Philosophy and Catastrophe: Accelerationism - AFSV00412

• Title: Philosophy and Catastrophe: Accelerationism
• Guaranteed by: Institute of Philosophy and Religious Studies (21-UFAR)
• Faculty: Faculty of Arts
• Actual: from 2023 to 2023
• Semester: winter
• Points: 0
• E-Credits: 5
• Examination process: winter s.:
• Hours per week, examination: winter s.:2/0, Ex [HT]
• Capacity: unlimited / unknown (unknown)
• Min. number of students: unlimited
• 4EU+: no
• Virtual mobility / capacity: no
• State of the course: taught
• Language: English
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Note: course can be enrolled in outside the study plan; enabled for web enrollment
• Guarantor: Mgr. Marek Kettner
• Teacher(s): Mgr. Marek Kettner
• Class: Exchange - 08.1 Philosophy; Exchange - 08.9 Others-Humanities

Annotation

Last update: Mgr. Marek Kettner (16.08.2023)

Given the historical events of the last decades and especially the last few years, the concept of catastrophe has made its way back into intellectual and philosophic discourse. One of the most influential philosophic approaches to the reality of the 21st century that is based on the concept of catastrophe is Nick Land’s accelerationism. Influenced by Deleuze’s and Guattari’s critique of capitalism, Land analyzes modern society as an entity that follows irrational impulses and tends towards self-annihilation. Land’s idea of historical acceleration posits catastrophe as the end term of the development of capitalist social formations. Since the catastrophe is inevitable, according to Land, the key is not to evade it but to accelerate its arrival. However, Land presents his conceptions in an unsystematic manner and works with philosophical sources and references freely, hence a critical approach to his writings is necessary. The course will expound on the key aspects of Land’s conception of catastrophe and an emphasis will be put on a critical assessment of his interpretations of traditional philosophers such as Kant. In addition, connections will be sought between Land’s ideas and those of his colleagues and students such as Mark Fisher and Sadie Plant. The course should result in a critical overview of Land’s philosophical production, as far as his conception of catastrophe goes.

Aim of the course

Last update: Mgr. Marek Kettner (16.08.2023)

The students will be able to grasp some of the key ideas of the philosopher Nick Land who continues the tradition of philosophical critique of enlightenment and tries to present a new mode of philosophizing that is based on the idea of historical acceleration. We will expound Land’s core idea that the volume of changes in historical time is growing in an accelerating fashion and that this process is inevitably directed towards a catastrophe. Land’s students’ and co-workers’ ideas – such as those of Mark Fisher and Sadie Plant – will be also presented to the students in a critical fashion. The course will show in which ways the concept of catastrophe can be conceptualized in contemporary philosophy.

Course completion requirements

Last update: Mgr. Marek Kettner (16.08.2023)

Evaluation: The evaluation will be given based upon two criteria:

1) Active participation in the seminar

2) Final oral exam or written essay, concentrating on chosen topics discussed in advance with the teacher

Literature

Last update: Mgr. Marek Kettner (16.08.2023)

Nick Land, Fanged Noumena: Collected Writings 1987-2007, Urbanomic 2011.

Nick Land, A Quick-and-dirty Introduction to Accelerationism, Jacobite 27 May 2017.

Mark Fisher, Capitalist Realism: is there no Alternative?, Zero Books 2009.

Sadie Plant, Zeroes + Ones: Digital Women + The New Technoculture, Doubleday 1997.

Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari, Anti Oedipus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia, London and New York 2004.

Theodor W. Adorno, Progress, in: idem, Critical Models, New York 2005.

Jean-Pierre Dupuy, A Short Treatise on the Metaphysics of Tsunami, Michigan State University Press 2015.

Per Sandin, Conceptualization of Disasters in Philosophy, in: Disasters: Core Concepts and Ethical Theories, Springer 2018.

David J. Rosner (ed.), Catastrophe and Philosophy, Rowman & Littlefield 2018.