Peter Klepec - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Peter Klepec

Problemi, 2018

The text presents an overview of the topics of ‘the Idea’ in Badiou’s opus. It attempts to ascert... more The text presents an overview of the topics of ‘the Idea’ in Badiou’s opus. It attempts to ascertain why it has such a prominent place therein and what exactly its role is. Written almost exclusively as ‘the Idea’, it is the name of several tasks in Badiou. It is simultaneously ‘a compass’ that orients us in these disoriented times and a banner of Platonism that evokes, provokes, and fights for the legacy of Plato and Communism. As a name for thinking and acting, it is an operator and a mediator that somehow connects two poles of every process of truth (contemporaneity and eternity, finitude and infinitude, etc.). The text proposes to present it through various triplets (hypothesis, principle, decision; matheme, knot, pivot; eternity, universality, transmundanity; excess, gap, operator or mediator, etc.) that specify its role. Finally, how do we participate in ‘the Idea’? The text claims that the answer lies in Badiou’s (until very recently missing) theory of repetition: while being himself reluctant to use and even opposed to the very term ‘repetition’ for all his life, preferring instead to use other concepts (such as ‘resurrection’, ‘rebirth’, ‘redoing’, etc.), Badiou has, however, spontaneously produced in the course of time no less than seven different conceptions of repetition, of which the latest, ‘creative repetition’ (as opposed to circular repetition), presents a way to simultaneously produce the new and to (re)peat, (re)declare, and (re)touch the Absolute.

Problemi, 2023

The article deals with the question of what distinguishes the “ridiculous masters” and what conse... more The article deals with the question of what distinguishes the “ridiculous masters” and what consequences this has for the figure of the master in general. It proceeds in three steps. First, it argues why the new masters who have recently appeared in the political sphere are “ridiculous masters”. Then follows a terminological excursus on the meaning of the words “master” and “ridiculous”, with consequences for the expression “ridiculous masters”. These are manifold and presented in the third step: Not only is there an ambivalence of the term “ridiculous”, there is also no normality of the master, as Žižek's notion of “parallax” shows us. This means that the master is at the same time more precarious and stable than we can imagine: There will always be masters, but at the same time there are no more (true, real) masters today. The complaint about the loss of masters in the present (as put forward by Arendt) consists, in fact, in referring to other masters (past masters) and to naive believers (in the past) who really believed in masters. Thus, the master as such is always ridiculous in one way or another, but not all masters are “ridiculous masters”. We should beware of the novelty and specialness of the latter and take them seriously – even if they are ridiculous, they are still masters, which makes them even more dangerous.

Our point of departure in this issue of Filozofski vestnik is the thesis that therepetition of a ... more Our point of departure in this issue of Filozofski vestnik is the thesis that therepetition of a certain gesture of Lenin's is needed today in philosophy –as Lenin withdrew in the midst of the most ferocious battles during WorldWar I to study and to rethink theoretical questions in order to act differ-ently. What we need today is a new and radical rethinking of the theoreticaland practical presuppositions of contemporaineity

The paper first situates the conception of quasi-cause within Deleuze's opus, especially conc... more The paper first situates the conception of quasi-cause within Deleuze's opus, especially concernig Deleuze's reading of Hume and Kant. It then proceeds to the role of quasi-cause in The Logic of Sense and links it with Lacan's differentiation between Cause and law. For Deleuze, the quasi-cause has its role in double causality, it is also something non-reducible on two heterogeneous multiplicties, it splits them from within in an unpredictable and incalculable way. There are certain parallels with Freud's notion of the unconscious here, especially with the dream-work, slips of the tongue, and jokes. However, Deleuze's sudden reversal and critique of psychoanalysis in Anti-Œdipe has to pay a price: it has to generalize the role once played by quasi-cause, link the quasi-cause itself with the capital, domination, and the state aparatus, and assign its role to chaos and becoming, all that in its conviction that this is the true nature of Lacan's objet petit...

The starting point of the text is the question how a perversion of crisis 2008 can be understood.... more The starting point of the text is the question how a perversion of crisis 2008 can be understood. It first points out the ambiguity of the very term crisis itself and links it to ambiguity of perversion throughout history. In Lacan perversion is strictly conceived as a structure in which the Other is made to exist. Similar logic can be found in neoliberalism in the figure of the market as always finding solutions. The fetishistic disavowal at work in neoliberalism gets another turn in the crisis, but for it to really work it must be supplemented by what Freud calls ‘fausse reconnnaissance’, which something foreign and unknown cuts down to well known. With this final turn one can speak about perversion of the crisis.Tekst izhaja iz vprašanja, kako lahko razumemo perverziji krize. Pri tem izpostavlja dvoumnost krize, ki se zdi končana, vseeno pa pušča trajne posledice, in jo naveže na dvoumnost perverzije. Pojem perverzije, ki je skozi zgodovino nihal med dvema skrajnostma, je pri Lac...

The paper proceeds in three steps. First, it addresses what urgency and emergency are in their si... more The paper proceeds in three steps. First, it addresses what urgency and emergency are in their simplest terms, then it places this in the context of the now very popular metaphor of imprisonment, which supposedly describes what is happening to us today, and in the final steps it presents us with the task of critical theory today. Starting from the distinction between urgency and emergency (the main difference being that in the latter case there is an immediate threat or danger to life, health, property, or the environment, while in the case of urgency there is no such immediate threat or danger), the paper proposes the concept of Super-emergency as a name for a (contemporary) situation that is out of control and feeds on our own antagonisms and contradictions. The accompanying atmosphere or mood is the "mood of nightmare," which also explains why it seems so natural for us today to speak of arrest, imprisonment, or entrapment. By pointing out some consequences of prison metaphors, the paper suggests in its last part that it is not only urgent to think about and deal with urgency and emergency per se, but also with their particular deviation - the Super-emergency. Even if we do not have time to think and act differently, as our leaders, the media, and propaganda keep claiming ("now we do not have time to listen, to discuss, to exchange opinions, to talk"), it is precisely the urgent situations that are situations of time for reflection and radical action aimed at regaining our common future. In other words, what is really urgent and necessary for us now, today, is to free ourselves from this yoke of emergency in which we are trapped and which we call here the Super-emergency.

Problemi International, 2023

Filozofski vestnik, 2022

Filozofski Vestnik, Mar 23, 2023

One of the most general observations about our contemporary age is that we live in a time of tran... more One of the most general observations about our contemporary age is that we live in a time of transition, 1 for which various alternative terms have been proposedfrom "interregnum" (Gramsci) 2 and "the dialectic of standstill" (Benjamin) to "the great regression" 3. There are many interpretations as to when this transition actually began, what it really means, and what it actually involves. There is also an almost universal consensus that this transition is not yet over and that no one knows for sure when it will end 4 and where it will take us. Recently, things have become even more complicated as several crises have emerged that overlap and reinforce each other. The problems and contradictions of late capitalism have obviously taken their toll. It began with the climate crisis that was declared many decades ago and that we are all familiar with today, without any appropriate countermeasures having been taken so far. The latter, however, is not the only crisis we have experienced in recent decades. The mere enumeration of the events that have marked the last three decades quickly confronts us with all that we have denied and swept under the rug, but also testifies that great changes are underway. Three decades ago, the Cold War ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent collapse of socialism 1 This article is a result of the research programme P6-0014 "Conditions and Problems of Contemporary Philosophy" and the research projects N6

Filozofski vestnik

Tekst se loteva problematike krutosti izhajajoč iz tega, kako ta nastopa v vsakdanji vladajoči id... more Tekst se loteva problematike krutosti izhajajoč iz tega, kako ta nastopa v vsakdanji vladajoči ideologiji. Če hočemo izmeriti pulz naše sodobne ideološke krajine, potem ne moremo mimo tega, da jo je nedavno močno pretresla ruska agresija na Ukrajino. Vojna v Ukrajini je bila večkrat označena za kruto, nasploh je krutost nekaj, kar danes soglasno velja za nekaj zavrženega in odvratnega. A za takšno velja tudi mučenje, ki se ga načelno preganja, skrivoma pa izvaja. Enako velja za vojno, ki soglasno velja za kruto. Kaj torej pomeni izjava »vojna v Ukrajini je kruta«, v kakšne kontekste se vpisuje? Tekst se tega vprašanja loteva na več ravneh, ki segajo od sodobnega pojmovanja vojne, krutosti, širšega zgodovinskega konteksta, v katerem izjava nastopa, pa do vprašanja ali to pomeni, da smo v nekem pomenu z eno nogo še vedno trdno v dvajsetem stoletju. Navezujoč se na Badioujevo delo Stoletje, ki izpostavlja vlogo strasti do realnega, vojne (ki naj bi končala vse vojne) in krutosti v dvaj...

Theoria, Beograd, 2008

Tekst predstavlja prikaz četiri temeljna koncepta Badjuovog filozofskog projekta-biće, događaj, i... more Tekst predstavlja prikaz četiri temeljna koncepta Badjuovog filozofskog projekta-biće, događaj, istinu i subjekt, njihovo unutrašnju povezanost, specifičnost i originalnost Badjuovog projekta u odnosu na savremenu filozofiju, insisitiranje na mogućnostima filozofije, te njenog odnosa spram njena četiri uslova (četiri generičke procedure: matem, poema, politička invencija i ljubav), odnos između tih istina i Istine, nekoliko konsekvenci takve pozicije u odnosu na želju filozofije.

Filozofski vestnik, 2021

Prispevek izhaja iz vprašanja, od kod izhajajo teze o tem, da nam danes vladajo sadisti, na kater... more Prispevek izhaja iz vprašanja, od kod izhajajo teze o tem, da nam danes vladajo sadisti, na katere naletimo tako v teorijah zarote kakor tudi v razlagah prevlade nasilja in krutosti v sodobni družbi. Prispevek najprej izpostavi nekatere pomembne spremembe, ki so nedavno nastale na področju politike, ekonomije in družbe (padec berlinskega zidu; viktimizacijo; krizo politike in vzpon neoliberalizma; spremenjeno dinamiko kapitalizma, ki ugrabi in valorizira afekt ter favorizira bizarno; tehnološke spremembe, ki omogočijo nastop novih družbenih medijev; premik obscenosti iz roba v središče; paradokse »konca zgodovine« in zgodovinskega zastoja; pandemijo; sprememba vsesplošnega razpoloženja iz tesnobe v štimungo nočne more, pri kateri je ključen problem užitek Drugega). Nato se loti zgodovinskih premen »sadizma«, ki so skozi 19. in 20. stoletje Sada reducirale na klinično kategorijo, določile pomen »sadizma« kot uživanja v trpinčenju drugih, pri Freudu, freudovcih in Frankfurtski šoli pa...

Despite Badiou’s constant reference to “the Idea,” there seems to be no systematic presentation o... more Despite Badiou’s constant reference to “the Idea,” there seems to be no systematic presentation of “the Idea” in his opus, which is quite surprising for one of the most systematic philosophers. What is the Idea for Badiou? What does he refer to when he talks about the Idea? What does the Idea stand for in his system; what is it the name of? Departing from Badiou, of course, what I want to do is simply summarize his views, while being fully aware that Badiou himself (perhaps) would not subscribe to my account as presented here. Let me start with Badiou’s recapitulation of the “state of the art” from nearly a decade ago:

In the first part of his essay the author studies the place of the univocity in Deleuze's wor... more In the first part of his essay the author studies the place of the univocity in Deleuze's work, especially the connection and interplay of immanence and univocity. Immanence is one single concept, one single (univocal) conception which could be excepted from and given special emphasis in Deleuze's work. In the final section some ethical consequences from the Deleuze's treatment of univocity and immanence are shown.

The text tries to show that Ranciere’s rethematisation of aisthesis is also “polemics” with a “hi... more The text tries to show that Ranciere’s rethematisation of aisthesis is also “polemics” with a “hidden interlocutor” – Gilles Deleuze. Deleuze is the exemplary case in philosophy of what Ranciere calls the aesthetic regime of art. The reconstruction of the (inexistent) debate with Deleuze renders manifest not only the philosophical dimensions of the aesthetic regime, but also some open dilemmas and impasses of Ranciere’s own philosophical position. The first part of the text outlines some unexpected parallels between Deleuze and Ranciere, the second presents Ranciere’s critique of Deleuze, the third and final part outlines Deleuze’s Copernican turn, and its consequences, parallels, and differences with Ranciere.

The reconsideration of the relationship between philosophy and mathematics cannot ignore the theo... more The reconsideration of the relationship between philosophy and mathematics cannot ignore the theory of the contemporary French philosopher Alain Badiou. The basic thesis and the starting point of L'etre et l'evenement, Badiou's work which interests us here mostly and in which he has laid down the foundations of his philosophical project, is that mathematics is the science of being qua being. Badiou claims that mathematics is ontology. What interests us here is the question of the place, extent and consequences of this thesis concerning Badiou's own philosophical system as well as the relationship between philosophy and mathematics. Ontology is not the goal of Badiou's theory, while on the other hand mathematics is (only) one of the four conditions of philosophy. The relationship between philosophy and the four procedures of truth is not the relationship of “domination, subsumption, foundation or guarantor”. The tasks of philosophy is not to create its conditions,...

Filozofski Vestnik, 2007

The article starts with the question whether there is an encounter between the philosophy of Dele... more The article starts with the question whether there is an encounter between the philosophy of Deleuze and the psychoanalysis of Lacan. It claims that there is evidence of such an encounter, not only on an anecdotal level, but on the conceptual level as well, since the concept of the encounter plays a significant and central role in Lacan’s later teachings and also in Deleuze’s philosophy. In late Lacan it is presented through the interconnection of tyche and automaton, themes of the Real as impossible and the drive. In late Deleuze the theme of encounter is closely linked with the conceptualisation of becoming, event, and concept as interruptions. For the author the encounter between Deleuze and Lacan is neither a failure nor success, for now its status remains undecidable.

Filozofski Vestnik, 2016

The author shows that the notion of contingency forms one of the key notions of Deleuze’s philoso... more The author shows that the notion of contingency forms one of the key notions of Deleuze’s philosophy. It is, however, never developed as such, but always presented through other key notions and conceptions of Deleuze’s philosophy – (thinking as) dice throw, “the power of the false”, “becoming”, “time out of joint”, “eternal return” and, of course, “event”. Through examination of these notions and conceptions the author shows the power and consequences of Deleuze’s theory of contingency as well as its major flaw – contingency is for Deleuze always thought as the Contingency, as the Event, as the eternal return of the One and that is in contradiction with the major task of philosophy as such for Deleuze: “to create is to resist”.

Filozofski Vestnik, 2013

The text points out some aspects of the phenomenon of the joke as presented by Freud in his semin... more The text points out some aspects of the phenomenon of the joke as presented by Freud in his seminal work The Joke and Its Relation to the Unconscious, which is here interpreted as the work which presents the relationship between the signifier and the object/drive. Some basic features of the joke are presented, its similarity with other formations of the unconscious, its specificity, the role of the Other in it and the role of surprise, and the relation between the joke and enjoyment. The paper concludes by linking the phenomenon of the joke with Lacan’s interpretation of the drive.

Filozofski Vestnik, 2003

Author is reconsidering the problematics of biopower in Foucault's lectures »Society must be ... more Author is reconsidering the problematics of biopower in Foucault's lectures »Society must be defended« from the point of view of »Foucault's opus«, his relationship to psychoanalysis and marxism and well-known impasses of his theory of power. Through detailed reading of Dits et ecrits he outlines the contours of Foucault's conception of biopolitics, its oscillation between »police« and »passage to society of norm«, and examines its connection with the elaboration of a new theory of subject.