Paul Virilio "The Aesthetics of Disappearance" (1980)

In this lecture, we'll look at Paul Virilio's 1980 work, "The Aesthetics of Disappearance". This work follows up many of the themes in "Speed and Politics" (1977), particularly that of dromology (the philosophy/ontology of speed). In this work, he develops the theme of "picnolepsy", which is a state of consciousness which, for Virilio, defines the postmodern individual. It is defined by an accelerated speed of everyday life which leaves one in an infantile, epileptic state, attempting to grasp onto empty moments in the hopes of achieving stability. This is an interesting text for understanding the development of accelerationism and is surely provocative at many parts. Enjoy!
Music is Richard Strauss' Elektra: "Was Willst du?" by Valery Gergiev and the London Symphony Orchestra • Elektra, Op. 58: "Was ...
Join the channel for $5/month to gain access to, among other things, a monthly philosophy Zoom tailored to your educational needs!
/ @gavinyoung-philosophy

[@jacobfrancis721]

Nice! Very well spoken

[@gavinyoung-philosophy]

Thanks!

[@RolfGoebel]

A very clear exposition of Virilio's thought! He is, of course, not the only critic of the (post-)modern acceleration of life in the age of technological expediency. Heidegger, for instance, already worried that then new media like radio created an illusory sense of speed that eliminated our genuine sense of the near and far, while Benjamin, more positively, described the rapid cuts of modern film as the exploding of our habitual prison world of domesticated bourgeois life. It's ironic, though, that Virilio cultivates a style of fragments, hasty allusions, and premature conclusions that mimic the very acceleration of life he purports to criticize!

[@gavinyoung-philosophy]

Couldn’t agree more! There’s this strange cohabitation of a critique with the joyful embrace of what is being critiqued 🤔

[@miraadi97]

​Butler​, 2002@@gavinyoung-philosophy