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In this episode of War Machine, Matt Baker and Preston Price conclude their conversation with author, teacher, activist, neo-shamanic practitioner, psychonaut, and academic rogue Joshua Ramey about misapprehensions about Deleuze, finance power, sovereignty, economy, and the divination of politics. Joshua studies political economy and anti-capitalist political theory. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Villanova University (2006) and is currently Visiting Assistant Professor in the Interdisciplinary Concentration in Peace, Justice, and Human Rights at Haverford College. He is the author of The Hermetic Deleuze: Philosophy and Spiritual Ordeal and Politics of Divination: Neoliberal Endgame and the Religion of Contingency. Contact Joshua on his website: http://www.becoming-fluid.com Check out his Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AJoshua+Ramey&s=relevancerank&text=Joshua+Ramey&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1 Here are some of his blogs. They're worth a look: https://itself.blog/author/theextravagantbastard/ And the defunct blog Absolute Economics mentioned in the show: https://absoluteeconomics.wordpress.com/author/theextravagantbastard/ Finally, here is where you can find his current work with Incite seminars: https://inciteseminars.com/production-or-enslavement/ Theme music "Prey" provided by Niky Nine. nikynine.bandcamp.com/
In this first of a two part episode, Matt Baker and Preston Price speak with author, teacher, activist, neo-shamanic practitioner, psychonaut, and academic rogue Joshua Ramey about the Hermetic Deleuze, shamanic practice, medicine, and psychedelics. Joshua studies political economy and anti-capitalist political theory. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Villanova University (2006) and is currently Visiting Assistant Professor in the Interdisciplinary Concentration in Peace, Justice, and Human Rights at Haverford College. He is the author of The Hermetic Deleuze: Philosophy and Spiritual Ordeal and Politics of Divination: Neoliberal Endgame and the Religion of Contingency. Contact Joshua on his website: http://www.becoming-fluid.com Check out his Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AJoshua+Ramey&s=relevancerank&text=Joshua+Ramey&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1 Here are some of his blogs. They're worth a look: https://itself.blog/author/theextravagantbastard/ And the defunct blog Absolute Economics mentioned in the show: https://absoluteeconomics.wordpress.com/author/theextravagantbastard/ Finally, here is where you can find his current work with Incite seminars: https://inciteseminars.com/production-or-enslavement/ Theme music "Prey" provided by Niky Nine. nikynine.bandcamp.com/
Date: Saturday, January 19, 9am-1pm Cost: Pay what you can: Suggested amount: $90 Facilitator: Joshua Ramey is a writer, teacher, and activist who studies political economy and anti-capitalist political theory. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Villanova University (2006) and is currently Visiting Assistant Professor in the Interdisciplinary Concentration in Peace, Justice, and Human Rights at Haverford College. He is the author of The Hermetic Deleuze: Philosophy and Spiritual Ordeal and Politics of Divination: Neoliberal Endgame and the Religion of Contingency. What is money? Money functions as a unit of account, a medium of exchange, and a store of value, but this is what money does, not what money is. There is a very deep paradox at the heart of money, because money is not itself, but what it represents. Money is the representation of social agreements—agreements about who is obliged to whom, about what is more or less valuable, about what can be changed or altered in the past and the future, and about what must stay the same over time. Far from being a simple thing, money is metaphysical: social, political, abstract, and weird. Although economists tend to think of money only as a “veil” that covers the true reality of exchange relationships, money actually has the power to control which exchanges and which economic activity take place, at all, because money is essentially a form of credit, an expression of approval and judgment of affirmation by some human beings in favor of the activities of others. However, most of us (and most economists) are either confused about or in denial of the fact that money is not a commodity, but a form of credit that is issued into existence almost entirely by private bank loans. And new money is created not on the basis of pre-existing savings or assets, but on the basis of demand for credit and willingness of bankers to supply it. This means that the private banking system has enormous power over not just their own investments, but over the amount and kind of credit available to the entire economy, whose priorities are wildly different from that of the speculative classes. This seminar will introduce the history of money and the formation of the modern monetary system based on private financing. It will then look at the contemporary politics of debt, austerity, and class warfare in order to explore possibilities for concrete struggle against the class power of bankers and megafinance. https://inciteseminars.com/money-and-metaphysics/ Links O'Connell Coaching: oconnellcoaching.com Post-Traditional Buddhism: posttraditionalbuddhism.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/imperfectbuddha Twitter: twitter.com/Imperfectbuddha
Date: Saturday, January 19, 9am-1pm Cost: Pay what you can: Suggested amount: $90 Facilitator: Joshua Ramey is a writer, teacher, and activist who studies political economy and anti-capitalist political theory. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Villanova University (2006) and is currently Visiting Assistant Professor in the Interdisciplinary Concentration in Peace, Justice, and Human Rights at Haverford College. He is the author of The Hermetic Deleuze: Philosophy and Spiritual Ordeal and Politics of Divination: Neoliberal Endgame and the Religion of Contingency. What is money? Money functions as a unit of account, a medium of exchange, and a store of value, but this is what money does, not what money is. There is a very deep paradox at the heart of money, because money is not itself, but what it represents. Money is the representation of social agreements—agreements about who is obliged to whom, about what is more or less valuable, about what can be changed or altered in the past and the future, and about what must stay the same over time. Far from being a simple thing, money is metaphysical: social, political, abstract, and weird. Although economists tend to think of money only as a “veil” that covers the true reality of exchange relationships, money actually has the power to control which exchanges and which economic activity take place, at all, because money is essentially a form of credit, an expression of approval and judgment of affirmation by some human beings in favor of the activities of others. However, most of us (and most economists) are either confused about or in denial of the fact that money is not a commodity, but a form of credit that is issued into existence almost entirely by private bank loans. And new money is created not on the basis of pre-existing savings or assets, but on the basis of demand for credit and willingness of bankers to supply it. This means that the private banking system has enormous power over not just their own investments, but over the amount and kind of credit available to the entire economy, whose priorities are wildly different from that of the speculative classes. This seminar will introduce the history of money and the formation of the modern monetary system based on private financing. It will then look at the contemporary politics of debt, austerity, and class warfare in order to explore possibilities for concrete struggle against the class power of bankers and megafinance. Matthew O'Connell is a life coach and the host of the The Imperfect Buddha podcast. You can find The Imperfect Buddha on Facebook and Twitter (@imperfectbuddha). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
American philosopher Joshua Ramey, author of The Hermetic Deleuze: Philosophy and the Spiritual Ordeal, and Politics of Divination: Neoliberal Endgame and the Religion of Contingency, joins Phil and JF to discuss a philosophical project whose implications go deep and weird. In his books and articles, Joshua proffers the vision of a world where divination -- whether or not it is recognized as such -- isn't just possible, but necessary for advancing knowledge, creating art, and forming communities. And his research has revealed that the wardens of our neoliberal order know this all too well. As he writes in an essay discussed in this episode, the mandate of a weird age ought to be clear: "Occupy, and practice divination." **REFERENCES Joshua Ramey, The Hermetic Deleuze: Philosophy and the Spiritual Ordeal (https://www.dukeupress.edu/the-hermetic-deleuze) Joshua Ramey, [Politics of DIvination: Neoliberal Endgame and the Religion of Contingency](https://www.rowmaninternational.com/book/politicsofdivination/3-156-c10d5ea3-3149-479b-87bf-03db7e5a7b2f) Joshua Ramey, "Contingency Without Unreason: Speculation After Meillassoux" (abstract (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0969725X.2014.920638)) Vanessa de Oliveira Andreotti, University of British Columbia, at academia.edu (https://ubc.academia.edu/VanessadeOliveiraAndreotti) Fred Moten and Stefano Harney, The Undercommons: Fugitive Planning and Black Study (https://www.amazon.com/undercommons-fugitive-planning-black-study-ebook/dp/B01EX6CYJ6) Deleuze, [Nietzsche and Philosophy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NietzscheandPhilosophy), [Difference and Repetition](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DifferenceandRepetition), and [The Logic of Sense](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TheLogicofSense)_ Quentin Meillassoux, After Finitude: An Essay on Contingency (https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/after-finitude-9781441173836/) Elie Ayache, [The Blank Swan: The End of Probability](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470725222/ref=dbsadefrwtbiblvppii0) Weird Studies, "Does Consciousness Exist?" Parts One (http://www.weirdstudies.com/17) and Two (http://www.weirdstudies.com/18) Special Guest: Joshua Ramey.
After announcing that Weird Studies will be going to a bi-weekly release schedule for the summer, Phil and JF talk about how the podcast has gone so far and what's on the horizon (more guests!). Before long, they're digging deep into what makes each of them tick as weird speculators, locating the points at which their ideas differ and converge. The discussion touches on the philosophy of Quentin Meillassoux, the theology of Tertullian, the Beatles, the Coke-Pepsi dichotomy, the art of religion, and more. SHOUT OUTS Mandala artist Betty Paz (http://www.bettypaz.com/) Infinite Conversations (https://www.infiniteconversations.com/) Michael Garfield, the Future Fossils (https://www.mindpodnetwork.com/category/futurefossils/) podcast Ramsey Dukes (Lionel Snell), “The Charlatan and the Magus” (http://the-philosophers-stone.com/articles/charlatn/magus.htm) Joshua Ramey, The Hermetic Deleuze: Philosophy and the Spiritual Ordeal (https://www.dukeupress.edu/the-hermetic-deleuze) and [The Politics of Divination: Neoliberal Endgame and the Religion of Contingency](https://www.rowmaninternational.com/book/politicsofdivination/3-156-c10d5ea3-3149-479b-87bf-03db7e5a7b2f) REFERENCES Patrick Harpur, The Secret Tradition of the Soul (https://www.northatlanticbooks.com/shop/the-secret-tradition-of-the-soul/) Quentin Meillassoux, After Finitude: An Essay on Contingency (https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/after-finitude-9781441173836/) GK Chesterton, Orthodoxy (http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/130) MC Escher, [Drawing Hands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DrawingHands)_ The works of Tertullian (http://www.tertullian.org/works.htm)
Today’s episode (83 mins) is the recording a lecture, “Politics of Divination: Neoliberal Endgame and the Religion of Contingency"given by Joshua Ramey for the Department of Comparative Literature at NYU and a response to his lecture by Dimitris Vardoulakis. The music on today’s episode is Les Étoiles’ "Your Roots, Your Bones” from the album of the same name. Download the album and those by other great artists at Records on Ribs.