Giovanbattista Tusa Vertigos. Climates Of Philosophy

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by  Giovanbattista Tusa

philosophies
Article
Vertigos. Climates of Philosophy
GiovanbattistaTusa
NovaInstituteofPhilosophy,SchoolofSocialSciencesandHumanities,UniversidadeNovadeLisboa,
1099-032Lisbon,Portugal;[email protected]
Abstract: Inthisessay,Isuggestthatwearecurrentlywitnessingamutation,whichdisruptsthe
mythicalimaginarythathadconfinedviruses,climatechange,andatmosphericturbulencestoan
immutablebackgroundintheall-too-humannarrativeofthestruggleagainstnature. Iarguethat
theincapacityoftranslatingthismutationinculturalandsocialterms,andtherepressionofthis
traumaticexperience,arethecauseoftheperturbationthathauntsourtime.Disorientationpervades
philosophy when the entire imaginary to which it had anchored its power to change the world
seemstodissolveintheair,whenwhatwassilentanddistantturnsouttobevibrant,morefamiliar
tousthananyknownproximity. Preciselyforthisreason,philosophymustrediscoveritsability
toinhabittimesandspacesdifferentfromthoseorientedbythehegemonyofcapitalistprogress,
withitscorrelateofregularcatastrophicemergenciesandcalculatedrisk. Inthisessay, Iaimto
presentaperspectiveinwhich,insteadofcomingbackstraightforwardly‘downtoearth’,philosophy
acceptsinhabitingthefluctuatingdisorientationofitsowntime,itselfpopulatedbyintermittentand
uncertainopportunitiesofexperiencingdifferentlythepastandthefuture—toencounterdifferent
relationshipswiththetimesthatchange.
Keywords:ecology;climatechange;philosophy;elements;disruption
ToJean-LucNancy,wholeftuson23August2021.
(cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:1)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:1)
(cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:7)
Withouthim,nothingofwhatflowsinthisessaywouldhavebeenatallpossible.
Citation:Tusa,G.Vertigos.Climates
ofPhilosophy.Philosophies2022,7,7. 1. Introduction
https://doi.org/10.3390/ In“TheClimateofHistory: FourTheses”,Chakrabartyclaimsthattheclimatecrisis
philosophies7010007 revealsthelimitsofourformsofhistoricalunderstandingasitdefinitivelycollapsesthe
AcademicEditor:MichaelMarder distinctionbetweenhumanandnon-humanworlds. Thedifficultyinunderstandingwhat
is happening depends on the fact that we can only “experience specific effects of the
Received:29November2021
crisis but not the whole phenomenon” [1]. According to Chakrabarty, the critique that
Accepted:1January2022
understandshumanityasaneffectofpoweris“aneffectivecriticaltoolindealingwith
Published:10January2022
nationalandglobalformationsofdomination”[1],butitisnotadequateindealingwith
Publisher’sNote:MDPIstaysneutral theclimatecrisis. Arenewedcritiqueshouldengageanewperspectiveontheplaceof
withregardtojurisdictionalclaimsin humansinthedistinctthoughconnectedhistoriesoftheglobeandtheplanet. Inthissense,
publishedmapsandinstitutionalaffil- Chakrabartyusesthenotionofplanetarytodesignateaconditiondifferentfromthatof
iations. globalization,thedescriptionofwhichrequiresustoacknowledgethat“thecommunicative
setupwithinwhichhumanssawthemselvesasnaturallysituatedthroughcategorieslike
earth,world,andglobehasnowbrokendown”[2].
Theplanetaryconditionreferstoneitheranycommongroundnortoanybelongingto
Copyright: © 2022 by the author.
asystemofuniversalvalues. Instead,asSpivakpointsout,iturgesustodiscoveramode
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
ofinhabitingwithwhatescapestranslationor“acceptance”[3]. ‘Planetary’,then,isthat
This article is an open access article
whichremains“aboveandbeyondourownreach”andwhichrequiresusto“persistently
distributed under the terms and
educateourselvesintothepeculiarmindsetofacceptingtheuntranslatable”[3]. Theplanet,
conditionsoftheCreativeCommons
withinthiscontext,insteadofbeingrepresentedasthetotalizinginterconnectednessofa
Attribution(CCBY)license(https://
systemofrelationship,remainsanegativeconcept,shroudedinwhatThackercalledthe
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
“CloudsofUnknowing”[4].
4.0/).
Philosophies2022,7,7.https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies7010007 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/philosophies
Philosophies2022,7,7 2of10
Notsurprisingly, Latouremphasizeshowthisnewconditionischaracterizedbya
“vertigo”,ageneralizedpanicthatpervadespoliticstoday. Uncertaintyandriskemerge
inthemostcommonformsofinhabitingourtime,inthedailyhabitsthathavegrounded
andstabilizedourethicalandpoliticaldimensions. ForLatour,itisimportanttorecognize
thatatstakeisnothinglessthantheveryquestion“ofattachment,oflifestyle,that’sbeing
pulledoutfromunderus[...] Thenewuniversalityconsistsinfeelingthatthegroundis
intheprocessofgivingway”[5]. Atthesametime,evenifitisadisorientingcondition
thataffectseveryone,itonlyappearsintheareasoffrictionandresistance,andforthis
reason,wemustacknowledgethatalthoughaprofoundchangeinthehumancondition
hastakenplace,humanityremainsprofoundlydifferentiatedandcannotbeimaginedasa
single,meta-historicalagent.
Theperceptionofthiscondition,whichturnedthiscrisisintoanimperceptibleyet
commonsituationin ourlives, notonlyannouncesthe endofa productivesystembut
also an upheaval of the imagination. Not knowing how to process and socialize what
wearefeelingintheseuncertaintimesmakesusvictimsofanunfathomableanxiety. In
thisagemarkedbyunthinkablechanges,environmentsthatarefamiliartousturninto
frighteningforeignagents,comingfromaliendimensionstoinvadeourair-conditioned
metropolises. For a long time, Western thought subjected all atmospheric variations to
a process of rarefaction and sublimation that confined climate change to the celestial,
immutabledimensionofreturnoftheidentical.
Butchangeisintheair,andthequestiontodayistoconfrontthefluctuationsthatchar-
acterizeradicalcontingency. Contingentissomethingthathappenstousandthatescapes
“allpre-registeredpossibilities”[6],becausewhensomethinghappenstous“noveltygrabs
usbythethroat”[6],andallcalculationends. Theincalculablenatureofthecontingent
thus reopens us to chance, it de-totalizes a world that “only takes counting techniques
seriously”[6].
Philosophy’sbeginning—Deleuzeclaimsinafamouslectureonthecreativeact[7]—is
notcharacterizedbyintelligencebutbyanidiotismthatresists“theconsensualwayin
whichthesituationispresentedandinwhichemergenciesmobilizethoughtoraction”[8].
Philosophyhasalwaysbeenaffectedbyavertigothatrendersclosewhatisdistantand
remotewhatisnear. Philosophytraversesrealms,likeanuninterruptedconversationof
spirits, andinundateseverythingwithitsfluidity; itdrawseverythingintoitsabysmal
drift. Hence,thatwhichhasalwaysappearedtobeotherturnsouttobeinsomewaysame,
andwhathasalwaysseemedtooriginatefromone’sowninmostselfissuddenlyrevealed
tobeotherandunknown.
2. StellarRevolutions
Venice, March 1610. A messenger announces a revolution coming from the stars.
Galileo Galilei publishes his Sidereus Nuncius, “stravagantissima meraviglia”, a short
astronomytreatiseinwhichhediscussestheobservationsofcelestialbodieshemadefrom
siderealdistances,whichwereenabledbythetechnicalimprovementsonthetelescope
inventedafewyearsearlierinTheNetherlands[9]. ThebirthofmodernWesternscience
coincidedwiththedevelopmentofopticalapparatusesthatprovokedadecentralizationof
thehumanuniverseandtheendofgeocentrism. However,thisrevolutionofthecenter
generatedatthesametimetheparadoxicalreorientationthatgavemodernityitsspecific
perspective. Whatbecomescentralisthepositionofthesubjectanditsabilitytobecome
anactivesourceandoriginofmeaning. Enlightenment,AdornoandHorkheimerwrite,
is “totalitarian” [10] in the sense that it requires the totality of vision of a subject who
has the power to have an outside view of the world, the power to see the world from
anotherworld.
Astronautical expeditions, whose centrifugal impetus is for Hans Blumenberg “a
remnant of the special value assigned to the stellar reality by metaphysics” [11], show
preciselythathumanitycouldnothaveanexperienceofareturntotheEarthexceptby
leavingit. Theearthinfacthadalwaysbeenforitsinhabitantstheinvisibleparexcellence,
Philosophies2022,7,7 3of10
theobviousandimperceptibleconditionoftheirexistence. Yet,observedforthefirsttime
from outer space, it appeared as an island in an ocean of negativity, “as a cosmic oasis
on which man lives in the midst of the disappointing celestial desert” [11]. Modernity,
whichbeganwiththeEuropeanshipsthatdepartedtotheConquestoftheNewWorld,
wascaughtinaparadoxicalorbitthatentails,attheendofitstrajectory,anunexpected
geotropicinversion,arenewedsacralizationoftheTerrestrial. Theearthhasbecomein
thisperspectiveanark,avehicleofsurvivalthatisalsoa“de-foundingexperiment”[12]
(p. 238). As Peter Sloterdijk points out, the concept of the ark—from the Latin arca,
arcanus,closed,secret—revealsthat“theartificial,sealedinnerworldcan,undercertain
circumstances, become the only possible environment for its inhabitants” [12] (p. 237).
Europeanmodernityisdistinguishedbyaspecificprojectthatconsistsinbuildingitsown
autonomous home, a home independent from any context. An absolute house, which
progressivelydisconnectsitselffromthegroundandtheneighborhood,asitonlypossesses
“thequantityofgroundthatformedpartofitself”,basedonanavigationsystem“rather
thanafoundation”[12](p. 238).
Thus,theconquestofexternalspaceshadtheparadoxicalresultofshapingafloating
interiority, aspecialbiosphere. Accordingtothisproject, forthisbiospheretocontinue
toexist,itisnotenoughtoappropriatetheEarthinitsentirety,butitisalsonecessaryto
conquereveryoutside. ÉdouardGlissantwritescriticallyinhisPoeticsofrelation:
Inyourpoeticvisionaboathasnobelly;aboatdoesnotswallowup,doesnot
devour;aboatissteeredbyopenskies. Yet,thebellyofthisboatdissolvesyou,
precipitatesyouintoanonworldfromwhichyoucryout. Thisboatisawomb,a
wombabyss. [...] Thisboatisyourwomb,amatrix,andyetitexpelsyou. This
boat: pregnantwithasmanydeadaslivingundersentenceofdeath[13].
Theencompassingviewoftheearthfromtheoutside,asawanderingark,suggests
the idea of complete interconnection and coexistence. However, it also generates the
extremedangeroftotalitariancontrol. MartinHeidegger,inalectureentitled“DieZeit
desWeltbildes”,arguesthatthefundamentaleventoftheModernAgeconsistsmainly
in the conquest of the world as picture (Weltbild) and that globalization is ultimately a
representationalorevenaestheticprojectinwhichtheworldnolongerappearsastheopen
spaceofexperiencebutasanobjectofrepresentation,design,andproject[14]. Thismodel
representstheplanetasacyberneticorganism,aninterconnectedmetabioticconstellation
inwhichitseemsnolongerpossibletocircumscribeanyseparationbetweenthepersonal
andthecommon. Causeandeffect,possibilityandpotentiality,andpastandfutureare
indefinitelyintegratedanddisintegrated.
Globalizationisthustheproductofaspecificpoliticaleconomyofspacethatgenerates
andmobilizesflowsofenergy,rawmaterials,money,workforce,signs,informationand
knowledge,symbols,people,butitfinallycoordinatesandsynchronizesthesemultiple
flowsinanasphyxiatinguniquespace. Thisenvironmentseemstohaveneithercenter
normargins,yetitisfarfrompacifiedbyanysharedorcommonground: divergentand
differentvalues,timesandspacescoexistinpermanentcollisionwitheachother. Intheage
inwhichtheexpansiveprojectoftheunificationoftheearthunderthetotalizingfigure
oftheglobeseemsfinallyaccomplished,humanitymovesinto“aphaseofpanicterrors,
exactlybefittingasmallworldoftribaldrums,totalinterdependence,andsuperimposed
co-existence”[15].
Therefore,theparadoxofourtimeisthathumanityisbecomingsimultaneouslymore
unifiedandmorefragmented. Themoreintegratedtheworldbecomes,themorethevery
groundonwhichtheprojectofglobalizationofourmultipleexistenceswasfoundedseems
toslipaway. AsHannahArendtemphasizes,itis“worldalienation,andnotself-alienation
as Marx thought [that] has been the hallmark of the modem age” [16] (p. 154). This
conditionofworlddeprivation—theacosmia—isaccompaniedbyarevolutionarymutation
ofourcapacitytotransformourenvironment. Tosomeextent,thepowerofmodernity
consisted in the capacity of putting the world at a distance, and the power of critique
consisted in the capacity to separate and dissociate any bond. The Archimedean point
Philosophies2022,7,7 4of10
described by Arendt in The Human Condition as “a point outside the earth from which
tounhingetheworld”[16](p. 262)becamesynonymouswithaneccentricalandunique
standpointthatenablesustoexcludeourselvesfromanyperspectivethatdoesnotrequire
asinglegazeonlytoreadthewholeworld.
3. TheOthers’Insurrections
InthefinalpartsofhisLandandSea,CarlSchmittmaintainsthat“thewholehistory
ofmankindisbutavoyagethroughthefourelements”[17]. Theprogressivedetachment
from an earthly origin that marks the Western decline announces a new “air age”, an
enormousdestructionofallorientationsbasedontheoldnomosoftheearth[18](p. 178).1
Thisrevolutionthatshiftsthehorizonfromearthtoairgeneratesaprogressivedissolution
oftheentiresystemofindividualization,measurement,andlocalizationthatmakesthe
earthaninhabitable,politicalspace. InthefutureportrayedbySchmitt,depoliticization
wouldcharacterizeaworldwhichwouldnolongerbeaworld,onereducedtoacompletely
dehumanizedandpacifiedglobe,withoutaremainder(restlos),without“thedistinctionof
friendandenemyandhenceaworldwithoutpolitics”[19].2 Thisunpoliticalfuturewill
re-propose the chaotic condition that precedes and provokes the nomos, understood as
theabilitytomakeinhabitabletheuninhabitable. Theaerialdimensionmarksthefailure
of the cosmopolitical government (nomos) of the Moderns, causing a disruptive effect
of disorientation (Ent-Ortung) and dislocation that opens an irreversible crisis of every
dimension,relationship,andspatialscale.
Thiselementalmutationtransformsthespaceofeveryhumanaction, openingun-
knownpossibilitiesoforderandsense. ModernEarth,characterizedasacombinationof
naturalresourcesandterritoriestooccupy,haditsownpossibilitytoexistonlyinitscon-
stitutiverelationshipwiththecorrespondingemergenceofmultipleTerraeNullius,which
designatedpreciselylandsthatwerenotexploitedbytheirinhabitantsandthatcouldbe
thereforeappropriated[21]: anomiclands,towhichthenomoshasgivenadelimitation,
anorientationthatinscribesthemwithinauniversalcosmologicalhorizon,asensethat
integratesthemintoacommonworld.
Thefabricationofempty,separate,anomicspaceswaitingforlawandorderhasbeen
the foundational pillar of a planetary order regulated by cosmic, astral laws, based on
theearth,depictedasmotherofalltherightsandjustissimatellus[18](p. 42). Thisorder
neededlegalvacuumsand“reservesofdarkness”[22]asitsconditionofexistenceand
perpetuation. However,thesezonesofdarknessrise;theyinsubordinate. Anewplanet
emergesthatnolongerpermitstobeinventoried,torntopieces,orarranged. Thespace
inwhichtheexplorermovedtogetfromthecontinenttothedistantislandsisnolonger
smoothorempty,butitisopen,andhauntedbyentanglementsandfrictions. Theearth,
whichembodiedthetraditionalfoundationoftherightofpropertyexploitation,becomes
insteadthecriticalmassofcontestation[23]. Inourage—SabuKohsowritesinhisRadiation
andRevolution—impetusesofrevoltthatdonotoriginate“byheavenlycommandmentbut
inearthlystruggles;intheconvergenceofwindswithvaryingtemperatures,speeds,and
orientations”[24].
The Anthropocene is the age in which the planetary expansion of a universal and
abstractformofhumanitythatbindstoitsownendsallother-than-humanworldsseems
toberealized. However,atthesametime,thisageexposesthefailureofanthropocentrism,
sinceitalsoshowshowhumanitydependsonnon-humanentities. Asanagethatpresents
thepossibilityoftheendofmanasitsownhorizon,italsoimpelsaliberationfromthis
horizonandaproliferationofhistorieswithouthorizonandwithoutends. Newstruggles
generate a generalized restless sense of raising that throw us up in the air, a diffused
movementthatisheavinguptheearth,upheavingourveryground[25]. Weareatthis
point, where, deprived of any support, we can finally exceed the orbital movement of
athoughtthatforcenturieshasgravitatedaroundthesamefoundingnucleus. Wecan
launchourselvesoutofthecircleofrecognitionandsolicitinthoughtforcesthatarenot
Philosophies2022,7,7 5of10
thoseofrecognition,“thepowersofacompletelyothermodel,fromanunrecognisedand
unrecognisableterraincognita”[26].
InTheVisibleandtheInvisible,MauriceMerleau-Pontyexpressedthenecessitytoover-
comethe“philosophyoftheperson”whosehistoryistooimmediatelylinkedtoindividual
praxisandinteriority, tofinallygraspthe“nexusneither‘historical’nor‘geographic’of
historyandtranscendentalgeology”[27](p. 259). Merleau-Pontyevokesthe“flesh”asa
possibleterritoryforaradicalre-foundationofphilosophicalground. Thistermdesignates
somethingthat“hasnonameinanyphilosophy”,aformativemediumthattransitssubject
andobject,whichisnotatall“theatomofbeing,thehardinitselfthatresidesinaunique
placeandmoment”[27](p. 147). Itdesignatessomethingfluctuatinginthephilosophical
tradition,whichisneithermatter,norspirit,norsubstance,butthefabricintowhichall
bodiesarewoven,theworldlyconnectioninwhicheverybodyemergesonlyasadifference
from other bodies. That is why he defines this ground by the pre-Socratic expression
“element”:
Thefleshisinthissensean“element”ofBeing. Notafactorasumoffacts,and
yet adherent to location and to the now. Much more: the inauguration of the
whereandthewhen,thepossibilityandexigencyforthefact;inaword: facticity,
whatmakesthefactbeafact. And,atthesametime,whatmakesthefactshave
meaning,makesthefragmentaryfactsdisposethemselvesabout“something.”
Forifthereisflesh,thatis,ifthehiddenfaceofthecuberadiatesforthsomewhere
aswellasdoesthefaceIhaveundermyeyes,andcoexistswithit,andifIwho
seethecubealsobelongtothevisible,Iamvisiblefromelsewhere,andifIand
thecubearetogethercaughtupinonesame“element”[27](pp. 139–140).
Understandinghumanthoughtasaspecific,singularemergencefromafluctuating
element means to deny that human thought is an original, founding, native instance.
We think precisely because thought is nourished by other existences; and this requires
us to undertake a difficult process of decolonization of our thought, which “asks us to
‘provincialize’ language in order to make room for another kind of thought [...], more
capacious, one that holds and sustains the human” [28]. This is a necessary process to
foundanewcritiqueofreasononopenanduncircumscribedground.
Accordingtothishypothesis,whatholdstheworldtogether,itsfoundation,regains
its groundlessness, as it exceeds any established or normative, universalizing value. If
thepowerofcritiqueconsistedinthesubject’scapacityforalienationfromtheworld,we
nowperceivethatthisseparationisnolongerpossible,forcritiqueisforcedtobebound
to a world that we increasingly perceive as the space of the others. Being in the world
means,asEmanueleCocciawroteinMétamorphoses,beinginapoliticalrelationship,that
is,“toliveinthespaceconceivedandconstructedbyothers”[29]: otherswhoconstantly
invadeaforeignspace,becauseaworldisthevolatileandfluctuatingsituationproduced
in every moment by a series of aimless encounters driven by unrelated purposes and
impulses. Worldisthetransformationofalltheenvironmentalconditions,theinsurrection
ofallnature.
4. Remembrances. OftheAir
Meteorologyhasbeenexcludedfromourhistorybecausemeteorsdonotcoincidewith
itstime. Theyareaccidents,occurrences,“anadventitiousenvironmentoftheessential,the
stance”[30](p. 67),MichelSerresremarks. Theyrepresentadeviationfromtheruination
ordecaythatdefinestheoccidentaleschatology,analeatorydeviationthatonlyinterests
“thoseinwhomthelearnedhavenointerest: peasantsandsailors”[30](p. 67). Ingeneral,
Westernmodernity(initsdifferentformsandextensions)seemstohavelittlecapacityto
thinkofanythingotherthananorganismcapableofpreservationorprogress. Ofthisfossil
modernity,whose“petrifiedrelations”,Marxwrote,mustbeforced“todance”[31],the
errantandtransitioningbodiesremaintheelusiveenigma:
Philosophies2022,7,7 6of10
Cometsareneitherether,norgas,norliquid,norsolid,norinanywayakintoany
ofthesubstancesfoundinthecelestialbodies,buttheyaremadeofanindefinable
substance,whichappearstohavenoneofthepropertiesofknownmatterand
doesnotexistoutsideofthesunbeams,whichdrawthemoutofnothingnessfor
aminute,beforereturningthemtoit. [...] Thereisnoreasontoincludethecomets
inadescriptionoftheworld. Theyarenothing,theydonothing,andtheironly
roleisthatofanenigma[32].
Thecosmosisnotatall,asitisusuallyassumed,adefinitive,naturalorder,butrather,as
Democritusintuited,itisaprovisionalarrangementwhosepartsintegrateanddisintegrate
duetoanaerialmotionthatdispersesthem,toanirregularbreathingthatdistributesthem
randomly. Inthisunpredictablemovement“everynascentobjectisinitiallyavortex,as
indeedistheworld”[30](p. 50). Yet, wehavefoundedourownwayofinhabitingthe
worldonmeasurable,conquerable,andexploitablegrounds,onaterrafirmadisentangled
fromthesky. Westernmetaphysicshasenclosedtheairbyusingitasanenclosure,sothat
whateludeslimitationbecametheverylimitoftheworld,itsatmosphere.
[It] is stated in Empedocles’ cosmology. The first element to be separated by
hatredwasair,anditsurroundedtheworldinacircle,oranegg. Theexterior
circleofairsolidified,orfroze,andwastransformedintoacrystallinevaultthat
boundstheworld. [...] Thuswastheworldconstitutedasawholeclosedinupon
itself,themostfluidcosmicelementservingasitssolidcrust[33](p. 16).
Metaphysicalelevationtookusawayfromanyplace,indirectionofitscelestialstellae
fixae,throwingusinanintemporaltimeoftotaldislocation. However,atthesametime,
itgeneratedaradicaldelimitationofthehumanworldtowardsanyoutside,producing
anasphyxiatingworld,withoutmarginsorremainder,synchronizedwiththeinanimate
skiesofmetaphysics. Thisphilosophicaldestructionoftheskyhasmadeitaninhuman
space,metaphysicallyemptyandanthropologicallyindifferent. Humanshavenothingto
experienceupthere“butmuchtolose—namelythemselves”[12](p.75).Theterroroflosing
ourselvesderivespreciselyfromthefactthatmetaphysicalthoughtalwayspresupposes
asolidcore,fromwhichitelevatesaconstruction. Aerialfluctuationsappearasalossof
references,asadissolvingdispersionintotheevanescentfragilityofaworldinwhichonly
apermanenttransitionisinescapable.
Atmospherictime,asTimIngoldwrites,cannotbeperceivedchronologically,butonly
kairologically,becauseitdoesnotconsistinasuccessionofevents. Beingexposedtoatmo-
sphericelementsmeanstobeexposedtoaformativeprocessofcontinuousmetamorphosis
whose“unendingdeteriorationisalsoperpetualbeginning”[34]. Yet,theatmosphereis
usedbymeteorologiststodefineagaseousshellthatsurroundstheplanet. Itbelongstoan
imageoftheworldthatnecessarilypresupposesapointoutsidetheworld,aneccentric
positionthatconferstoourepochitsspecialclimate. Throughthisseparation,environ-
mentsinwhichweareentangledturnintounsettlingsituationsthatareperceivedonlyin
theformofmolecularupheavalsthataredifficulttocomprehend. Itistheapprehension
ofthisdisorientingfailureofmodernityanditssciencestoexperience“thevirusinside
meandthestarlessskyaboveme”thatgeneratesinus“abreathtakingeffectofuncanny
proportions”[35].
Butallrepressedrelationsreappearasinterferencesinourpoliticalspaces,whichhad
confinedtheskyinanalienandremotedimensionsubjecttomeasurements,forecasts,and
calculations. Thisepoch,whichhasdevelopedanewsensitivityandanewconsciousness
ofthetemporalitiesofinhumanforceswithinhumanhistoricity,ismarkedbyaparadoxical
situation: themorepowerfulandrealthecapacityofthehumanspeciestotransformall
organic and inorganic spheres, the less individuals living in this time feel empowered
to influence the reality around them. This progressive erosion of the sensible has also
erodedwhatweare, makingusforgetthatindividuationisalwaysacollectiveprocess
whosecompositiondependsondailyordinaryrelationshipswithextra-ordinaryprocesses.
Evolutionunfoldsasmygenomemutates,combiningitselfwiththeworldsthatbreathe
Philosophies2022,7,7 7of10
inmycells—whicharenotmine,sincetheydonotexistifnotinconstitutiverelationship
withbacterial,archaeal,andfungalmultitudes.
Being,ifitis,isexplodedinalldirections.Itisshared,butitisalsodivided,fragmented,
shattered. This being shattered has haunted the philosophical tradition since Aristotle.
Being,astheStagiritewrites,issaidinmanyways,andsoistheearththathedescribesin
hisMetereologica,whichisdistributedintodifferentclimes[36]. Withinthismodel,based
onParmenides’klimata,theGreekdefinitionofKlimaispluralbecauseclimatesareunique
inclinations,dynamicrelationsbetweenskyandearth. Theemancipationoftheseclimatic
inclinationsfromtheearthhasmarkedWesternmodernity,alongwiththeobsessionwith
radicality,withablinddeterminationtosettledown,animatedbythefuriousdesiretofix
everycontingency,toreintegrateeverydeviation,toregulateeveryfluctuation.
However,inthe21stcentury,anincommensurableaccelerationmarksourageasan
“ageofdisruption”whichradicalizesinnovationtosuchanextentthatit“preventsany
meta-stabilization with the other systems that constitute the social body” [37] (p. 105).
Anaccelerationthatisexperienced“likeastormcarryingpopulationsalongwithit,asif
bornealonginrudderlessvessels”[37](p. 117). Confrontingtheprogressivedestructionof
bio-diversitythatcharacterizesthisage,BernardStieglercallsforanintensificationofthe
“negentropic”potentialitiesofnewformsoflifeandknowledgetotransformanddisorien-
tatetheentropictendencyoftheAnthropocene.WhatisnecessaryforStiegleristogenerate
spacesthat,withinthedisruptiveworldorderdrivenbyentropictanatopolitics,giveroom
foractivelymakingthedifference“bycreatingworldsinthebefouledunworld[immonde]
[...]byproliferatingactsoftakingplaceinathousandplaces”[38]. Theconstitutionofa
commonworldisneversimplytheresultoftheaccumulationofinterconnectedacts,but
itisinsteadconfiguredastheconflictingdistributionofmodesofexistencethatoccupy
differentparts.3Itdoesnotimplyasharedterrain,butitestablishesgroundsforpolitical
negotiationsofourcommondivergences.
Thepresentappearsasadisintegrationofallplaces,asanerrant,disastrousdisorien-
tationthatruinseverything. Thisis,infact,whatdisasterliterallymeans: aseparationthat
causesdamageofuncircumscribableproportions,adisorientationthatmakesourworld
uninhabitable. Nevertheless,itisthisdisorientationthattodayconnectsusagain,asitisa
disasterthattoucheseverythingandeveryone,itisthat“whichdisruptssolitude”[40].
Resisting this present then also implies recognizing that this disorientation makes
theuninhabitableourverycommonplace. Experiencingthisdisorientationmeansletting
spaces and times arise that cannot be reintegrated or localized. It means accepting the
perturbationsthatinterferewithourconsciousness,tocultivateandpracticethatwhich
dragsthinkingtoitsveryborders,wherethinkingisupturnedwithinitselfbyanunsettling
philosophy’svertigothatinfectsandtransfiguresbothproximityanddistance.
InthefamoustumultuousimagethatopensWalterBenjamin’sThesisIXontheconcept
of history, he assimilates progress to a storm that leaves behind a “pile of debris” [41]
(p. 392). Thisstormisthetimeofinfiniteprogressasincessantconsummationoffinite
resources. It is this progress that is barring our future [42], for its time is that of the
exhaustionofeveryresourceofthepossible.
Thatthingsare“statusquo”,thatthingscontinueastheyare,thatthepastisaccom-
plished, thatitsinjusticeiscomplete: thisisforBenjaminthecatastrophe. Thedisaster
consistspreciselyinthecatastrophiccontinuitythatanchorstheOccidenttothisprogress,
preciselybecausethisprogressisgroundedinacatastrophethatturnsthepastintoruins.
Thisdisastrouscontinuityforeseestheprogressoffuturegenerationsastheendofpolitics.
Itisenchantedbytheidealof“liberatedgrandchildren.”,insteadofbeingnourishedby“the
imageofenslavedancestors”,insteadofstrivingforliberation“inthenameofgenerations
ofthedowntrodden”[41](p. 394).
Theunfinishedstrugglethatcomesfromthepastpropelsthepresentintoavertiginous
“leapintheopenairofhistory”[41](p. 395),asitreinvestsitscontinuitywithinconsistent
temporalitiesanddisjunctivehistoricity. “Inthevoiceswehear”,Benjaminwrites,there
is“anechoofnowsilentones”[41](p. 390)thatintroducescutsanddiscontinuitiesinto
Philosophies2022,7,7 8of10
theairwebreathe,breachingtheasphyxiatingatmosphereinwhichglobalcapitalismhas
envelopedallthedivergenttimesandspacesoftheplanet.Anewcommunityofrespiration
sealsa“secretagreementbetweenpastgenerationsandthepresentone”[41](p. 390).
InhisArcadesProject,Benjamindescribesa“Copernicanturnofremembrance(Wen-
dungdesEingedenkens)”[43],anewdialecticalmethodofdoinghistorythat“teachesus
topassinspirit—withtherapidityandintensityofdreams—throughwhathasbeen,in
ordertoexperiencethepresentaswakingworld”[43]. Throughthismethod,itwillbecome
possibletoresisttheinexorableendingofourfuture,andtoproducecountermemories
committed to “the dead, and the forgotten” [44] that enable us to elaborate conceptual
tools for assembling “counterfutures” [44]. We need a praxis that “through a kind of
anachronisticjustice”candisseminate“atrutherasedbythechrono-masters”[45].
Our evolution notonly contains in embryo whatwill be in the future but alsohas
memoryofother,ancestralexistences. Thisdoesnotmeanthatthedestinyofwhatexists
isdeterminedbyprimordiallaws,butratherthatdifferentpartsofthesameembryocan
evolveindifferentanddivergentdirections,shootingconcurrentpolarizations. Thepast
isneverfinishedonceandforall,itisnotanunchangeablefixedpoint,andthefutureis
nottheprogressofthispresent;rather,asKarenBaradargues,“thepastandthefutureare
enfoldedparticipantsinmatter’siterativebecoming”[46].
Infrontofthecatastrophicandprogressivecontinuitythatcharacterizesthenarrative
ofAnthropocene,whichpresentsthelinearandautonomousstoryofaspeciesthatevolved
fromhunter-gatherertribestoglobalgeologicalforce,critiquecantodayonlyopposea
speculative notion of progress, “a becoming of continuity, but no continuity of becom-
ing”[47]. Thisrequiresassumingtheintermittentinconstancythatcansuddenlyexplode
intheverykernelofanypower,thusinterruptingthelinear,cumulative,entropictendency
ofthistime. Thisistodisruptthecirculareconomybasedonenergyconservation,which
turnsallfuelinto“themostconservative,closedfigure”[48]andthusreopenthealways
alreadyclosedcircleofmetaphysicsinwhichineachpoint“beginningandendcoincide,
butatthecostofanabyss”[33](p. 2).
Other relations radiate within the abstract hegemony of Capital’s global logistics,
hauntingitsdreamstobecapableofadaptingtoeverypossiblecondition,eternallyfloating
likeaspecterinapneumaticvacuum,intheabsenceofairresistance;becauseallappro-
priationandcolonizationarealwaysdisorientedbyextraneousinfluencesandforces,and
everyacclimatizationisperturbedbythetimeoftheoppressed,whichisneithertheplastic
timeofthepossiblenorthegeologicaltimeoffoundations,buttheperturbedanduncertain
timeoftheimpossible.
Funding:ThisworkisfundedbynationalfundsthroughFCT—FundaçãoparaaCiênciaeaTecnolo-
giaundertheprojectUIDB/00183/2020.
ConflictsofInterest:Theauthordeclaresnoconflictofinterest.
Notes
1 Interestingly,Schmittadoptsthesamecatastrophictoneabouttheword“Utopia”usedbyThomasMoreinhisbookpublishedin
1516,arguingthat“suchawordwouldhavebeenunthinkableinthemouthofanyoneinantiquity.Utopiadidnotmeanany
simpleandgeneralnowhere(orerewhon),butaU-topos,which,bycomparisonevenwithitsnegation,A-topos,hasastronger
negationinrelationtotopos[18]”.
2 Onthispassage,Derridacommentsthat“losingtheenemywouldnotnecessarilybeprogress,reconciliation,ortheopeningofan
eraofpeaceandhumanfraternity.Itwouldbeworse:anunheard-ofviolence,theevilofamaliceknowingneithermeasurenor
ground,anunleashingincommensurableinitsunprecedented—thereforemonstrous—forms;aviolenceinthefaceofwhich
whatiscalledhostility,war,conflict,enmity,cruelty,evenhatred,wouldregainreassuringandultimatelyappeasingcontours,
becausetheywouldbeidentifiable[20]”.
3 ForJacquesRancièrethisdistribution(partage)ofthesensibledisclosesatthesametime“theexistenceofsomethingincommon
andthedelimitationsthatdefinetherespectivepartsandpositionswithinit[39]”.
Philosophies2022,7,7 9of10
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