WHERE do the words “Speculative” and “Realism” come from? WHY is “Correlationism” a problem for philosophy? //and// HOW might we overcome  philosophy’s non-relation to the non-philosophical?

A decade since the publication of Quentin Meillassoux’s After Finitude, discussions surrounding the so-called “speculative realist” movement have become myopic. Obsessed with idiosyncratic divisions and disputes, these discussions overwhelmingly represent misguided attempts to dictate WHAT speculative realism is.

In this episode, >ect attempts to approach things differently. Taking a cue from Deleuze and Guattari, we ask: To what problems do these philosophies respond? Instead of asking WHAT, we ask, WHY is Speculative Realism?

Music:

‘Concret PH’ by Iannis Xenakis, Electronic Music (2000)
‘Biogenesis’ by Eliane Radigue (1996)

Artwork:

Field 8 Detail 6  © Emma McNally

Readings:

Quentin Meillassoux “Metaphysics, Fideism, Speculation” (Chapter 2 of After Finitude)

Ray Brassier “Materialism, Science, and Phenomenology” (Introduction to Alien Theory)

Armen Avanessian and Suhail Malik “Genealogies of Speculation (Introduction)”