News: they’re moving the Philosophy department into Organisational Management.
General shock. Can they do this sort of thing? Without consultation? Is it allowed?
Apparently.
Is there a rationale? Have they explained themselves?
They don’t have to explain themselves. They just act.
This never would have happened in the old days.
In the old days, we’d never have got jobs. Not at this kind of uni.
True.
Look, It’s just some random thing. Some stupidity. Some manager or another wanted to make their stamp on the uni. Some idiot …
… They’re all idiots …
… Had some interdisciplinary initiative, or something.
What about Organisational Management? What’s in it for them?
Our student numbers, maybe.
Laughter.
Our international reputation.
Laughter.
Our general sanity and well-adjustedness.
More laughter.
Why couldn’t they just have left us alone? Why couldn’t we be allowed to go on as we were, untroubled, unharassed? Why should we have to be destroyed and remade? It’s cruel … it’s needless.
Come on – you think this is arbitrary? They’ve declared war on philosophy. They know that it’s philosophy they have to go after. Not history! Not the fine arts! Not music! Not English literature! But philosophy, alone among the humanities!
Because they sense something about philosophy. They feel a kind of awe of philosophy, despite everything. They know us as a threat – unconsciously. They experience us as an enemy – in some recess of their minds.
Because they know only philosophy can grasp what they’re up to. Only philosophy can put all the pieces together and understand their Plan. That only philosophy has the possibility of seeing it in all its dimensions.
What plan?
For unconscious revenge on philosophy. On the humanities in general. There’s a whole institutional unconscious at work. A desire for revenge. On humanities expansiveness. On humanities freedom of thought.
And that’s why the closure of philosophy would never be enough. The humiliation of philosophy: that’s the aim.
Whence the organisational management move. It’s meant to discipline us. To make us biddable. To make us understandable to the university authorities. To have us all teaching business ethics, or whatever. Because the authorities dislike what they cannot contain. What questions them. What questions authority and the limits of authority.
Sheer grandiosity. They have no idea about philosophy! They don't know what we teach!
That’s just it: they have no idea. And they want an idea. They want us teaching applied ethics. Organisational ethics! Management ethics!
But it’s so absurd! It makes no sense …
Of course it makes no sense. That’s the point …
What about meaning?
Forget meaning!
It’s mockery – in plain view. They’re laughing at us.
It’s self-mockery. The uni’s laughing at itself … At everything a university once was …
Were they laughing as they did it? Did it amuse them? Do they know what they’re doing? Couldn’t they sense the nihilism – even if they’d never heard of the word, nihilism? Or did they do it because of the nihilism – an unconscious nihilism, but nihilism nonetheless. Did they do it because of the absurdity?
Look, it’s the madness of the world showing itself. The madness behind the world. A deluge of madness. A mad flood of insanity. And it’s a sublime madness. It’s genius in some random way. Because who would be crazy enough to move philosophy to organisational management?
The uni can do what it likes: that’s what this says. Anything could happen! The greatest absurdity! This is a shock and awe move. This is a cow-the-humanities move. This is a watch it or you’re next move.
It’s like parking a tank on your front law. They can do whatever they like: that’s what they’re showing. They’re doing it because they can – however mad it is. In fact, they’re doing it because of that madness.
Because they’re above reasons, with their like, omnipotence. Above rationality. It’s a show of power – of utter power. It’s to prove they can do exactly as they please, no matter how mad. They can simply bend reality to their will.
Anyway, don’t look at it too closely. Don’t think about it too much. Ponder the logic of the organisational management move and you’ll go quite mad.
Maybe we should go mad. Maybe that's what it'll take.
Work in Progress 