What does it mean to be literate?

Following our presentation of the »Labyrinth of Signs,« parts I
and II, we now provide a deeply reflective yet light-hearted
post-mortem discussion between us to help you understand what it
means to be literate. Martin’s concept of Psychotope becomes more
understandable as our conversation progresses; it becomes clear
how essential the Alphabet is in enabling us to be literate in
our thinking, writing, and discourses, revealing that we are
essentially working with an outsourced, historical unconscious in
how it shapes us through its use. This is evident from the fact
that the origin of Symbolic Logic remains a gaping blank space in
Philosophy—even more so: it’s hidden within the conspicuousness
of its absence. Something I’ve come to know as the Burckhardtian
leitmotif of »The Philosopher’s Shame.«


It’s also no coincidence that »Geist der Maschine« features a
chapter on how Sigmund Freud developed his concept of the
unconscious, which we’ve also translated into English and will be
posting soon. For now, it suffices to say that this chapter
explains how and why Freud excluded the 19th century’s material
culture (meaning its Logic of an Electrified/Telegraphic
Society), which fulfilled his metaphysical needs, while
simultaneously introducing something like a black box unconscious
of the Unconscious into the World as its Psychotope.


Hopkins Stanley


Related Content


Get full access to Ex nihilo - Martin Burckhardt at
martinburckhardt.substack.com/subscribe