Work in Progress

Do you remember why God died in Nietzsche? Because he saw the ugliness of the humans he created. It’s in Zarathustra, book four, the part that no one reads.

And it’s the same with European philosophy, which will die when it sees – really sees – UK European philosophy stupidity. When it reads the introductory texts written by UK European philosophers. Badiou will die when he reads the thirty-two introductions to his thought. He will! That’s what Nancy died of: commentary. The forty-four thousand papers on his work.

Of course, we’re worse than the introducers, the contextualisers, the Badiou Reader compilers. Because we have higher ambitions than to explain, which is the disaster. We actually have ambition – how grotesque!

A truly European intellect would see it and then kill himself. Like Nietzsche’s God. But look at us, just living and living and living.

We have no investment in this world.

So what are you invested in? What really matters to you?

Living against it all, that’s what matters.

You take yourselves very seriously, don’t you, philosopher? Are you doing for the rest of us? Are you going to save the world?

We’re going to save ourselves from the world – that’s the thing.

By what – shaking the bars of the world.

Exactly. That’s the only we can do it – by shaking the bars forever.

We’re not philosophers. We remember philosophy – and badly. We have recollections of philosophy. We know some philosophical names. We can bat some philosophical ideas between us. But philosophers … no way.

There’s something wrong with the universe. Something fundamentally wrong. That can’t be made right. That’s what we should know. That’s what we should learn.

None of this is to be … trusted. We don’t belong here. We’re not of this. We’re not natural.

There’s something Wrong with us. Unlike the … animals. And, God knows, the plants. And Nature, capital N. Which belongs here.

So how can things be made right? What about philosophy? What’s philosophy’s supposed to be about?

Philosophy’s the exacerbation. It’s the deepening of the contradiction. It’s about driving the polarities still wider. The opposites that cannot be reconciled.

Philosophy is where the tension comes to its maximum. Philosophy is where the dissatisfaction is. And sustains itself. And increases itself. And ratchets itself up.

Something vast should happen. Some Cosmological event. Greater than anything we could imagine. A catastrophe. That would match up to our deepest desires. What we really Want. What we really Long For. An End. So we could just give up doing … whatever it is we do.

No more. No More of this. An end to it all. A full stop – wouldn’t you like that? Wouldn’t that simplify things?

Things just go on, instead. Things go on and just become more and more complicated. And twisted. And gnarled. And buckled. Things get old, and as they get old, they become insoluble …

We can’t be saved anymore, that’s what I think. We’re too old to be saved, and for everything to be solved. We’re too old for salvation. That’s for children. That’s for postgraduates. In our case … we’re as corrupted at the world. As ugly. And we can’t be saved.

All that’s going to happen: new twists in our wretchedness. New episodes of self-torture. New sinkings. New descents. New collapses …

We’re … disengaged. We’re hollowed out. It’s like we’ve been inhabited by … monsters. By demons. By Nephilim.

Aren’t we dead? Aren’t we already dead? Isn’t everything we say just hollowed out in advance. Haven’t we been gutted like fish?

We’re the new kind of human being, without souls. We’re humanoids without conscience. God doesn’t live inside us. Nothing does.

Remember, this is all part of Livia’s design. All of it. She anticipated it all.

This meeting?

Of course.

Us lying on the floor?

Undoubtedly.

Fiver falling asleep – our departmental administrator?

Livia wanted this.

Did she foresee the purple walls?

Probably.

How come no one knows about poison and lies except you? You guys in philosophy?

The poison and lies are pretty much transcendental at this stage. Either you feel them or you don’t.

Is it terribly hard being so Gnostic all the time?

Do Gnostics have special powers? What can you do with them? Is there some Marvel superhero: Captain Gnostic?

Gazelle thinks she’s better than us.

Because she’s actually better than us.

Just because Gazelle went to a fancy uni.

Bolton Institute is hardly a fancy uni.

It’s better than Uni of Bangor. Hastings College.