Day 30: Sam Sackeroff responds to Jean-Luc Nancy, “Oh the Animals of Language”.
“There seems to be quite a lot of reverence for indifferent necessity, for the animals and gods that ‘live outside the languages that name them.’ Can we see here the philosopher peeking out from beneath the poet’s ill-fitting tunic? Or are Nancy’s stanzas so many stages on which the philosopher performs a tragic-comic drama in which he comes to terms with the fact that he must part ways with both animals and gods, reconciling himself to the fact that he, like the poet, must make do with a language that, though it is estranged from truth—or perhaps because it is estranged from truth—might still furnish a life. Again, I don’t know.”
***
Join the conversation and respond to Sam Sackeroff, or add your own perspective on Nancy’s piece.
For all new participates, you must have an account, but it is easy and free to register at this link: http://conversations.e-flux.com/signup
Superconversations is a collaboration between
e-flux & The New Centre for Research & Practice