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? we wonder. Have they explained themselves?
They don’t have to explain themselves, Hans says. They just act.
But it’s so absurd! It makes no sense …, Ava says.
Of course it makes no sense, Hans says. That’s the point …
It’s mockery – in plain view, Magellan says. They’re laughing at us.
It’s self-mockery, I say. The uni’s laughing at itself … At everything a university once was …
But do they really know what they’re doing? Magellan asks. Can’t they sense the nihilism – even if they’d never heard of the word, nihilism?
They probably did it because of the nihilism – an unconscious nihilism, but nihilism nonetheless, I say.
This never would have happened in the old days, Ava says.
In the old days, we’d never have got jobs, I say. Not at this kind of uni.
Look, It’s just some random thing, Magellan says. Some stupidity. Some manager or another wanted to make their stamp on the uni. Some idiot …
… They’re all idiots …, Hans says.
… Had some interdisciplinary initiative, or something, Magellan says. Wanted to shake things up … in the name of dynamic juxtaposition, or something …
What about Organisational Management? Ava asks. What’s in it for them?
Our student numbers, maybe, I say.
Laughter.
Our international reputation, Hans says.
Laughter.
Our general sanity and well-adjustedness, Magellan says.
More laughter.
Discussion.
Why couldn’t they just have left us alone? Ava asks. Why couldn’t we be allowed to go on as we were, like, unharassed? Why should we have to be destroyed and remade? It’s cruel … it’s needless.
Come on – you think this is arbitrary? Hans says. 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 …
It’s because they sense something about philosophy, we agree. 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.
It’s a matter of unconscious revenge on philosophy, we agree. 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, we agree. The humiliation of philosophy: that’s the aim.
This is a shock and awe move, Magellan says. This is a cow-the-humanities move. This is a watch it or you’re next move.
It’s a show of power – of utter power, I say. It’s like parking a tank on your front law. It’s to prove they can do exactly as they please, no matter how mad. They can simply bend reality to their will.
The uni can do what it likes: that’s what this says, Hans says. Anything could happen! The greatest absurdity! Who would be crazy enough to move philosophy to organisational management? The uni would! Because the uni can!
The madness of the world is showing itself, Magellan says. The madness behind the world. A deluge of madness! A mad flood of insanity! It’s quite sublime in its way …
Don’t examine it too closely, I say. 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, Hans says. Maybe that's what it'll take.
But it has to be our madness, not theirs – not the madness they want to drive us to. Not the madness of humiliation, but … but our cultivate-your-own-legitimate-madness madness, like Réné Char said. Which is to say, the madness of philosophy – real philosophy.
Cicero would approve, we agree.
Work in Progress 