Forgetting To Forget: On Rosi Braidotti’s Affirmative Critique

Abstract

In this article we exemplify Braidotti’s critical theory by drawing out her conceptual figuration, ‘forgetting to forget’, a formulation with no fixed or certain meaning that appears differently at different points in her work. A changeable component functioning enigmatically within Braidotti’s complex oeuvre, the phrase may appear obscure. Yet, given Braidotti’s demand to free critical thinking from its dialectical scheme of thought, and the notion of relational ontology on which her thought is grounded, this conceptual figuration may function as a methodological key that opens up a more accurate understanding of the critical subject in the present times. Alongside the transformational force that this conceptual figuration bears, we suggest reading it also as a key to critical evaluation of Braidotti’s own configuration of the critical practice. We will argue that working with this conceptual figuration brings great clarity to the methods that Braidotti demonstrates and elaborates on throughout her work