Rolling Philosophy

i like him, even so much of what i've read of his has that uh i dunno how to describe it that clever oxbridge impatience to it - at least he turns it against his own social circle which is sweet. still have never really read his long-ago book on critical theory. it seems lately he's in one of those late-career periods that philosophers go through when they're hitting a big ~publish all~ button, which is fine.

his casually thrown off book of essays on historical philosophers 'changing the subject' is very good, with some differences of taste it actually feels like a representation of ~my~ history of philosophy for once.

and i really like his little book - reprinting lectures i think? - on public goods & private goods.

Does anyone know of a good reference (preferably an article) that neatly summarizes the Heidegger-and-Nazism debate? I'm writing an essay where I have to allude to this but since it's not really central to what I'm talking about I would like to avoid wading into a huge pile of literature.

scruton: dead

pic.twitter.com/uH8W5RAlW2

— where are the pobblebonks of yesteryear (@AmneMachin) January 21, 2020

:D

Doug struggling with Kant. I feel you buddy pic.twitter.com/Nf2yvucyPP

— Graham (@onalifeglug) May 30, 2020

Good obituary:

https://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/bernard-stiegler-in-memoriam/

Reportedly a suicide, in reaction to an unnamed chronic illness (echoes of Deleuze).

Thanks pom, good piece

Seconded, thanks for posting that. Very sad this is how he went.

I did not know of him, but thanks for posting this.

Here he is in the 2004 documentary film The Ister, which is how I got wind of him in the first place:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymtnUDAOEWc

The entire thing is very much worth watching btw.

I was aware of him but that obituary definitely inspires me to read him

Vol. 1 of Technics and Time is the watershed, even though it may not be the most approachable starting point (that distinction goes to Acting Out, which incidentally overdetermines the theatrical undertones of Passer à l'acte, but such are the vagaries of translation). His treaties on 'symbolic misery' are also quite thought-provoking, albeit shot through with the typically French assumption that high brow culture needs to be democratized because it is 'superior'. I am less taken with his later works, which frantically aspire towards a Theory of Everything of technocapitalist oppression – a laudable aim yet one that requires a bit more caution than he exhibits.

Totalization always feels like a daft game tbh but I understand the lure, totally

sounds like the later stuff is more up my alley then as i'm a total whore for technocapitalist oppression theorizing

Don’t get me wrong, his ‘late period’ is a treasure trove as well. He tackles the topic with more depth and aplomb than e.g. Baudrillard imo.

His daughter, Barbara Stiegler, is also a noted philosopher and based on what little I know of her work she is also drawn to the same kinds of themes, e.g. adaptability as neoliberal imperative.

Yes, she teaches in Bordeaux I think. I knew her name but not his.

the obit is really good. i just ordered "The Neganthropocene (Critical Climate Chaos)" because amazon says it will arrive before i go on a no-internet camping trip over the weekend. it looks fun.

Haven't read that one. Do report (if you feel like it, of course)!