ZSDP

The inanimate-animate distinction is perhaps one of the most persistent dualisms in Western philosophy and its critiques; even some of the most hard-hitting critiques of the nature-culture dichotomy leave the animate-inanimate distinction in place. It takes a radical rethinking of agency to appreciate how lively even “dead matter” can be.

— Karen Barad, Meeting the Universe Halfway, p 419, footnote 27 (via steveshaviro)

1 September 2009 • reblog: steveshaviro

Often enough, the teacher’s pets and superachievers of their 20’s burn out, while the ones who are struggling to articulate their ideas are the ones with the really good ideas.

—

anotherheideggerblog: Interview with Graham Harman

I really believe this is true—which is a little sad to me, since it seems to be the difference between a number of my friends and myself.

21 July 2009

Perhaps this is one possible definition of postmodern as opposed to modernist art: in postmodernism, the transgressive excess loses its shock value and is fully integrated into the established artistic market.

— Žižek, The Fragile Absolute, 3, pg. 23

6 July 2009

… the object itself is force, expression of a force. … There is no object (phenomenon) which is not already possessed since in itself it is not an appearance but the apparition of a force.

— Deleuze, Nietzsche & Philosophy, 1.3, p. 6

2 July 2009

This is my favorite picture of our new hamster, Luna. My wife has been begging to have one since before we got married, but we couldn’t have any pets under the terms of our lease. Well, now we can, so we went and got one. She’s quite adorable, I admit.

1 July 2009