DOCSLIB.ORG

Badiou and Lacan: Evental Colour and the Subject

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Badiou and Lacan: Evental Colour and the Subject Badiou and Lacan: Evental Colour and the Subject By Jane Kent Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirement of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2014 Faculty of Arts The University of Melbourne Abstract This thesis is an analysis of colour as an event with painting and its subject form. It addresses three questions. The first two are: can colour be an event in painting as colour and does its subject form encompass its viewers? The analysis begins with a historical summary of how colour in painting, often aligned with woman and the feminine, has been disparaged and marginalized in Western art. Plato’s theory is examined because he is blamed for the marginalisation of the image and colour, and Lacan’s discourse theory is used to analyse colour’s disparagement and explore how Plato’s philosophy correlates with Lacan’s master and university discourses. The thesis then explores Badiou’s theory on the event and Lacan’s on suppléance to demonstrate how colour becomes an artistic event with a painting and how a viewer becomes a part of the artistic subject form. I argue both pigmented colour and a viewer embody the artistic subject because a truth of the being of colour, in a new relational tie between them, is universalized with others. In different words, the viewer doesn’t just participate in the idea of the being of colour and thus remain caught in the prevailing discourse: she is the localizing point because of a specificity which tempers the singularity of her sight. 1 Theories of Badiou and Lacan are employed to justify these assertions and to address a third question: what kind of philosophy prohibits compossibility with Lacan? 2 I argue Badiou’s philosophy isn’t compossible with Lacan because unlike Lacan’s theory Badiou’s is emancipatory and indifferent to an individual’s symptom. My argument 1 I use the pronoun “she” throughout this project to counter the usual predominance of the masculine pronoun “he.” 2 Badiou states “philosophy is possible today, only if it is compossible with Lacan.” (Badiou 1992 p. 83- 4) ii requires I present an application of Lacanian discourse theory and theory on nominations and suppletions to critique of Badiou’s philosophy. I specifically refute Badiou’s claims that there is no subject in Lacan’s theories and that the artistic subject is only with the art work. iii Declaration This is to certify that i) The thesis comprises only my original work towards the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, ii) Due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used iii) The thesis is 99,790 words in length, exclusion of tables and bibliography. ................................ Jane Elizabeth Kent 16/12/2014 iv Acknowledgements I acknowledge and thank my Primary Supervisor Professor Barbara Creed and Associate Supervisor Dr Justin Clemens. I also thank the Badiou Reading Group, Melbourne University, and the Lacan Circle of Melbourne. v vi Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................ iii Declaration......................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................................vi Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 Part A ............................................................................................................ 7 Chapter One ................................................................................................. 8 Colour and Collective Knowledge ............................................................. 8 1.1 Displacement, Marginalisation .......................................................................... 8 1.2 Colour in Painting and the Social Order ......................................................... 12 The Feminine and Colour in Painting ............................................................. 12 Colour, Drawing and Light ............................................................................. 16 Chapter Two ............................................................................................... 22 Colour and Discourse ................................................................................ 22 2.1 Colour and Fantasy .......................................................................................... 22 2.2 Colour’s Threat to Old Discourses .................................................................. 30 Chapter Three ............................................................................................ 35 Philosophy and Human Sentience ........................................................... 35 3.1 Plato’s Writing ................................................................................................ 35 3.2 Plato, Philosophy and Human Sentience ......................................................... 37 3.3 Appearing with Human Sentience ................................................................... 43 Chapter Four ............................................................................................. 52 Colour and a Philosopher ......................................................................... 52 4.1 Colour and Sensory Knowledge ...................................................................... 52 Chapter Five .............................................................................................. 66 Philosophy and Discourse ......................................................................... 66 5.1 Philosophy and the Discourse of the Site ........................................................ 66 5.2 Lacan’s Philosophic Pure Act ......................................................................... 73 vii Chapter Six ................................................................................................ 84 The Singular in the Collective .................................................................. 84 6.1 True Doxas and Plato ...................................................................................... 84 6.2 The Singular in the Collective Gaze ................................................................ 91 True Doxas and Two Instances of a Sign ........................................................ 91 Symptom and Symbol ..................................................................................... 98 Part B ........................................................................................................ 107 Chapter Seven .......................................................................................... 108 Badiou, Lacan and the Subject .............................................................. 108 7.1 Lacan and Badiou’s Theories ........................................................................ 108 7.2 Criticisms of Lacan’s Theory of the Event.................................................... 113 7.3 Lacan’s Suppléance and Badiou’s Event ...................................................... 126 Chapter Eight .......................................................................................... 129 Body of Truth and Lacan’s Subject ....................................................... 129 8.1 Truth and the Body ........................................................................................ 129 Badiou’s Dissension with Lacan ................................................................... 129 8.2 Subject-Body in Lacanian Theory ................................................................. 140 8.3 The Name and Transhuman Body ................................................................. 148 8.4 Lacan: Extimacy, Affect and the Singular Universal .................................... 150 Extimacy and the Transhuman ...................................................................... 150 8.5 Affect and Jouissance with the Event ............................................................ 153 Chapter Nine ............................................................................................ 156 Lacan’s Subject-Body ............................................................................. 156 9.1 Lacan’s Subjective Process ........................................................................... 156 9.2 The Viewer .................................................................................................... 165 The Gaze, the Symptom and the Site ............................................................ 165 9.3 The Viewer and the Site ................................................................................ 168 Part C ........................................................................................................ 169 Chapter Ten .............................................................................................. 170 Badiou’s Artistic Subject ........................................................................ 170 viii 10.1 Badiou and the Gaze ...................................................................................... 170 10.2 Badiou’s Viewer and Art ............................................................................... 177 10.3 Bestowal of the Gaze ..................................................................................... 181 Chapter Eleven ........................................................................................ 187 Subtraction
Load more

Recommended publications
  • František Kupka: Sounding­ Abstraction – Musicality, Colour and Spiritualism
    Issue No. 2/2019 František Kupka: Sounding Abstraction – Musicality, Colour and Spiritualism Anna-Maria von Bonsdorff, PhD, Chief Curator, Finnish National Gallery / Ateneum Art Museum, Helsinki Also published in Anne-Maria Pennonen, Hanne Selkokari and Lene Wahlsten (eds.), František Kupka. Ateneum Publications Vol. 114. Helsinki: Finnish National Gallery / Ateneum Art Museum 2019, 11–25. Transl. Tomi Snellman The art of František Kupka (1871–1957) has intrigued artists, art historians and exhibition visitors for many decades. Although nowadays Kupka’s name is less well known outside artistic circles, in his day he was one of the artists at the forefront in creating abstract paintings on the basis of colour theory and freeing colours from descriptive associations. Today his energetic paintings are still as enigmatic and exciting as they were in 1912, when his completely non- figurative canvases, including Amorpha, Fugue in Two Colours and Amorpha, Warm Chromatics, created a scandal when they were shown in the Salon d’Automne in Paris. It marked a turning point in many ways, not least in the decision of the Gaumont Film Company to use Kupka’s abstract works for the news in cinemas in France, Germany, the United States and England.1 And as we will see, Kupka’s far-reaching shift to abstraction was a long process which grew partly out of his childhood interest in spiritualism and partly from Symbolist and occultist ideas to crystallise into the concept of an art which could be seen, felt and understood on a more multisensory basis. Kupka’s art reflects the idea of musicality in art, colour and spiritualism.
    [Show full text]
  • Now You See It, Now You Don't!
    CALIFORNIA STATE SCIENCE FAIR 2009 PROJECT SUMMARY Name(s) Project Number Stephanie S. Manson-Hing J1315 Project Title Now You See It, Now You Don't! Abstract Objectives/Goals The objective of my science project is to explore how the perception of objects, using peripheral vision, is affected by the objects' color. Methods/Materials I tested ten people from two different age groups: 30-60 year old adults and 13-15 year old adolescents. Using a vision protractor I designed and created myself for the project (made out of foam core), I tested which out of the colors blue, red, yellow, and green was percepted easiest and at the earliest degree on the protractor. Each person must focus on a pin in their direct line of central vision (90 degree mark on the vision protractor) thus forcing them to use their peripheral vision to detect the different, nickel sized, colored objects. I tested both eyes/sides of peripheral vision in my experiment. Results After gathering together my data, I concluded that the object colored yellow, for both age groups, was detected earliest and was easiest to see. For the 13-15 year old age group, the average perception was 9.5 degrees and the average for the 30-60 year olds was 11 degrees. I also figured out that green was the most difficult color of object to recognize. The younger age group recognized the objects earlier in general (with all four colors) by about 2-4 degrees on both sides. Conclusions/Discussion My hypothesis: If I test peripheral vision using the colors blue, red, yellow, and green, then the brightest color, yellow will be detected earliest and easiest out of the four colors, was proven correct by my experiment#s data.
    [Show full text]
  • Front Matter
    Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-87185-3 - Arthur Schopenhauer: Parerga and Paralipomena: Short Philosophical Essays: Volume 2 Edited by Adrian Del Caro and Christopher Janaway Frontmatter More information ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER Parerga and Paralipomena The purpose of the Cambridge Edition of the Works of Schopenhauer is to offer translations of the best modern German editions of Schopenhauer’s work in a uniform format suitable for Schopenhauer scholars, together with philosophical introductions and full editorial apparatus. With the publication of Parerga and Paralipomena in 1851, there finally came some measure of the fame that Schopenhauer thought was his due. Described by Schopenhauer himself as ‘incomparably more popular than everything up till now’, Parerga is a miscellany of essays addressing themes that complement his work The World as Will and Representation, along with more divergent, speculative pieces. It includes essays on method, logic, the intellect, Kant, pantheism, natural science, religion, education, and language. The present volume offers a new translation, a substantial introduction explaining the context of the essays, and extensive editorial notes on the different published versions of the work. This readable and scholarly edition will be an essential reference for those studying Schopenhauer, history of philosophy, and nineteenth-century German philosophy. adrian del caro is Distinguished Professor of Humanities and Head of Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures at the University of Tennessee. He has published many books, including The Early Poetry of Paul Celan: In the beginning was the word (1997) and Grounding the Nietzsche Rhetoric of Earth (2004). He has published numerous articles in journals including Journal of the History of Ideas, Philosophy and Literature, and German Studies Review.
    [Show full text]
  • Schopenhauer on Empirical and Aesthetic Perception and Cognition
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Ghent University Academic Bibliography Schopenhauer on Empirical and Aesthetic Perception and Cognition Bart Vandenabeele In Schopenhauer’s view, the whole organic and inorganic world is ultimately governed by an insatiable, blind will. Life as a whole is purposeless: there is no ultimate goal or meaning, for the metaphysical will is only interested in manifesting itself in (or as) a myriad of phenomena which we call the “world” or “life”. Human life too is nothing but an insignificant product or “objectivation” of the blind, unsconsious will and because our life is determined by willing (i.e. by needs, affects, urges and desires), and since willing is characterised by lack, our life is essentially full of misery and suffering. We are constantly searching for objects that can satisfy our needs and desires and once we have finally found a way to satisfy one desire, another one crops up and we become restless willing subjects once again, and so on in an endless whirlpool of willing, suffering, momentary satisfaction, boredom, willing again, etc. Life is not a good thing. The only way, Schopenhauer argues, to escape from these torments of willing is by “seeing the world aright”, as Wittgenstein would have it, i.e. by acknowledging the pointlessness and insignificance of our own willing existence, and ultimately by giving up willing as such – which in fact really means abandoning our own individuality, our own willing selves – which is momentarily possible in aesthetic experiences of beauty and sublimity, and permanently achievable only in the exceptional ethical practices of detachment, mysticism and asceticism, in which the will to life is eventually denied and sheer nothingness is embraced – either through harsh suffering or through sainthood.
    [Show full text]
  • The Sound Figures in Goethe, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche
    Visions in sand: the sound figures in Goethe, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:39947189 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Visions in sand: the sound figures in Goethe, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche A dissertation presented by Steven Patrick Lydon to The Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of Germanic Languages and Literatures Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts September 2018 ! i © 2018 Steven Patrick Lydon All rights reserved. ii Dissertation Advisor: Prof. John Hamilton Steven Patrick Lydon Prof. Oliver Simons Visions in sand: the sound figures in Goethe, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche Abstract On the reception of the sound figures, an eighteenth-century acoustical experiment, in the writings of Goethe, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche. It focuses especially on the philosophical ramifications for literary studies and the history of science. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! iii ! ! Table of contents Introduction: the sound figures between metaphysics and metaphor 1 1. Signatura rerum: Chladni's sound figures in Schelling, August Schlegel, and 12 Brentano 2. Beyond words: Goethe's interpretation of Chladni's sound figures via the 34 entoptic colors 3. Words without meaning: Schopenhauer decoding Chladni's sound figures via 56 Goethe and Jean Paul 4.
    [Show full text]
  • ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER on the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason and Other Writings
    Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-87271-3 - Arthur Schopenhauer: On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason: On Vision and Colours: On Will in Nature Edited by David E. Cartwright, Edward E. Erdmann and Christopher Janaway Frontmatter More information ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason and Other Writings The purpose of the Cambridge Edition of the Works of Schopenhauer is to offer translations of the best modern German editions of Schopenhauer’s work in a uniform format suitable for Schopenhauer scholars, together with philosophical introductions and full editorial apparatus. This volume of new translations unites three shorter works by Arthur Schopenhauer that expand on themes from his book The World as Will and Representation.InOn the Fourfold Root he takes the principle of sufficient reason, which states that nothing is without a reason why it is, and shows how it covers different forms of explanation or ground that previous philosophers have tended to confuse. Schopenhauer regarded this study, which he first wrote as his doctoral dissertation, as an essential preliminary to The World as Will and Representation. On Will in Nature examines contemporary scientific findings in search of corroboration of his thesis that processes in nature are all a species of striving towards ends; and On Vision and Colours defends an anti-Newtonian account of colour perception influenced by Goethe’s famous colour theory. This is the first English edition to provide extensive editorial notes on the different published versions of these works. david e. cartwright is a Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies and the chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater.
    [Show full text]
  • What Is Color Blindness?
    A DESIGNER’S GUIDE TO COLOR BLINDNESS Designed Written Alex Villagomez i FOREWORD 02 WHAT IS COLOR BLINDNESS? 04 COLOR BLIND VISION 08 LIKELIHOOD OF HAVING CVD 10 ARE YOU COLOR BLIND? 12 RELEVANT THINGS TO CONSIDER 14 THE DESIGN PROBLEM 16 WHY YOU SHOULD CARE 18 PROBLEMATIC COLOR COMBINATIONS 20 SUGGESTED USE OF COLOR 22 CONTRAST IN COLOR 24 PLACEMENT AND LAYOUT 26 PATTERNS AND OTHER ELEMENTS 28 THE COLOR BLIND DESIGNER 30 ADDITIONAL METHODS OF COPING 32 QUICK REFERENCE 34 SOURCES FOREWORD This manual has been created to aid designers in making design de- cisions in regards to their projects while being mindful of color blind viewers. As a color blind designer, I would like to raise awareness to the condition that affects millions of people in the U.S. alone. My hopes are that designers worldwide can create design that eases the lives of people with color blindness and removes most, if not all, of the ambi- guity we face that can affect our lives severely. 02 Red-Green Axis (a) WHAT IS COLOR BLINDNESS? The inability to perceive color vision at its fullest is known as Color Vision Disorder. This, however, does not mean that every person with CVD cannot see color at all. In fact, only a small percentage of people who are color blind are truly blind to all color, with vision that only allows for shades of gray. Only they can truly live up to the term ‘color blind’. The acceptable term to refer those who are not blind to all color is ‘color deficient’.
    [Show full text]
  • ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER the Two Fundamental Problems of Ethics
    Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-87140-2 - Arthur Schopenhauer: The Two Fundamental Problems of Ethics Edited by Christopher Janaway Frontmatter More information ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER The Two Fundamental Problems of Ethics The purpose of the Cambridge Edition of the Works of Schopen- hauer is to offer translations of the best modern German editions of Schopenhauer’s work in a uniform format suitable for Schopenhauer scholars, together with philosophical introductions and full editorial apparatus. Arthur Schopenhauer’s The Two Fundamental Problems of Ethics (1841) consists of two groundbreaking essays: On the Freedom of the Will and On the Basis of Morals. The essays make original contri- butions to ethics and display Schopenhauer’s erudition, prose-style and flair for philosophical controversy, as well as philosophical views that contrast sharply with the positions of both Kant and Nietzsche. Written accessibly, they do not presuppose the intricate metaphysics which Schopenhauer constructs elsewhere. This is the first English edition of these works to re-unite both essays in one volume. It offers a new translation by Christopher Janaway, together with an introduc- tion, editorial notes on Schopenhauer’s vocabulary and the different editions of his essays, a chronology of his life, a bibliography and a glossary of names. christopher janaway is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southampton. His many publications include Self and World in Schopenhauer’s Philosophy (1989)andSchopenhauer: A Very Short Introduction (2002); he is also
    [Show full text]
  • Overview of Color:  Digital Color Wheel: a Color Wheel Is a Tool That Provides a Visual Representation of the Relationships Between All Possible Hues
    Overview of color: Digital color wheel: A color wheel is a tool that provides a visual representation of the relationships between all possible hues. The digital color wheel consists of: . Primary colors: Red, Green and Blue (RGB) colors arranged around a circle at equal (120 degree) intervals. Secondary and Complementary colors. Complementary colors are colors that are opposite (180 degrees) on the color wheel. The complementary colors to RGB are Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow which are referred to as Secondary colors. The color complement of each primary color (red, green and blue) can be obtained by mixing the two other primary colors together. Thus for the primary color of red, the opposite complementary color (Cyan) is a mixture of green and blue. When complimentary colors are used together in a photograph they create contrast. Tertiary Colors: The Tertiary colors are Orange (Red-Yellow), Chartreuse Green (Yellow-Green), Spring Green (Green-Cyan), Azure (Blue-Cyan), Violet (Blue-Magenta), and Rose (Magenta-Red). These are the colors formed by mixing a primary and a secondary color. That's why the hue is sometimes named with two words, such as blue-magenta, red-yellow, etc. Harmonious and Complementary colors in a photo: Harmonious (or Analogous) colors lie close to each other on the color wheel, and are not difficult to look at together, even if all of the colors take up similar amounts of space in the photo. Analogous colors are mesmerizing, keeping you pulled into the photo, never really allowing your eye to stray too much and they give a sense of calm and peace, or harmony.
    [Show full text]
  • 6 X 10.5 Three Line Title.P65
    Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-87184-6 - Arthur Schopenhauer: The World as Will and Representation, Volume 1 Arthur Schopenhauer Excerpt More information The World as Will and Representation Arthur Schopenhauer Volume 1 Four Books, with an Appendix containing the Critique of the Kantian Philosophy Ob nicht Natur zuletzt sich doch ergrunde?¨ Goethe [‘Might not nature finally fathom itself ?’ – from a poem to Staatsminister von Voigt, 27 September 1816] 1 © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-87184-6 - Arthur Schopenhauer: The World as Will and Representation, Volume 1 Arthur Schopenhauer Excerpt More information Contents of Volume 1 Preface to the first edition page 5 Preface to the second edition 11 Preface to the third edition 22 First Book The world as representation, first consideration. Representation subject to the principle of sufficient reason: the object of experience and science 23 Second Book The world as will, first consideration. The objectivation of the will 119 Third Book The world as representation, second consideration. Representation independent of the principle of sufficient reason: the Platonic Idea: the object of art 191 Fourth Book The world as will, second consideration. With the achievement of self-knowledge, affirmation and negation of the will to life 297 Appendix Critique of the Kantian Philosophy 441 3 © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-87184-6 - Arthur Schopenhauer: The World as Will and Representation, Volume 1 Arthur Schopenhauer Excerpt More information Preface to the first edition VII What I propose to do here is to specify how this book is to be read so as to be understood.
    [Show full text]
  • Schopenhauer's Perceptive Invective
    1 Schopenhauer’s Perceptive Invective Michel-Antoine Xhignesse [email protected] This is a penultimate draft. Please cite the final version: “Schopenhauer’s Perceptive Invective,” in Jens Lemanski (ed.), Language, Logic, and Mathematics in Schopenhauer. Basel, Schweiz: Birkhäuser, 95- 107. Abstract: Schopenhauer’s invective is legendary among philosophers, and is unmatched in the historical canon. But these complaints are themselves worthy of careful consideration: they are rooted in Schopenhauer’s philosophy of language, which itself reflects the structure of his metaphysics. This short chapter argues that Schopenhauer’s vitriol rewards philosophical attention; not because it expresses his critical take on Fichte, Hegel, Herbart, Schelling, and Schleiermacher, but because it neatly illustrates his philosophy of language. Schopenhauer’s epithets are not merely spiteful slurs; instead, they reflect deep-seated theoretical and methodological commitments to transparency of exposition. 2 Schopenhauer’s Perceptive Invective Michel-Antoine Xhignesse Abstract: Schopenhauer’s invective is legendary among philosophers, and is unmatched in the historical canon. But these complaints are themselves worthy of careful consideration: they are rooted in Schopenhauer’s philosophy of language, which itself reflects the structure of his metaphysics. This short chapter argues that Schopenhauer’s vitriol rewards philosophical attention; not because it expresses his critical take on Fichte, Hegel, Herbart, Schelling, and Schleiermacher, but because
    [Show full text]
  • Perception of Color Emotions for Single Colors in Red-Green Defective Observers
    Perception of color emotions for single colors in red-green defective observers Keiko Sato1 and Takaaki Inoue2 1 Faculty of Engineering, Kagawa University, Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan 2 Graduate School of Engineering, Kagawa University, Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan ABSTRACT It is estimated that inherited red-green color deficiency, which involves both the protan and deutan deficiency types, is common in men. For red-green defective observers, some reddish colors appear desaturated and brownish, unlike those seen by normal observers. Despite its prevalence, few studies have investigated the effects that red-green color deficiency has on the psychological properties of colors (color emotions). The current study investigated the influence of red-green color deficiency on the following six color emotions: cleanliness, freshness, hardness, preference, warmth, and weight. Specifically, this study aimed to: (1) reveal differences between normal and red-green defective observers in rating patterns of six color emotions; (2) examine differences in color emotions related to the three cardinal channels in human color vision; and (3) explore relationships between color emotions and color naming behavior. Thirteen men and 10 women with normal vision and 13 men who were red-green defective performed both a color naming task and an emotion rating task with 32 colors from the Berkeley Color Project (BCP). Results revealed noticeable differences in the cleanliness and hardness ratings between the normal vision observers, particularly in women, and red-green defective observers, which appeared mainly for colors in the orange to cyan range, and in the preference and warmth ratings for colors with cyan and purple hues. Similarly, naming errors also mainly occurred in the cyan colors.
    [Show full text]