| ca| tcrms-tcrms
that@ as s wc| known, dO nOt QOstcss an Ob|cctve dc-
notati on, and, | | kc thosc tcrms that mcd|cva| |og| c|ans
dchnc as `transccndcnta| , s mpy s_n |y bc n_e
1
l n thc cO| |cct on O thc La| era nazOnac d ar
ant|ca n hOmc, | hcrc i s a pai nt | ng by L|Ovanni Sc-
rOd| nc that tcQrCcnts thc mcct ng O thc apOstcs c-
tcr and au| On thc tOad tO thc t martyrdOmo hc twO
sants, mmOb| c, OccuQy thc ccntct O thc canvas, sur-
roundcd by thc w d _cstCuatOns o| tbc so|d|cts and
cxccutOncr whO arc |cadi ng thcm IO thcr tormcnt .
Lrtcs haVc Otc0 rcmarkcd On thc cOntrast betwccn
thc hcrOC Ort tudc O thc twO aQotc and t hc t umu| t
o| thc crOwd hgh| _htcd hcrc and thcrc by droQs c
_ht sg|ashcd a| mOs| a| randOm On arms, |accs anJ
trumQcts. Ps tar as l am concctncd, I mai nta| n that
what rcndcrs th : Qa nt n_ _cnu ncy |ncomparabe s
that ocrOd nc has depcted thc twu apost|cs sO cOs0 IO
cach othcr |thc r Orchcads arc a| mOst stuck tOgcthcr)
that thcrc s no Vay that thcy can cc onc anothcr.
Cn thc road tO martyrdOmg thcy |OOk at cach Othc
|c Imd jI
without rcCO0 z n onc anotbct. Jhs mptcss|OD O a
ncatncss that s, sO tO sgcak, cxccssivc |s cDhancCd by
|hc s cn| _cs|utc O thc batcy vsb|C, shak n_ hdnds
at thc bottom o| thc pai nti ng. h s Qat ntt n_ has a|-
ways sccmcd I0 mc to bc a pctCCt a c_Ory O rLnd-
sh| p I ndccd, what i s ttcndsbip Othcr than a QrOx mty
that rcsists bOt h rLQrcscntaton and cOnccQtua zat On'
O tcCOgD|zc mmconc as a |ticnd mcans nOt bC 0g abC
tO tcco

nzc h|m as a sOmcth n

g
. La n
g
sOmcOnc
` rcnd s not tbc samc as La| ||D_ hi m "whitc, Ita|-
aD, or hot," si ncc rtcDdsh| Q . s Dc| thcr a QrOQcrty
nOr a Qu|| ty o a subjcCt.
+
ut t s nOw t mc to bcg| n rcadi ng thc passagc by
Ar|stotc that | was p|anni n ID commcnt on. 1hc ph
|osophcr dcdicatcs to thc subjcct O rcndsh Q a : rca-
t| sc, wh|ch compr|scs thc c|ghth and ni nth books o|
thc Promurhmn Lthrs. o| ncc wc arc dca| | n_ hcrc
w|th onc o| thc most cc|cbtatcd and wdc|y d sc0cd
tcxts n thc cnt rc h|stOry O Qh| OsOQhy, I sha as-
sumc yOut am atty w| th Is wc||-known thcscs. that
wc cannot | | vc w| thout |r| cnds, that wc Dccd to di sti n-
guish bctwccn a tcndsh| Q bascd On utty Or on Q|ca
surc aDd vi rtuous |t|cndshi p, whctc thc |ricnd is |ovcd
as suCh, that it |s not QOssb|c to havc maDy r|cnds}
? No, they're recognized as a friend. Is this the existential fallacy
at work, here?
)2 hr Iicnd
that a di stant tcndship tcnds to CRU to ob |Vong and
so on. hcsc gO nts arc common know|cdgc. Jbctc
s, t hougb, R pasagc n thc tfCRtl9 tbat sccms to mc
to havc tcccvcd | nsuhccnt attcnt|on, cvcn though |t
COnl0 nS, SO lO SgCRk, tbc onto|og|ca| bHs| S oI Ari sto-
Ucs thcory o |r|endship. I am tcrr ng to tt)oaz&
t t)b;. lcts rcad i t togcthct.
Hc whO cc cucs [asthancmt] that hc ccD_, hc whO
hcat cuc that hc hcar n_, hc who wak cDc that
hC wa k n_, md thu Or a thc Othcr 8CtVtcs thcc
somct hi ng tat cDc that Wc arc cxcrtD_ thcm [hat
cncrgaumcn] , n uch a way that wc cnc, wc cnc
tat wc atc cmD_, and Wc th Dk, wc cDc that arc
thDk u_. h thc amc thD_ a cnD_ cXtcncc cX
t n_ jta cn:u| mcaDs n aCt scnun_ and thDk n_.
bcns n_ that wc atc a vc n and O tc wcct, kr
c s by uatutc good, and t s sWcct tO cDc that uCh a
_OOd bcOu_ to u.
L V n_ dc|tabc, abOVc a|| O| thOc whO arc _O0d,
nCc Ot thcm cXtD_ a gOOd and wcct thD_.
Ot _OOd mcD, `Con-cm ng jqnusthunamca, cns-
D_ tO_cthct] cc wcct cCausc thcy tcCO_Dzc thc gOOd
tc, and What a _Ood maD CCs w t h tc

cCt tO h msc
hC aO cc W|h fcQcCl |O h tknd. thc tcDd , | n
aCt , an Othct c hcttras autas] . And a a cOgc bad
tC aCt O thct Own cx |cnCC jta uutan cnu| dc r-
abc, |hc cXtc0Cc O t hc t tCnda cgua| |y-or a mOt
Cgua ydc r1bc. X tcDCC dc8 taUc bcCausc O0c
Cnc that t a _Ood th n_, and th cDatOD
jaisthrsts] 8 n |tc wcct. Inc must t hctcOtc aO
!
bc rmd jj
COncnt thzt h ltcnd cxsts, znd th: hzQQcn by
Vng to_cth0f aDd by sharD
g
aCts znd thOught 0 COm-
mOn jkananrin] . n th s CMC WC szy thzt humzm Vc
to_cthcf [:gZn] , uD kC LattC thzt shz|c thc Qzturc tO-
_ChCt . . .
It|cndsb|p s, D aCt, a LomHun| ty, znd z wc ztc
wi tb tcspcct M out5CVCs, o wc arc, z wc, wth msQcCt
to U r|cnds. Dd as thc scnsat:On Ol cXst ng |dnIbr::
hati rstin) 8 0c rabC lOr us, sO wOud t z O bc ot ouf
|ricnds.
Wc arc dca| i ng hcrc with an cxtraord| nari |y dcnsc
passagc, bccausc Af|stot |c cnuncatcs a cw thcscs o|
hrst phi |osophy that w| | | DOl ltCUI |n th| s |orm in any
o| h|s othct writ ngs.
- hcrc d scnsatOn Ol gufc bcD_, aD uuIbrtt o
cXtcnCc. PtstOtc tcQczt | h Q Dt sCVCra || mc
by mob2D_ thc tcChnCa VoCabuary o oDtOo_y:
d:Ibdn0mrlbu b0l r:mrn, ut:lbr:: b6I rJIn: thC b6l
r:In cIstcnCc~thc gu0d r: nsoa zs t Oggoc8
cscnCc |gud r:l, lI min).
2. s CDatoD o cxst| n_ t n tcl wcct |br1}:).
]. hcrc zn cQuVzcnCc bctwccn bCD_ aDd V D_,
bcOCcn scnsng Onc c8 5ltDCC znd CDD_ onc c.
l t s z dcCdcd zntCQztOn 0 thc CtZ8ChCaD tcss
that tztcs: cng~wc hzY'c Do otCr way o t ma_D-
| D_ |t zQztt lmm ` l V ng. ' [D aDao_ous, morc _c
j
4
br lricnd
ncrc, ca m can bc Ound tn Oe anma ql ybl |: `hc n_,
Or thc v ng, s c. )
q. th n th s scnsat On O cxst0_ thcrc ts anOthcr
scnsattOn, sgcc hca y a human Onc, that takcs thc
Orm O a ]Oi nt scnsatOn, Or a cOn-scnt qnasrhaoet-
har} wtth thc cx stcncc O thc rcnd. rcndshp ! lbr
n:lnncr a/ I0: con-rrnImrnl oylbr cstcnce o/ tbe
yrnd atha Ihc :cnImcuI ojcx:lcncr tscq but th s
mcans that |rcndsh Q has an ontOO_tca and gOt
ca stat us. hc scnsatOn O bc|n_ s, t n act, aways
a rcady bOth d vdcd and `cOn-d v|dcd jcan-duisa,
sharcd] , and rcndsh Q s thc uamc O th| s `cOn-
dvOn. s shar n_ has nOth n_ whatsOcvcr to
dO wth thc mOdcrn ch mcra o ntcrsubjcct v ty, thc
rcatOnshtQ bctwccn subjccts. Kathcr, bc n_ tsc| s
d vdcd hcrc, t s nOndcntca| tO tsc, and sO th l
and thc rtcnd arc thc twO laccs, Or thc twO QOcs, O
t h cOn-dtvtsOn Or shar n_.
y. hc rcnd is, thcrcOrc, an Othcr sc a hClrra: n-
tas. hrOugh ts Lat n transatOn, alter ga, th s
cxQrcssOn has had a On_ h| story, whch cannOt 0c
rccOnstruttcd hcrc. ut tt ts mQOrtant tO nOtc that
t hc Ltcck hrmuat|On s much mOrc Qrc_nant wth
mcan n_ than what undcrstOOd by thc mOdcrn car.
rs| and OrcmOst, Grcck, kc lat n, has wO tcrms
Or atcrty: aho: ( at. :tlia:) s gcncrc a tcr ty, whc
brIr6J (at. alrcr} s atcrtty n thc scnsc O an OQgOs|-
|On Otwccn t wO, a t n hctcro_cncty. NOrcOvcr, thc
lztt n
Q
6 s nO| an cXact trans| at On O nuIo:, wh|ch
mcans `sc . hc rcnd | s nOt an Othcr , but an
Othcrncss mmancnt L sc ncts, a bccOm ng othcr O
.
0e rmd
thc cl. hc QOnt zt whCh Qcrccvc my cxstcncc
as wcct, my cnztOn gOc thrOugh z con-scntng
whi ch d OCatc znd dcQOrt. my cnszton toward thc
Ir|cnd, toward thc othcr sc| | Fri cndshi p i s t his dcsub-
jcct| hcat|on at thc vcry hcar| o tbc most t nt matc
scnsaton o thc sc.
At thi s poi nt wc can takc tbc onto|og|ca| status O
(
|tcndsh p n rstOt|cs gh oso
[
hy as a givcn. Iticnd-
sb|p bc|ongs to Qrol bilesbie, si ncc thc samc CX-
pct|cncc, tbc mc `scnsatOn o bi n

, s what is
at stakc in boh. Cnc tbcrc|orc comprchcnds why
"|ricnd" cannot bc a tca| ptcdcatc addcd tO a cOnccpt
n Ordcr tO bc admittcd to a ccrtain c|ass. Ls| ng mod-
crn tcrms, onc cou|d say that |r|cnd" |s an cx|stcnt|a|
and not a catcgot|a| . but ths cxstcnt a|-whch, as
such, canno bc conccptua||zcd-|s st| | | n
(
uscd w th
an ntcnsit
}
that chargcs it wi th sOmcthi ng kc z gO-
| tca| Qotcnta ty. hs i ntcnsity is tbc sjt, tbc con-"
Or "with," that dtvtdcs, dtsscmt natcs, and rcndcn sbat-
ab|c ,actua |
}
, it has a| ways bccn sharcd) thc samc scn-
sation, thc samc swccmcss o| cxisti n.
Jbat tb|s shar|ng or cOn-dvsOn has, Or Prstot|c,
a po||t|ca| s|gn| hcancc |s |mp| |cd |n a passagc | n thc
tcxt that I havc a rcady anayzo and to whch t is op-
Qortunc to tctum.
1hc Icd
Lnc mUxt thCRotC aSO `cOn-cnt thzt h |tcnd Cx5tS,
and th8 hagQC0 by tV|ng tOgcthrt jt
)
zn] znd by at
D_ HLb and thou_ht tn cOmmOn jkanancn| . n thb
scnsc, C say t|at huMHnS | vc tOgcthct, un kc LB

tC thal
shatc thC pas

urc togcthct.
Jbc cxprcssion that wc havc rcndcrcd as "shatc :bc
pastutc togcthct i s C ta uutot ncmcstha. ut thc
vcrb ncma~whi ch, as you know, is ticb w|tb po| it ica|
| mp| ications |t . s cnougb to tbi nk o| tbc dcvctbativc
nama:)-a|so mcans in thc m|dd|c voicc partaki og,"
and so thc Atistotc| i an cxprcssioa cou|d si mp|y stznd
|ot "partaki ng ia tbc samc." I t i s csscnti a| at any txtc
tbat tbc human communi ty comcs fO bc dchncd hctc,
|n conttast to thc ani ma| communi ty, tbtough a | . vi ng
tocthct syzm zcqui rcs hcrc a tcchnica| mcan|ng) that
|s not dchncd by thc partic|pation in a common sab-
stancc, but tathcr by a shati ng that |s purc|y cxistcn-
ti a| , a con-division tbat, so to spcak, |acks an obj cct.
|ticndship, as thc con-scnti mcnt o thc purc |act ot bc-
i ng. Iticnds do not sharc somcthing bi rtb, |aw, placc,
tastc) . tbcy atc :harcd by thc cxpricncc ol lticndship.
It|cndshi p i s thc con-division that ptcccdcs cvcry di-
v|s|on, si ncc what has to bc sbatcd |s t hc vcty |act o|
cx|stcncc, | i |c itsc| | And it i s tb|s sbari ng witbout an
obcct, thi s origina| con-scnti ng, that constitutcs thc
po|itica|.
nomos - law
hc lrmd }
/
How t hi s o:igi naty po| i ti ca| "synacst hcsia bccamc
ovcr tmc thc conscnsus to which dcmocracics today
cnttust tbct |atc n tbs |ast, cxttcmc, and cxbaustcd
phasc o| thcir cvo|ution, is, as thcy say, anothcr .tory,
whch l cavc
)
ou to rchcct on.
Why is this the last phase of the evolution of democracies? And why
do you call them 'democracies'?
s
at ls thc Contcm
[
orar
7
:
1 .
1bc qucst ion tbat l wou| d | ikc t o i nsctibc on
tbc t hrcsbo|d o| bis scmi nar is. "C| wbom and o|
what arc wc contcmporarics! ^nd, hrst and |otc-
most, Vbat docs it mcan to bc contcmporary! I n
tbc coutsc o| t his scmi nat, wc sba| | bavc ocasion to
rcad tcxts wbosc autbors arc many ccntur|cs rcmovcd
Irom us, as wc| | as Ohcrs |ha| zrc morc rcCcn|, or cvcn
vcry rcccnt. At a| | cvcnts, i t is csscntia| that wc man-
a
g
c to bc in somc way contcmgorarcs o thcsc tcxts.
Jhc t mc o| our scm nar s contcm
[
orar ncss, and
as sucb | t dcmands j csigc| to bc contcmporaty witb tbc
tcxts and tbc authors it cxam| ocs. Jo a gtcat dcgtcc,
tbc succcss o| tb|s scm| nar may bc cva| uatcd by |ts-
by ourCaQaC||y to mcasurC uQ |O |hs cx_cnCy.
An i niti a| , provisiona| i ndication that may ot.
CDt Our scarC0 Or an answcr tU thc aDOvc qucst|Ons
Hermeneutics
Hermeneutics of the contemporary is an untimely hermeneutics.
40 wt : t|c l0nr~QomQ!
comcs rOm Pctzschc. hO and atthcs summa-
rizcs thi s answcr i n a nOtc tOm h s cctutcs at thc
LOcgc dc Itancc. "Thc COntcmgOrary s thc un-
t mcy. l n t8)q, Iticdtich Nictzschc, a young gh oO-
gi st who had workcd op to that QO nt On Gtcck tctts
and had ~o ycrs car| icr achicvcd an uncxpcctcd cc-
|cbr|ty w|th Ibc 8irtb e] Iragcd, puD shcd thc Ua-
zctt_emmc bctruchIuu_ru, thc LnImrQ rdII:0r, a
work in which hc ttics to CODc I0 tctms w th hs t| mc
and takc a pos|ton wtth rcgards lO thc Qrcscnt. `hs
mcdtatOn s tsc unt i mc|y," wc tcad at thc bcgi n-
ni ng oI thc sccond mcdtaton, bccausc |t sccks I0 Un-
dctstand as an ncss, a di saDi ty, and a dc|cct somc-
th| ng wh|ch |h|s cpoch |s Qu |c t_h|y ptoud o| that
i s to sy, ts hstorCa cu turc, bccausc I bc icvc that wc
atc a consumcd by thc |cvct o| hstOty and wc shOud
at cast tca zc tt. Io othct wotds, Nctzschc situatcs
hi s Own C a m ot `tccvancc jImlm], b|s "contcm-
porart ncss w|th rcsgcct to the pmscnt, in a d|sconncc-
tion and out-o|-oi ntncss. Jhosc who arc truy contcm-
porary, who truly bc|ong to |hc t t mc, atc thOsc Vho
ncthcr pctccty CO nCdc w th t nOr ad] ust thcmscvcs
|O ts dcmands. 1hcy arc thus in t his scnsc ttccvznt
inottuole| . but prcci scy bccausc ol th|s cond tion,
QtcCi sc|y thtou_h th s discOnnccuOn and thi s 3nachro-
n|sm, t hcy zrc morc capaDc thzn othcrs o| pcrccivi ng
and gtaspi ng thci t own timc.
Because that makes them more fun to interpret later?
whet l: thc Cantm
]
am
Q

4
I
Natura| |y, thi s nonco| nc|dcncc, th|s dys-chrony,
docs uOt mcaD that thc COutcmQOtaty |s a pcrson who
| ivcs in anothct ti mc, a nosta|gic who |cc|s morc at
homc n thc Athcns o| |cric|cs or in t hc |aris o|
Kobcspcttc and thc matqus dc Sadc tban n tbc cty
and thc tmc |n whch hc vcs. Pn ntc _cnt D3D
can dcspisc h|s ti mc, wh||c knowi ng that hc ncvcrthc-
|css | rrcvocably bc|On_s to t, that hc cannOt csc1gc h s
own t| mc.
Contcmporari ncs i s, thcn, d si ngu| at rc|ationshi p
wi t h onc`s Own t mc, whch adhcrcs tO t and, at t hc
samC tc, kccps a distancc Itom t. Motc ptccsc|y, t
s tbat rrmt0n:bp utb tmr tbt udbrrr: t0 t tbr0ugb
a diun:tien end an anacbronitm. Jhosc who coi nc|dc
too wc| | w|tb thc cpocb, tbosc who atc pct|cct|y t|cd
to |t u cvcry |csQcCt, arc uOt COntcmporar|cs, QrcC|sc|y
bccausc thCy do not mana_c to scc it, thcy atc not ab|c
to hrm|y ho|d thc| r gazc on | t.
Z.
l n tyz], Cs. Q audc|stam wr| tcs QOcm cnt|t |cd
Jhc |cntury [thou_h thc Russi an word tck a| so
mcans "cpoch" ot "agc"). It dos not contai n a tcdcc-
t|on on tbc ccntuty, but ratbct a tcdcct|on on thc rc|a-
toD bctwccn thc poct and hs tmc, that s tO say, oD
COntcmpOrarnc. Not "thc ccntuty," but, zCcord n_
So they're just not average? I mean, what if part of their time is
to be able to disjoin themselves? What happens when Nietzsche's
all the rage?
q2 what Is thc Canumparuq
to thc wotds tbat oQcn thc hrst vctsc, "my ccntury or
"my a@C (eek msr):
My Ccntufy, my bcstg whO w mzn@c
tO OOk i nsidc yuul cyc
and wcd tOgcthcr wth h s own b0Od
rhc vcrtcbrzc O L ccnt uric!
Jhc poct, who must pay |ot h contcmpotat| ncss
wth hs ||c, | s hc who must hrm|y |ock hi s gazc onto
thc cycs o| h|s ccntury-bcast, who must wc|d w|th h| s
own b|ood thc shattcrcd backbonc o| t| mc. 1hc two
ccntutics, thc two t mCs, atC not on|y, a8 a bcCn sug-
gcstcd, t hC n nctccnth and twcnt|ctb, but a|so, morL
to thc po nt, thc |cngth o| si n@|C i ndividua| `s |c (rc-
mcmbcr that :urculum or|g| na||y mcans thc pct|od o|
a pctson`s | i |c) aad thc co||cct|vc hi storica| pcriod that
wc ca|| |n tb|s casc thc twcnticth ccntury. P wc sha||
|carn i n tbc |ast stroQhc O| thc
j
ocm@ thc backbonc o|
this a@C i s shat tcrcd. Jhc poct, i nso|ar as hc i s con-
tcmQOrary, : |hs |rac| urc, u at oacc that wh|ch m-
pcdcs ti mc |rom composi ng itsc|I and thc b|ood that
must suturc this btcak ot tb|s woand. Jhc pata |c|-
i sm bctwccn thc t i mc and thc vCttCbrac o| thc Clc3-
turc, on tbc onc hand, and thc t mc and thc vcttcbtac
o| thc agc, OH th othcr, COnSt tulcs onc o| thc csscnt|a|
thcmcs o| thc pocm.
O on_ 5 t hc crcaturc | vcs
t must carry Orth ts vcrt cbrac,
because he spends his
life not being a part of
his own time?
B thc wavcs Qay aong
wth an nvsbc sQnc.
WbJl s lbr Cantcmpamq
4
J
ltkc R cht ds tcndcr ctt agc
s thc ccntury o thc ncwborn canh.
hc othct gtcat t hcmc~and thi s, | i kc thc grecCd
i ng onc, is aO an magc o| coatcmpotat| ncss-is that
o| thc shattcnn, 2S wc| | as o| thc wc| d|ng, oI thc agc`s
vcttcbtac, both o| which arc thc work o| a si ng|c i nd|
v|dua| (| n tb|s casc tbc pOct).
`lo wrcst thc ccntury away rom bndagc
so as to start thc word ancw
onc must tc togcthct wth a datc
thc knccs o a thc knottcd days.
Jhat ths s an mpossib|c taskot at any ratc a gar-
doica| oncs ptovcn by tbc Io| |ow| ng sttOQhc wi th
which thc gom conc|udcs. Mot on|y docs thc cpoch-
bcast havc btokcn vcrtcDrac, Dt eek, thc ncwbotn agc,
wants tO tUt atotr nd an i mpossib|c gchturc |or pct-
son wth a bmkcn backbonc) in Ordcr tO cOntcmgatc
its own ttacks and, |n this way, to disp|ay |ts dcmcntcd
acc-
but yOur Dkbnc h bccn hzttcrcd
O my wondroug wrctChcd CcDtuty.
th a cncc8 mc
| i kc Dct |hat w OnCc mDcr
yOu |OOk k, wck and Ctuc|
tO COntcmQlatc your own trzCk.

4 Wb0l : lbr Contnporaq

Jhc poct~thc contcmporary-must htm|y ho|d hi s
gazc on his own t i mc. ut what docs hc wbo sccs hi s
i mc actua y scc: Wbat i s thi s dcmcntcd gti n on thc
|acc o| his agc! I Wou|d | | kc at t his poi nt to proposc a
scCOnd dchnition o| contcmpotatincss. Jhc contcmpo-
raty |s hc who hm|y ho|ds his gazc on h s own t | mc
:o as to pctccivc not ts | i ght, but tathct its datkncss.
A|| cras, |or thosc who cpcricncc contcmpotati ncss,
1tc obscurc. Jhc contcmpotaty i s ptcc|sc|y thc pctmn
who knows how to scc thi s obscutity, who i s ab|c I0
wr tc by dippi ng h|s pcn |n tbc obscuri ty O thc prcs-
cnt. but what does it mcan, "to scc an obscutty," ":o
pctccvc thc datkncss"!
Jhc ncutophysio|ogy o| vi sion suggcsts an i ni-
ti a| answcr. What happcns whcn wc hnd outsc|vcs i n
a p|acc dcgriVCd o | ght, ot whcn wc c|osc our cycs
What is thc datkncss that wc scc thcn| Mcutophysio|-
ogsts tc| | us that thc abscncc oI ght act ivatcs sctcs
o| pcriphcta| cc||s in thc tcti na ca| |cd `O-ccs. Whcn
aCtVatcd, thcsc Lc s prLducC t hc parti cu| at k nd o| v|-
sion that wc ca|| datkncss. arkncss s nOt, thctc|otc, a
pt|vat ivc notion thc si mp|c abscncc o| |ghty ot somc-
t hi ng | i kc nonvision) but tathct thc tcsu|t oI tbc aCuV-
t y o| thc "o||-cc| |s, 2 product oI out own tcti na. Jhi s
mcans, i | wc now tctulD tO our thcsis on thc darkncss
seeing darkness is an activity and a 'singular ability'. Reading everything,
knowing everything (of course, not possible). Being able to advance a
eld is to be able to know where its limits are and to be know what is
needed to advance it.
Knowing your contemporary age is to know how it will be seen, how its
elds will advance and why; identifying latent trends in power struggles
wht Is thc Cantcmpamq
4

o| contcmQotati ncss_ that to gcrccvc thi s darkncss is
not |orm o| i ncrti a ot o| passvty, Out r3thct mQ ics
an activity and a D_u ar aOi | ity. lD our Cac, lb ai
ity amounts to a ncutta iztoa o thc ights t hat cOmc
rOm thc cgoch in otdcr tO d sOVCt ts OOsCurty, t8
sgcc a| darkocss, which is Dot@ hOwcvcr, scgarabc |rom
thosc | |ghts.
Jhc Oncs whO can ca thcmsc|vcs cOntcmgorzry arc
ony thosc who do not a| |ow tacmsc|vcs to bc D ndcd
by thC | |ghts o| thc ccntury, and so maD_c |o _cl a
g i mQse o| thc shadows i n tbo:c | i ghts, O thc r nt -
matc obscurity. Havi ng said thi s much, wc havc ncv-
ctthc|css sti | | not addrcsscd out qucst |on. Why shou|d
wc bc at a | |ntcrcstcd in QcrCciv| D_ thc obCur|ty that
cmanatcs rom lhc cQoch! Is datkDcss not gtcc|sc|y aD
anonymou cx
[
cricncc that s by dchni ton mpcnctta
b|c, somcthi ng that t not di retcd at us aDd Ihu CaD-
not COnccrn 0s' On thc coDttdty@ thc cOntcmgorary i s
thc QcrsOn who gCrccvCs IhC darkDc o| hi s t i mc as
somcth D_ that COnCctns h m, b somcthi n
g
thzt ncvcr
ccascs to cng+gc h m Oarkncs is somcth Dg that-
morc than aay |_hltutn di tccty and sngu| aty to-
ward h| m. hc contcm
[
orary s tbe onc whosc cycs
arc struck by thc bcam o| datkncss that comcs |tom
h own ti mc.
q whar It rhc Cntcparaqr

l n thc hrmamcD| that wc ObscrYc a| n|_htg thc st1rs
shtnc Dftghty surrOundcd by a th| Ck darkncss. o ncc
|hc numbct O gaax|cs and | um nous bOdcs n thc
unVcrsc s a mOst | nDntc, thc darkncss that wc scc n
tbc sky s Omcth| n_ |ha|, aCCOtd n_ tO 5LCnt|sts, dc-
mands an cxQanat On. lt |s QrcC|sc|y thc cxp|anat|on
that COntcmQOrary astrOQhysCs |vcs Or ths darkncss
that l wOud DOV kc tO dCuss. In an cxQand| ng 0n-
vcrsc, thc mOst rcmOtc _a|axcs movc away rOm us at
x spced O grca| Iba| tbc| t | _ht s ncvcr abc |O fcaCh
us. hat wc gcrcc|vc as |hc datkMcss O thc hcaVcns
|s tb|s _h| th3t, though |favc | n_ tOward us, CanDot
rCaLh L b s| ncc thc _| axCs rOm whCh thc | |ght orig|-
natcs mOvc away rOm us at a vcOty _rcatcr than thc
sQccd O | ght.
O Qcrccvc, n thc darkncss o| thc Qrcscnt, th| s ||_ht
tha| sttvcs tO rc3Cb us but CaDDOtthS s wha| |
mcans tO bc cOntcmQOrary. As such, cOntcmQOrartrs
arc rarc. Pnd Or I h s tcaSOD, |O br cOntcmQOrary :,
hrst and OrcmOst, a Qucst|On O L0uta_cg bcCausc |
mcans Dc ng abc nO| On| y tO hrmy hx yOur _azc On
thc darkncss O |hc cpOChg but a|so IO QcrCc|vc n ths
dfkncs5 3 |ght | hat, wh c d rcctcd tOward us, | nh-
D||cy dstaDCcs |c rOm us. n othcr wOrds, | s kc
Dcn_ On t| c |or an aQQO| n|mcm that Onc CannOt but
mtss.
you're mixing your metaphors...
w|ei Is :|e Canumparaq
+
/
h s s thc rcasOn why thc grcscnt that cOntcmQO-
rar| ncss Qcrccvcs has DtOkcn vcrtcbrac. Lur t mc, thc
Qrcscnt, s |n |act nOt On|y thc mOst dstant. | t CaDDOt
In any way rcach us. lts backbonc s brOkcn and wc
hnd Ourscvcv |n thc cxact QOnt O th s taC|utc. h
s why wc arc, dcsQtc cvcrythn_, cOntcmgOrar.cs.
t s mQOrtaut tO rca| zc that |hc aQQOntmcnt :ha|
s n QucstOn n cOntcmQOrarncss dOcs HOl s| mQy
takc Qacc n chrOnOO_ca t mc. t s sOmcth| ng that,
wOtkn_ wt n chrOnO|O_|ca| t | mc, ur_cs, Qrcsscs, aDd
transOrms t. Pnd t hs urgcncy |s thc unt mc ncV,
thc anachrOn| sm that Qcrmts us tO _tasQ Our ||mc n
thc Orm O a `toO soOn that asO a `tOO atc, O an
`atcady that s asO a `DOt yct. NOrcOvct, t al |ows
us tO rccO_nzc n thc Obscurty O thc Qrcscnt |hc | |_ht
that, w|thOul cvcr Dcn_ aDc tO rcach us, s Qcrctua y
vOya_n_ tOvard us.
1
P _OOd cxzmQc O t hs sgcca| cxQcrcncc O t mc
that wc ca cOmcmQOrar ncss s ashOn. ashon can
bc dchncd a thc n|tOductO0 ntO t mc O a QcCu at
dscOnt nuty that dv|dcs t accOrd n_ tO ts rc|cvancc
Ot ttccvancc, | t bcng-| n-ash|On Or nO-OD_cr-Dc n_-
n-ash| On. Jh| s cacsura, as subt| c as t may bc. |s rc-
markabc | n |hc scnsc that thcsc whO nccd tO makc
so what does this look like? is it possible to explain in any
way other than metaphor or simile?
qb khat : tbc Cntcparaq
notc oI |t do so |nla |by, and n so dong thcy at-
tcst tO thc r own bcn_ n zshOn. ut | wc try tC Cb-
j ecti |y and hx ths cacsur1 wth n Chro0OO_|Ca | mc,
t rCvcas |t | as un_fagabc. n thC |s| Q aCc, |hc
`now o |ah| oD, thc n8|ant n whCh t COmcs ntO
Ocn_, v no| dcn| haDc vz any k Dd O thrOnOmctc|.
8 th `now Qc|haQs t hc momcnt n Whch t hc |ash-
oD dc8_nCr concctvcs o t hc _cncrz concc
[
t , t hc nu-
anCc thzt w dChnC thc nc sty|c O thc clothcs' Lr t
t t hc omCnt whCn hc |atb|on dcstgncr convcys thc
conCcQt ID h t asststants, a0d thcn |O t hc tz Ot Who
w scw thc grototyg! Lr, rzthcr, s t thc momcnt
o| thc zshtOn show, whCn rhc cOthCs C wO|n by t hc
on y gCOgC whO a|c zwayt and Ony n |ah| oD, thc
mdunrqutm, Or mOc s, thOsc who nonct hc|css , Qtc-
c8cy lO| th s rcavoD, a|c ncvc| ttuy n l1sh On' bc-
czuc tn th|s |avt nstanCc, |hc Dcng D lzsbtOn oI |hc
tyC w dcgnd on t hc |act tha thc gcogc ot hCvh
and bCCd, rathcr tban thc munrqutm (thosc sacr h-
c| a vict ms O z Iacccss gOd), w rcco_nt zc t as such
and choOsc that s tyc h:r thcir own wardrobc.
hc t mc o |ashon, thcrcorc, const t uttvcy znt | C-
gatct tsc and conscqucnty zC aw1ys |oO | a|c. lt
a|way8 takc t hc o|m oI an un_tag1C thrcshOd C-
twcCn d `DOt yct und z nO 0DR. lt 8 gutC QrOD-
aDc |hzt, as !hc thcOOgans su_gc1t, t D CoDtc| a-
t|on dcQcnd8 on thC |ac| that ashOn, at cat | n our
ba: 1 b: C0rrmpmuQ`
+

CutufC, 3 thco|ogca| si_3|Ufc o cOt h ng, whCh
Ucr|Vcs tCm thc Dr8t QtCcc O cOtn_ that scwn
Uy dam aDd LVc ztcr thc Ln_|na bi n, tn thc |orm
o| o ncoth Wovcn rOm h
$
cavcs. [O bc Qrcc sc,
thc c|othcs that wC wCzr dcVc@ nOt tt0m th|s vc_c-
tz |O| ncOth, but trom thC nntcac pcceuc, thc Clothc
madc lrom an mas skn that LOd, zCCOrd n_ t0 Lcn-
c!8 ]. 2I , gaVc to our Qm_CD tC|s a a tzng| Dc ymDO
O s n and dCtD | n thC momCn| Dc CxQC Cd lcm tOm
arad|sc.I n ahy Czsc, whtcVcr thc fCl8OD may Uc, tc
DOw, thc karo: o| lash|on s un_rasgabC: |hc Q|a8C,
"| am |D t| S u8laDt D 1shOn s COttaCClCfy, bC-
C1usc thc mOmCnt n WhCD thc subjem QrOnounCcs | t,
bc | s a rczdy out oI zsh on. So, bc n_ n tshn, kc
COntcm
[
Omr| nc, cnta s B ccrtat n `casc, a ccrtatn
guz ty C bc| n

out-O-Qhasc or Out-O-datC, a whch
oncs rccVanCc nC|udC w| th n tsc a 8mz Qan ot
what | cs Ouudc o| t8clL d shzdc oI dod, O| Dc-
ing out ot atbtOn. lt tn |h8 scntC that tt Wa ta|U o|
aD Cc_anl aJy n DDctCChth-CCDtu|y zr. s, LC Ct
COntcmQOta nc Cc tOut c mOndc, `bc s cvcrybody'
CCntcmQtaty.
but t hc |CQOfa Iy o| msDOn ha znOthcr CharaCtcr
tbat |c|atcs t lD cOntcm
j
orar ncss. lo| ow n_ thc bC
_cturc Dy wbCh tc grcscnt dvdcs t|mc accord| n
$
to
a no morc and a `no yct, t as cstab tshcs a Qctt
| a| nzti onshQ wtth thc8c ot hcr t mcsccrtz ny
w0at tbr Canmpara
Q

w1th thc gat, and gcthags alO Wth |hc uturc. lash-
On Cau thctcOtc CtC, and :n th:s Way maKc tc|c-
vam a
[
aIu, auy mOmcnt tOm thc QasI thc tgDs, thc
Iy)Os, but alsO thc ncOcla:ca| Ot cmgItc stylc). lt Can
thctClOtc tic tO
[
cthct that wh:Ch :t has ncxOtaby d1
V:dcdtcCall, tc-cVOkc, aud tcVtal|zc that whCh :t
had dcc|atcd dcaO
b.
hctc :s alO anOthct asgcCt tO th:s QcC|z| tc| t:On-
sh:Q W:th thc Qat.
LOuIcmQOtatInc nsct:bcs :tscl In thc Qrccm Oy
marku
[
t aboVc al z atchatc \nly hc WhO QctCcVcs
thc :nd:ccs anO si
[
uatutcs O thc a:cha:c tn thc mOst
modcrn and rcccm Cau bc COntcmQO:a:y. AtchaIC
mcan8 clOsc tO thc urkh Ihat is tO say, thc Or:_:n uI
|hc OtI
g
n |s nOt Ony s:tuatcd in a ChrOnOO
g
ICa Qast:
|I s COntcmQOrary W1|h h:stOrtCal bcCOmug and dOc
nOt Ccasc tO Opcta|c W:th:n :t, ust as thc cmbtyO Con-
tInucs Io bc actvc In thc |Isuc Ol thO matutc Ot
_an:m and thc Chld :n thc Qych:c :c Ol thc aOult.
Oth th:s dIstancIn
[
and ncarncss, WhCh dchnc COn-
tcmQOratncss havc thcIt OundatIOn In |h QtOx:m-
ity tO thc Or_| n tat nowhCrc Qulscs W1th mOtc OtCc
thau n thc Qtcscm. hOcvct has sccn thc skysCraQcts
O cW IOtk lOt thc h:st tmc attv:n_ tOm IDc OCcan
w0at L thc Cuntcmpotary
at dawn has Immcdiatcly gctCcIvcd this a:ChaIC _ctc:
O thc grcscnt, th: COntIguOusncss w:th thc ru:n |hal
tc atcmQora! |magcs O ocQtcmOcr IIlD haVc madc cv-
|dcnt tO a.
stOtans O ltcratutc and O att knOW tat tcrc s
a scCtct aDnIty bctwccn thc atChaIC and thc mOdctn,
nOt sO muCh bccausc thc atCaIC lJtms sccm tJ cxct-
CIsc a QartICular Charm On tc Qrccnt, but rzthcr Oc-
Causc thc kcy tO thc mOdctn Iddcn |n lc mmc-
mOta aDd tc ptch|stOtIC hus, thc aDCcnt WOtd n
Its dcCInc tDrDs tO tc QrImOtdIl sO as to tcdIsCOVct
Itscl c aVaDt_atdc, WICh has lOst Itscl OVct tImc,
alsO gutsucs thc gtmItIvc and tc atchaC. lt Is In tDis
scnsc that onc can say that thc cntry gOnt tO thc gtcs-
cnt ncCcssarIly |akcs thc OrD O an arCcOOgy an ar-
ChcOlOgy that dOc DOt, hOWcVcr, tc_tcs tO a hItOtCa
Qat, but rctutns |O |Dt Qatt Wt:n tc Qrcscnt tat
Wc atc absOlutcly nCaQabc Ol IVin_. hat tcmaIns
UnlIVcd tDcrcOtc Is nccssantly suCkcd baCk tOwatd tDc
otigin, wthout cVct cin_ zbc to rcaCh it. Jhc rc8cnt
s nothIn_ OthCr than ths unVcd ccmcnt In cVcty-
tng that s Vcd. at WhIC |mpcdcs aCCcs tO thc
prcscnt s QtcCscy thc mass O What Dt Omc tcaOD
|t ttaumatC ChataCtct, t cxCcss|Vc ncatnc8s} Wc aVc
nOt mana_cd tO lVc. hc zttcntIOn tO thIs unlivcd
Is thc |c o| thc cOntCmgotaty. And tO bc ontcmgo
a history
of the
present
-- from
D&P
)2 what D rhe Centepomq
taty mC1D8 n th SD8c tO tCtutn tO a pt0scDt whcrc
wc havc ncVct Dcn.

hosc Who h1VC trCd to th nk abCut Om0mgfaf-
| Dcb DaVc Ucn aUc fO dO 8o ouy Uy sg |t| ng |t ug
Dto scVct1 t mC8, by uttoduCln_ Dto t mc an Csscn-
t z dsomO_CDCi ty. hOc who say
.
mj tmc aCtua y
dVdc t| mClhCy | DsC| bC ntO | z Cac8ufz znd J d i-
CUn!nuty. 0t Qrccscy by mcans o ths cacsdta, t h
ntctgoaton ol thc gtCsCDt ntO t hc | ncrt homogcnc. ty
oI ncar t mC, thc comcmgorary guts L work a sgca
rc a| ODh g btwccn thC dllcrcDt | mcs. l , as wc havc
sccn, it |s thc contcm

orar
)
Who hzs DrOk0n t hC VcttC-
brac O |1 |s | | mc [Ot, at zny tatc, Who hz8 Qcrcci vcd n t
a |a0 | | DC Ot a brczk| ng gO nt), t hcn hc ao mMc8 ot
t h8 taCt utc d mcC| | D_ gaCC, ot z D CncOdntcl DctWcD
t mcs aud _CnC|atOn. Dctc | s Olh Dg motc cXCm-
gaty, n t | s CO8C, thaD zu| s _cs|u|c a| thc gO| n|
tn whtch hc cXgC|cnCc and HMLULCb to hi s btoth-
Ct8 |hc CoDtcmgotar Dcs g1t CxCcCnCc that s mcss-
anc t mc, tc bc| n

-Contcmgory w|h thc mcssah,

whch hc Cz s QtcC| scy thc `t mc Ol thC DOw (ho njn
kairo). Io| ony s th t| mc ChtODo|o_caly ndCtCf-
m natc [t hc ]arousm, thc tctum O Lhrt rt thzt 8_na|8
thC CDd CCHa|D aDd nC1t, lhOugh DOt zt a CaCu1OC
a friend of the present? contemporarieness -- it is too
close to be recognized as something
what lt thr Contm
/
ora

>J
QOBt), Dut |t x|so h2s thC $n_u at Ca

aC |y O| guH| ng
cvcty t nstant ot thC Q1St u d| rCCt rczttonsh p |th t-
sc | o zk| n_ cvcty momcnt Or CpisodC o| bb La
| stOQ a pmghccy Dl a Q|cD_u|a|Ou ( Iaa| Qrc|c8 thc
tcrm Qyor, R
j
ote o thc Qmscnt (thus dam, trou_
wDOm humauty rcccvOd dczth and s n, s a tygC Ot
h_urC oI t hc mcss ah, who br n_s abOut :eJemp:ioo
and |lc tO mcu}.
h|s C thzt thc comcm
[
orar
)
t s uot Ony thc
ouC vho, gcrCC|Vn_ thc darkncss ot |hC pDscnt, _|a!Q
a | g| l zt Can oever tcaCh t8 dc8t ny, hC |s x|so thC
OnC wO, dl V| U| ng znd ntctQo|at|n_ t mc, 8 CzQ1-
UC O ttaDs|O|m| D_ |l and Qutt| n_ |t |n tc ztOH wth
Otct t | mCs. Mc s U|C IO rcad hlOty i n UDh|C5C0n
wys, to `CtC | zCcOrd u_ tD uCCCs||y that dOs DOl
al8 n any wa
J
trom hs w, but |rom zn cx_cncy
tO wC c CaBDOl not rcsgOnd. t I th8 uV|8-
| bC |_ht tat thc datkncss o thc grCsCn| ca:t t
shadow on tc Qast, 5O that tc gatt, touchcd by th
shadow, zCgu tcd thc aD| | ty to tcsQond to thC dzrk-
ncss o| |C DOw. lt .s omCl| ng z On_ |C | Dc tzt
Nchc rOuczu| t gmbab|y had | u m DC wCn hC wtOtc
that h s stO|ca| | nVCt |gat Ons o thC Qas| a rc ODl y
thc hadOw C15| by h| s thCOrctCa | nC|tO_lt| OD O thC
QlCCHt. om|a|ly, atc| bcnj 1m n wrtCs t ht t hc
h| 8lOtCl ndC7 coatziacd |n thc _e8 o| tbc Qa5t |n-
d| Cztcs that thcc mz_cs ma
)
zCh cw | C_ b ty oD|y
cannot not respond to the exigency -- there's the effortlessness
>+
whar D the Centcpra
|n 3 dctcrmncd HODC0I O thc| r h| stOty. lt t: on Our
zb | |ty to rctQond to thi cxtgcncy and to tht shzdow,
|O bc contcmpOrartcs not Ony oI Our ccntury and thc
`nOw,` bu| aO O ts D_urc tn thc tcxts znd docu-
mcnts o| thc past, that thc WLLCb or aurc oI LU
scm| nar dcgcnds.
So we should feel a compulsion to respond to Agamben's
commentaries?
otcs
WbdI : dN H]]drdm'
. ransaIot8 MUC. Wc oow crc thc Common Lng||sh
t f8ni 8t On u luuCutv t0f0 qsrq zgparam. ln cv-
ctyd
)
mc, tHc lnnCh word CM dcs|gaatc zny sort o| dcvicc.
Agamma gO| nts Out tzt tc KHUN mODc |mm Kha's In
th !a! Cok- |S cal|cd M arat
2. MichC Ioucaul t, furr/naukd_r: rkrrr ntrrvru:
ad Otb~ Wrttag, l/2~I, cJ. L. LCfduD hcw York.
antcon ook, I y8O) , I yq-y.
y. ]eaa ygp lc, nmdnen to Hgl Pbdb o] MI:-
toq, traos. . Harris znd |. b. 5pm|eck (Lncsvi||c. Lovcr-
s ty n8t o| |orida, iy6) , .
q. lDd e y 2).
y. Nart| n Hcid_ct, aic wtn_) m. O. F Kc| | ( Ncw
Yor|. Hatpct Lo| ns, :)]), yz,.
. Tms|ots' notc. Scc Iorc d om Pb. Iabtquc,
LL) , by thc ltcnch co| | ot|vc Jqqat . 1hc a uson |s to
luuU |uOm, thc m D ChJfaCtcf n |amcs |oycc`s 0(sss.
)0 6lr:
hc rcnd
. Li ogcncs >ctt us, fhe Luc s/ Eimt Pb:|sob:rs.
vo' . d3. K. l. I| cks (Cambrdgc, Ms.. H On
vc q ltc, t /z) , q6.
/- ]8CgucS Lrrda, Iolirirt s[Pnb/, . L. Lo| I i ns
|Lndan. cl8u, ty)) .
|. I|mrica cuschc, 7bc W l6 0wc, |tMt. V KauI-
mann and K. ] . lo 0_dac (Mcw York. Ytntz_c books,
i 68l , ] l 1, y&z.
Wbdr s rhc CamcmQoruQr
- lrcdrCh Mienchc, "Oo thc Uscs aod Puc o
l
t-
|oq to llc, " n Cotimeq M:a|mtiom Hb. K. |. MO| ngdc
Lbrtd_c: LMbrtd_c Unvcttq Ftcs, tyy| , O.
P L K | | | P
LmDn_ Zc:tbctic
bcroar
q
ol c_cf, rcbn/cs a mr, . LI30rrnlnlI0n
bcroatq ol cgcf, Ann

Om
busan crnstc n, Hoasa_ Po9lm: WrIn_ und
7rchIcclurr n L0clm, 0aqo, Fem and Hcidrer
hartln Hgg|unJ, kamcal A0nsm: rnd and rhe mr
e
J /P
LOrnca Nsmznn, lilc: Lau aad meda !chnam

nnc-Lc ltaoos, Oe Sc-eis: hr LINrdlurr s/
Lnr0un|rd Lcrec
|cznLC PaD, bc Ltrarx g b: Sycepe
Le

ededaIu
LzrOl |acobs, Sk:-t|og the Lthicm: 5qhads, Imro,
Mmunn, SHm, Camyen
LOrncus LastOrad, !:g-es o[ the 7nkable
]acqae Ocrrda, Iqdc wnl0m oJ tbe Otm,
voumcs, cdtcd by Pcy Kamol xnd E|izbeth
Kottcnberg