Paul Virilio: Speed and Politics (1977/2006)

“Speed and Politics is the matrix of Virilio’s entire work. Building on the works of Morand, Marinetti, and McLuhan, Virilio presents a vision more radically political than that of any of his French contemporaries: speed as the engine of destruction. It presents a topological account of the entire history of humanity, honing in on the technological advances made possible through the militarization of society. Parallel to Heidegger’s vision of technology, Virilio sees speed—not class or wealth—as the primary force shaping civilization. In this ‘technical vitalism,’ multiple projectile—inert fortresses and bunkers, the ‘metabolic bodies’ of soldiers, transport vessels, and now information and computer technology—mutually prosthetize each other in a permanent assault on the world and, through it, on human nature. Written at a lightning-fast pace, Virilio’s landmark book is an split-second, overwhelming look at how humanity’s motivity has shaped the way we function today, as well as a view into what might come of it.”

Keywords and phrases
glacis, total war, Vauban, Gyrovagues, deterritorialization, bourgeoisie, fascist, Clausewitz, dromocratic, Michel Poniatowski, Paris Commune, totalitarian, prosthesis, Alfred Wegener, ancien regime, Marxist, logistical, Sun Tzu, war machine

Originally published as Vitesse et Politique, Editions Galilee, Paris, 1977.

Translated by Mark Polizzotti
Introduction by Benjamin Bratton
Publisher Semiotext(e), 2006
ISBN 1584350407, 9781584350408
174 pages

Publisher

PDF (4 MB, updated on 2017-6-26)

Bruno Latour: We Have Never Been Modern (1991–) [EN, PT, RU, ES, CN]

With the rise of science, we moderns believe, the world changed irrevocably, separating us forever from our primitive, premodern ancestors. But if we were to let go of this fond conviction, Bruno Latour asks, what would the world look like? His book, an anthropology of science, shows us how much of modernity is actually a matter of faith.

What does it mean to be modern? What difference does the scientific method make? The difference, Latour explains, is in our careful distinctions between nature and society, between human and thing, distinctions that our benighted ancestors, in their world of alchemy, astrology, and phrenology, never made. But alongside this purifying practice that defines modernity, there exists another seemingly contrary one: the construction of systems that mix politics, science, technology, and nature. The ozone debate is such a hybrid, in Latour’s analysis, as are global warming, deforestation, even the idea of black holes. As these hybrids proliferate, the prospect of keeping nature and culture in their separate mental chambers becomes overwhelming–and rather than try, Latour suggests, we should rethink our distinctions, rethink the definition and constitution of modernity itself. His book offers a new explanation of science that finally recognizes the connections between nature and culture–and so, between our culture and others, past and present.

Nothing short of a reworking of our mental landscape. We Have Never Been Modern blurs the boundaries among science, the humanities, and the social sciences to enhance understanding on all sides. A summation of the work of one of the most influential and provocative interpreters of science, it aims at saving what is good and valuable in modernity and replacing the rest with a broader, fairer, and finer sense of possibility.

Originally published as Nous n’avons jamais été modernes. Essai d’anthropologie symétrique, La Découverte, 1991
Translated by Catherine Porter
Publisher Harvard University Press, 1993
ISBN 0674948386, 9780674948389
157 pages

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We Have Never Been Modern (English, trans. Catherine Porter, 1993, updated on 2012-7-17)
Jamais fomos modernos. Ensaio de antropologia simétrica (Portuguese, trans. Carlos Irineu da Costa, 1994, added on 2013-9-13)
Нового Времени не было. Эссе по симметричной антропологии (Russian, trans. Д. Я. Калугина, 2006, added on 2013-9-13)
Nunca fuimos modernos. Ensayo de antropología simétrica (Spanish, trans. Víctor Goldstein, 2007, added on 2013-9-13)
我们从未现代过. 对称性人类学论集 (Chinese, trans. 刘鹏 and 安涅思, 2011, added on 2013-9-13)

See also Latour’s Inquiry into Modes of Existence: An Anthropology of the Moderns (2012/2013)