Author: Thomas Nail
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Lucretius and the immanence of motion
Lucretius was the first philosopher of immanence. It is he and not Democritus or Epicurus who holds this title. If we want to understand the historical emergence of the concept of immanence, we should start by distinguishing its precursors in Greek atomism from its first complete incarnation in Lucretius. This way, we can see exactly…
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Listen to Being and Motion now on Audible
Listen here. Read here. Buy here. More than at any other time in human history, we live in an age defined by movement and mobility; yet, we lack a unifying theory which takes this seriously as a starting point for philosophy. The history of philosophy has systematically explained movement as derived from something else that does not…
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Lucretius’ Material Ecology
MATERIAL ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFECT Lucretius’ theory of simulacra means that there are no discrete subjects and objects—only affective ecologies. The whole environment is not just something to be passively “considered” but something that plays an active role in constituting and entire atmosphere or situation. To illustrate this, Lucretius describes the beautiful way in which…
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Lucretius II: An Ethics of Motion (Pre-order 30% off) and Lucretius I: An Ontology of Motion $6.50
Lucretius II: An Ethics of Motion is now available for pre-order and 30% off during February and March. Edinburgh University Press: discount coupon code: NEW30 Oxford University Press: discount coupon code: ADISTA5 Lucretius I: An Ontology of Motion digital book (epub/pdf) is also now available for $6.50 at Edinburgh here for the month of February.…
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CALL FOR PROPOSALS: THE UNDERCOMMONS AND DESTITUENT POWER
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: THE UNDERCOMMONS AND DESTITUENT POWER March 26-28th, 2020, Indiana University in Bloomington. Organizers: Micol Seigel, Bella Bravo, Kieran Aarons, Mia Beach, Ross Gay, Rosie Stockton, J. Cameron Karter Confirmed Speakers: Fred Moten, Frederic Neyrat, Laura Harris, Mikkel Bolt-Rasmussen, Adam Kotsko, Dylan Rodriquez, Mauvaise Troupe Collective, Jaime Alves, Daniel Nemser, Jackie Wang Deadline for…
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“Understanding the Philosophy of Movement” An Interview with Thomas Nail
Kinetic Revolution: Understanding the Transversal Reality of the “Philosophy of Movement” Dario Giovanni Ali interviews Thomas Nail, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Denver on his theory of “kinopolitics.” Translated into Italian and published in Visitors, K-Pocket Guide (Italy, Kabul Press, 2020), 52-61. Download here in English and Italian. Dario: In…
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The Climate-Migration-Industrial Complex
I just published a short piece at the New School’s Public Seminar magazine on migration and climate change. A further development of the idea that climate migration is a form of primitive accumulation. Read online here, download here. Thirty years ago there were fifteen border walls around the world. Now there are seventy walls and…
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Favorite Writing Music of 2019
These were my favorite albums to write to that came out in 2019. When I write I listen to only instrumental music and find that it helps me focus. I hope they help you too. Happy New New Year! 1) William Ryan Fritch, Deceptive Cadence: Music for Film, Vol 1 and II 2) Oliver…
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What is Generative Art?
Art by Gwendal Tsang We live in the age of the digital image not only because of its powerful hybridity and power to order material reality but also because of its powerful pedesis, interactivity, and power to disorder reality—to create new kinesthetic processes. The beauty of contemporary generative art lies not in its “random” number…
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Sigurds Vīdzirkste: A Little-Known Contributor to Cybernetics in New York
While I was giving a talk in New York the other week I had the chance to see a preview of this incredible exhibit on Latvian migrant exile artists working in New York in the 1960s (thanks to Andra Silapetere). I was really struck by the mysterious work of one artists in particular: Sigurds Vīdzirkste.…
The Philosophy of Movement 