‘Snakes and Ladders’ – ‘Therapy’ as Liberation in Nagarjuna and Wittgenstein’s Tractatus

This paper reconsiders the notion that Nagarjuna and Wittgenstein’s Tractatus may only be seen as comparable under a shared ineffability thesis, that is, the idea that reality is impossible to describe in sensible discourse. Historically, Nagarjuna and the early Wittgenstein have both been widely construed as offering either metaphysical theories or attempts to refute all such theories. Instead, by employing an interpretive framework based on a ‘resolute’ reading of the Tractatus, I suggest we see their philosophical affinity in terms of a shared conception of philosophical method without proposing theses. In doing so, this offers us a new way to understand Nagarjuna’s characteristic claims both to have ‘no views’ (Mūlamadhyamakakārikā 13.8 and 27.30) and refusal to accept that things exist ‘inherently’ or with ‘essence’ (svabhāva). Therefore, instead of either a view about the nature of a mind-independent ‘ultimate reality’ or a thesis concerning the rejection of such a domain, I propose that we understand Nagarjuna’s primary aim as ‘therapeutic’, that is, concerned with the dissolution of philosophical problems. However, this ‘therapy’ should neither be confined to the psychotherapeutic metaphor nor should it be taken to imply a private enlightenment only available to philosophers. Instead, for Nagarjuna and Wittgenstein, philosophical problems are cast as a source of disquiet for all of us; what their work offers is a soteriology, a means towards our salvation

Art in the Age of Siege

B1 - Research Book Chapter

As exposições internacionais de arte brasileira: discursos, práticas e interesses em jogo International exhibitions of Brazilian art: speechs, practices and interests involved

Nos anos 90, a presença da arte brasileira tornou-se cada vez mais freqüente na cena artística internacional. Curadores e demais agentes internacionais vêm adotando um discurso politicamente correto, segundo o qual as fronteiras entre centro e periferia, que sempre organizaram o campo artístico internacional, teriam desaparecido, permitindo assim a valorização da arte de países periféricos pelas instituições mais prestigiosas dos países centrais. Contudo, a maior parte dos diferentes eventos em torno da arte brasileira servem muito pouco à democratização do campo artístico ou à difusão da cultura brasileira no plano internacional. De fato, eles refletem a globalização em seus efeitos perversos, servindo para aumentar o prestígio e o poder econômico de algumas poucas instituições e indivíduos, limitando a cultura brasileira à reprodução de seus estereótipos. Neste artigo, para demonstrar essa idéa, analisam-se em detalhe quatro exposições de arte brasileira organizadas na exterior: Brazil Body and Soul (Museu Guggenheim, Nova Yorque), Hélio Oiticica Quasi-Cinemas (New Museum, Nova Yorque), Un art populaire (Fundação Cartier, Paris), Tunga/Mira Schendel (Galeria Nacional Jeu de Paume, Paris).<br>During the 1990's, the presence of Brazilian Art became more and more visible in the international art scene. Curators and other international agents adopted a kind of "politically-correct" discourse according to which borders between center and periphery - that always organized the international artistic field - would disappear, thus allowing peripheral art to enter the most prestigious institutions of central countries. Nevertheless, most of the exhibitions, including Brazilian art, do not correspond to a democratization of the international artistic field and do not help to promote Brazilian art internationally. In fact, they reflect the perverse consequences of globalization, serving to raise the prestige and the economic power of a few institutions and individuals and to reduce Brazilian culture to stereotypes. In order to illustrate this idea we will analyze the following exhibitions in this paper: Brazil Body and Soul (Guggenheim Museum, New York), Hélio Oiticica Quasi-Cinemas (New Museum, New York), Un art populaire (Cartier Foundation/Paris), Tunga and Mira Schendel (Galerie National du Jeu de Paume, Paris)