More definitions, whee!

I just finished up part four of chapter one (decided to take the rest of June off from schoolwork). Here are some thoughts and attempts to work through them.

My current guess on neurosis: D&G say that Oedipus is the result of repression of production (p. 24)...this can also be seen in the discussion of the neurotic (p. 35), whose purpose is to reduce residual territoralities (body without organs-?, p. 33) to Oedipus...so the problem here is that the neurotic tries to repress the body without organs instead of production (which would be by desiring-machines?)...this then links with capitalism, I think, in that we can see capitalism as another attempt to treat a body without organs (money) as a desiring-machine...so, then, the problem of the neurotic would be parallel with the workings of capitalism.

Next, my current guess on schizophrenia: D&G note that schizophrenia deterritorializes and seeks the limit of capitalism ("desiring-production as the limit of social production," p. 35)...however, it is both produced and repressed by capitalism (p. 34) as a result of capitalism's disconnection from the socius and the resulting inability to codify the socius, where production actually takes place (p. 33)...schizophrenia, then, is a balance for the improper territoralizing done by capitalism...so can we see schizophrenia as a product of the double-bind* of capitalism?

Anyway, just my thoughts for now. Hopefully they'll be helpful or will spark some responses so that Josh doesn't die of blog atrophy. :D


* This is Gregory Bateson's suggestion for the genesis of schizophrenia -- the parents (usually the mother, of course) say one thing while communicating the other. This totally confuses the kid and the result is a person who cannot distinguish what is reality from what is not. I'm not using the term here as an individual genesis for schizophrenia, since D&G would probably say it has something to do with society moreso than parenting. I think they'd also say that the schizophrenic sees reality more clearly rather than is stuck between reality and non-reality.

bemoaning the deadness...

...of the blog

interesting post by David Byrne

I've been taunted in the past for this, but my home page is David Byrne's journal/blog. It makes good reading over breakfast and crusty, sleepy eyes. His post "Maquinas y Almas" on 25 June is interesting and relevant to some of the things we've talked about. He avoids waxing tooo philosophical...

here is the link

http://journal.davidbyrne.com/