Feyerabend is concerned with the microphysics of power and resistance as expressed in the ordinary contexts of everyday life. I see his later reflections as somehow prolonging the meditations on metapoiesis that can be found in Dreyfus and Kelly’s ALL THINGS SHINING. The problem posed by their book is an ethical one: what to do when faced with a surge of physis in us or around us? The response that is sketched out is not in terms of mastering a set of rules but rather of developping a metapoietic skill for evaluating and navigating through the situations that life throws forth.
One of the recurrent themes of Feyerabend’s STORIES FROM PAOLINO’S TAPES is acts of resistance to the various microfascisms that surround us. He gives a whole typology of possible responses. In the last two posts we have seen declining (Bartleby’s “I would prefer not to”) and restoring symmetry (Feyerabend’s “Now I want to ask you some questions”). Another response is exemplified by Schroedinger’s action when he saw a Nazi SS harassing a Jew: “he went up to him and spit him in his face”. For Feyerabend, this act ,while courageous, is not to be understood solely in terms of refusing to give in to fear. More deeply he remarks that “Few people give such expression to their disgust”. When such disgust is felt before the intolerable, many people do not take action, but suppress their feelings or turn away. Schroedinger would “go forward and act on it”.
I don’t think its true that “few people give expression to their disgust.” Rather I think that sometimes we do and sometimes we don’t and that this is in part determined by how far “into the light” we find ourselves, first here, now there. I don’t know anything about Schroedinger’s biography but surmise that his courage to “spit” had something to do with his promience. Such an act might have been disasterous for someone less prominent.
I can recall moments in my life when I was emboldended to be courageous and moments when I was diminished and cowardly. I suspect that the real test of ethical/metapoietic ability are all those situtations close to the edge, where I have been less emboldened by the situation and chose to be courageous; where I have been more emboldened but turned away; situations where I lean in or away from the “the crowd.”
Hello David,
the statement is not so much statistical as typological. The norm is not to express one’s disgust, or any strong affect stemming from our singularity. The norm is the disaffected consensual speech of the One. Deleuze remarks, however, that the norm counts itself twice, both as norm and in its particular occurences, so the statistics are rigged in favour of the impression of the prevalence and the pre-eminence of the norm. So I agree that if you look at the real moments of your life you can find many variants and compromises despite the apparent hegemony of the norm. This is even more true if you are committed to letting the light with its intensities and affects and becomings shine forth. Feyerabend’s point is that Schroedinger was not indulging himself because of the protection his prominence afforded him. He describes Schroedinger as someone “who couldn’t shut up”, it was his temperament. Of course he was partially protected by his notoriety, but he was put on the Nazi hit list and had to expatriate himself, ending up in Ireland. Just as Schroedinger’s published work did not conform to the stereotype of the objective scholar (he wrote some texts on the nature of life and consciousness that came out in favour of Hindu ideas), so his private life and character were not those of the objective scholar who conforms to the ascetic ideal.
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Terence, I don’t know this Feyerabend material but would like to. Forgive my ignorance but Amazon list it as unavailable – could you tell me where I could access a copy please? Best, Matt
I ordered it from the itunes store. I just checked and it is still available. You can listen to an extract here: http://www.pkfeyerabend.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=5&Itemid=28&lang=en