Paul Virilio: Clinical Theory

International audience We characterize Paul Virilio as a «clinical» thinker who diagnoses systemic problems of modernity in accidents and unusual incidents. Virilio's method of clinical theoretical diagnosis is illustrated through an examination of common elements in his writing, including the...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Morrow, Jim, Shields, Rob
Other Authors: University of Alberta
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: HAL CCSD 2019
Subjects:
Virilio
Clinical theoretical diagnosis
war machine
accident
volatilization
colonialism
tourism
Svalbard
Media
Media theory
[SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences
[SHS.INFO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Library and information sciences
Online Access:https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02475826
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02475826/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02475826/file/virilio_clinical_theory_MT_10.pdf
Description
Summary:International audience We characterize Paul Virilio as a «clinical» thinker who diagnoses systemic problems of modernity in accidents and unusual incidents. Virilio's method of clinical theoretical diagnosis is illustrated through an examination of common elements in his writing, including the German 'Atlantic Wall' fortifications of the Second World War, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, consumers' widespread use of household products emitting volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and the global leisure tourism industry. All illustrate an apocalyptic thinking and a legacy of catastrophe that Virilio refers to as an expansive 'war machine' that colonizes all places and flattens difference in the name of normative governance.

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