Words

Summary

Dominique Pagani approaches words from the angle of what they do to those who use them. He argues that changing someone's vocabulary changes that person's profile. He holds that words have never been so loaded, and that the far right thrives on this vagueness1. For him, perversion lies in the words themselves, and exposing it is a form of resistance open to everyone2. In 2016, in the session devoted to Helen Keller, he takes up the idea in another form: the ills of the city are expressed in the words of the city, and the sickness shows itself as a symptom in language. He gives examples. "Laxity" and "failure" presuppose that the goal being pursued was the right one. Even the most innocent words are traps: saying that the tool "extends" the organ hides the fact that the tool counteracts it. From one session to the next, examining vocabulary serves him both as diagnosis and as resistance.

1. 1#5 Libertarian liberalism, libidinal consumption and music…27 Sept 2014 · 30:21
2. 2#5 Libertarian liberalism, libidinal consumption and music…27 Sept 2014 · 33:02

Summary produced automatically from 5 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.