Reviews for The aesthetics of the mind, after Mallarmé

The average rating for The aesthetics of the mind, after Mallarmé based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-09-12 00:00:00 Rick Elton It's been several years since I read this book and it made such a strong impact on me that I can remember where I was and what the temperature was like when I read it (and the book is about these sorts of placements in time). I remember being on the train reading it when someone told me that Michael Jackson had died. The best way I can reflect on the way Virilio dissects time is to take the example of dropping a coffee cup (this is a broad paraphrase): when we drop a cup, we may take this as an accident or exception, but what we should really find exceptional is this illusion of continuity that we generally take for granted. It's odd actually that we're ever able to string all these moments together and *not* drop the cup. Virilio's analysis of Howard Hughes, of the perception of time that can take shape in aviation and constant film-viewing, is one of the most sympathetic portraits of obsession I have ever read. It calls our definitions of madness into question by illuminating the complexity of the structures that we have to keep in place to agree that we're sane. Beautifully written. Early in the text - Some issues with gender in Virilio's explanation of picnolepsy need to be read through to the end of the chapter and taken in context.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-06-28 00:00:00 Kiko Paris A perfect example of how to abuse scientific terminology to the point of absurdity in a really dull and meandering manner. I think we should just collectively end cultural theory. It had a good run.