4/4 Philosophy and Postmodern Culture (Rick Roderick)

Transcript: http://rickroderick.org/108-philosophy-and-post-modern-culture-1990/ This is the final part of the final lecture in the "Philosophy and Human Values" series of lectures. Presented by Professor Rick Roderick in 1990. Originally released by The Teaching Company on VHS.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Philosophy
• Postmodern
• Culture
• Radical
• Democracy

[zootsoot2006]

That's quite an outrageous, and disrespectful, statement at the end that the fires of Belsen are burning in our TVs every night, since so many Jews escaped the deathcamps by finding refuge in this society. As outrageous as Heidegger's claim that the mass agricultural industry is akin to the holocaust, but then I guess Mr. Roderick was a Heideggerian, or at least an existentialist.

[chrisltft]

Isn't is a reference to "Belthane" - wiki it and let me know what you think. BTW there is a transcript of this lecture at rickroderick d0t 0rg if you are interested. Corrections welcome...

[chrisltft]

sorry, i mean "beltane"

[zootsoot2006]

@chrisltft; 'Beltane - the Gaelic names for either the month of May or the festival that takes place on the first day of May'. Find it difficult to see how that could fit in with what he's saying, though it does seem to have something to do with fires. But the point is about barbarity, not mere primitivism, quite the opposite. The fact that the next point is about nukes shows that the reference is much more sinister. If the transcript is yours I'd change it. Thanks though for all these lectures!

[chrisltft]

wow, i think may be right. thats so much more messed up than i thought. thanks for the help!

[LeonSpinx1]

@bioasesthetik I think you're partially right; he was using Bergen-Belsen as a metonym, suggesting that neoliberal media is the new Holocaust. But this is a particularly great metaphor because Belsen was razed after the British Trials to remove the memory of the Holocaust. Thus the modern culture co-opts and forgets its own monstrosity.

I found nothing offensive about this--it's brilliant.

[archerdavies21]

Thanks so much for taking the time to post these. I have been watching them all. A great opportunity to acquaint myself with ideas I might have otherwise never have had the introduction to.

[turki8080]

very touching and poignant

[animesuxxxx]

Well done.

[bioasesthetik]

@zootsoot2006 @zootsoot2006 Roderrick's statement is not as outrageous as it seems. it is my impression he may be referring to a text by Baudrillard from Simulacra and Simulation titled "Holocaust", where Baudrillard says of television,

"same process of forgetting, of liquidation, of extermination, same annihilation of memories and of history, same inverse, implosive radiation, same absorption without an echo, same black hole as Auschwitz."

[bioasesthetik]

@zootsoot2006 Roderrick's statement is not as outrageous as it seems. it is my impression he may be referring to a text by Baudrillard from Simulacra and Simulation titled "Holocaust", where Baudrillard says of television,

"same process of forgetting, of liquidation, of extermination, same annihlation of memories and of history, same inverse, implsovie radiation, same absorption without an echo, same black hole as Auschwitz."

and by that he means....