2012
Unless indicated otherwise all activities take place in:
Jan van Eyck Academie
Academieplein 1
6211 KM Maastricht
The Netherlands
CLiC
Jan van Eyck Circle for Lacanian Ideology Critique
Unless indicated otherwise all activities take place in:
Jan van Eyck Academie
Academieplein 1
6211 KM Maastricht
The Netherlands
It is clear what provoked Lacan's interest in Pascal's wager: the stake one puts on the table is one's own life, and this life is lost as soon as one enters the wager – and one has always already done this, vous êtes embarqués. (cf. the whole discussion of ‘le problème des partis', which for Pascal can only be solved if one considers the stake as lost) Pascal's ‘life' is the Lacanian object a, that life that is given up in order to become a subject of a non-existent Other. Which reminds one of a Christian tradition of pure love, according to which my life is already lost – corrupted and sinful – and instead of blaming God for this rather saddening condition, I lose myself in this objectal position, trying to get rid of any remainder of self-love. Then I am capable of pure love, sacrificing myself for the love of God, not expecting any form of reward (that is to get saved by the unpredictable grace of God). This is rather perverse, but nonetheless an accurate description of our current ideology: the market owes you nothing. You may be temporarily useful as an employee, salesman, or artist, but that does not change what you are: a superfluous, useless, shrieking body sick with vanity. Between the despair provoked by an Other that is always ready to get rid of you, and the unconditional love one is invited to feel for this Other, there are you, waste.
Auditorium
2-4pm