Date: Fri, 20 May 94 14:21:06 EDT
From: ma-AT-dsd.camb.inmet.com (Malgosia Askanas)
To: technology-AT-world.std.com
Subject: Re:  Paul Virilio


Steven,

Here is what I propose to do: I will continue pushing you for an 
explanation of your position, and rely on you to tell me off if I reach 
the limit of your explanatory interest.  

I am rather bemused by the whole issue of the "subject/subjected"
dichotomy.  What strikes me is that when I read Virilio, I found
nothing problematic about the meaning of this dichotomy; it seemed 
uniquely simple and straightforward.  But you are trying to 
demonstrate to me, by historical argument, that I should in fact
not understand this dichotomy.  This is an entertainingly unusual
situation; it is more common to use historic arguments to elucidate
something rather than to prove that it ought not to be understood. 

Your historical sweep was of great interest, but I am not sure by
what intellectual procedure I should permit it to take away what I 
think is a perfectly natural and straightforward interpretation of 
Virilio's meaning in this particular matter.  I don't know how to
use history to start not understanding what I still think I
understand.  In other words, I don't disagree with your historical
assessment; but I am not convinced that I should, therefore, 
re-interpret Virilio's use of the words in a such a way that they 
stop making sense.  My deep-seated tendency is to try to make as 
much sense of things as I possibly can.  

But maybe we can get away from this particular piece of language.
I have no particular desire to defend Virilio's views, but I would
like to understand what exactly you think is wrong with them.
I agree that his is a very one-sided article, and by no means could
aspire to any kind of complete vision.  Let us simply assume that
it has no such aspirations, and that its purpose is to contemplate
one highly selective aspect of a certain type of technology. 
I doubt that you would deny that technology, even as it increases
our capacity for control, also increases our dependence. Can you 
explain to me what exactly you regard as Virilio's "misunderstanding"?  

 
- malgosia