About
History is always written from the sedentary point of view and in the name of a unitary State apparatus, at least a possible one, even when the topic is nomads.
What is lacking is a Nomadology, the opposite of a history…
What is important is not whether the flows are “one or multiple” — we’re past that point:
[T]here is a collective assemblage of enunciation, a machinic assemblage of desire, one inside the other and both plugged into an immense outside that is a multiplicity in any case…
Writing weds a war machine and lines of flight, abandoning the strata, segmentarities, sedentarity, the State apparatus.
Felix Guattari and Gilles Deleuze, A Thousand Plateaus
Welcome! You’ve found Fractal Ontology, a weblog representing the work of Joseph Weissman and Taylor Adkins (click to see all articles by author.) We started this blog as undergraduate philosophy students, and in one form or another Fractal Ontology has enjoyed a run of a little more than two years now. We remain excited about using this medium to explore new lines of inquiry.
So, basically, our idea is this: it is possible to plot a complex path, tracing connections through both clinical and critical theory, towards a new kind of science — a de-centered, non-hierarchical science, capable of grasping and bridging the ruptures between cybernetics, language and society.
What we’ve been doing: mapping out connections between psychoanalysis and philosophy to other fields and disciplines, including theoretical biology, cultural studies and artificial intelligence. We also provide notes, outlines, translations, video commentary and textual analysis on important contemporary theoretical questions, works and writers.
We are especially grateful for all the support we’ve received! The comments alone have really made this enterprise worth it for us. Please, don’t be shy; we would love to hear what you have to say!
Joseph Weissman
Taylor Adkins
This blog is cool. Quite prolific this month. Keep writing, guys.
Ryan/Aless
27 Sep 07 at 3:59 pm
I Have to admit this is different. Very postmodern.
gebs
1 Oct 07 at 8:25 am
Damn.
*Undergraduates*?
Where does one get an undergraduate education of this calibre, anyways?
God, I feel underinformed.
Back to poring over Difference and Repetition for me I guess…
ali
24 Oct 07 at 2:29 pm
If I were really Post-modern, I would leave a comment that consists of a series of ones and zeroes. But you lot would undoubtedly find that achingly primitive.
Thanks for the link!
Davecat
29 Oct 07 at 1:14 am
Taylor -you may want to see here http://www.re-press.org/
email me with any questions…
best,
adam
adam bartlett
1 Nov 07 at 9:24 pm
Holy crap! Did you help edit the Praxis of Alain Badiou with Justin Clemens? Wow, I’m really honored to have you send me this website. When the most recent volume of Badiou scholarship (the Praxis) came out, I was really excited, and its work strongly complements the Hallward and Riera collections. I definitely will email you with questions soon, because I’ve been brainstorming about where to send the translations I’ve been working on. Again, thank you so much for the referral. I hope we talk again soon.
Taylor Adkins
taylor27
2 Nov 07 at 2:21 pm
Undergraduates. Wow. I’m impressed. Your blog is, from what I can tell so far, smart and visually stunning.
Monica
8 Nov 07 at 12:33 am
Wow.. Awe inspiring blog ..
Entropy
28 Nov 07 at 10:59 am
i’m finding the idea that you’re undergrads somewhat disheartening…
like i should hang up my pen/laptop/glasses/skis/whatever…
and give up… ho hum…
One day I’ll get round to some more reading…
Erin Stapleton
30 Nov 07 at 6:36 am
Does anyone know if Sylvain Lazarus’s work is being translated into English?
I’m aware of his essay in _Lenin Reloaded_, but I wonder if there is more in the works?
Nice site.
Thanks.
John E. Norem
7 Dec 07 at 9:46 am
you’ve created a very intriguing blog — i shall add it to the blogroll. congratulations. but i have a critique for you: by aiming for ‘unified synthesis’ you’ve recreated metaphysics. don’t mistake D&G for metaphysicians. one cannot ’synthesize’ critical theory as it is exactly that: critique of theoria (in this case: the manufacture of ‘truth’). as you show interest in psychoanalysis, perhaps a self-refractive question, then: with what desire is the search for ‘unified theory’? though the apparatus of synthesis suits the institutional framework for philosophy, it weakens the force of D&G’s thought. Deleuze especially will shudder at the thought of synthesis, insofar as it curiously dredges up a Hegel who would master all thought under an abstract totality. does not the movement of Geist guide your desire? but then perhaps this is, in part, unavoidable — and Hegel lurks in Deleuze too. perhaps unwittingly, unconsciously, synthesis has been wrought from D&G as primary desire. how intriguing. but i would question this ’synthetic’ desire — and the questioning missing from the list is that of de-construction. if forgetting deconstruction reconstitutes Hegel in Deleuze, then metaphysics — or rather the metaphysical reappropriation or ‘reterritorialization’ of Deleuze — has returned indeed. and that is thought worth critiquing if it comes to shape the ’spirit’ of the 21C. and this is a most ontotheotechnological century…. i.e., a ‘Deleuzean’ one.
tV
7 Dec 07 at 1:26 pm
As far as I know John, no one is working on Lazarus at the moment. Ironically, the most extensive discussion of Lazarus in English appears in Alain Badiou’s Metapolitics, translated by Jason Barker. The two works that I have by him right now are Anthropologie du nom and his essay from Politique et philosophie dans l’ouevre de Louis Althusser called “Althusser, la politique et la histoire.”
Now this is a very interesting question that you have raised: Lazarus falls in the cracks between disciplines–he spans politics, anthropology, sociology, history, and, of course, philosophy. I could probably translate sections from the book, or even his essay (trust me, I’ve considered it), but I’m not so sure about publishers wanting it or considering it worth publishing (because it doesn’t have a ‘market’–absurd, but that’s the reality principle I guess).
For an essay by Badiou, Lazarus, and Natasha Michel, check out the essay called “What Is To Be Thought? What Is To Be Done?” at http://www.counterpunch.org/badiou0501.html. This article was translated by Norman Madarasz, who has translated the Briefings on Existence: A Short Treatise on Transitory Ontology and Manifesto for Philosophy by Alain Badiou: he also was Badiou’s student. He might possibly be working on Lazarus, though I’m not sure. As far as I can tell, David Fernbach translated Lenin Reloaded, so it’s possible that he would be the best one to turn to.
Thanks for your comment,
Taylor Adkins
taylor27
7 Dec 07 at 1:47 pm
Nice blog.
BD
Bill Danaher
26 Dec 07 at 12:31 pm
Vive le Viva la Voila!
Lanny Quarles
7 Jan 08 at 3:12 pm
Guys:
From Georgia? So am I but considerably older in human time.
I am about to release a new way of using the web for knowledge
management that uses many of the post-modern theories, and seems
to work. Maybe think of it as an artificially intelligent blog.
It may actually be on the boundary of a form of reall intelligence
in fact.
Would love you guys to play with it, and let me know what you
think.
Please let me know your email address, or some other
way to contact you.
Sincerely,
Steve Kohler
Steve Kohler
9 Jan 08 at 12:08 pm
Hello! Your website is really rather impressive.
I go to Mercer and we’re trying to get our own Philosophy Society started. I was invited to drop by a meeting by a couple of your members I met randomly in a coffeeshop.
I’d enjoy joining you all at your next meeting. If the offer still stands, please email me at: kristin.tyndall@gmail.com
Thanks!
Kristin
Kristin
18 Jan 08 at 10:58 pm
hey,
just found out about the site, and you guys put together a really impressive effort. Needless to say, this website is a goldmine in terms of resources and ideas, and do an excellent job in circulating “french theory” ideas and more.
ok, i had a lot of things to comment on, and since I didn’t know where to put the whole thing, I picked the “about” page.
- on bibliography, why is there not Deleuze’s Nietzsche and Philosophy under Nietzsche column + deleuze’s “nomad thought”, his short essay where he exposed at the end the concept of nomadity.
- on translation, well, if you seek help I’m here. here’s why, I’m French (which helps I agree) studying in Montreal, bi-lingual, and very much into all the authors you list. My field is more political philosophy but I share plenty of references with what has been listed. So, I’d be ready to help you out or edit/check some translations you made. I could even do some by myself, I’d be glad to translate anything you judge particularly important and that has been missed out. I’ve read NIetzsche aujourd’hui and this is not too hard to translate although I didn’t find it very interesting (except Deleuze’s essay, but I think this one has been translated)…
alright, i’d love to collaborate with you, if you think I can be of any help…
anyway, great job and all the best for your studies and projects…
anarkali
anarkali
23 Mar 08 at 3:11 pm
Hey anarkali,
Taylor Adkins here. I have to distinguish myself first off because Joe and I both have radically divergent yet mutually stimulating projects. I think my love for translation has even rubbed off on him a bit (note his translation of a selection of Deleuze’s abecedaire), while his theoretical fecundity shames me for not producing as much (stop making me look bad Joe!!).
But, on a serious note, I would love to say thank you so much for your interest. In fact, I have translated about half of Guattari’s L’Inconscient Machinique, and I have been looking for readers to check it for me and ensure its quality. If this sounds like something that would interest you, I can send you copies of my work along with pdf files of the Guattari.
Let me know what you think,
Taylor Adkins
Taylor Adkins
24 Mar 08 at 5:13 pm
Also, you’re right about the Deleuze-Nietzsche connection. In fact, I used both of those texts though I’m not sure why I didn’t cite them in the bibliography. Good call.
Taylor Adkins
24 Mar 08 at 5:55 pm
[...] in this same vein, there’s an intriguing blog, Fractal Ontology, about “grasping and bridging the ruptures between cybernetics, language and [...]
Another Distraction: Fractals, Writing and Amusement « Quirk
24 Mar 08 at 6:08 pm
J W & TA your site is a superb iniative. Many will be grateful to you both for making your adventurous researches available to all. Your translations of early Serres are sharp remiinders of how untiimely the Hermes series was.
The work of artist Karel Nel is in dialogue with Serres and I would like to post some parts of my upcoming book on Nel on your site for this reason. My students (architecture) and I wish you every strength in taking this resource further.
jean-pierre de la porte
8 Jul 08 at 2:52 pm
Thank you so much! The translations were done by Taylor Adkins. I believe he plans to get back to the Serres at some point, if he can ever disentangle Guattari’s machines
Nel’s work is astoundingly beautiful and we can definitely talk about allowing you to post extracts of the work you’re doing. I am certainly curious what your book is about.
Joe
Joseph Weissman
8 Jul 08 at 5:52 pm
I stumbled across this page and am very, very glad I did. I have been reading a lot of the entries here and feel like I am at home. Its as if to “leap with joy” on the inside. So thank you for that. I needed finding this page….
Miranda Shae
9 Jul 08 at 12:23 pm
Dear Miranda,
Concerning your two responses, I want to say thank you for your sheer positivity. As for the Nietzsche, Joe and I both have written many posts on him, seeing as our philosophy department chair is a Nietzschean (though, in truth, Nietzsche’s definitely one of my favorite philosophers…I would say Laruelle, but maybe Laruelle’s my favorite non-philosopher).
I may be wrong, but if I had to guess, Joe’s writing brought you the joy you describe…that seems much more of a characteristic of his thought than it does mine! And I don’t mean this in a sarcastic way, yet it could be taken as such… I would honestly say that much of my writing lacks the affect and speed of intensity that characterizes Joe’s…on the other hand, as Deleuze and Guattari remind us, the slowest intensity is not necessarily the weakest!! Slow and steady wins the race…
I’ve always tried to figure out why our styles are so different. It’s strange…being initially a literary critic, one would think I would exult in the affect of artistic creation….but, it seems more like I’m a scientist/savant of the text, always rereading, always redirecting references, always quoting page numbers—something Joe hates, I know personally. Page numbers, who can use those anyway! Primitive technology…
I think I bring the sobriety and callousness that has to keep Joe’s joy from breaking the earth’s gravitational field…his leaps of joy are a little bit more like somersaults over the moon…
Taylor Adkins
9 Jul 08 at 11:14 pm
Taylor,
Thank you for your response! I would like to add that “intensity” of words, association, and creativity are not the equivalent to the form of joy that I referenced. By joy I mean that little jumper inside gets off (so to speak) on anyhting that inspires thought and produces a yearning for furthering the initial attraction. I have never been one to pick up a “good book” and read it for sheer pleasure; for me I have to be able to analyze what I am reading, highlight those faculties that I find creates a pathway to deeper insight, and proceed to do a cross-reference amongst other forms of literature (be it thesaraus word jumping or the polarity of opinion found in opposing authors). I crave knowledge. Self-awareness and the ability to move out of self to see beyond the rudimentary foregoings of societal standards is the curiousity that entrances me. I have found that here. I like to be mentally challenged. Since I have strumbled upon this site, I almost can’t leave it! I am addicted to the “ah ha” moments I encounter while reading the entries and responses. When I first began reading entries here I was reminded of a quote that you might enjoy…”For without creative imagination, knowledge itself degenerates into a mere shell of truth…”-Franze Winkler MD author of MAN-The bridge between Two Worlds
Miranda Shae
10 Jul 08 at 9:02 am
Oops! I totally got the title of that book wrong…It is “The Mind-Man and the Bridge Between Two Worlds”. Sorry!
Miranda Shae
10 Jul 08 at 9:08 am
Well, I hope that you know that Joe and I get at least as much joy and inspiration from some of our viewers’ comments, and your comments are no exception. We really hoped to make fractal less of an academic exercise and more of a means of collective expression, allowing voices to be expressed in many different dimensions, including the basic textual level of course. I’m sure Joe will respond to you today, if he can ever step outside and pause his video game creations! Video games are for nerds Joe, go read a book….(knowing him, he’ll do ‘em both at the same time).
Taylor Adkins
10 Jul 08 at 9:43 am
Hello interesting people!
I’m a keen and interested Badiou reader, but I disagree with literally everything he writes. I am the son of two historians who did History for my undergrad degree and am ideologically opposed to nomoadologies. I believe it would be (genuinely) interesting for you guys to think about whether you could ever talk about anything with me. Here, for example, is something typically (and purposefully) weak, limited and wholly superficial I have written about British history and politics, with what I believe is an interesting if rather caricatured debate with my brother in the comments section:
http://petespost-it.blogspot.com/
A cool discussion could happen here, honest!
Best wishes,
The Radical Other
Peter Brett
13 Jul 08 at 2:52 pm
Like the blog. Haven’t read it yet. Just the pictures.
beautifulanarchy
19 Sep 08 at 5:17 am