[Un]disciplined gestures and [un]common sense : the sensual, acoustic logic(s) of paradox and art
This dissertation takes as its point of departure, the claim that difference, not identity, is the primary quality of language. This difference is initially argued to be an 'uncommon sense'; one which does not emerge from a ground, origin, or operate within a dialectic of essence/appearance, but which consists of an economy of acoustic surfaces/timings/spatialities: diffuse, interpenetrative, and unclassifiable: a 'sensual' logic, not a logic based on identity, or metaphysics. Traditional philosophies of language tend to flatten out and simplify the space/time /material relations of language, in favour of a stable, timeless, fixed identity, which makes logical thought possible, through fixed, linear, disciplinary forms. They claim that language is able to unambiguously locate concepts, concretely, in time and space, unproblematically supporting thought. In contrast, it is the original contribution of the thesis to extend and complicate categories of logic, to include doubt, paradox, infinity and 'unstable' forms of understanding, as evidence of difference as the primary quality of language: a ~mimetologic~ as Lacoue-Labarthe has termed it, or what Adorno calls an anti-system, or Negative Dialectic. The 'difference'
Calvert, Sheena
N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR
[Un]disciplined gestures and [un]common sense : the sensual, acoustic logic(s) of paradox and art. This dissertation takes as its point of departure, the claim that difference, not identity, is the primary quality of language. This difference is initially argued to be an 'uncommon sense'; one which does not emerge from a ground, origin, or operate within a dialectic of essence/appearance, but which consists of an economy of acoustic surfaces/timings/spatialities: diffuse, interpenetrative, and unclassifiable: a 'sensual' logic, not a logic based on identity, or metaphysics. Traditional philosophies of language tend to flatten out and simplify the space/time /material relations of language, in favour of a stable, timeless, fixed identity, which makes logical thought possible, through fixed, linear, disciplinary forms. They claim that language is able to unambiguously locate concepts, concretely, in time and space, unproblematically supporting thought. In contrast, it is the original contribution of the thesis to extend and complicate categories of logic, to include doubt, paradox, infinity and 'unstable' forms of understanding, as evidence of difference as the primary quality of language: a ~mimetologic~ as Lacoue-Labarthe has termed it, or what Adorno calls an anti-system, or Negative Dialectic. The 'difference'
discipline gesture common_sense acoustic logic paradox art take point_departure claim difference identity primary quality language difference initially argue uncommon sense emerge ground origin operate_within dialectic essence appearance consist economy acoustic diffuse logic logic base identity metaphysics traditional philosophy_language tend simplify space_time material relation language favour stable fixed identity make logical thought possible fix linear disciplinary form claim language able locate concept concretely time_space support think contrast original extend complicate category logic include doubt paradox infinity unstable form evidence difference primary quality language termed adorno call anti system negative dialectic difference