LOIS PALFRAMAN

19.12.25

Correlationism

 

Badiou (Being and Event) explains the junction of philosophy and politics:there is representation and presentation. Representation of what is sedimented presentation, and new presentations-these are illegal-against the state of law of repeated representations of historical presentations. Examples of illegal presentations include Heidegger’s neologisms and crossings out. It depends on how sedimented in space and time the representations are eg. ‘god’. To deconstruct the word g-od (od=one) and say a new word is very illegal. Also eg Mary Daly and Gyn-Ecology.

Slightly illegal is to refuse the current waves of vaccinations rolled out by the pharmaceutical industries. To pursue one’s own health via one’s own mind is very illegal. As famously described by Foucault the body is known from corpses. To know it personally and take measures to ensure healthy mind and body is illegal and correlationist.

Also from Badiou the understanding that ‘the one’ in theology has the same axiom as maths. This is also true for Islam/Arabic/language/religion/politics/state. Both languages correlate one/1 numerically with the one god/allah(the-singular).

But aside of this is the philosophical/logical possibility/axiom of complexity=infinity- outside the numerical system. The numerical system allows for measuring (Euclid’s geometrical drawings could have been seen otherwise)- for science, technology, economics. These numerical axioms supporting religion, science, and economics are ethically catastrophic it seems.

The ’grey’ (Sloterdijk 2025) the infinite complexity of possibilities is where mind body correlationism can happen. In ‘you must change your life’(2009) Sloterdijk reviews a history of mind-body practices that begin from individual correlationist practices but developed into rigid religious orders- including yoga, christian, ancient greek, athletic. (note 1) He spent some time connected to Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh Ashram in Puna India, retreat centre. ‘In his search for the convincing he withdrew from the intellectual scene, and took guidance from the eastern world.’ ‘In meditation discovering that humans are not condemned to continuity.’ ‘From the spiritual exercises he developed his own world of thought beyond convention.’ (1978-80). Then returning to an academia influenced by the Frankfurt School. (This information is from his conversation with journalist Quentin Lafay ARTE 2025-a video).

At the close of ‘You must change your life’ he uses the idea of banality (Arendt’s famous prescription of the as yet worst humanitarian disaster, though arguably now being repeated by its victims). Outside of religious values, the unethical is banal. Correlationism is the opposite of banal, being infinitely complex.

‘House of Day House of Night’ the section ‘My Mansion’ is I think a description of correlationism, by Olga Tokarczuk.

Performatism, postmodern can be a correlationist practice, because unlike postmodernism it is authorial, personal and unlike modernism shown clearly to be such.

Note 1. Prasna Upanishad (translated Robert Ernest Hume):- ‘Meditating on ‘Om’…beholds the Person that dwells in the body and that is higher than the highest living complex.’