In books like this, terms like "subject" and "other" take on meanings quite foreign to their day-to-day usage. The word "abject" comes from the Latin roots ab ("away") and jacere ("to throw"), and I'm not bringing that up just to change the subject, but introduction of the abject always changes the subject.Īh, the subject. Psychoanalytic thinkers would likely locate the problem somewhere in that zone where the sexual overlaps with the parental, aka "the ick field." Obviously if I wonder stuff like this there is something wrong with me. When on a roll, I also wonder if the desensitization is permanent: suppose your duties (sorry) change, does the desensitization degrade to extinction over time? Does the matter's repulsive character reassert itself? I also wonder whether this desensitization is dependent upon a clinical context or if it would "adhere" to the material across a spectrum of other hypothetical situations. When on a roll, I also wonder if the desensitization is permanent: suppose your duties (sorry) change, does the desensitization degrade to extin I have often wondered how long it takes to become desensitized to the material you're working with if your job is to analyze or otherwise handle stool samples.
I have often wondered how long it takes to become desensitized to the material you're working with if your job is to analyze or otherwise handle stool samples. Difficult, but at least I stuck at it.more I'm sure this would go down better with the highbrow philosophy student or enthusiast. However, I was at least inquisitive, she got me thinking, even if some of her text did go about putting much strain on my grey matter. By facing the abject face-to-face one tears away the support of these institutions and embarks on the first movement that can truly undermine them.įrom the basic introduction, she delves into a more rigorous definition through different aspects of her subject matter, which in parts became far too complex and challenging for the likes of me. The institutions which wield power in the modern world, which she believes to be oppressive and inhumane, are built upon the notion that man must be protected from the abject. She closes her essay by noting that the usefulness of studying the abject can be found in its immense political and religious influence over the centuries. It is the only lens through which we can see and understand anything. Kristeva believes that the entire world, including one's self, is understood through language. In order to understand why the abject is not an object, one must under the post-modernist theory of language that Kristeva passionately subscribes to. In theory this simply means that Kristeva uses her personal experience, and the expressed experiences of others to get some idea of what the abject really is. She begins though with what she calls a phenomenological investigation of the abject. She later turns to the work of Louis-Ferdinand Celine, and the publication of 'Journey to the End of the Night' as an almost ideal example of the purgative, artistic expression of the abject. Therefore, religion creates a sort of buffer between one's mind and the abject and further represses them. Religion, according to Kristevea, is a natural response to the abject, for if one truly experiences the abject, they are prone to engage in all manners of perverse and anti-social behaviors. In Powers of Horror Kristeva examines the notion of abjection through literature, she traces the role the abject has played in the progression of history, most notably in religion which she spends much time contemplating on. Religion, accordi ***1/2Īs a post-modernist thinker, Bulgarian-French philosopher Julia Kristeva believes that the only way one can relate to or understand the world is through the medium of language, and anything that is completely non-linguistic is literally unintelligible.
***1/2 As a post-modernist thinker, Bulgarian-French philosopher Julia Kristeva believes that the only way one can relate to or understand the world is through the medium of language, and anything that is completely non-linguistic is literally unintelligible.