From: "Thomas Taylor" <taylorth-AT-bellsouth.net> Subject: Re: Give me some milk or else go home Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2002 11:39:40 -0400 Postmodern Fables. A must read, I think. Try also "Sensus Communis" (SP?, pardon) in Misere de la Philosophie (untranslated as of yet). Rod T. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Diane Davis" <ddd-AT-mail.utexas.edu> To: <lyotard-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu> Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2002 11:26 AM Subject: RE: Give me some milk or else go home > I feel out of the loop, everyone: where is Lyotard's "Music Mutic"? > Sounds like something I need to read! > > Thanks in advance, > ~ddd > > ___________________________________________ > D. Diane Davis > Division of Rhetoric (UT Mail Code B5500) > Department of English > University of Texas at Austin > Austin, TX 78712-1122 > > Office: 512.471.8765 FAX: 512.471.4353 > ddd-AT-mail.utexas.edu > http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~davis > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: owner-lyotard-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu [mailto:owner- > > lyotard-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu] On Behalf Of Mary Murphy and Eric > Salstrand > > Sent: Monday, April 29, 2002 8:00 PM > > To: lyotard-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu > > Subject: Give me some milk or else go home > > > > Diane, Glen, Hugh, Rod, All: > > > > In his essay on Joyce's Ulysses, entitled "The Return upon the Return" > > Lyotard makes the following remarks about community: > > > > "It is not enough to consider Bloom as a historian or a sociologist, > as the > > literary counterpart of urbanization in progress. He is also and > > especially, I believe (with Benjamin), the return of solitude, of the > > desert, of inoperativity at the heart of the community. The modern > city is > > the operativity (oeuvre) in the bosom of which the community and the > > individual are deprived of their artwork (oeurve) by the hegemony of > market > > value. Far from being a free city, Joyce's Dublin is, to use Jean-Luc > > Nancy's words, an inoperative community." > > > > And as Rod alluded to with regard to a herd of cows mooing, in "Music, > > Mutic" Lyotard writes: > > > > "The community forgets the anonymous horde moaning with the terror of > no > > longer being. The community, however, does not efface the horde." > > > > Certainly, as Hugh pointed out, any conception of community is > problematic > > and as Diane said, community cannot be limited to the city alone, but > > rather is prior to urbanization and always already complaisant with > > technology. > > > > However, as Rob points out, if there is a tension between the > community and > > infancy, then what Diane calls contact and what Lyotard calls the > touch > > marks the site of our originary inscription. If this signifies our > entrance > > into community, it is also marks our entrance into bilocation. > Henceforth, > > we will carry the solitude, desert, inoperativity with us into the > city as > > Janus-faced citizens, mute barbarians who must wear masks, strangers > taught > > to speak an alien tongue, Cain masquerading as Abel. > > > > What Lyotard names the Differend is nothing more than a kind of > "return of > > the repressed" of the enfans, the horde, the silent witness who always > > betrays us. Any conception of community which does not recognize the > > conflictual nature that underlies it (like Romulus and Remus) > implicitly > > argues for terror, the violent smoothing over of differences, the > enforced > > silence of the phrase. > > > > In "Just Gaming" Lyotard refers to, even though he doesn't name, > > autonomists such as Negri who argue in a similar fashion with regard > to > > community. They claim that workers have an autonomous power that > transcends > > capitalism and which is the source of resistance. They regard the > enfans, > > in other words, as both real and heroic. > > > > Lyotard differs from autonomists like Negri insofar as he emphasizes > > instead the weakness, the manceps instead. Perhaps, as Rob has said, > this > > is the part of us, like Peter Pan, that refuses to grown up. Perhaps > also > > it is that part which is incapable of growing up, which is why it is > called > > the intractable, the rock we carry like a millstone around our necks, > the > > weight of time itself, the burden of re-membering. > > > > Lyotard offers us the heteronomous community, to which we can only > bear > > false witness. In this weakness lies our strength, only let's not be > pious > > about it. Rather, the common sense of the pagan requires that she > makes a > > ruse. > > > > eric > > > > > > >
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