Ashley Woodward
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780748697243
- eISBN:
- 9781474418669
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748697243.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This chapter explores the theme of general economy which is evident in many of Lyotard’s diverse writings, and relates it to wider contexts – such as ecology and organology –in which it is operative. ...
More
This chapter explores the theme of general economy which is evident in many of Lyotard’s diverse writings, and relates it to wider contexts – such as ecology and organology –in which it is operative. Economic terms inspired by Freud’s libidinal economy and related philosophical notions have been influential in economics, environmental ecology, and Systems Theory. Lyotard proposed a Nietzschean reading of the Freudian drives which defies convention by placing a positive value on the disharmonious, deregulating function. In various essays he examined ecology, economy, and Systems Theory explicitly, revaluing the way economic terms are typically understood. The chapter charts the links between these themes in Lyotard’s thought, and develops them especially for a critical comparison with Bernard Stiegler’s philosophy of ‘general organology.’Less
This chapter explores the theme of general economy which is evident in many of Lyotard’s diverse writings, and relates it to wider contexts – such as ecology and organology –in which it is operative. Economic terms inspired by Freud’s libidinal economy and related philosophical notions have been influential in economics, environmental ecology, and Systems Theory. Lyotard proposed a Nietzschean reading of the Freudian drives which defies convention by placing a positive value on the disharmonious, deregulating function. In various essays he examined ecology, economy, and Systems Theory explicitly, revaluing the way economic terms are typically understood. The chapter charts the links between these themes in Lyotard’s thought, and develops them especially for a critical comparison with Bernard Stiegler’s philosophy of ‘general organology.’
