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This article is about Pharmakon (philosophy). For other However, with reference to the fourth productive sense
uses, see Pharmakon (disambiguation). of pharmakon, Kakoliris argues (in contrast to the rendi-
tion given by Derrida) that the contention between Theuth
Pharmakon, in philosophy and critical theory, is a and the king in Platos Phaedrus is not about whether
the pharmakon of writing is a remedy or a poison, but
composite of three meanings: remedy, poison, and
[1]
scapegoat. The rst and second senses refer to the rather, the less binary question: whether it is productive
of memory or remembrance.[8][fn 1] Indeterminacy and
everyday meaning of pharmacology (and to its sub-
eld, toxicology), deriving from the Greek source term ambiguity are not, on this view, fundamental features of
(phrmakon), denoting any drug, while the the pharmakon, but rather, of Derridas deconstructive
third sense refers to the pharmakos ritual of human sac- reading.
rice. In certain cases it may be appropriate to see a pharmakon
A further sub-sense of pharmakon as remedy which is of as an example of anthropotechnics in Sloterdijks sense
interest to some current authors is given by the Liddell- of the term part a project of treating human nature as
Scott-Jones GreekEnglish Lexicon as a means of pro- an object of deliberate manipulation.[10] This is consis-
ducing something.[2] tent with the way in which Platos "noble lie" is under-
stood by Carl Page namely, as a pharmakon, with the
In recent philosophical work, the term centers on Jacques philosopher in the role of moral physician.[11][12] Relat-
Derridas "Platos Pharmacy",[3] and the notion that edly, pharmakon has been theorised in connection with
writing is a pharmakon. Whereas a straightforward view a broader philosophy of technology, biotechnology, im-
on Platos treatment of writing (in Phaedrus) suggests munology, enhancement, and addiction.[13][14][15][16]
that writing is to be rejected as strictly poisonous to the
ability to think for oneself in dialog with others (i.e. to
anamnesis), Bernard Stiegler argues that the hypomnesic 2 Further illustrative examples
appears as that which constitutes the condition of the
anamnesic[4] in other words, externalised time-bound
communication is necessary for original creative thought, Gregory Bateson points out that an important part of the
in part because it is the primordial support of culture.[5] Alcoholics Anonymous philosophy is to understand that
alcohol plays a curative role for the alcoholic who has
Michael Rinella has written a book-length review of the not yet begun to dry out.[1] This is not simply a matter
pharmakon within a historical context, with an empha- of providing an anesthetic, but a means for the alcoholic
sis on the relationship between pharmakoi in the stan- of escaping from his own insane premises, which are
dard drug sense and the philosophical understanding of continually reinforced by the surrounding society.[17] A
the term.[6] more benign example is the "transitional object" (such as
a teddy bear) that links and attaches child and mother.
Even so, the mother must eventually teach the child to
1 Connections to other philosophi- detach from this object, lest the child become overly de-
pendent upon it.[18] Stiegler claims that the transitional
cal terms object is the origin of works of art and, more generally,
of the life of the mind.[18]:3
Derridas use of the term highlights the connection be-
tween the pharmakon and the philosophical notion of
indeterminacy:
3 Example usage
"[T]ranslational or philosophical eorts to fa-
vor or purge a particular signication of phar- 3.1 In political theory
makon [and to identify it as either cure or
poison"] actually do interpretive violence to Emphasizing the third sense of pharmakon as scapegoat,
what would otherwise remain undecidable.[7] but touching on the other senses, Boucher and Roussel
treat Quebec as a pharmakon in light of the discourse
In light of Derridas usage, the pharmakon may be cited surrounding the Barbara Kay controversy and the Quebec
as an example of a philosophically indeterminate concept. sovereignty movement:
1
2 6 REFERENCES
4 See also
3.3 In media philosophy
Transitional object
It may be necessary to distinguish between pharmacol-
ogy that operates in the multiple senses in which that Addiction
term is understood here, and a further therapeutic re-
sponse to the (eect of) the pharmakon in question. Re-
ferring to the hypothesis that the use of digital technology 5 Note
understood as a pharmakon of attention is correlated
with "Attention Decit Disorder", Stiegler writes as fol- [1] The specic which you have discovered is an aid not
lows: to memory, but to reminiscence, in the Jowett trans-
lation of Phaedrus on Wikisource; "
" in the 1903 Greek
If in fact an appropriate therapeutic re- edition.[9]
sponse to this pharmacology of attention is
conceivable and able to be transindividuated,
then the question would be to what degree can 6 References
and even must these digital relational technolo-
gies also give birth to new attentional forms [1] Pharmakon (pharmacologie), http://arsindustrialis.org/
that pursue in a dierent manner the process of pharmakon
psychic and collective individuation underway
since the beginning of grammatisation; new [2] in the online Liddell-Scott-Jones Greek
forms that make this network society arrive at English Lexicon
a new stage in the individuation of this plural [3] Derrida, Jacques (1981), Platos Pharmacy In: Dissem-
unity of the logos where the attentional forms ination, translated by Barbara Johnson, Chicago, Univer-
we recognise as our culture abound?[5] sity of Chicago Press, pp. 63-171
3
[4] Stiegler, Bernard (2010). What makes life worth living: [21] Zabala, Santiago (2007). Pharmakons of Onto-
On pharmacology. Cambridge, UK: Polity. p. 19. ISBN Theology. In Zabala, Santiago. Weakening Philosophy:
9780745662718. Essays in Honour of Gianni Vattimo. McGill-Queens
University Press. p. 231. ISBN 9780773531437.
[5] Stiegler, Bernard (2012). Relational ecology and the dig-
ital pharmakon,. Culture Machine 13: 119. [22] Vattimo, Gianni (2005). The Age of Interpretation. In
Rorty, Richard; Vattimo, Gianni and Zabala, Santiago.
[6] Rinella, Michael A (2010). Pharmakon: Plato, drug cul- The future of religion,. Columbia University Press. ISBN
ture, and identity in ancient Athens. Lexington Books. 9780231509107.
[7] Stiegler, Bernard (2011). Distrust and the Pharmacol-
ogy of Transformational Technologies. Quantum En-
gagements: 28.
[11] Page, Carl (1991). The Truth about Lies in Platos Re-
public,. Ancient Philosophy 11 (1): 133.
7.2 Images
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