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Book 2008.0

Wholeness and its remainders

Daniele Monticelli

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1 edition

General Semiotics Tartu University Press 9789949119349 Available

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Other title information: theoretical procedures of totalization and detotalization in semiotics, philosophy and politics

Annotation: The PhD thesis is a piece of research into the nature of theoretical constructions in various academic disciplines. Drawing on a close analysis of some theoretical works in the field of semiotics, philosophy and politics, it distinguishes between totalizing and detotalizing ways of dealing with the phenomenal multiplicity which always confronts researchers when the construction of a theory is at stake. Theoretical procedures of totalization constitute phenomenal multiplicity into self-enclosed wholes and erase their remains. The thesis considers this kind of procedure from a temporal point of view, focusing on the theories of temporality elaborated by St. Augustine and Edmund Husserl and, from a systemic point of view, focusing on the theory of the (linguistic) system elaborated by Ferdinand de Saussure. Martin Heidegger's critique of the notion of 'presence' and Karl Marx's critique of the notion of 'value' are examined as problematizing the main instruments of temporal and systemic totalization respectively. Still, both Heidegger and Marx lingered within the logic of totality, simply opposing a more authentic wholeness to an inauthentic one. The works of Jacques Lacan, Jacques Derrida and Jean Baudrillard are, in contrast, considered in the thesis as representatives of detotalizing procedures which claim the impossibility of self-enclosed wholeness drawing on the inexhaustible remnants of any totalization and a general principle of constitutive openness. Particular attention is paid to those aspects of Yuri Lotman's later thought – such as the notions of explosion, boundary and dialogue – which can be understood as instruments for theoretical procedures of temporal and systemic detotalization of this sort. In the course of the thesis it becomes clear that, for political reasons, the commitment of this research is to detotalization. This commitment is illustrated in the last part of the work. There, the attempts at rethinking emancipative politics elaborated by three contemporary philosophers – Giorgio Agamben, Alain Badiou and Jacques Rancière – are analyzed as theoretical procedures of political detotalization from both a systemic and a temporal point of view. Wholeness and its remains: theoretical procedures of totalization and detotalization in semiotics, philosophy and politics The dissertation examines the nature of theoretical constructions in various disciplines. Based on a close analysis of some written works in the field of semiotics, philosophy and politics, a distinction is made between totalizing and detotalizing approaches to dealing with the diversity and heterogeneity of phenomena, which always plagues researchers and scientists in the creation of theories. Theoretical procedures of totalization reduce phenomenal diversity to self-contained and residue-free wholes.The dissertation analyses such procedures from both a temporal perspective (St. Augustine's and Edmund Husserl's theories of time) and a systemic perspective (Ferdinand de Saussure's theory of (linguistic) systems). Martin Heidegger's critique of the concept of 'presence/presentness' and Karl Marx's critique of the concept of 'value' undermine the theoretical tools of temporal and systemic totalization, respectively. But neither Heidegger nor Marx go beyond the logic of totality, they simply contrast authentic wholeness with false and inauthentic. The works of Jacques Lacan, Jacques Derrida and Jean Baudrillard, on the other hand, represent procedures of detotalization that highlight the impossibility of self-contained wholeness, relying on the principles of the inexhaustibility of the residues of totalization and deconstructive openness. The dissertation pays special attention to those aspects of Juri Lotman's later thought – the concepts of explosion, limit and dialogue – that may be useful in developing such procedures of temporal and systemic detotalization. The dissertation contributes to detotalization for political reasons, which are revealed in the final section of the work. It analyzes the attempt of contemporary philosophers Giorgio Agamben, Alain Badiou and Jacques Rancière to rethink emancipatory politics as a procedure of political detotalization from both a systemic and temporal perspective.

Identifier: 9789949119349

Status: Available