The Archaeology of The Frivolous Derrida

DuuesneStudiesI/i/oso/ico/Se:ies
\o/ume 1ir/-Seten
!DR CJERA!DOJ! AII5, edi/ors
ACQiLs nLxrIDA
1/c .I/c0/0_ g |/c 1HU0/0
:
c0dtug C0udtll0c
1ron/olcd
Htlh on Inlrodu:ltcn
|,
jOHN P. EAVEYjR.
uIQILSL IIVLRSI1Y IRLSS
I++RCH
I1SI juD!ISHtU ID 1973 uS
tO:1L:1S
Iòrcheclcgt du rtucle
IOj\1I_H! 1973 D\ )UIIIODS \u!I!Ct, u1IS
1uDS!uIOD IOj\1IgH! 198OD\ uQutSDt DIVt1SI!\ 1tS8
!! 1I_HIS 1tSt1VtU.
1ID!tU IH !Ht HI!tU !u!tS OI Dt1Itu
lO ju1! OI !HIS DOO1 Du\ Dt uStU O1 1tj1OUuttU IH uD\ DuHHt1
WHu!SOtVt1 WI!HOu! W1I!!tD jt1DISSIOH tXttj! IH !Ht
tuSt OI D1ItI QuO!u!IODS IO1 uSt ID t1IIItu!
u1!It!tS uDU 1tVItWS.
uD!ISHtU D\ uQutSHt HIVt1SI!\ 1tSS
6OO O1DtS VtHut, IIISDu1_H, l52l9
iSl1IDuItU D\ luDuUiIitS 1tSS
!!uH!It lI_H!uDUS, "tW _t1St\ O7716
I1S! UI!IOH
ID1u1\ OI IOH_1tSS Iu!u!O_IH_ IH uD!ItuIIOH uIu
Dc::Id,acqucs,
+hc a:chcoIogyoIihc I:IvoIous.
(Duqucsnc siudIcs PhIIosohcaIsc:Ics V 37)
+:ansIaiIono'a:choIoIcduI:IvoIc,whIchwasb:siubIIshcdIn1973wIih
I..dc CondIIIac's IssaIsu I'o:IgInc dcs connaIssanccs hunaInc and :c:Inicd
sca:aicIy In 1976.
1ncIudcs bIbIIo
:ahIcaI :cIc:cnccsandIndc.
1. CondIIIac, IiIcnnconnoid, 1714-178O. IssaIsu:I'o:IgIncdcsconnaIs-
sanccs hunaIncs. 2. PsychoIogy-Ea:Iy wo:ks io 18O. 3 KnowIcdgc, +hco:y
oI.4.Languagcs~PhIIosohy. l. +IiIc. I1.5c:Ics.
1983.E83D4713 l21 8O-2362O
15!O-391-O1636-9
) -thcFracturcd Framc, thcscduction oFhction (
|,anI. Leate,,r. I
Abbrcviations 25
JHLARCHLOLOG OFJHLFR!VOLOUS.
RLAD!NGCOND! LLAC
I . Jhc Sccond First -Vctaphysics 3 I
2 . Gcniuss DcFcrrcd ActionI'ares~cou] bI
3 . I magining-Conccptual Stand-i n and thc
NovcloFForcc o9
4. AVrginalNotcorRcmark-JhcJwoLooscPagcs
9
b. I ntroduction tonEssa, an e n
a{Humannaee -Frivolity ItsclF l I b
ne I 37
)
the fractured frame, the seduction of ction (
THE FFCT|FED FFME
) X
parenthesis (
( lrcao whilcwriti ng. slowly, takingplcasurcinprcFaci ng
at lcngth cach tcn) ( Positions , ` i nD|acr|tics, 3, I 973, p.
43).
) J
the preface (
1hc prcFacc -ano also thc act oF prcFacing-has bccn a
kcy o unocrstanoing Dcrrioa` s complcx writing. l n hcr
prcFacc to thc translation oF Dcrrida` s O{ Cramato/og,
ayatri Spivak bcgins. l Fyou havc bccn rcadingDcioa,
youwillknowthataplausiblcgcsturcwoulobctobcginwith
aconsidcrationoF' thcqucstionoFthcprcFacc. '' Hcrsomc-
timcs cxotic tcxt continucs with citations oF both Hcgcl's
inoictncnt oFrcading(anowriting) prcFaccsinphilosophi-
cal works ano thc supporting spcculations oF his Frcnch
translator and c+mcntator, [can Hyppolitc. 1hcn shc
writcs .
: writtcn prcF+cc provisiona||y |oca|ics thc p|acc w
.
hcrc,
bctwccn rcading and rcading, book and book, thc rntc
i nscribi ng oF 'rc+dcr( s) , 'wri tcr( s), and |angu+gc rs

Forcvcratwork. Hcgc|hadc|oscdthccirc|cbctwccnFathcr
and son, tcxt and prcFacc. Hc ad in Fact suggcstcd, as
Dcrridamakcsc|car, thattc Fu|F||cdconccptthccndo

2
OHN P. LE|EI
thc sc|F-acting mcthod oF thc phi|osophica| tcxtwas th
.
c
prc-dicatcprc-sayingprc-Facc, to thc prcFacc. !n Dcrr
da' srcworki ng, thcstructurcprcFacct
xtbccomcsop
n
.
+t
bothcnds . Jhctcxthas no stab|cidcntty, nostab|corgr n
nostab|ccnd. L+chactoFrcadi ngthctcxtisa prcF+cc to
thc ncxt. Jhc rcading oF a sc|F-proFcsscd prcFacc is no
cxccption to this ru|c. (Cramma/o/o, p. xii)
Latcr, cnding hcr cpigraphical rcmarks , shc concluocs.
1hcrcis ,thcn,alwaysalrcadyaprcFaccbctwccntwohands
holding opcn a book. Ano thc ' prcFaccr, ` oF thc sanc or
anothcrpropcrnamcasthc'author, ' nccdnotapologizcFor
rcpcati ng' thc tcxt` (ibid. , p. xiii) .
I *
the introduction (
Vost likcly writtcn in I 974( with aoditions and cncnoa-
tions throughout I 97b) , Spivak's prcFacc statcs what con-
ti nucstobctrucoFLÀrc/eo/og|e du{rito/e, hrstpublishcoin
I 973anohcrcintranslatco. lnhcrlistoFthctcxtspublishco
by Dcrrida, Spivak obscrvcs . 1hcrc was a littlc noticco
i ntroductiontothcEssaisur/òr|ginedescoooa|ssaces/uma|oes
by Conoillac' (ibid , p. ix) .
But why call this tcxt an introduction Espccially givcn
Dcrrioa'sparcnthcticalrcmarkabovcanoSpivak` sprcFacc
Arc thcintroduction ano thc prcFacc thc san+c oiFFcrcnt
coincidcntal :
l n thc original vcrsion oF thc Arc/o/og|e publishco with
Condillac'sEssai, Dcrrida'stcxtsinplyprcccocsConoillac` s.
3
THE FFCT|FED FFME
`prcccdcdcLàrc/eo/ogiedu {rito/epar[acqucsDcrrida. `Nt
until thcscctionconstitutinga `marginal notc orrcmark, `
thcscctionon`twolooscpagcs ,`docsDcrridapartlyrcvcal
his hand. `You havc alrcady rcmarkcd that this a//eged
Introduction . o ' ( p. I O8 bclow, my cmphasis) .
+ + +
(ÔIC. cr `[:CCCUC8 D:uHuD uDU O:OK8 Cry-
lcn,mt (!976),DDI 8CCD8 IO UO 8O, uCCO:UID_ IO C::IUu,
u8 [:C\uIO:\ [:CCCUCDCC (ODC IHuI UOC8 DOI CVCD CDIC:
IDIO IHC uDlC UC8 ûIIC:C8): `HuI I8 u C:\[I:
`!! IHuI CuD DC 8uIU u_uIH8I u [:C\uCC, 1 HuVC ul:CuU\
8uIU. HC [luCC O\ WHuI uD8CDCC-O\ WHuI O\ WHOD O\
WHuI !O8I ICXI-UOC8 IHC [:C\uCC CluID IO IuKC: HD8
UI8[O8ID_ uDU [:CUI8[O8ID_ (O\) u H:8I WO:U IHuI UOC8
DOI DC!OD_ IO II, IHC [:C\uCC-u C:\[I ID II8 ID:D-WI!l
IuKC IHC \O:D O\ WHuI [:C-8C:VC8 (uDU OD-8C:VC8 DC
HC:C), IHC I::C[luCCuD!C.
`1 8Hu!l DOI CD_u_C D\8C!\ DC\ODU IHI8 H:8I WO:U ID
(IHC) [luCC O\ uD OIHC: (I:uD8. u:Du:u _OHD8OD, ID
Gc:gto Hutu, 51, I977,[. 65).
1 UO DOI KDOW uDODI Srrtttl.
DI IJmunJ Iurl Ortgtn cj Gcmlry: Hn 1nlrc-
Jurltcn I8 8ID[l\ luDC!CU IDI:OUDCIIOD: `1D IHC IDI:OUDC-
IIOD WC DOW uIICD[I, OD: 8OlC uDDIIIOD WI!l DC IO :CCO_-
DIZC uDU 8IIDuIC ODC 8Iu_C O\ 1D88C:!8 IHOD_HI, WIIH II8
8[CCIHC [:C8D[[O8IIIOD8 uHU II8 [u:IICD!u: DDHDI8HCU
8IuIC ([. 27).DDlI8HCU ID :uDCC ID I962, IHI8 I8 C::I-
Uu8 `H:8I CXICDUCU WO:K, DOI Srh onJ hncmno u8
buIU IDuCCD:uICl\ 8IuIC8 (uDU IHC:CD\ DI8COD8I:DC8) ID
`HC :ODlCD O\ CXIDu!II\: WO XCD[lu:\ O8I-
IIOD8, Crtltrol Inqutr, 1,l978,[. 681.
DDlI8HCU HVC \Cu:8 u\IC: IHC IDI:OUDCIIOD IO 1h
Ortgtn cj Gcmlj, Srh onJ hncmno I8 8DDIIIlCU
InlrcJurltcn lc lh rctlm cj Stgn tn Iurl hcncmncl-
cg.
1 UO DOI KDOW WHCIHC: ` H ([u: UC8 8D8 C Du:CHC) I8
8ID[!\ uUUCU IO UuDI8 WO:K, IHClDUC8 II, IDI:OUDCC8,
O: CVCD [:C\uCC8 II.
4
OHN P. LE|EI
Grommolclcgy COHIuII)8 IHC `1DI:OUDCIIOD IO IHC `_C
O\ HOD88CuD : `HI8 WO:K WI!! [:C8CDI II8Cl\ _:uUDull\.
1 CuDHOI IHC:C\O:C D8II\\ I D\ Wu\ O\ uHIICI[uIIOD uHU
[:C\uCC. 1CI D8 DCVC:IHClC88 uIICD[I uD OVC:ID:C [[.
97).
WO O\ C::IUu8 ICXI8 OH 1C_Cl u:C IDI:OUDCIIOD8,
DDI `1O:8 !IV:C I8 DHUCCIUCU OD IHI8: `1C DII8 CI !u
[\:uDIUC. 1DI:OUDCIIOH 3 lu 8CDIOlO_IC UC 1C_C! uDU
Glo: Itnjuhrung ... IDI:OUDCIIOD tnlc 1C_C! ([. lO).
C::IUu8 !uIC8I IHI:OUDCIIOD, `^C-8\CHOuDul\8I8.
D 1DI:OUUCIIOD IO IHC :uD8!uIIOD O\ `HC bHCl! uDU
IHC hC1C! D\ ÎCOlu8 D:uHuD, UCVClO[8 IHC ID:D O\
Glo: `1 uD IHI:OUDCID_ HC:C-DC-(IHIO) u I:uD8!uIIOD.
`HuI 8u\8 ClCu:l\ CDOD_H IO WHuI lCD_IH8 1 WIll DC
IuKCD D\ IHC8C UODDlC VOICC-I:uCK8 [uct]: IO IHC [OIDI O\
CI\uCID_ D\8C!\ OD IHC IH:C8HOlU ID O:UC: IO \uCI!IIuIC
\OD: :CuUID_. 1D W:IIID_ ID `D\ !uD_Du_C DDI ID \OD:
IUIOD 1 HuVC IO tnlrcJur. : OIHC:WI8C, uDU u_uID ID `D\
!uH_Du_C, IO rnl 8ODCODC. bODCODC WHO ID DDDC:-
OD8 uDU ulIO_CIHC: 8ID_Dlu: Wu\8 I8 DOI IHC:C uDU \CI I8
C!O8C uDU [:C8CDI CDOD_H DOI IO :CQDI:C uH IDI:OUDC-
IIOH (I:uD8. ICHOlu8 HuDU, ID Dtorrtltr, 9,1979, [. 1).)
+ + +
|
circumsmnces (
l n I 972 Dcrrida discusscs thc diFFcrcncc bctwccn thc
HcgclianprcFacc(Iorrede) andintroduction(Ein/eitung) . l n
`Horslivrc. PrcFaccs , ` thconlyprcviouslyunpublishcdtcxt
includcd inLaDissina/ion, hcwritcs .
5
THE FFCT|FED FFME
Wcmustdistinguishthcre[ace Fromthcin/roduc/ion. Jhcy
do not havc thc samc Function or dignity in cgc|'s cycs ,
a|though thcyposcan ana|ogous prob|cm in thcirrc|ation
tothcphi|osophica|corpusoFthccxposition.Jhc! ntroduc-
tion (Ein/ei/ung) has a morc systcmatic, |css historica|, |css
circumstantia|bondtothc|ogicoFthcbook.Jhc! ntroduc
tionisunique , dca|swith thcgcncra|andcsscntia|architcc-
tonic prob|cms, and prcscnts thc gcncra| conccpt in its
divisionandsc|F-diFFcrcntiation. PrcFaccs , onthccontrary,
mu|tip|y From cdition to cdition and takc i nto account a
morc cmpiric historicity. Jhcy rcspond to a ncccssity oF
circumstancc cgc| dcFncs , oF coursc, in a re]ace . . . .
(Dissemina/ion, p. 23)
/CCO1OIH_ IO circumstaoce, 1C_C!S HOW \uDIOHS 1C\uCC IO
!HC I/eoomeoo/ogy Sirit ]OIHS IHC I/eoomeoo/ogy IO IHC
Science o{ Logic . HC 1C\utC WuS W1IIICH u\IC1 IHC I/enome-
oo/ogDHI DC\O1C IHC Logic. 1H CeoesisandStructureo{Hege/`s
I/enomeoo/og o{ Sirit, ' 1\[[O!IIC C!HCIOuICS: `C KDOW
IHuI 1C_C! W1OIC IHC [1C\uCC !O !HC I/enomeoo/og u\IC1 HC
HuO HHISHCO IHC DOOK, WHCH HC WuS uD!C IO IuKC SIOCK O\ HIS
VO\u_C O\ OISCOVC1\. 1I WuS DICuDI [1IDu1I!\ IO CSIuD!ISH IHC
COHDCCIIOH DCIWCCH IHC I/eoomeno/og, WHICH, D\ I!SC!\, u[-
[Cu1S uS IHC `H1SI [u1I O\ SCICDCC, uHO IHC hisseosc/a{t der
Logi/... WHICH, \1OD u OI\\C1CHI [C1S[CCIIVC, IS !O COHSIIIDIC
IHC H1SI DODICHI O\ uD CHC\C!O[COIu (I1uHS. uDDC! IHC1-
DIuK uHO _OHD 1CCK11uH, Ò1!HWCSIC1D, I 971, [. 3) .
/CCO1OIH_ IO uHO!HC1 circumstaoce . `HC IH!1OODCIIOD IO
IHC I/eoome o /og, ,HOWCVC1, WuS COHCCIVCO uI IHC SuDC IIHIC
uS IHC DOO IISC!\, uHO W1II!CH H1SI. 1I SCCDS IO CODIuIH !HC
O1I_IHu! IHOH_HI \1OH WHICH IHC WHO!C WO1K CDC1_CO
(IDIO., [[. 31) .
G
OHN P. LE|EI
) 0
logics (
1C_C! IHIC1]CC!S u [HI!OSO[HICu! OD]CCIIOD !O IHCSC CI1-
CHDSIuDCCS (1C11IOu u!SO CIICS IHIS [uSSu_C IH `1O1S !IV1C):
_
O1 WHu!CVC1 DI_HI u[[1O[1IuIC!\ DC SuIO uDOHI [HI!OSO[H\
iD u [1C\uCCSu\ u HISIO1ICu! statementO\ IHC DuIH O1I\I uHO
IHC [OIHI O\ VICW, IHC _CHC1u! CODICHI uHO 1CSD!IS, u S!1IH_ O\
1uHOOD uSSC1!IOHS uDO uSSH1uHCCS uDOHI I1DIH HODC O\ IHIS
CuD DC uCCC[ICO uS IHC Wu\ IH WHICH IO CX[OHDO [HI!OSO[HI-
Cu! I1DIH. HC [1CVIODS IWO SCH!CHCCS O\ IHC I/enomeno/og
C!u1I\\ IHIS OD]CCIIOD: `1I IS CDSIOHu1\ IO [1C\uCC u WO1K WIIH
uH CX[!uHuIIOD O\ IHC uDIHO1S uID, WH\ HC W1OIC IHC DOOK,
uHO IHC 1C!uIIOHSHI[ IH WHICH HC DC!ICVCS I! !O SIuHO IO OIHC1
Cu1!IC1 OT COHICD[O1u1\ !1CuIISCS OH IHC SuDC SHD]CCI. 1H IHC
CuSC O\ u [HI!OSO[HICu! WO1K, HOWCVC1, SDCH uD CX[!uDuIIOH
SCCDS HOI OH!\ sueuous DHI, ID VICW O\ IHC Du!D1C O\ IHC
SHD]CCI-DuIIC1, CVCD IHu[[1O[1IuIC uDO DIS!CuOID_ (!1uHS.
/. \. Î!!C1, IX\O1O, I 977, [. I , D\ CD[HuSIS).
/DO II IS KHOWH 1C_C! uSSC1!CO ÌHC1C CuH DC DO IHI1OOHC-
IIOD IO [HI!OSO[H\ (1\[[O!IICS CenesisandStructure, [[. b3
uDO bb) .
\[[O!IIC SHDDu1IZCS IHC !O_ICu! OISIIHCIIOH DC!WCCD !HC
IHI1OOHCIIOD uHO IHC [1C\uCC uS \O!!OWS: `HC [1C\uCC IS uH
HO1S OOCDV1C, II COHIuIDS _CHC1u! IH\O1DuIIOH OD !HC _Ou!
IHu! C_C! SC! \O1 HIDSC!\ uHO OD IHC 1C!uIIOH DCIWCCH HIS
WO1K uDO OIHC1 [HI!OSO[HIC I1CuIISCS OH IHC SuDC SDD]CCI.
HC IHI1OODCIIOD, OD IHC COHI1u1\, IS uH IDIC_1u! [u1I O\ IHC
DOOK: II [OSCS uDO !OCuICS !HC [1OD!CD, uDO I! OCIC1DIHCS IHC
DCuHS !O 1CSO!VC II (IDIO., [. 1) .
7

" l
THE FFCT|FED FFME
+ + +
(HC [1C\uCC u8 HO:8 UOCUV1C :CQUI:C8 ID!C_1uIIOH
WIIH C::IUu8 WO:K OH IHC nrrgcn IH In |crtle IH
tnlur: ` orrgcn WIIHOUI rgcn: `[U1C 8U[[!C-
DCHI: I!OIHIH_ u8 `Du1C 8U[[!CDCHI O\ IHC `HUUC . . . ?
8U[[!CDCHI WIIH HOIHIH_ IO 8U[[!CDCHI, HuDIH_,
OH IHC COHI:u:\, WHuI II 8U[[!IC8 ... u8 II8 OWH [:O[C:
8U[[!CDCHI: 1OW u1C IHC COH8CQUCHCC8 :C!uICU IO IHC
`Du1C IHIH_: O IHC `Du:C uHU IHC `:CDuIHUC1 uDOUI
WHICH WC jU8I 8[OKC: HU \CI, IH uHOIHC: 8CH8C, WC
Cu!!CU IHCD `HUUC U8I HOW, WC 8uW IHCD COD[!CIC!\
HuKCU. 8 II D\ CHuHCC IHuI IHC C!OIHIH_ `DCIu[HO1
CODC8 8O Cu8I!\ IO 1CIUC__C: IH 8[CuKIH_ O\ IHC `[U:C
uHU 8ID[!C IHIH_: `HC `DC:C (`tlc`), u\IC: u!!, DCuH8
IHC 1CDOVu! (Inltlcung) O\ IHC CHu:uCIC: O\ U8C\U!HC88
(Dtnltrhktl) uHU O\ DCIH_ DuUC. HC Du1C IHIH_ (tlc
Dtng) I8 u 8O:I O\ [:OUUCI (Zug), u!DCII u [:OUUCI UH-
U1C88CU (nlkltJl) O\ II8 DCIH_-u8-[:OUUCI. HIH_-DCIH_
IHCH COH8I8I8 IH WHuI I8 IHCH !C\I OVC:. UI IHI8 1CDHuHI
(Hl) I8 HOI uCIUu!!\ UCHHCU IH II8 OHIO!O_ICu! CHu:uCIC1.
I :CDuIH8 UOUDI\U! (I tlttl jrugltrh) WHCIHC: IHC
IHIH_!\ CHu1uCIC: CODC8 IO VICW uI u!! IH IHC [1OCC88 (nuj
Jm Hg) O\ 8I1I[[IH_ O\\ (Htzug) CVC1\IHIH_
CQUI[DCHIu! (oll Zughnjln) . . . 8I1I[[IH_ O\\ (IHC
DCIH_-[:OUUCI) WOHI 1C8IO:C IO U8 IHC `:CDuIHUC1 u8
`Du:C IHIH_ . . .. HC 1CDuIHUC: I8 HOI u DC:C IHIH_ . . .
C HCCU ÌO IHIHK IHC 1CDuIHUC1 UI\\C:CHI!\ . . . (HC8-
IIIUIIOH8, I1uH8. _OHH CuVC\, IH Horrh tn Ihncmncl-
cg, 8, I978, [[ 31-35). 18 [u1C_OHu! `1CDuIH8, IHC
ID!:OUUCIIOH uHU [1C\uCC DU8I DC COHCCIVCU IO DC OIHC1
IHuH DC:C!V HO18 UOCUV:C8. HC\ DU8I DC COH8IUC1CU
(DOU:HCU
,
) u8 IHC WO1K O\ u:I. bCC `HC u:C1_OH,
I:uH8. L:uI_ WCH8, IH Orlctr 9, I979).
+ + +
8
OHN P. LE|EI
!
reconsiderations (
/CCO1OIH_ IO IHC CI1CHDSIuHCCS, 1\[[O!IIC IS 1I_HI. HC
[1C\uCC IS u!Wu\S OHISIOC IHC WO1K, uH HO1S OOCHV1C W1IIICH,
HOWCVC1, u\IC1 IHC ICXI, HOI DC\O1C. HC IHI1OOHCIIOH, OH IHC
OIHC1 HuHO, IS u!Wu\S WIIHIH, u [u1I O\, IHC S\SICD, IHC WO1K,
IHC DOOK, IHC !O_Ic. YCI 1\[[O!IIC 1CVu!HCS IHC re{ace . `1H
D\ O[IHIOH 1C_C!S _1CuICSI DODCHI IS IHC [OIHI O\ OSCI!!u-
IIOH DCIWCCH IHC u1CHIICCIH1C O\ IHC Logtc uHO IHC CODDOH
COHSCIOHSHCSS O\ IHC I/enomeno/og [`HC I1HCIH1C O\
HI!OSO[HIC uH_Hu_C /CCO1OIH_ IO IHC 1C\uCC IO 1C_C!S
I/eoomeno/og o{ //e Mtod, ` IH 1/e S/ruc/uras/ Con/rotersy ,
_OHHS 1O[KIHS, I 972,[. I 68).HC 1C\uCC [IO tI/enome
no/og,) IS IHIS [OIHI O\ OSCI!!uIIOH.
1C11IOu \O!!OWS SHII. 1C 1CWO1KS IHC t n/roduc/ t on,
[HI!OSO[HICu!!\, !O_ICu!!\. 1H IHIS 1CWO1KIH_, IHC IHI1OOHCIIOH
!OSCS IIS S\SICDuIIC, !O_ICu!, IHuI IS, IHI1OOHCIO1\, CHu1uCIC1.
IHC ÒH!\ !C_IIIDuIC [!uCC \O1 IHC 1HI1OOHCIIOH, IH IHIS S\S-
ICD, IS IHC O[CHIH_ O1 OVC1IH1C O\ u ar/tcu/ar/t/oso/tca/
SCICHCC, \O1 CXuD[!C IHC /CSIHCIICS O1 IHC 1ISIO1\ O\ HI!OS-
O[H\. HC 1HI1OOHCIIOH u1IICH!uICS IHC OCIC1DIHCO _CHC1u!-
II\ O\ IHIS OC1IVCO uHO OC[CHOCHI OISCOH1SC OHIO IHC uDSO!HIC
uHO HHCOHOIIIOHCO _CHC1u!II\ O\ !O_IC (Dtssemtna/to,[. 21) ,
DHI OOCS SO \1OD IIS [!uCC uS oter/ure . Ò !OH_C1 IS IHC
IHI1OOHCIIOH ùH IHIC_1u! [u1I O\ IHC DOOK, II IS uH OHISIOC
O[CHIH_ OHIO IHC [u1IICH!u1, HOI IHC _CHC1u! [!O_IC).
O IHC [1C\uCC, H1SI OHISIOC IHC ICXI, DCCODCS DOSI IHIC1IO1
IO IHC ICXI. /HO IHC IHI1OOHCIIOH, H1SI WIIHIH IHC ICXI, u [u1I
O\ II, DCCODCS IIS CXIC1IO1. HC [1C\uCC IS IHC CXIC1IO1 DCCOD-
9
THE FFCT|FED FFME
IH_ IH!C1IO1CI1CHHIS!uH!Iu!!\. HC IH!1OOHC!IOH IS !HC IH-
!C1IO1 DCCODIH_ CX!C1IO1 !O_ICu!!\. 1D O!HC1 WO1OS, !HC
[1C\uCC DCCODCS IH!1OOHC!IOH, !HC IH!1OOHC!IOH DCtO:|1C8
[1C\uCC. H! DO!H OO SO OH!\ HHOC1 C1uSH1C uHO IH !HC S[uCC
O\ !HC OH!SIOC !CX!, !HC /ors -/ex/e .
)
erasing (
`1 HuVC u!!CHI[!CO !O OCSC1IDC uHO CX[!uIH HOW W1I!IH_
S!1HC!H1u!!\ Cu11ICO (COHH!CO-OISCOHH!CO) WI!HIH I!SC!\ !HC
[1OCCSS O\ I!S C\\uCCDCH! uHO CuHCC!!u!IOH, u!! !HC WHI!C
Du1KID_ !HC reoainsO\ !HIS C\\uCCDCH!, D\ DCuHS O\ u !O_IC
WHICH WOH!O DC VC1\ Hu1O !O SHDDu1IZC HC1C (ÒSI!IOHS,
[. 36 [DOOIHCO]).
1uSH1C IS. OCCOHS!1HC!IOH, W1I!IH_, IHVC1SIOH uHO OIS-
[!uCCDCH!, [u!COH\D\, !HC SCICHCC O\ O!O HuDCS, !HC OOHD!C
SCICHCC. ([IVuK CX[OSCS C1uSH1C !H1OH_HOH! HC1 [1C\uCC.
HC CS!uD!ISHCS !Hu! DISHHOC1S!uHOIH_ C1uSH1C IS DISHH-
OC1S!uHOIH_ 1C11IOu. CC HC1 Ò!C J, [. Jh, IH O{ Cram-
oato/og,.O1 u S[CCIHC OISCHSSIOH O\ uH Cu1!\ WO1KIH_ O\ !HIS
C1uSH1C, SCC !HC 1uHS!u!O1S 1C\uCC !O Edmun Husser/`s
Ortgin Ceome/r ':H n Introduc/ion. )
1H [1uC!ICC, OCCOHS!1HC!IOH IS 1COHCID!C !O 1C11IOuS !CX!S,
HIS W1I!IH_. 1H O!HC1 WO1OS, OCCOHS!1HC!IOH IS not/ing |ut
W1I!IH_ W1I!IH_ (uHO 1CuOIH_), 1CW1I!IH_ (uHO 1C1CuOIH_)
i oacertainoa,`(`!1HC!H1C, I_H, uHO !u\ IH !HC 1ISCOH1SC
!U
OHN P. LE|EI
O\ !HC 1HI1uH CICHCCS, IH hritingandDq{ereoce,!1uHS. /!uD
uSS, IHICu_O, I 978, [. 288). 1C11IOuS C1uSIH_-C1uSCO
W1I!IH_HIS [u!ID[SCS!IS !HC 1CIHSC1I[!IOH !Hu! COH!IHH-
u!!\ OIS[!uCCS !HC 1CVC1SCO HIC1u1CHICS O\ DC!u[H\SICS. (HIS
1CIHSC1I[!IOH SCCDS !CSS CVIOCH! IH 1C11IOuS Cu1!V OISCHSSIOHS
O\ OCCOHS!1HC!IOH !HuH IS HOW !HC CuSC.) /S !HC

IH!C1VCHIH_
!OO! O\ 1CIHSC1I[!IOH, C1uSH1C u\\O1OS COI1DHHICu!IOH.
O1OS, !C1DS, COHCC[!S, [1COICu!CS, !O_ICS, DC!u[H\SICS, !I!-
C1u!H1CS u1C OIS[!uCCO, 1CW1I!!CH, 1C1CuO. HC O!O HuDC
CODDHHICu!CS (HC!C1O_CHCOHS!\) !H1OH_H !HC SDHO_CS uHO
!HC S!1IKCS O\ 1C11IOuS C1uSH1C uHO C\\uCCDCH!, HIS OISH_H1-
IH_ O1 smeariog
/! !HC !CuS!, C1uSH1C (/a rature) uS S1Cu1IH_ (/a sa/issure)
IHOICu!CS u OC!OH1 IH!O [uIH!IH_. 1H!O !HC [uIHIIH_ O\ I\
WODD!\ uHO IH!O HO!uHO u1!HCSS IHI!Iu!IOH IH!O WOI1-
D!\S CVCH!.
1H `C ISOO1I1 O\ /1!, !HC !CX! \O1 !HC Iu!u!O_HC O\ !HC
1CCCH! WOJ|1D!\ CXHIDI!IOH u! !HC HI!HC\ ^H8CHJ|1 O\
/DC1ICuD /1! ,1u/[1I!-J O_HHC I 979),HO!uHO u1HCS !u!KS
O\ !HC 1CVC1Su! u! WO1K IH WODD!\S u1!. `1H WODD!\,
uHO!HC1 OCVC!O[IDCH! OCCH1S . . . 1CVC1SIH_ !HC HSHu! 1C!u-
!IOHSHI[ IH C!uSSICu! !CCHHIQHC, OHC DI_H! Su\ !Hu! S!1OKCS,
Hu!CHIH_, \O1DS, IH SHO1! !HC _1u[HIC CVCH!S, u1C WHu! u!!OW
!HC SHCC! O\ [u[C1 O1 !HC CuHVuS !O CXIS!, !O SI_HI\\, !O DC
[OSSCSSCO O\ [!CuSH1C . . . . WOHID!\S u1!uHO IH !HIS COD-
SIS! I!S C!HIC uHO I!S _1Cu! HIS!O1ICu! SIH_H!u1I!\ doesno/gras
a/ any//ing[HC VCH! 1ICH SuISI1| . . . (!1uHS. /HHC!!C uVC1S, IH
C, 1ooo|/,: Iaiotings and Draoings 1'7-1', HI!HC\
^HSCHD, I 979, [. 22).
Ô1C S[CCIHCu!!\, u1!HCS ISO!u!CS !HC smearingO\ WOD-
D!\S C1uSIH_ ({acer) .
11
THE FFCT|FED FFME
Smearing. Jhis is thc namc ! givc to thc marks inpaintor
pcnci| , oFtcn cvcn in a matcria| which cannotbcspcciFcd,
with which Jwomb|ysccmstocovcrothcrstrokcs , as iFhc
wantcd tocrascthc |attcr without rca||ywantingit, si ncc
thcsc strokcs rcmain Fai nt|yvisib|c undcr thc |avcr which
covcrsthcm. Jhisisasubt|cdia|cctic. thcartistprctcndsto
havcbung|cd a partoFhiscanvasandto wish tocrascit.
Buthcagainbung|csthcrubbingoutandthcsctwoFai|urcs
supcrimposcdoncachothcrproduccakindoFpa|i mpscst.
thcygivcthccanvasthcdcpthoFaskyinwhich|ightc|ouds
passi nFrontoFcachothcrwithoutb|otti ngcachothcrout.
. . . ( !bid. , pp. 1011).
HCH IHC SH1[1ISC O\ W1IIIH_ IISC!\: `C DHSI COHHI uS SHCH
SH1[1ISCS u!! IHC IHIC1VCHIIOHS O\ W1IIIH_ IH IHC HC!O O\ lHC
CuHVuS: uH\ IIDC WODD!\ HSCS u _1u[HIC SI_H, IHC1C IS uO!I,
uH HHSCII!IH_ O\ IHC HuIH1u!HCSS O\ [uIHIIH_. HO HHu!!\ IHC
`C!HDSIHCSS O\ IHC HuHO:
jJ] hcrc is . . . thcconstantc|umsincssoFthc hand. Jhc
|cttcr, i nJwomb|y,isthcvcryoppositcoFanornamcnta|or
printcd|cttcr, itisdrawn,itsccms, withoutcarc,andyct,itis
notrca||ychi|d|ikcForthcchi|dtricsdi|igcnt|y,prcsscshard
onthcpapcr, roundsoFthccorncrs ,putsouthistongucin
hiscFFortscworkshardinordcrtocatchupwiththccodc
oFthc adu|ts , and Jwomb|y gcts away From it hc spaccs
things out, hc|ctsthcmtrai|bchind, it|ooksasiFhishand
was|cvitati ng, thcword|ooksasiFithadbccnwrittcnwith
thcFngcrti ps ,notoutoFdisgustorborcdom, buti nvirtucoF
a Fancywhichdisappoi nts what is cxpcctcd From thcFnc
handoFapaintcr. thisphrascwasuscd,inthcscvcntccnth
ccntury,aboutthccopyistwhohadaFnchandwriti ng. nd
uho cou/d uri/e /e//er /han a ain/er` ( !bid. , p. 1; my cm
phasis)
CXIS uS CuHVuSCS, CuHVuSCS uS ICXIS. 1C11IOuS ICXIS uHO
WODD!\8 CuHVuSCS. WODD!\S [uIHIIH_ uHO 1C11IOuS W1II-
IH_. 1C11IOuS [uIHIIH_ uHO WODD!\8 W1IIIH_. uCH I!! HS-
1Y
OHN P. LE|EI
I1uICS IHC OIHC1. O1 WHO CuH [uIHI DCIIC1 IHuH u W1IIC1:
1C11IOu 1CVC1SCS IHC C!uSSICu! ICCHHIQHC, W1IICS `C!HDSI!\,
SDCu1S `C!HDSI!\, uHO !CuVCS IHC 1CDuIHS \O1 CXuDIHuIIOH,
\O1 1C[CIIIIOH uCCO1OIH_ IO ù !O_IC WHICH WOH!O DC VC1\ Hu1O
IO SHDDu1IZC HC1C. HC `C!HDSIHCSS O\ 1C11IOu COHSIIIHICS
HIS IHIDIIuDI!II\: `HIS `C!HDSIHCSS O\ IHC W1IIIH_ (WHICH IS,
HOWCVC1, IHIDIIuD!C: I1\ IO IDIIuIC II) ... (IDIO.). O C1uSH1C
uS SDCu1IH_ O\\SCIS IHC 1C[CIIIIOH O\ OCCOHSI1HCIIOH. `HC-
Du1KIH_ IHC CuHVuSCS O\ 1C11IOu uS `HIS OWH (HOI uS IHC
1CSIIIHIIOH O1 1CSIO1uIIOH O\ OWHC1SHI[ O1 I1HIH, DHI uS IHC
IHIDIIuD!C C\\CCI O\ 1C11IOu), SDCu1IH_ Ì1u[S OCCOHSI1HC-
IIOH IH IHC IHIDIIuDI!II\ O\ IIS 1C[CIIIIOH. DCu1IH_ SCOHCCS
OCCOHSI1HCIIOH IHIO IHIHKIH_ II IS 1C[CuIuD!C, IHCH OCVIuICS IIS
1C[CIIIIOH \1OD IOCHIII\ (IHC CVC1-1C[CuIuD!C, u!Wu\S 1C-
[CIIIIOHS, IuHIO!O_ICu!, uHIISIIC SC!\-CHC!OSH1C) IO u OI\\C1CHI
SuHICHCSS (IHC \1IuD!C, D1OKCH IHIO, S[uCCO, SCuIIC1CO,
C1uCKCO iOCHIII\). O SDCu1IH_ S[!IIS 1C[CIIIIOH IH1OH_H
SCOHCIIOH, OCVIuICS 1C[CIIIIOH \1OD IISC!\, IHHS 1CVCu!IH_ IIS
SCOHCIIOH uS u \u!SC (DHI HCCCSSu1\) !CuO.
1/e{a/se /ead. IKC WODD!\, 1C11IOu does not gras at
anyt/ing. `1IS SDCu1IH_ I1u[S WIIHOHI _1uS[IH_, I1u[S WIIH-
OHI CuICHIH_, IH IHC HO!!OWHCSS, IHC CD[IIHCSS O\ IIS SHu1C.
HC SI1OKC O\ `[1CICHSC IH W1IIIH_ COHH1DS IHIS. DCu1IH_
IHI1OOHCCS IHC retended C1uSH1C. `HC WuHICO ... WIIHOHI
1Cu!!\ WuHIIH_, ÌHC u1IISI [1CICHOS, ÌH VI1IHC O\ u \uHC\.
HI SDCu1IH_ u!SO IHI1OOHCCS u dou|/e [1CICHSC: as q HC
WuHICO ... WIIHOHI 1Cu!!\ WuHIIH_, asq .o . IH VI1IHC O\ u
\uHC\. HC ID[1IHI O\ HCIIOH IS IHC SCCOHO (DHI u!Wu\S
u!1CuO\ DC\O1C IHC H1SI) SIC[ (IHIO IIS OWH I1u[!CSS I1u[) O\
W1IIIH_ IHIO [uIHIIH_, O\ [uIHIIH_ IHIO W1IIIH_, O\ W1IIIH_ IHIO
W\IIIH_, O\ [uIHIIH_ IHIO [uIHIIH_ (`HC DC\OHO CVC1\IHIH_,
uHOIHC1 HuDC \O1 IHC ICXI IHSO\u1 uS II WIIHSIuHOS OHIO!O_\
13
THE FFCT|FED FFME
IS HO! u mum motens . 1! ID[u1!S !O CVC1\!HIH_ .. u
DOVCDCH! O\ HC!IOH. -Dissemina/ion, [. 65) .
H CXCD[!u1\ CXuD[!C O\ !HC OOHD!C [1C!CHSC IS !HC
arergon .
What is a
tit|c And what iFarergon was thc tit|c
Hcrcthc]aux /i/re is art .
(La Ieri/e, [. 22)
HC HC!IOH O\ !HC \1uDC, HC1C Du!C1Iu!!\ [1CSCH!CO, CS!uD-
!ISHCS !HC `[1C!CHSC \O1 !HC {aux titre . !HC DuS!u1O !I!!C,
\u!SCHOOO I!SC!\, !HC SHuD, uS WC!! uS !HC Hu!\-!I!!C O\ u DOOK.
O ù1! IS !HC Hu!\-!I!!C O\ `C u1C1_OH. H! !HC \u!SC,
`DuS!u1O !I!!C [\u!SCHOOO I!SC!| COHS!I!H!CS u1! uS WC!!. HC
I 4
OHN P. LE|EI
\1uDICS [1C!CHSC, !HC as q DOVCDCH! O\ !HC \u!SC !CuO,
ID[u1!S HC!IOHu! IDDu!uHCC !O !HC {aux titre . HC HO!!OW,
O[CH-uH_!CO \1uDC O\ !HC arergon C1uCKS O[CH \C! COHHHCS
WI!HIH HC!IOH !HC HC!IOH O\ /eret/e {auxtttreisart .1H SHO1!, !HC
\1u11C CHCHuSCS !HC HC!IOH O\ [uIH!IH_ IH!O W1I!IH_, uHO VICC
VC1Su. HHS SDCu1IH_ [!Hu! IS, OCCOHS!1HC!IOH O\ u SO1!) !uKCS
[!uCC OH!\ WI!HIH !HC \1uDC O\ !HC arergon.1H O!HC1 WO1OS,
!HC SDCu1CO-SDCu1IH_ O\ HC!IOH IS HC!IOHu!IZCO D\ HC!IOH
I!SC!\. WODD!\ HHOCCIOCS 1C11IOu, 1C11IOu HHOCCIOCS
WODD!\. O!H WO1K OH!\ WI!HIH uHO WI!HOH!, HCI!HC1 WI!HIH
HO1 WI!HOH! [!Hu! IS, on!HC arergaWHICH OCS!1O\ IHSIOC uHO
OH! O| !HC {aux titre , !Hu! HHOCCIOuD!C !1H!H uHO HC!IOH O\
CVC1\ C1uSCO S!1OKC, !I!!C, WO1O, W1I!IH_, !CX!, C!C.
+ + +
(:IIID_, CVCD C138CU W:IIID_ ID [3IDID_ 3DU IC3CH-
ID_, I8 3 [O!IIIC3! 3CI, !C3VC8 [OlIIIC3l 1CD3ID8, C83D!I8HC8
[O!IIIC3! [O8IIIOD8. D OIHC1 WO1U8, IHC1C I8 _IVCD (tl_o, s
gttl) 3 [O!IIIC8 O\ UCCOD8I:DCIIOD. C:1IU3 CX[lO1C8 IHl8 ID
Io |crtlc CH tnlur: `CCO:UID_ IO IHC COD8CQDCDCC8 O\
II8 lO_IC, UCCOD8I:DCIIOD DOI OD!\ 3II3CK8 IHC IDIC:D3!
DDI!UlD_ (3I ODCC 8CD3DIlC 3DU \O1D3l) O\ [HIlO8O-
[HCDC8, DDI 3!8O WH3I WOD!U DC W:OD_!\ 388I_DCU 38 IH3I
DDIlUID_8 CXIC:D3! lOU_ID_8, IHC CXI1ID8IC CODUIIIOD8 \O:
II8 [C:\O1D3DCC: IHC HI8IO:IC3l \O1D8 O\ II8 [CU3_O_\,
IHC 8OCI3!, CCODODIC, O: [O!IIIC3! 8I1DCID1C8 O\ IHI8
[CU3_O_IC3! ID8IIIDIIOD. bIDCC II I3D[C:8 WIIH 8OlIU
8I:DCID1C8, `D3IC1I3! ID8IIIDIIOD8-3DU DOI jD8I 8I_Dl\\-
ID_ UI8COD:8C8 O1 1C[:C8CDI3IIOD8, UCCOD8I1DCIIOD I8 3l-
W3\8 UI8IID_DI8H3D!C \1OD 3D 3D3!\8I8 O1 `C1IIICI8D
([[. ?5?+).DU ID `D CODDCDCC CI CODDCD! HDII DD
CO1[8 CD8CI_D3DI (ID cltltqucs J lo htlccht, CU. I:I-
8ODI, I1388CI, 1976). ID3!!\, 8CC C::IU38 IWO ID!C:-
VICW8 ID Itgrh, O8. 83DU !1. `1DI1C C1OCHCI8 3DU
`_3, OD C \3DX-DODU.)
+ + +
l5
THE FFCT|FED FFME
I
the erased intro (
You havcalrcadyrcmarkcd thatthisal|cgcd !ntrodction
prohibitcd itsclFFrom saying i n short anything about thc
Essa,, about what wc wou|d want to Fnd thcrc as its own
propcrandvcntra|contcnt. Ani ntroductionshoul dnotin-
trudc . . . it shou|d not cntcr into thc tcxt, abovc all not
saturatcthctcxtwithrcading. 1oi ntroduccistoscducc.1o
scduccthctcxtoFcourscandnotthcrcadcr, todcviatcthc
tcxt From itsc|F, butust cnough to surprisc i tagain vcry
closctoitscontcnt, whichcanalwaysopcnoutasnothing. as
accntra|void,analarmingsupcrFciality,arigorousabyss .
BccauscoFthat, t obusyoursclvcsroundabout. li ncs ,grat
ing, bordcrs ,ribs ,architccturc,aFtcr-cuts. . . . ( p. IO8bc|ow)
! np|acc oFani ntroduction. . . . ( p. I I 8 bc|ow)
/H IHI1OOHCIIOH SCOHCCS, SCIS H[ IHC \u!SC !CuO. /I !CuSI uH
ù!!C_CO IHI1OOHCIIOH D\ 1C11IOu. O1 HC1C ù!!C_CO HH-
OC1SCO1CS IHC 1CWO1KCO (1CW1IIICH) IH I1OO HCIIOH IIS
SDCu1CO SIuIHS, IIS OCCOHSI1HCIIOH. O C1uSH1C OHCC u_uIH
CXICHOS IO, Du1S IHC uCI O\ OCCOHSI1HCIIH_ IISC!\. IHC
OISH_H1CDCHI Du1KS HOI OH!\ IHC IC1D IISC!\, DHI IHC ÌOCu
O1 `COHCC[I uS WC!!.
+ + +
[jD8! u8 !HC:C 8CCD8 !O DC DO ID8IUC !O !HC !CX! HC:C
ù CCD!:u! VOIU, uD ulu:DID_ 8D[C:HCIu!I!\, u :I_O:OD8
ùD\88 -C::IUu Hu8 8uIU !HC:C I8 DO OD!8IUC CI!HC:. tl
n`y o os d hcrs lxl` (Grommolclcg, [. l58).HC !CX! I8
ID!C:Du!l\ uDU CX!C:Du!!\ DD8!uDlC, u 8I!Du!IOD !HC ID!:O-
UDC!IOD 8CIZC8 D[OD ID O:UC: `!O UCVIu!C !HC !CX! I:OD
I!8ClI, DD! _D8! CDOD_H, 8IDCC lh lxl dc ncl xtsl, mons
nclhtng, tnlnds nclhtng. HOD_H!, !OO, uDU [C:CC[!IOD
I o
OHN P. LE|EI
HuVC u [:OD!CDu!IC CXI8!CDCC IO: C::IUu (Ò CXI8! I8 !O
DC, !O DC uD CD!I!\, u DCID_-[:C8CD!, lc cn. `-
Grommolclcg, [. 167).)
I
0
seductions, deviations (
+ + +
Meta/ysics . IOHOI!!uCS [u!COH\DIC HuHO!IH_ O\
DCIu[H\SICS u!!OWS 1C11IOu IO ISO!uIC IHC ana-/ogic WHICH
HSSH1CS IOHOI!!uCS Essay . (1H HC1 I1uHS!uIIOH O\ Fors IH IHC
CeorgiaIetieo,u1Du1u _OHHSOH HOICS COHCC1HIH_ IHC [1CHX
ana- . Ana- IHOICuICS. I ) H[Wu1O, 2) uCCO1OIH_ IO, ) DuCK,
1)DuCKWu1O, 1CVC1SCO, C) u_uIH ... IHHS a [1OCCSS O\ [1OD-
!CDuIIZIH_ . . . IH uH HHOCIC1DIHCO Wu\ ([. DDH). HCuOIH_
DuCK \1OD Fors ,WC SCC ana/ogicWOH!O DC IHC [1OD!CDuIIZIH_
O\ !O_IC IH uH HHOCIC1DIHCO Wu\, O1 uI !CuSI IH uH uHu!O_ICu!
Wu\ IO Fors . ) O1 IOHOI!!uC, DCIu[H\SICS IS uH O!O HuDC
1CIuIHCO IH O1OC1 IO CODDHHICuIC, u!IHOH_H IHC `COHICHI O\
IHC O!O HuDC IS CHuH_CO. `HC HCW DCIu[H\SICS WI!! DC Cu!!CO
DCIu[H\SICS OH!\ D\ ana/og. . . uHO WI!! DC [1O[C1!\ HuDCO
ana/ysis ,O1 uHu!\IIC DCIHOO. \ 1CI1uCIH_ IHC I1HC _CHC1uIIOH
O\ KHOW!CO_C, D\ _OIH_ DuCK IO IHC [1IHCI[!CS, uH uCIHu!!\
IHuH_H1u! [1uCIICC O\ uHu!\SIS CuH HHu!!\ OISSO!VC, OCSI1O\,
OCCOD[OSC IHC H1SI H1SI [HI!OSO[H\. HuI DCuHS, IH IHC CHO.
re/ace //e{irs/{irs/ /i/oso/y o/i/e in/eri/ing i/s name` ([[.
CD DC!OW, D\ CD[HuSIS). /Hu!O_\, IHC uHu-!O_IC O\
[u!COH\D\, 1CVCu!S uHO _Hu1uHICCS [uSSu_C uC1OSS IHC _u[ O\
I 7
THE FFCT|FED FFME
SCHSuIIOD uHO SCDIOIICS: IHC _C1D O\ SCHSuIIOH DH\O!OS IHIO u
SCDIOIICS D\ uDu!O_\, IH1OD_H uHu!\SIS ([. 46 DC!OW).
Cenius . O DDOC1SIuHO IHC DD\O!OIH_ O\ SCDSuIIOH IHIO
SCDIOIISD 1CQDI1CS IHC uHu!O_IC O\ _CDIDS: trai/|/azing
ra,ge). (Fra,age1Ctu!!S 1C11IOuS 1CuOID_ O\ 1CDOS `StCDC
O\ W1IIIH_ \1OD IHC Iroec/{or a Scien/c Is,c/o/og, IO IHC
`ÒIC OH IHC ^\SIIt uO, IHC [uSSu_C \1OD HCD1OD `\utI!IIu-
IIOH IO IHC [S\tHIt O[C1uIIODS O\ IHC ^\SIIt uO.)
+ + +
(ÔIC. 8 I1uD8!uIIOD uDU UCVClO[DCDI OI 1CDU8
Dohnung, rayog Hu8 DCCD Vu1IOD8l\ I1uD8!uICU. !!I8OD
[1C\C18 IHC SlonJorJ IJtltcn`s `\uCIlIIuIIOD. ^CHlDuD, ID
IHC IDIIIul I1uD8luIIOD OI `1CDU CI lu 8CCDC UC !CC1IID1C
IO1 Iol rnrh SluJts, IDI1OUDCC8 `\1u\ID_, 8IDCC IHI8
WO1U `Cu[ID1C8 IHC VIO!CDCC O\ IHC DOVCDCDI OI IHI8
1OUIDCDIu1\ \O1D O\ W1IIID_ O1 ÌD8C1I[IIOD ([. 73O\
!S Ô. 18). u88, ID HI8 1CVI8CU I1uD8luIIOD OI IHI8 ICXI
(COD[lCICU DCIO1C IHC [DD!ICuIIOD OI b[IVuK8 I1uD8lu-
IIOD O\ O Grommolclcg, DDI DOI [DDlI8HCU DDII! IWO
\Cu18 !uIC1 ID Hrtltng onJ Dqrnr), D8C8 `D1CuCHID_ IO
1CDUC1 IHC IC1D. 1 HuVC D8CU Ì1uIlD!uZID_ ID IHC CD1-
1CDI ICXI \O1 IHC 8ID_lC OCCD11CDCC O\ IHI8 IC1D ID O1UC1
IO 1CCu!! IHC UCVC!O[DCDI OI C11IUu8 [1CVIOD8 COD-
DCDI8 OD /o uct ro,c, IHC Du1KCU ODI I1uI!. u88, ID HI8
D8C O\ `D1CuCHID_, C1CuIC8 u(D) (DD)IO1IDDuIC [O88IDIlII\
O\ COD\D8ID_ ro,og uDU nlomr (H18I CDIIID_, DC_ID-
DID_), 8IDCC b[IVuK D8C8 `D1CuCH O1 `D1OuCH IO 1CDUC1
nlomr. 1D IHC 1D88C1lIuD ICXI8 D\ C11IUu, l!I8OD uDU
1 D8C ÌD[uI1 O1 `DDUC1DIDC IO I1uD8luIC C11IUu8
8CCDID_!\ DOI \CI 8[CCIHC D8C O\ nlomr.)
+ + +
1rai/|/azing!CuOS IO u HCW COHCC[I O\ O1OC1 uDO _CHC1uIIOD
(ÌHC [HI!OSO[HC1 DDSI \O1D u DCW CODDIDuIIOD O\ IOCuS
COHCC1HIH_ IHC CODDIHuIIOH O\ IOCuS [. 62 DC!OW): uHu-
O_IC WO1KS IH1OD_H IHC OCVIuIIOD O\ signs. H OIHC1 WO1OS,
l8
OHN P. LE|EI
u!IHOD_H !uD_Du_C SD[[O1IS _CDIDS, DuKCS II [OSSID!C,
_CHIDS uOOS IO !uH_Du_C D\ OCVIuIIH_ \1OD `CD11CHI DSu_C
ID O1OC1 IO DC O1I_IHu!. HIS OCVIuIIOD tOHSIIIDICS, \O1 1C1-
1IOu, ÌHC u1CHCO!O_\ O\ IHC \1IVO!ODS. 1C CX[!uIDS D\ CIIID_
IOHOI!!uC:
1husin ordcrtobcanoriginal , hc isobligcdtocontributc
tothc ruinoFal anguagc,whichaccnturysooncrhcwould
havc hclpcd to improvc. 1hough s uch writcrs may bc
criticiscd, thcir s upcrior abilitics must still command suc-
ccss. 1hc casc thcrc is in copying thcir dcFccts , soon pcr
s uadcsmcnoFindiFFcrcntcpacitics ,thatthcyshallacquirc
thc
amc dcg
cc oF rcp
tati on. 1hcn bcgins thc rcign oF

s ubtandstramcdconccrts ,oFaFFcctcdantithcscs ,oFspcci-
us paradoxcs, oF Frivolous turns , oFFar-Fctchcd cxprcs-

srons, oFncw-Fanglcd words , andi nshortoFthcargon oF
pcrsons whosc undcrstandings havc bccn dcbauchcd by
bad mctaphysics . ( p. o7n-o8n bclow
Ioagii ng. Hu_IHIH_ IS !HC 1CWO1KID_, !HC 1CID!C1[1C!ID_
(IH 1CDOIuH ICI1S, IHC OC\C11CO uCIIOH (Vac/trg/ic//eit) , u
ICI1 DSCO uS IHC aux titre O\ IHC SCCODO SCCIIOH O\ IHC
Arc/eo/og,) O\ _CHIDSS OCVIuIIOH, IH O1OC1 IO uCCODDI \O1 IIS
O1OC1. HC O1OC1 O\ IHC OCVIuIIOH uS OCVIuIIOD IS [1OODCCO
uDO COHI[1CHCDOCO OH!\ u\IC1 IHC \uCI. HC DOSI IHIC1CSIID_
CXuHI[!C HC1C IS IODOI!!uCS OWH SIuICHICHI WIIHIH IHC Essa;
IHuI IWO [u_CS WC1C DIS[!uCCO IH IHC ICXI (IHDS IHC ICXI uHc
IOHOI!!uC !utKCO O1OC1) DHII! a{ter HC HuO HHISHCO W1IIID_.
IOHOI!!uCS 1CWO1KID_ 1CVCu!CO IHC !u[SC O\ O1OC1, IHC OCVIu-
IIOH IHuI u!!OWCO HIHI, HDu!!\ uDO u\IC1 IHC \utI, IO [DI HIS
W1IIIH_ (uDO IHIHKID_) IH O1OC1.
+ + +
,1lainol Nc/e: !C I1uH8!uIIOD OI ujjlcer. C11IUu
!u8 I1CQDCHI!\ uDU WIH DDCH IH8I8ICDCC UI8CD88CU
:ujlcer !I8 IC1D Hu8 u][CuICU IH 1a Dise:nina/icn,
19
7HE FFC7/FE FFME
Srh onJ hncmno, uDU Oj Grommolclcg, WDICD COD-
IuID CC:IuID !OCI C!u88iCI OD IDI8 DuIIC:. Hrtltng onJ D;|jr-
nr uDU Io |ertle n tnlur CODIuID OIDC: [u88u_C8 u8
WC!!. DC WO:U Du8 _CDC:u!!\ DCCD I:uD8!uICU u8 8D[-
[CDCDI, 8DD8IiIDIC, O: 8D[[!uDI (:C[!uCC). DC8C :CD-
UC:ID_8 \uVO: ODC O\ IDC IWO Du_O: 8CD8C8 O\ suler: IO
:C[!uCC uDU IO COD[!CIC (suler u u8 IO DuKC D[ \O:).
HI8 CDuID O\ 8CD8C :DD8 ID:OD_DODI IDC CO_DuIC8 O\
suler: suleonr, suleonl( ), sulemnl, sulenn-
lutr. 1OWCVC:, ID !I_DI O\ IDC [O88IDI!iIIC8 _IVCD ID IDC
OxjcrJ Ingltsh Dtrltcnoj (OID) uDU Htslrs 1htrJ Inlr-
noltcnol , HuVC D8CU 8D[[!\, 8D[[!CDCDI, uDU IHCI:
CO_DuIC8 IO I:uD8!uIC IDC \uDI!\ O\ suler. !IDOD_D
IDI8 I:uD8!uIIOD :CQDI:C8 :CuCIIVuIID_ 8ODC OD8O!CIC O:
DOW :u:C DCuDID_8 O\ 8D[[!\, II 8CCD8 ID KCC[ID_ WIID
C::IUu8 W:IIiD_. Suly (OID): Ò DuKC D[ (u WHO!C)
D\ uUUID_ 8ODCIDID_, IO H!! u, COD[!CIC ... . O uUU IO
(8ODCIHID_), IO DuKC D[ u UCHCICDC\ ID, IO 8D[[!C-
DCDI. . . . O DuKC D[ \O:, DuKC _OOU, COD[CD8uIC \O:
(u UC\CCI, !O88, O: VOIU), IO COD[CD8uIC \O: (IDC uD8CDCC
O\ 8ODCIDID_) D\ [:OVIUID_ u 8DD8IIIDIC . . . . O \D!H!,
8uII8\\ (u DCCU O: WuDI) D\ \D:DI8DID_ WDuI I8 WuDICU .. ..
O \D:DI8D (u IDID_) utlh WDuI I8 DCCC88u:\ O: UC8I:uD!C .
. . . O H!! (uDOIDC:8 [!uCC), s. (DOW OD!\) IO OCCD[\ u8 u
8DD8IIIDIC . . . O IuKC IDC [!uCC O\, IO 8C:VC u8, O: \D:DI8D,
u 8DD8IIIDIC \O:, IO DuKC D[ \O: IHC WuDI O\, IO :C-
[!uCC . . . . )
> > >
1/esign su/ies.
Fri to/it, . HC DOSI \1IVO!OHS O\ u!! SI\!CS IS IHC
[H\!OSO[HICu!IHuI IS, IHC W1IIICH [1OSCSI\!C. HCuOIH_
IOHOI!!uC, 1C11IOu W1IICS. `HI!OSO[HICu! SI\!C COH_CHIIu!!\
!CuOS IO \1IVO!II\. HI IHC 1CuSOH \O1 IHIS IS !O_ICu!, C[IS-
ICDO!O_ICu!, ODIO!O_ICu!. 1\ [HI!OSO[HICu! W1IIIH_ IS \1IVO!OHS,
IHuI IS DCCuHSC IHC [HI!OSO[HC1 CuHHOI \H!H!! HIS SIuICDCHIS.
C KHOWS HOIHIH_, HC HuS HOIHIH_ IO Su\, uHO HC COHI[!I-
YU
OHN P. LE|EI
CuICS, SHDII!I1CS, 1CHHCS IHC SI\!ISIIC C\\CCIS IO DuSK HIS I_HO1-
uHCC. HHS HC HIIS!CuOS, [u\S CHuH_C . . . OHI O\ IHC CSSCHIIu!
C[IIHCSS O\ H
.
IS OISCOH1SC. HCH [HI!OSO[HICu! W1IIIH_ IS
Oi\HCH!I, CSOIC\C, 1CSC1VCO IO u SDu!! HHDDC1, IHuI IS DCCuHSC
SHCH W1IIIH_ IS HO!!OW [[. I 2bDC!OW). OWCVC1, IHIS \1IVO!II\
ouKCS OCCOHSI1HCIIOH [OSSID!C [`HI!OSO[H\ OCVIuICS \1OD
iISC!\ uHO _IVCS 1ISC IO IHC D!OWS IHuI WI!! SI1IKC II HOHCIHC!CSS
\1OD IHC OHISIOC. IH IHIS COHOIIIOH u!OHC, uI OHCC IHIC1Hu!
uHO CX,C1Hu!, IS OCCOHSI1HCIIOH ossi|/e. [. I 32DC!OW), uHO
IHe lCIiOH O\ \1IVO!II\ DuKCS \1IVO!II\ IISC!\ [OSSID!C [`HuI IS
SuiO D\ CXICHSIOH IS u!Wu\S SuIO ID[1O[C1!\ [. I 33DC!OW).
)
urch( u)voIo
}
: citations (
6
`
u1CHuCO!O_\ HHOS IHC [OIHI O\ Du!uHCC O\ IIS uHu!\SIS IH

sator
` \1IVO!II\ OCHCS u!! u1CHCO!O_\, COHOCDHS II, WC COH!O
Su\, IO \1IVO!II\
ù1CHuCO!O_\ [1OCCCOS IH IHC O[[OSIIC OI1CCIIOH. II SCCKS
1
.
uIHC: ,O HHIIC u!! (HOSC KHOIS IHuI HISIO1IuHS HuVC [uIICHI!\
IICO, iI iHC1CuSCS Oi\\C1CHCCS, D!H1S IHC !IHCS O\ CODDHHICu-
IIOH, uHO I1ICS IO IDuKC II DO1C OI\HCH!I IO [uSS \1OD OHC IHIH_
IO uHOIHC1
Ò;C1, C!u1II\, [1CCISIOH. HOI OH!\ OOCS !O_IC !uCK IHCSC,
DHI W\,iH_ IOOIHC [HI!OSO[HICu! SI\!C. HI!OSO[HICu! SI\!C
COH_CHiIu!!\ !CuOS IO \1IVO!II\
Y1
."
7HE FFC7/FED FFME
~it is nothing morc than a rcwriti ng. that is , in thc
prcscrvcdFormoFcxtcriority,arcgulatcdtransFormationoF
what has alrcady bccn writtcn. It is not a rcturn to thc
inncrmostsccrctoFthcorigi n, i tisthcsystcmaticdcscription
oFa discoursc-obcct
-thc root oF cvil is writi ng. Jhc Frivolous stylc i s thc
stylc -that is writtcn
-thisgroupoFclccnts ,Formcdi narcgularmanncrby
a discursivc practicc, and which arc indispcnsablc to thc
consti tution oFa scicncc, although thcy arc not ncccssarily
dcstincd to givc risctoonc, can bc callcdnooledge
Frivolity consists in bcingsatishcd with tokcns
dusatotr( trans. A. V. ShcridanSmith,Panthcon, I 972,
pp. I 83, I 7O, I 4O, I 82 rcspcctivcly)
du frttole (pp. I I 9, I 2b, I 26, I I 8 bclow rcspcctivcly)
9
) X
parenthesisX (
Dcrri da, in an uncharac/erts/tcall, positivisticgcsturc, has
scttlcdthc qucstion oFLacan' sinucncc uponhimsclFi na
long Footnotc to an intcrvicw` ,Cramma/olog , p. lxiii , my
cmpasis) . Jhisuncharac/erts/tc Framccontains thc hrstpa-
rcnthcsi s. (I rcadwhilcwriting. slowly, takingplcasurcin
prcFacing at lcngth cach tcrm) . ` A parcnthcsis within an
uncommon parcnthcticalgcsturcundcrscorcs thcmargtnal
qarergonal) quality oF both parcnthcscs and what comcs
YY
|
|
OHN P. LE|EI
bctwccn. So dcviatcthctcxtFromitscl F, |utuste nough`: thc
parcgonal drFFcrcncc (thc hction) that crasurc i nscribcs
pricsocnthcparcnthcscs ,asiFtorcmovcthcnarginality.
So dcratc thc margins , butust cnough to counicatc.
[us
.
tcnoug- toproduccthcFrivolousgapakingcommuni-
caton possrblc.
) J
acknowledgents and notes (
1heHrcheolog, of /heFrttolous: Ieadtug Con|llac has bccn
translatcFromthchrstFrcnchcditionpublishcdinCondil-
lac` sEssatsurl òrtgtuedes counatssances humatnes, cd. Cha:lcs
torsct, prc,.dc dcL+rcheologtedufrttole par[acqucs Dcr-
Hda, Edrtrons Galcc, I 973. Jhis cditionhas bccncon-
parcd with its I 976 rcprinting undcr scparatc covcr as
L'Hrcheologtedufrttole:LtreCondtllacbDcno/Gonthicr.No
signihcantchangcs wcrc Found.
7
I
.
wouldlikctothankRobcrtHatchandGrcgoryUlmcrFor
thcrrhclpFulsuggcstions ,paticntrcadings , andcmcndations
conccrnin thistcxt. InustalsoacknowlcdgcthcsupportoF
partsoFthrs workbythcnivcrsityoFFlorida' sHumanitics
Coun
.
cil . YctIammostindcbtcdto)acqucsDcrridahi msclF
For
.
hr shcl p, support , andFricndship.
Frnally, I dcdicatc this work to Arthur Evans.
Cainesti//e, F/orida
Se/em/er 1V7V [o P. Lrvr\,[r
Y3
\\u]
cl|tc\
u_It
LD
_
ABBRLVIA 1IOS
Condillac. n Essa, on /he Origin o]Human Knou/edge.
Being a Su/emen/ /o Mr. Locke`s Essa, on /he Human
|nders/anding. Jrans. Jhomas Nugcnt. I 75o, rpt.
Gainvcsvil|c,Florida. Scho|arsàcsimi |cs&Rcpri nts ,
I 97 I . RcFcrcnccs will givc part , scction, paragraph,
andpagc. Forcxamplc Essa,, ! I , s IO,p. 2O rcFcrsto
part ! , scction I , paragraph I O, pagc 2O. !n his hrst
rcFcrcncctothcFrcnchcditionoFthcEssai hcwillusc,
Dcrrida parcnthcticallycallsattcntion to thc subtitlc
oFthcrstcditon I 74o, thcdatcoFthchrstcdition
which dcvclopcd its titlc as Fo|lows . hork hherein
Ete/hing Concerning Human |nders/anding !s Feduced
/o a Sing/e Princi/e.
Condillac.Le//res inedi/es o Ca/rie/ Cramer. Ld. Gcorgcs
IcRoy.Paris .PrcsscsUnivcrsitaircsdcFrancc, I 953.
Condillac. The Logic o]Condi//ac. Jrans. scphNccF.
I 8O9, rpt. in Signqcan/ Con/ri/u/ions /o /he His/o o]
Ps,cho/og,, 170-1V20. ScricsA. Oricntations ,Vol . l .
Ld. Danicl N. Robi nson. Washington, D. C. . Univcr
sity PublicationsoFAmcrica, I 977.
Mai ncdcBiran. Oeutres de Maine de Birao. Ld. Picrrc
Jisscrand. I4vols .Pari s. F.AlcanandPrcsscsUnivcr-
sitaircs dc Francc, I 92O-4. ( Vo|s . I I 2 by Alcan,
vol s. I 3 and I 4, P. U. F.
25
+ |
! .
THE FCHEOLOCI OF THE FF!|OLO|S

UI Cond|| ac. Oeure Phi/oohique de Coodi//ac. d.
7S
Gcorgcs Ic Roy. 3 vo| s . Corpus Gnra| dcs
Phi|osophcsFranais . Pars:PrcsscsUnivcrsitaircsdc
Francc, I 9475J.
Condi||ac. Coodi//ac' Trea/ie oo /he Seoa/ioo. Jrans.
Gcra|dincCarr. Iosngc|cs UnivcrsityoFSouthcrn
Ca|iFornia Schoo| oF Phi|osophy, J93O. RcFcrcnccs
wi || givc par, chaptcr, paragraph, and pagc. For
cxamp|c TS, , 2, s I J, p. 8rcFcrstopart! , chaptcr2,
paragraph I J, pagc 8.
2o
1/c . I/c0/0_ g |/c 1HU0/0
c0dtug C0udtll0c
1IC1 u!!, O!IuI1C IS OH!\ u DuH O1
!C!!C1S .... HC l1UC CI_HICCH!H-
tCHIU1\ DC!ujH\SItIuH IS IHC uDD
UC LOHUI!!ut. ..- `
LOHUI!!utS DOSI Su!ICHI QUu!IIICS
u1C HIS t!Cu1HCSS uHU j1CtISIOH, u
tC1IuIH uHu!\IIt 1O1tC, uHU WI!H
!HuI SODC HHCSSC uHU SjI1I!. LOH-
SIUC1uD!C HuWS u1C ]OIHCU IO !HCSC
Vu!UuD!C QUu!IIICS. LOHUI!!ut !ut1S u
SCHSC O1 1Cu!II\. lC 1HOWS HCI!HC1
DuH HO1 DuH1IHU, HCIIHC1 !I1C HO1
SOtIC!\. LODDOH SCHSC HCVC1 1C-
S!1uIHS HID. lIS DIHU IS jCHCI1uI-
IH_ DUI Hu11OW. lCuUS!1OH_ IH uH
CXtCSSIVC !OVC O1 SIDj!ItII\, HC Sut-
1IHtCS CVC1\!HIH_ 1O1 !HC 11IVO!OUS
DCHCH! O1 1CUUtIH_ CVC1\IHIH_ !O u
UHIQUC j1IHtIj!C. C1! WIIHOU! uH\
SjI1II 1O1 ODSC1VuIIOH, HC 1CC!S
DO1C tOD1O1!uD!C WIIH WO1U O1
H_U1C tODDIHu!IOHS !HuH IH 1uIIH-
1U! uHU UC!uI!CU UCSt1IjIIOHS O1
1utIS. 1OD !Hu! tODCS HIS U1\ uHU
j1CtISC SI\!C, O1 CXtC!!CHt QUu!II\
DU! WI!HOU! _1uHUCU1, WHItH !III!C
D\ !III!C IS t1CUIICU uDOH_ US uS IHC
!1UC S!\!C O1 jHI!OSOjH\.
'onnoiuc ConuIIIa, boihc o! ihc
!anousMabIy,wasbonInCcnobIcIn
171,uIcuIn179O.+hcbcsicuIiIono!
hIswoksIsihaio!1798,In23voIuncs
In oiavo.
Ji1OR LOISJN
Hts/otre geuer/r de /
ht/osohte
Y9
hCIujH\SItS HuU DCtODC IHSIjIU.
H IHC VC1\ \Cu1 IH WHItH hu!C-
D1uHtHC uHU 1HuU!U, IHC !uS!
_1CuI 1CHtH DC!ujH\SItIuHS O1
IHC SCVCHICCHIH tCH!U1\, UICU, Iel-
ucltus uHU Ccndtlloc WC1C DO1H ....
CSIUCS IHC HC_u!IVC 1C1UIuIIOH O1
SCVCH!CCHIH-tCHIU1\ IHCO!O_\ uHU
DC!ujH\SItS, u ctltte, onlt -melo-
hytcol S\SICD Wu8 1CQUI1CU.
DOO1 vuS HCCUCU vHItH WOU!U S\S-
ICDuIISC uHU IHCO1CIItu!!\ SUDS!uH-
!IuIC !HC !I1C j1utIItC O1 IHuI IIDC.
Iccke I1Cu!ISC Hn Isoy Ccncerntng
Iumone Cnderlondtng tuDC 11OD
ut1OSS IHC LHuHHC! uS I1 IH uHSWC1
IO u tu!!. . .. S Iccke jC1HujS u
UIStIj!C O1 Stnczo? `11O1uHC HIS-
!O1\ tuH uHSWC1. hu!C1Iu!ISD IS IHC
nolurol-tcr SOH O1 Greol Drtlotn.
... Ot1CS tmmrdtole jUjI!, Ccn
dtlloc, WHO I1uHS!u!CU HID IHIO
rnch, uI OHtC ujj!ICU Ot1CS
SCHSUu!ISD u_uIHSI SCVCH!CCHIH-
tCHIU1\ melohytts. lC j1OVCU
IHuI IHC 1CHtH HuU 1I_HI!\ 1C-
]CtICU IHIS DCIujH\SItS uS u DC1C
DOItH vO11 O1 1uHt\ uHU !HCO!O_I-
tu! j1C]UUItC .... I WuS OH!\ D\
ec/ccltc jHI!OSOjH\ !Hu! IOHUI!!uc
WuS OUSICU 11OD !HC 1CHtH
StHOO!S.
ARI hAk
CIiIaaiiIcaaInsi Fcnh aicI-
aIIsn` jIn 1he Ho{ Iamt/,, In |o//ec/ed
Hor/, VoI. 4 (!cw o:k 1nicna-
iIonaI,197)
.
Ht 8tCOHU H18I-
HtIuQH\8IC8
Jhisbook, HnEssa,on//eOrtgtnHumanKnoo/edge, should
havcopcncdthc doo:s toa namclcssscicncc.
It uscdtobc possiblctoc:iticizcmctaphysicsonlyassuc/.
Jhisbookdocsthat- which:cgula:lyamountstoFoundinga
ncw mctaphysics . Jhis book lacks nothing in that :cspcct
cithc: -which implicsa :igo:ousandinvctc:atc distinction
bctwccn/oo mctaphysics . Wc a:cgoi ngtovc:iFy this.
Wcmustdistinguish twoso:ts oFmctaphysics . `Fo:thc
mctaphysicsoFcsscnccsandcauscs ,Condillacvc:yp:omptly
p:oposcssubstitutingamctaphysicsoFphcnomcnaand:cla-
tions(concctions`) . Fo: thc mctaphysicsoFthchiddcn, a
mctaphysicsoFthcopcn-wccouldsayaphcnomcnologyoF
thcthingsthcmsclvcs -anda c:itical scicncc oFlimits . Onc
wants to sca:ch into cvc:y mystc:y, into thc natu:c and
csscnccoFbcings ,andthcmosthiddcncauscs, allthcscshc
mctaphysics]p:omiscstodiscovc:tohc:admi:c:s ,whoa:c
plcascd with thc attc:ingidca. Jhc othc:mo:c :csc:vcd,
p:opo:tions hc: :csca:chcs to thc wcakncss oFthc human
undc:standingesrt/] . . . onlyt:yingtosccthingsasthcyin
Fact a:c . . (Essa,, I nt:o. , pp. 2-3 modihcd] ) .
Si ncc such a ncw scicncc wasc:catcd t ogivc idcas thci:
namcs ,itwillconscqucntlyhavcsomct:oublchndingitsown
namc.
Whatpa:ticula:namccouldwcassigntoagenera/scicncc
cndingnowhc:candutilizingaunivc:salanalysis ,ananalysis
thatlcadsusbackinallhcldsoFknowlcdgc tothcsimplcst,
33
THE FCHEOLOCI OF THE FFI|OLO|S
most clcmcntary idcas and that also dchncs thcir laws oF
conncction,combination,complication,substitution, rcpcti-
tion: But alsoaro|lem ofrtnctle-thcir laws oFgcncra-
tion: Willthis gcncral thcory truly bc mctaphysics :
Palconymy atthcbcginningoFhisEssa, , Condillacsccms
vcrycalmlyrcsolvcdtoprcscrvcthcoldnamc, providcdwc
distinguishtwosortsoFmctaphysics.`JhcoppositionoFthc
twomctaphysics,thcrcForc,i sanalogoustothatbctwccnthc
hiddcncsscnccandthcproFFcrcdphcnomcnon. Inrcturn-
ingto thclattcr, wcrcproduccitsgcncration, wcrctracc`
(oncoFthctwochicFwordsinthcEssa,)itsorigin,wcgoback
thcrc, rcpcat thcorigin, and analyzcit. Jhus , sinccgood`
mctaphysics is thc scicncc oF origins and truc bcgi nnings
(andaugursLaLanguedescalculs: Ibcginat thcbcginning. `
Jhat is why I bcgin whcrc no onc has cvcr bcgun bc-
Forc . . . `) , wc might Fccl that good` mctaphysics should
alsobc prcscntcd ashrstphilosophy.
Butthatisnotatal l thccasc| JhcscicnccoFbcgi nnings
t hc mctaphys i cs oF t hc s i mpl c , oF combi nat i on and
gcncration-thcncwphilosophy, willbcirrcduciblysecond.
Such is its condi tion.
LongaFtcrthcEssa, ,Condillacis morcprudcntandmorc
uncomFortablc than cvcr about using thc wordme/ah,stcs.
Abovc all hc is anxious to avoid thc stumbling- block oF
htlosohtaro/. Hismctaphysicswillnotbchrstphilosophy.
Orthcology. Wc mustdowhatDcscartcsdidnotsuccccdin
doing, brcak withthc Aristotcliantradition.
Pcrhapsitwi||sccmsurprisingthat! hadForgottcntogivc
thchistoroFmctaphysics ,butthatisbccausc!donotknow
whatthis
ordmcans. Aristot| c, thinkingtocrcatcascicncc,

tookit uponhimsc|Ftogathcrtogcthcra|| thc gcncra|and
abstractidcas, suchasbcing, substancc, princip|cs, causcs,
34
THE SECOND FIFST -METPHISICS
rc|ations, andothcrrcscmb|anccs. Hcwi||considcra||thcsc
idcasina prc|iminarytrcatisc, whichhcca||cd{rs/ uisdom,
{rs/ hi/osoh,, /heo/og,, andsoon. AFtcrhim,1hcophrastus
orsomcothcrpcripatcticgavcthcnamcmctaphysicstothis
co||cction oFabstract idcas . 1his , thcn, is mctaphysics . a
scicnccwhichproposcstotrcatcvcrythingingcncra|bcForc
havingobscrvcdanythinginparticu|ar,i . c. ,tospcakabout
cvcrythingbcForc having|carncd anything. a vainscicncc
which bcars on nothing and |cads to nothing. Sincc wc
oursc|vcs raisc somc particu|ar idcas to gcncra| notions ,
gcncra|notionscou|dnotbc thc obcctoFthc Frstscicncc.
(Cours d'e/udes our /'ins/ruc/ion du Prince de Parme. His/oire
moderne , Book 2O, ch. xii , Dcs progrs dc |' art dc raison-
ncr, inOP, ! ! , p. 229)
Conscqucntly,thcncwmctaphysicswillbcsccondonlyby
rcturning to thc pri nciplc` s truc gcncration, to its actual
product i on . Jhc ncw mctaphys i cs wi l l rcs cmbl c
cmpiricism-without any doubt. But what Condillac dc-
nounccs
in Aristotlc` s hrst philosophy is as wcll an uncon-

scious cmpiricism, onc that takcs dcrivcd gcncralitics For
prcmiscs, productsForsccdsororigins_ermes] . asasccond
philosophy i ncapablc oFcstablishing itsclFas such, it is an
irrcsponsiblc cmpiricism. Jhrough a chiasmus cFFcct thc
ncwmctaphysics ,byadvancingitsclFassccondphilosophy,
will mcthodicallyrcconstitutcthcgcncrativcprinci plcs , thc
primordial production oF thc gcncral starting From rcal
singularitics .Jhcncwmctaphysicswillbccallcdmctaphysics
only by ana/og (it Follows that ana/og, its Fundamcntal
opcrativc, will bc anal ogous only to thc analogy oF thc
Aristotclian traditi on, and hcrc wc havc thc matrix oFan
inhnitcsctoproblcms)andwillbcpropcrlynamcdanal,sts,
or analytic mcthod. By rctracing thc truc gcncration oF
knowlcdgc, by going back to thc pri nciplcs, an actually
i naugural practicc oFanalysis can hnally dissolvc, dcstroy,
35
THE FCHEOLOCI OF THE FFI|OLOUS
dccomposcthchrsthrstphilosophy. Jhatmcans, inthccnd.
rcplaccthchrsthrstphilosophywhilcinhcriti ngitsnamc.Or
bcttcrstil l . supplyìt(suleeristhcsccondchicFwordoFthc
Essa,).
Sinccwcnccdtoanalyzcobcctsinordcrtoclcvatcoursclvcs
to truc knowlcdgc, it is absolutcly ncccssary to ordcr our
idcas by distributing thcm into diFFcrcnt classcs and by
giving cach oF thcm namcs by which wc may bc ablc to
rccognizc thcm. 1hcrc lics all thcartiFcc oFmorc or lcss
gcncral notions. !Fthcana|yscs havcbccnd
ncwcll
.
, thcy
lcadusFromdiscovcrytod.scovcry,bccausc, .nshowrngus
howwcsuccccdcd,thcytcachushowwccansuccccdagai n.
1hccharactcristicoFanalysisistolcadusbythcsimplcstand
shortcstmcans. 1hisanalysisis not onc scicncc scparatcd
Fromthcothcrs . !tbclongstoallthcscicnccs ,itisthcirtruc
mcthod, thcir soul . ! will cal l this analyss mctaphysics ,
provi dcd you do not conFusc it with thc Frst scicncc oF
Ari stotlc. ( !bid. )
Wc nccdtopursuc promptlythisdtttston oFmctaphysics.
ndcrtakcn From thc hrspagc oFthcEssa,, this division
ncvcrthclcss continually complicatcs thcEssa,`s spacc and
opcration.
Onthconchand, in Fact ,bad`mctaphysicshasconsistcd
oF bad linguistic usc couplcd with a bad phil osophy oF
languagc. Jhis bad` mctaphysics can only bc corrcctcd,
thcn, by claboratinganothcrthcoryoFsignsandwords, by
usinganothcrlanguagc. JhatisthcEssa,`sconstantandmost
obviousi ntcnt. Forcxamplc. allthisquartcroFmctaphysics
hs hithcrtolain involvcdi nsuch obscurity and conFusion,
thatIhavcbccnobligcdtoFramctomysclF,i nsomcmcasurc,
a ncwlanguagc. I t was i mpossiblcFor mctobccxact ,andat
thcsamctimctocmploysuchundctcrminatcsignsasvul gar
uschasadoptcd`(Essa,, I , 2, p. 26). LaLanguedescalculswill
3G
dcvclop this vcry procct. thc constitution oFa rigorously
arbitrary, Formal , and convcntional languagc. But oncc
agai n thc task oF cstabl i shi ng thi s l anguagc` s grammar
amountstomctaphysics propcrlysocallcd-to mctaphysics
and not to thc algcbraists` tcchniquc oF calculation. Jhc
philosophicalintcntiscontinuallyrcaFhrmcdwhcnthcqucs-
tionisthchandlingoFlanguagcanditsrulcs . Wccouldsay,
thc handling oF discoursc. I dwcllcd a long timc on thc
qucstionthatthccalculatorsncvcrimagincdtotrcat, bccausc
thcscqucstionsarcmctaphysical oncsandbccauscthccal-
culators arc not mctaphysici ans. Jhcy do not know that
algcbra is only a languagc, that this l anguagc still has no
grammaratall , andthatmctaphysicsalonccangivcitonc`
(La Langue des calculs, inOI, I I , p. 429) .
But, onthcothcrhand, i Fgoodmctaphysicsmustbcstatcd
l absolutclyartihcialgrammar, sinccmctaphysics isthc
vcry thin that grammar will havc i nstitutcd, isn` t that in
ordcr to guidc i tsclFby anothcr` good mctaphysics ~this
timc, thcmostnaturalonc,thatwhichwillhavcprcccdcdall
languagc i n gcncral : Isn` t that i n ordcr to makc amcnds
throughlanguagc Forlanguagc` s misdccds , to pushartihcc
to that limit which lcads back to naturc Jhcrc is thc
advantagc thatalgcbra willhavc, itwill makc usspcaklikc
naturc,andwcwillbclicvcwchavcmadcagrcatdiscovcry`
( ibid. , p. 435) : In guidingits cxtrcmc Formalization by thc
)usi as ihcc ac iwo oigins, iwo nciahysics, and so on, ihcc ac iwo
babaisns, iwo sois o! babaisn. onc which succccds cnIighicncd ccniuics,
ihcoihcwhichcccdcsihcn; andihcydonoiaiaIIcscnbIc cachoihc. oih
suosc a gcaiignoancc,bui a coIcwhohavcaIwaysbccn babaian do noi
havcasnanyviccsasacoIcwhobcconcsucha!ichavingknownihcIuxuious
aisj/esartsde/uxe|(Ccursdètudes:Inioduciiona I'iudcdcI'hisioic,"inUI, II,
9)
37
ncccssityoFthcsimplc,thclanguagcoFcalculusmustrccon-
stitutc mctaphysics' s prclinguistic and natural basc. Good
mctaphysicsotllhate |een natural and mutc. in thc cnd
physics .GoodmctaphysicsbcganbcForclanguagcs ,andthc
lattcr owc to thc Formcr thc bcst things thcy posscss . But
thoscmctaphysicswcrcathrstlcssascicnccthananinstinct.
It was naturc that lcd mcn without thcir knowlcdgc, and
mctaphysicshavconlybccomcascicncc,whcnthcyccascdto
bc good and rational` ,Logtc, p. o3) .
Scicncc must cure , in thc transitivc and thc intransitivc
scnscs oF this word. Scicncc must curc- (must bc curcd
oF) scicncc . Conscqucntly-a nothcr di splaccmcnt and
rci nscriptionoFduality -thcrcwillagainbctwomctaphysics
inthcvcryhcartoFthcncwscicncc.Onccmorcuscwillhavc
to di s t i ngui s h bct wccn t wo mct aphysi cs wi t hi n t hc
mctaphysics Condillac i ntcnds t o claboratc. Rcnouncing
knowlcdgc oFcsscnccs andcauscs and cntbackonto thc
cxpcricncc oF idcas ( i . c. , cFFccts) , thc ncw mctaphysics`
(whoscsolcobccti sthchumanmindesrt/] )willarticulatc
initsclFthcsctwomctaphysicsnotthcgoodandthcbad,this
ti mc, butthcgoodinthcFormoFthcprcli nguisticòrigi n,
instinct, or Fccling, and thc good in thc Form oF thc
highcst linguistic claboration, ncw languagc, and rccc-
tion. De l àr/ de ratonner organizcs this doublc systcm, it
gi vcs t hc rul c which mus t rcl at c to cach ot hcr t hc
mctaphysicsoFnaturalinstinctandmctaphysicsas such,thc
sccond scicncc which curcs.
Vctaphysics as such mustdetelo and not dcgradc thc
mctaphysics oF natural insti nct , mctaphysics as such must
cvcn rcproducc ot/htn languagc thc rclation it has, as lan-
guagc, to what prcccdcs all languagc. In thc ordcr oFthc
human mind, thc valucsoF{eeltng andre{ec/ton dchnc thc
38
THE SECOND F!FST -METPHIS!CS
law oF this rclation. Jhc hrst comcs to thc sccond rn this
statcmcnt.
Whcni tsso|cobcctisthchumanmi nd, mctaphysicscanbc
i stinguishcdi ntotwokinds: thconc, rccction, thcothcr,
Fcc|i ng. Jhc Frst di scntang|cs a|| our Facu|ti cs. ! t sccs
thcir princip|c and thcir gcncration and accordi ng|y dic
tatcsru|csto dircctthcm. rccctionis acquircdbyForccoF
study. Jhc sccond Fcc|s our Facu|ti cs, obcys thcir action,
Fo||owspri ncip|cs whichitdocsnot know, i sacquircdwith-
out appcari ng to bc acquircd, bccausc Fortuitous ci r
cumstanccshavcmadcitnatura| , isthc|otoF ustmi nds, i s ,
sotospcak,thciri nsti nct. JhusthcmctaphysicsoFrccction
is on|y a thcory which dcvc|ops , in its princip|c and its
cFccts , cvcrythi ng that thc mctaphysics oF Fcc|ing prac-
ticcs . Forcxamp|c, thc |attcrcrcatcs|anguagcs , thc Formcr
cxp|ainsthcirsystcm. thconcFormsoratorsandpocts , thc
othcr givcs thc thcoryoFc|oqucncc and oFpoctry. (Cours
dè/udes De /'ar/ de raisonner, i nOP, ! , pp. o l9-2O)
Jhi s wll havc bccn rcmarkcd . al t hough thcsc two
mctaphysics opposc cach othcr, thcy succccd onc anothcr
and dcvclop li kc practicc and thcory. Jhc primacy oFthc
practicalinstancctns/ance]isthcmostdccisivcandinvariablc
traitoFthisncwcriticalmctaphysics .Butitwillrcscmblclcss
a philosophyoFraxts than a mctaphysics oF{ac/ .
Jhc hrst conscqucncc For thc Essa, . sincc this gcncral
thcoryis nolongcrahrstscicnccora prclimi nary mcthod,
andinordcrtotakci ntoaccount andrcapthcconscqucnccs
oF thc dcvclopmcnt or thc acquisition oF knowlcdgc, thc
gcncralthcorycomcsa{/erthcdcvclopmcntoracquisitionoF
knowlcdgc(inshowingushowwcsuccccdcd,thcytcachus
how wc can succccd agai n`) . Jhc gcncral thcory succeeds
somc particular history oF scicncc. Dc Facto and dcurc, it
prcsupposcsthcscicntihc{ac/(aswcarcgoingtoscc) , ustas
thcgcncralidcaisconstructcdstartingFromparticularidcas.
39
Li kc thc thcorctical , thc gcncral is always cngcndcrcd. Jo
submitbothtoanalysisistorcturntothcpracticalconditions
ForcmcrgcnccandtothcgcncticproccsscsoFthcirconsti tu-
tion.Jhisisnotonlytodccomposcacombinationi ntosimplc
clcmcnts, toscparatc thcparticlcsoFacalculus, butalso, by
thc samc movcmcnt (yct will itbc thc samc:) , to rctracc a
gcncsisandrcactivatcachainoFpsychicopcrations . Would
thcEssa, thusbca trcatiscoFpracticals,cholog,:
Butlikc mctaphysics ,thcwordpsychology is alsooutsidc
usagc,outsidcgoodusc,oFcoursc. Evcnthismctaphysicsis
notthchrstscicncc. Forwillitbcpossiblcto analyzcclcarly
allouridcas ,iFwcdonotknowwhatthcyarcand howthcy
arcFormcd: BcForcall ,thcn,wcmustknowthciroriginand
gcncration. Butthcsciccc attcndingtothisobcctstillhas
nonamc,asi tisyoungcr. Iwouldcallitpsychology,iFIkncw
any good work undcr this titlc` (Cours d'e/udes. Hts/otre
moderne , in OI, I I , p. 229) .
Attcntivctobccoming, morcprccisclytoprogrcss , `Con-
dillac isalwaysi ntcrcstcdi nthcconditionsoFthchi storical
possibilityoFhis undcrtaking. Jruly, this historicrccction
ncvcrlctsi tsclFbcscparatcd From thcundcrtakingitsclF, it
analyzcssomc particularconditions and situationsbutonly
i nordcrtohavcpositcdhrstthcgcncral lawoFhi storicity. IF
philosophy-thcorcticalmctaphysics,thcgcncralmcthod
is csscntially historical , thatis bccausc it alwayscomcsaf/er
thc practicc oFcognition, af/er thc upshotor thc discovcry
oF a scicncc. Phi|osophy is always latc with rcspcct to an
opcrationoFcognition anits occurrcncc jat/ ] .
1husthcgcncralmcthodpposcdbyCondi llac-andso,
alrcady, hisconccptoFmcthod,thcgcncralizationoFthcrulc
aFtcr thc Fact ares cou]-can bc cstablishcd only aFtcr a
discovcry~or strokc cou] oFgcnius (a valucwcwilldctcr-
4O
minc Farthcr on) . I n thc philosophic ordcr, this di scovcry
alrcadytransposcsa discovcry, ascicntihc strokcoFgcnius.
SothcEssa,iscngagcdonatrailmarkcdoutbyLockcand
Ncwton. AnditdrawsitslcssonFromthisFactbygcncralizing
thcconccptoFmcthod. I cannothclpthi nki ng, butthata
mcthodwhichhasconductcdustoonctruthmaylcadustoa
sccond,andthatthcbcstmustbcthcsamcForallscicnccs. I t
i s thcrcForc suFhcicnt t orccct ont hcdiscovcrics alrcady
madc, i nordcrtoprocccdin thc cxcrcisc oFourinvcntivc
powcrs`(Essa, ,I I , 2, 27, p.3 l 8) . NodoubtCondillacwould
havcsubscribcdtothcwordsoFD` Alcmbcrt . byhiscritici sm
oFi nnatcidcas, hi sdcscriptionsoFthcgcncrationandcon-
ncction oF idcas, Lockc crcatcd mctaphysics , almost as
Ncwtonhadcrcatcdphysics . Conscqucntl y, thccontcntoF
amcthodandthcconccptoFmcthodsupposcthcmar/edou/
/ratl . Givcn thc principlc oFobscrving naturc, thc `pathoF
truthishallyopcncd itiscarvcdouttothccxtcntthatwc
advanccFurthcr. . . . OFallphilosophcrs ,Ncwtonisccrtainly
thc oncwho kncwthisroutc thc bcst, whotraccsascrics oF
truthsticdtooncanothcr(Coursd'e/udes.Hts/o tremoderne, in
OI,I I , p. 22 I ) .JhcgrcatprinciplcoFanalogyauthorizcsthc
samc statcmcnti nthcordcroFhuman studicslasctencede
l 'esrt/].
ustaswchavcFormcdgoodgrammarsorpocticsonlyaFtcr
having had good writcrs in prosc and vcrsc, it happcncd
thatwchavcknownthcartoFrcasoningon|ytothccxtcnt
thatwchavcgoodminds, whichhavcthoroughlyrcasoncd
in diFFcrcnt gcnrcs. Jhcrcby you canudgc that this art
madc its grcat cst progrcss i n t hc scvcnt ccnth and
cightccnthccnturics. l nFact ,thctrucmcthodi s duct othcsc
)can Lc Rond DAlcmbcrt,Ire/tmtno Dtscourse /o /he Lncc/o]edto o[ Dtdero/ ,
trans . Richard N. Schwab( NcwYork. Bbbs-Mcrrill , l 963) , . 83.
4 l
two ccnturics. !t was Frst known in thc scicnccs , whcrcin
idcasarcnatura||yFormcdanddctcrmincda|mostwithout
diFFcu|ty. Mathcmatics is thc prooF oF this. . . . !F somc
Jartarswantcdtocrcatcapoctics ,youthinkindccdthatit
wou|dbc badbccauscthcyhavc nogoodpocts. Jhcsamc
gocsForthc various |ogics crcatcdbcForcthc scvcntccnth
ccntury.Jhcnthcrcwas on|yonc way to|carntorcason. it
wastoconsidcrthcoriginandthcprogrcssoFthcscicnccs .
AFtcrthcdiscovcricsa|rcadymadc, it was ncccssarytond
thc mcans to makc ncw oncs , and to |carn, by obscrving
humanmcnta|abcrrations, nottobccngagcdinthcroutcs
which |cad to crror. ( !bid. , pp
,
229-3O)
Si ncc mct hod i s hrst known i n t hc sci cnccs , ' thc
philosophcrwhomarksoutatrailisthconcwhorcpcats(by
gcncralizing) thc Fact oF an carlicr rupturc, which both
transposcs and cxtcnds that Fat . Jhus Lockc i nauguratcs
-butaf/er Bacon and Ncwton.
Condillac inauguratcsaf/er Lockc.
BcForc Lockc, philosophcrsandscicntists di dnotrccog-
nizc Bacon -a lapscoFgcnius, which alsomeans , as wcwill
scc, by rcason oFthcirhistorical situation.
Jhcy shou|d havc studicd Bacon. Jhis |attcr phi|osophcr
rcgrcttcdthatnobodyhadyctundcrtakcntocFFacca||our
idcas and to cngravc morc cxact oncs on human undcr-
standing. . . . | Iockc no |ongcr gavc way to any simi|ar
rcgrcts . Convinccd that thc mind can on|y bc known
throughobscrvation, hc himsc|Fopcncdand markcdout a
routc which had not bccn Frcqucntcd bcForc him. Whi|c
considcring thc progrcss thc scicnccs oFhis timc owcd to
cxpcricnccandobscrvation,hccou|dFormthisp|anandtry
to cxccutc it. But to his crcdit his discovcrics wcrc not
prcparcd by any oFthoscwho had writtcnbcForc himon
humanundcrstanding. ( !bid. , p. 233)
Forthcmomcntlctuslcavctooncsi dcthccriticismsthat
Condillac will alsodircct to Lockc. Wc willconsidcr Lockc
42
.
'

our modcl ,sinccCondillacso oFtcn invitcsustodoso. How
could Lockc carvc out a trail whilc contcnti ng himsclF to
dcvclop, indccd rcpcat, an carlicr rupturc: Jhis qucstion
FormsthcparadigmoFamuchmorcgcncralsctoFproblcms ,
whichcanbcdugout(withlittlctransposition)oFcach pagc
oFtcEssa, . Jryingto answcr this qucstion i nvolvcs i ntcr-
prcti ngthc wholc.
IFLockcopcncdatrailbyrccommcncinganopcration,it
isundoubtcdlybccauschcapplicdagcncrallawtoaparticu-
lardomain. Bcttcrstill ,hcdiscovcrcd,produccd,andrccog-
nizcd thishcldForthchrsttimc. thatoFhumanundcrstand-
ing. Jhc opcration oF transposition and oFapplication to
whichhcdcvotcdhi msclFwasatthcsamcti mcproductivcor
constitutivc. By procccding anal ogically, hc discovcrcd an
unknown. I nvcntionby analogy, pcrhaps, is thc mostgcn-
cralFormulaoFthislogic.WhatistrucoFanalogy( analogyin
gcncralorthc mathcmatical analogyoFproportion) i salso
trucoFanalysis .Ncwob|cctsàrcconstitutcdbytransposing
orproportioni ng, aswcllasanalyzi ng, a givcn. Jhatiswhy
thc progrcss oFscicncc, thccnrichmcntoFknowlcdgc, can
always procccd-as Condillac unrclcntingly aFhrms -by
idcntical propositions, by analytical|udgmcnts .
Undcrthcscconditions , Condillac` srclationtoLockcwill
bc analogous to Lockc` s rclation to his prcdcccssors. Jhc
scicncc oFhumanundcrstanding, as ropcrly i nauguratcd
by Lockc , i s rcpcatcd, corrcct cd, and compl ct cd by
Condillac-particularlyconccrningthcdccisivcqucstionoF
languagc. But hcwill donothingl cssthanFound i t. hnally
andForthchrsttimc. ForwcmustnotForgctthatthcEssa,on
/heOrtgtn ofHumanKnooledge conccrns itsclFwith _arde] a
vcry narrowly dclimitcd ob|cct . notcvcnthchuman spirit,
not cvcn thc opcrations oF thc soul that could as wcll bc
43
rclatcdto thc wil| as to thc undcrstanding. JhcsubcctoF
thiscssay plainlyshcws that mypurposcis toconsidcrthc
opcrationsoFthcsoul] onlyin thcrclationthcybcartothc
undcrstanding ,Essa,, I , 2, p. 2o) .
I t is by no mcans Fortuitous that, in thcLogtc, thc most
cxplici ttcxtonthismattcrhrstconccrnsanalogy,thcidcnti-
calpropositi on, andthchistoryoFscicncc.Jhistcxtcxplains
thcproductivc FunctioningoFanalogybythcprinciplcoFa
diFFcrcnccoFdcgrcc( InaalogywcmustthcrcForcdistin-
guish diFFcrcnt dcgrccs . . . ' jLogtc, p. 89] . ) . In ordcr to
undcrstand that in Condillac` s systcm the com|tnattte ts an
energettcs andthetaxonomtcelementagermtnalooer, wcmust
conti nually associatc this pri nciplcoFdiFFcrcncc oFdcgrcc
withthccconomicpriciplcoFForcc,vivaci ty, orquantityoF
conncction ( according as thc combinations vary, thcrc is
morcorlcssconncxionbctwccnthcidcas. I maythcrcForc
supposcacombinationinwhichthcconncxionisasgrcatasit
possiblycanbc. . . . Butlcmcconsidcranobcctonthatsidc
whichismostconncctcdwiththcidcasIaminvcstigating, thc
wholcshallbc Fu|lydiscovcrcdtomyvicw . . .' Essa,, I I , 2,
39, pp. 327-28] . ) .
Jhis ana|ogyconccrningthcLarth' sdoub|crcvo|ution]
supposcs that thc samc cFFccts havc thc samc causcs, a
supposition which, bcingconFrmcdby ncw ana|ogics and
ncwobscrvations can no|ongcrbcca||cdinqucstion. !tis
thusthatgoodphi|osophcrsconductcdthcirrcasonings .! F
wcwantto |carn to rcason|ikcthcm, thcbcstmcansi s to
study thc discovcrics which havc bccn madc From Ga|i|co
down to Ncwton. . . .
lt isthusa|sothatwchavctricdtorcasoninthiswork. Wc
havcobscrvcdnaturcand|carncdana|ysisFromit.Withthis
mcthod wcstudicdoursc|vc, andhavingdiscovcrcd, bya
44
1
scricsoFidcntica|propositions ,thatouridcasand Facu|tics
arc nothingbutscnsation whchtakcsdiFFcrcnt Forms , wc
assurcd oursc|vcs oFthcoriginand gcncration oFboth.
Wc rcmarkcdthatthcunFo|dingoFouridcasandFacu|-
ticsison|yopcratcdbythcmcdi umoFsigns ,andcou|dnot
takc p|acc withoutthcir assistancc, that conscqucnt|y our
manncr oFrcasoning can on|y bc rcndcrcd comp|ctc by
corrcctingthc|anguagc,andthat thcwho|cartamountsto
th
c accuratcorpcrFcctFormationoFthc|anguagcoFcvcry
srcncc.
Fina||y,wcprovcdthatthcFrst|anguagcs ,inthcirorigin,
wcrcwc||Formcd, bccauscmctaphysicswhichprcsidcdovcr
thcirFormation, wasnotascicnccasitisinourtimcs ,butan
instinct givcnby naturc. . . . (, pp. 9O-9I )
FromadistanccoF thirtyycars ,thcLogtcgivcsthcgcncral
rulc oFthcEssa,aFtcrthc Fact, but , i n proportion to this
gcncrality, withoutthcslightcst altcrati on. Jhcrulc oFthc
i dcntical propos ition , ' thc anal ytic rul c, i mpli cs t hc
gcncalogica rcturn t o thc simplc -and that progrcssivc
dcvclopmcntcanonlybcdoncbycombiningormodiFyinga
matcrial unmodihablc in itsclF. Hcrc scnsation. Jhatis thc
hrstmatcrial .inFormcd,transFormcd, combi ncd,associatcd,
itcngcndcrsallknowlcdgc.Andthcwho|cEssa,isorganizcd
according to this opposition oFmatcrial and cmploymcnt
(JhcscnsationsthcrcForc, andthcopcrationsoFthcmind
l 'me], arc thc matcrials oF all our knowlcdgc, matcrials
which ourrccctioncmploys whcn itscarchcs throughout
somccombinationsFort hcrclationst hatt hcmatcrialscon-
tain Essa,, I , l , 5, pp. l l 5 ( modihcd)] . ) . His thcoryoF
undcrstandingisathcoryoFscnsation,oFcmploymcnt , and
oFinFormationmodiFyingthishrstmatcrial(itcanbccon-
cludcd that thc opcrations oF thc undcrstanding arc only
scnsationitsclF,whichistransFormcdbyattcntion,compari-
45
son, udgmcnt, rccction`Coursd'e/ues . Prccisdcs lcons
prciminaircs , ` inOI, I , p. 4 l 4] ) .
Jhusthcrcwouldcxista mutchrstmatcrial , an irrcduci-
blc corc oFimmcdiatc prcscncc to which somc sccondary
modihcations supcrvcnc, modihcations which would cntcr
intocombinati ons, rclations ,conncctions, andsoon. Andyct
this mctaphysics (wc havc sccn in what scnsc it was still a
mctaphysics) , this scnsationalist mctaphysics ~this charac-
tcristic cannot bc rcFuscd i t-would also bc throughut a
mctaphysicsoFthcsignandaphilosophyoFlanguagc. IFwc
wantto rcadCondillacandnotclosc oursclvcsoFFFromhis
tcxt, iFwc do not want tobc immobilizcd bcFor a grid oF
constitutcdandsupcrvcnicntoppositions ,wcmustacccdcto
i ts logi c, rathcr to its analogtc , which dcvclops a scnsa-
tionalismintoa scmioti sm. Jhisisindccda dcvclopmcnt
not an i dcnti ty From coi nci dcncc, but a dcvcl opmcnt
throughidcnticalpropositions`~Forscnsationi snot onlya
simplc clcmcnt, butalsoagerm.
Jhis biological , vitalist, or organicist mctaphor` is con-
stantinCondillac. JhcwholcprcamblctoDel 'ar/deenser ,to
whichwcarc rcFcrrcd, dcvclops thclikcwiscgcrminalscn-
tcnccoFthcbook. JhcgcrmoFthcartoFthinkingisinour
scnsations . . . ` inOI, I , p. 7 l 7].And thcdcvclopmcntoF
this scntcncc is thc analogical dcscription oFthought' s dc-
vclopmcnt , whichresem|les ananimal' s.
Similarly, in ordcr t o cxplain t hc division oFt hcEssa,,
Condi llaci ntcrprcts its thcoryoFsignsandlanguagcas thc
systcm oF what dcvclops or cmploys` thc scnsiblc and
clcmcntary,matcrialgcrm, thcsubcctoFthchrstpart . And
yct I havc thought propcr to makc this samc subcct thc
thcory oF languagc] a considcrablc part oF thc Following
work, as wcllbccauscitmay bcvicwcdi na ncwand morc
4G
cxtcnsivc light, as bccausc I am convinccd that thc usc oF
signsisthcprinciplcwhichunFoldsdeteloe] thcgcrmoFall
ouridcas` ,Essa, , I ntro. , p. l l modihcd] ) .
JhcoppositionoF gcrmanddcvclopmcntovcrlapsthatoF
contcnt( matcrial)andForm(cmploymcnt) .JhcprinciplcoF
analogy, thc analogical analyti c, assurcs thc passagc, thc
unity,thcsynthcticpowcrbctwccnbothtcrmsoFthisopposi-
tion. Ourinquiry shouldbcaron thisprinciplc. Andi Fthc
conccptoFanalogybcarsthcconccptoFme/ahor , stillnoth-
ingwillbcsaid,Forcxamplc,aboutthcgcrmwhcnqualihcd
as mctaphor. ` Prcli mi naril y, Condi l l ac' s rhctoric and
rhctorical philosophy woul d hav t o bc rcconstitutcd i n
ordcr t o uphold such a proposition. I will try t o do that
clscwhcrc.
What obsti natcly kccps togcthcr thc gcncrativc and thc
combinativc cxigcncics can sccm in Condillac to b a con-
traditi on, ndccd a dchcicncy, ` thc opcning to cpis-
tcmologicalmyths . `Butthatappcars tobc thccascolyin
comparisonwithanoldphilosophicaloppositionwhichpro-
hibitsthi nkingthcsctwocxigcncics othcrthanaccordi ngto
thc catcgory oF cxclusion or ( spcculativc) dialcctical syn-
thcsis.AndpcrhapsthcnotionoFcpistcmologicalmythìs
Far From amcnablc to bcing rcduccd to that complctcly
ncgativcandunproductivcconccptoFdchcicncy.Whatisthc
status oFall thc cpistcmological myths` in thc history oF
scicncc:Pcrhapsthcmaintcnancc oF|ohextgenctesrcsists ,in
anondialccticalway,thcmctaphysicaloppositionoFcalculus
andgcncsi s. Andnowwcnccdtoskoursclvcsundcrwhat
conditionsa tcxtcan bc Found (i nthis pcrspcctivc, toa
j HcrcDcrridaisrcFcrringtoabook hconcc planncdtowritc,cntitlcdLe Co/cu/
des /ongues Hc has abandoncd thc procct For no. ~1rans. ]
47
ccrtainpoi nt, andaccordintodctcrmnablcaxcs)rclcvant
to thc irruptions oF a scicntihc modcrnity ( For cxamplc,
biology, gcnctics , li nguisics, or psychoanalysis) , in which
ncithcrauthornorproduction'arccontcmporancous' .
whatuprootssuchatcxt -butalsocvcryothcr, providcdwc
rccognizcthisdivisiono~both Fromi ts author( thisis
thchrst condition oFthis cxpropriation) and om thc all-
powcrFul onstraint oFa mythicets/eme .
Whatthcmythicets/emei mplicsoF thchnitccodcbclongs
still and solcly to thc rcprcscntation that can bc givcn a
dctcrmincd ets/eme . Jhc i maginary oF one ets/eme is thc
tcrrainand thccondition For thc upsurgingoFthcgcncral
thcory oFets/emes which alonc would makc thc tablc, thc
hnitccodc, and taxonomy its dctcrmining norm.
HcrcIamrcFcrringt oMichc|Foucau|t. 1hcrci sasimp|chistoricalrcason
For
this Cndil|ac'slogicdid not ||owascicnccin whichthcvisib|cand thc dcscb
blc wcrc caught up in a total adcquation. ' And Farthcr

.
on, m orecr
to cxp|a
.
m
what in cFFcct is not a mattcr oF coursc, that such an madcquaton is an cpts-
tcmo|ogical obstac|c. Condi | lac ncvcr dcrivcd a uni vcrsal logic From thc
clcmcnt ~whcthcrthisc|cmcntwas pcrccptual, l i nguistic,orca|cu|ab|c, hcncvcr
ccascd to hcsitatc bctwccn two |ogics oF opcrations. oF gcncsis and oF calcu|a-
tion. . . Butthisgcncra|izcdFormoFtransparcncc|cavcsopaqucthcstatusoFthc
|anguagcthatmustbcits Foundation, itsustihcation,anditsdc|icatcinstrumcnt.
Such a dchcicncy, whicha|sooccurs i nCondi|lac's|ogic, opcnsup thc hcld to a
numbcr oFcpistcmo|ogical myths that arc dcstincd to mask it (1he Bt
r/h o[ /he
C/tntc. n rchoeo/og o[ Medtco/ Ierce]/ton, trans . A M. Shcrdan Smith jNcw
York. Vintagc, I 975] pp. I I 6I 7)
.
Condil|acshcsitation,'his osci|lation,wou|d thus bcancsscntialand rcprcscn-
tativctraitoFthcC|assicale]ts/eme. 1hus, atthctwocxtrcmiticsoFthcclassical
e]ts/eme , wc havc amo/hest: as thcscicncc oFca|
cu|ab|c o
acr an|agenests as thc

ana|ysisoFthcconstitution oFordcrson thcbass
Fcmpt
.
rca|scrc
. . . . Bctwccn
thcmo/hests and thcgenests thcrc cxtcnds thc rcgton oFsgns oFstgns that sp
n
thc wholc domain oF cmpirical rcprcscntation, but ncvcr cxtcnd bcyond it.
Hcdgcd i n by ca|cu|us and gcncsis, wchavcthcarca oFthc/o0/e

(1he Urder o[
1htngs: n rchoeo/o o[/he Humon Sctences, n trans . j NcwYork. Vmtagc, I 97O] ,
p. 73) .
. .
I narcmarkablcstudy,Analyscctgcnesc Rcgards sur|athorcdudcvcrdc
l'cntcndcmcntau Vt I t siecc,'can Mosconi a|so ana|yzcs thc concurrcnt op-
position oFthc bio|ogica|' and thc ana|ytical' modc|s i n Condi|lacs Formu|a-
48
'
.
What, givcn a classic mctaphysical grid (which Condillac
undoubtcdlymustalsorcckonwith) ,isdcbatcd, cvcnupto
thc point oF not bcing ablc to asccrtai n any catcgorical
ovcrhang, whatwillbcpcrccivcdasanintcrnalopposition,
contradiction, or dchcicncy, or as thc i mpotcnt hcsitation
bctwccn two modcls ( For cxamplc, thc al gcbraic and thc
biological)~indccd,tous, today, thissccmstoconstitutcthc
Forccand intcrcstoFsucha tcxt.
JhatCondillachimsclFhadnot/mdoonthcrul coFthis
dcbatcisnodoubtnotinsignihcant , andwcmusttakci tinto
account.
AtlcastwcmusttakcintoconsidcrationsomcoFthccFFccts
this can havcin his tcxtandits history.
But provi dcd wc know how to limit conscqucntially thc
authority oFan author' ovcr his vcry own' corus , what
works(ovcr)suchatcxt , Forallthat, oughtnotbcmisudgcd
a tradition
l opposition, to bc surc (and cvcn oldcr than a

so-callcdClassicalets/eme') ,butalsoalcvcroFdisorganiza-
tion.
Jhclcvcrworksatruiningthi saltcrnativcbctwccngcncsis
and calculus , at ruining thc wholc systcm with which thc
altcrnativc isintcrrclatcd-butnoti nust anyway. On thc
contrary, this lcvcr works with a disconccrting rcgulari ty
which, withouta doubt , can givc itsclFto bcrcadonlyaFtcr
thc Fact -andina dctcrmincdsituation.
tions" (in Cohters Iour /'no/se: Le:t-S/rou dn le XIH' Stec/e, No. 4 j l 966, pp.
59. ) . A|soscc Rogcr LcFevrc,Condt//c ou /oqote de :t:re ( Pari s. Scghcrs, I 966) .
Condillac'sworkoscillatcsandscarchcsForanaccord bctwccnaconcrctccmpiri-
cism which digs through rca|ity and an abstract |ogicism which manipu|atcs
notions . But thc cxpcricnccd and thc thought, thc scnsiblc and thc intc|ligib|c,
cxistcncc and systcm, do thcy lct thcmsclvcs bc assimilatcd:" (p. 83) . And
GcorgcscRoy's wholctntroduction a |'ocuvrcphi|osophiqucdcCondil|ac, in
UI, t, pp. vixxxv.
49

|

ItHIu8 8 Utt11tU uClIOH
uQ1C8-COuQ|
'
i
Jodissolvcthcaltcrnativcopposition. thatisa motiFwhich,
dchning thc systcm` s working (that on which it works as
muchaswhatworksonit) ,undoubtcdlyhasnotbccnablcto
hndthclitcralrulcoFitsstatcmcnt. Jhiscxplains, atlcastin
part ,thcdisposability,iFnotthcvulncrability,thcopcnncss
oFacorpuscxposcdtohistoricalblows, tothoscviolcntand
sclF-scrvingopcrationsthatarcinnoccntl ytcrmcdlapscsi n
rcading.
OFcoursc, thc most rcmarkablc cxmplc oFthi s i s thc
i ntcrprctation oFVaincdcBiran.
It Forma kind oFroutinc.
Oncc t hcdcbt is rccognizcd, anditwasimmcnsc, Biran
rccctsbothmatcrialist, dctcrministscnsationalism(thcinsis-
tcncc on thc simplc passivity and thc uniquc principlc oF
cxpcricncc) and idcalism, which is also an abstract algc-
braism.
Jhcgrid oFthis rcadingwillbcvcry uscFul .
Handling it bccomcs cvcn casicr whcn Condillac` s con-
tradictions` or hcsitations` can bc adustcd to statcs or
stagcsinthcdcvclopmcnt , asissaid,oFhisthought. Doingso,
Vaincdc BiranmcanwhilccomplctclyrcscrvcsForhimsclF
two possiblc rcadings oF contradiction. somctimcs it is a
mattcroFsystcmaticincohcrcncc,somctimcsoFhistoricsuc-
ccssion.Jhushisdoctri ncwasnotuniForm(Deladecooost
/ton de laensee , in OM , I I I , p. 99) . From this statcmcnt
Biran draws two kinds oF conclusions , simultancously or
53
altcrnatcy. On thc onc hand, Condillac has lcFt us a bad
systcm, a doublc systcm(his doctrincis doublc, Condil-
lac' sdoublcthcory`)-anunusualargumcntonthcpartoFa
philosophcrwhohasmadcduplicityathcmcandanormoF
hisowndiscoursc, whorclcntlcsslysctsthcstructurcoFthc
doublcrootandoF/omodu/exovcragainstcvcryalchcmy
oFthcuniqucprinciplc. AccordingtoBiran,thcsystcmcan
bccorrcctcd, can bcmadcmorchomogcncousandsimplcr
onlyaFtcrCondillac. Jhus his doctrinc was not uniForm,
but it rcmaincd susccptiblc oF a ncw simplihcation and
admittcd amorcpcrFccthomogcncity. Suchisthccndthat
oncoFCondillac'smostFamousdisci plcshasproposcdsincc
thcn. . . . (Jhis conccrns Jracy whom, it must bc addcd,
Bi rancriticizcs i mmcdiatclyaFtcrwards . )
On thc othcr hand, howcvcr, Condillac himsclF would
havcparcclcd outorrcduccd, Fromoncstagc tothcothcr,
From onc book to thc othcr, thc systcmatic contradiction.
Jhusthiscontradiction is no morc thanhistorical slippagc
deca/age]-whichalsoisnotordcrcdassimplcprogrcss .Jhc
systcmaticvicc(whichstillrcmains)canprovokcrclapscsor
canmaniFcst, atthccndoFthcaccount , i tstrucconstraint. All
thisis statcd ina notc.
Whi| c composing thc !rai/e des s,s/emes , Condi||ac was
struck, abovca||,withthcdangcrthatabstractionshadtobc
rca|izcd, sinccthatiswhcrchcFoudthccommonsourccoF
a||mctaphysicians' abcrrations . Jhis is a|soprobab|y what
|cd himtotry outa ncw thcory,whcrcinhc cou|dscparatc
thcsupposcdabstractidcaoFasubstantia|ego ( distinctFrom
itsaccidcnta|modiFcations) and thatoFacausc(orproduc-
tivc Forcc intcrna| or cxtcrna| to thc samc modiFcations) .
Lxprcssing in that way on|y passivc cFFccts or modcs and
transFormingthc|itcra|qrore] idca oFFacu|tics , hccou|d
a|sodispcnscwithre]ec/ion, whch,Fo| |owingIockc,hchad
admittcdi nhisFrstworkasaseci[c source o]ideas. Jhusdid
54
`
'
CENI|S'S DEFEFFED CTION

hc composcthcTrea/ise on /he Sensa/ions . . . . JhcsucccssoF
his attcmpt, thcc|arityand thcprccisionthatit sccmcdto
carrywithitinthcthcoryoFintc||cctua|Facu|tics-a||thcsc
strong|y prcdisposcd him in FavoroFancxc|usivcapp|ica-
tion oFhis ncw mcthod. Now sincc this mcthod consistcd
uniquc|y in Forming a /anguage (scc thc Frst chaptcr oF
Trea/ise on /he Sensa/ions) , i . c. , in cxprcssing (and con-
scqucnt|ydcducing)prccisc|ythcsimp|corcompoundrc-
su|ts oF his hypothcscs or convcntions, hc was morc and
morc inc|incd to bc|icvc that it was a|| thcrc, whatcvcr
bcsidcswasthcobcctoFascicncc.Jhatisa|sothcdcgrccoF
simp|icitytowhichhcFna||ybroughthisdoctrinc,ascanbc
udgcdFromthc/anguage o]ca/cu/us . ( lbid. , p. 9 I , n. I )
l t has oFtcn bccn notcd that Condi||ac had ncvcr sys-
tcmatizcd a||hisdoctrinc. ln Fact, itisvcrycasy, whcnthc
various works oF this phi|osophcr havc bccn rcad and
comparcdwith thcattcntionthcy mcrit, itiscasy, l say, to
noticc that his doctrinc is doub|c. And as a rcsu| t, hc
prcscnts two comp|ctc|y diFcrcnt systcms oF phi|osophy,
whcrn cvcrything which ra||ics t o thc doctrinc oF thc
Trea/ise on /he Sensa/ions cannotbcrcconci|cdwiththcprin-
cip|cs oF thcEssai sur /'origine de nos connaissances sic] . l n-
dccd, it wou|dbcpropcrtomark a|| thc points whcrc this
divisionoccurs, aswc||astomakcancxactabstractoFa||thc
importantchangcsthcauthorbroughttobcarsinccthcnon
hisTrea/ise on /he Sensa/ions . Pcrhapsthcrcwcwou|drccog-
nizc thc nccd such abri||iant mind Fc|ttogivcmorcto thc
activity oFsen/ien/ and mo/or bcing, which at Frst hc had
considcrcdcxc|usivc|yundcrnothingbutasing|concoFits
rc|ationstothcothcr. ( lbid. , p. 99, n. )
But cvcrythingthatwoulddrivcCondillacFromthcsimplc
principlc oF passivc snsibility-his progrcss , according to
1hc nccd lor a critical cxamination ol Condillacs doub|c thcory' was also
positcdi nthcrstvcrsionolMemotre sur /o decom]osttton de /o ]ensee (ctcdby Hcnri
Gouhicri nhisLe Con:rston de Motne de Btron jParis.) Vri n, l 948] ,pp.7O7 l , n
),
55
Biran, starting From thc Essa,-would unFortunatcly push
himtowardscmiologicalactivism,lgcbraicartihcialism, lin-
guisticFormalization. Jhcsystcmissuchthatnoprogrcssis
possiblc For it, its ccntral dchcicncy will always makc it
hcsitatc bctwccn two lapscs . Jhc modcl oF thc modcrn`
rcading is hxcd within anothcr historico-thcorctical con-
hguration. Jhis aFFords thought.
Such would bc, will havc bccn, For Biran, thc ultimatc
truthoFCondillac` sctcrpri sc, ustasitscnd-LaLanuedes
calculs opcncd thc way For him.
! conFcss that ! havc |ong bccn scarching in vain Fo thc
word For this cnigmaoF/rans[ormed sensa/ion, andthat thc
dccompositionoFthcFacu|tyoFthinking, |ikcncdtothatoF
ancquation( sccLogic, Part!,ch.vii ,andPart! ! , ch.viii) ,has
oFtcn tircd my mind. . . . ! ncvcrthought! hc|dthc kcy to
this thcory unti|! hadrcadLa Langue des ca/cu/s andmcdi-
tatcdonthc Foundation oFanasscrtion|ikcthcFo||owing.
cvcrythingisrcduccdto|anguagcandits transFormations ,
whatcvcr thc obcct oFrcasoning, and so on. . . . Jhcn !
undcrstood that our phi|osophy, sincc it starts with thc
supposition oFthc animatcd statuc and according to this
Fantasticmodc|Formsthcidcasthatarctru|yarchctypcsoF
divcrscFacu|tics ,cou|dbc|icvcitsc|Fauthorizcdtocomposc
anddccomposcthctcrmsbyFo||owingitsowndcFnitionsor
transForming its |anguagc aFtcr thcm. it sccms that La
Langue des ca/cu/s hadproduccdthcLogic andthcTrea/ise on
/he Sensa/ions . Howcvcr, ! think thc casc is ust thc rc-
vcrsc. . . . By composing thc Trai/e des s,s/emes , Condi||ac
musthavc |carncdto kccp himsc|Fmorcon guard against
thcdangcroFrca|izcdabstractions. Jhisprobab|yinduccs
him to try out a thcory whcrcin hc cou|d sct asidc cvcn
Biranaddcdinhisownhand. thcuscoFthctcrmorothc
idcaoFani ncomrchcnsib|csustancccndowcd,outsidcoF
prcscntimprcssions , with somcFcc|ingoFitsclF,with somc
powcr or tir/ua/i/, , and so on, whcrcin hc cou|d a|so dis-
pcnscwithrccctionwhich,Fol|owingIockc, hchadadmit-
5G
tcdin hisFrstwork.JhcsucccssoF Condi| |ac'sattcmpt(and
thcclaityithadappcarcd,Forhim,toshcdonthcthcoryoF
intc||cctua|Facu| tics)musthavcstrong|yprcdisposcdhimin
FavoroFthcsoundqua|ityoFhismcthod. Nowashismcthod
onsistcd principa||y (in thcTrea/ise on /he Sensa/ions or at
|castinitsFrstchaptcr)incxprcssingthcsimplcrcsu|tsoFits
vcry own convcntions, and to dcducc according|y, hc was
inc|incd morc and morcto think that cvcrythingcou|dbc
rcduccd to this point, whatcvcr thcobcctoFthc scicncc.
Oncc thisrcading machincis rccognizcd, it is no longcr
surprisingtosccitspcwoutitscriticalcards ,succcssivclyor
simultancousl y, against/oomuchor/oolt//le Frccdom.
First, thc/oomuch in thcNo/es oFthcCahter-ournal on thc
Essa, . Condillacdocsnotgivccnough,i tsccmstomc, tothc
physical mcchanism oFidcas. Hc sccms to suggcst thatwc
produccidcasbyanactoFourwil l , andtobclicvc thatthcy
arc not thc rcsults oF thc movcmcnt oF brain hbcrs or
somcthingimilar` inOM, I , p. 2 l 3] . Jhcn, i ndircctl y, in
allthcrcncwcdqucstioningsoFalgcbraismorartihcialism, oF
thc arbitrary in gcncral , oF cvcrything that amounts to
contructing scicncc thus with somc artihcial or logical
clcmcnts ,asalgcbraicFormulasarcconstructcd, `torcason-
ingascxactlyandsurclywiththcsignsoFmctaphysicsaswith
thoscoFalgcbra. I ndccd, Condillacsccms to havcFoundcd
ncarly all his doctrinc on this opinion, to which hc shows
himsclFvcry consistcnt i n his 1rea/tse on /heSensa/tons, his
Logtc, and abovc all his Langue des calculs ,Essat sur les
{ondemen/sdelas,chologte, inOM,VI I I , pp. l ooo7, alsoscc
OM, I I I , p. 9l ) .
Jhis critici sm oF thc arbitrary Forms a systcn with thc
Citcdi nouhicr . 88, n. 2
57
criticismoFrationalism,oFalchcmism,reduc/tontothcgoldoF
an abstract, simplc, Fundamcntal clcmcnt) , oFidcalism. '
Jhc/oolt//le . Jhcwayi nwhich Condillacandhis school
considcr thcscFaculticscxcludcsany idcaoFFrccactivityin
thcm, bysubcctingthcmtoanykindoFinucnccwhatcvcr
From cxtcrnal obccts or to thc particular dtsost/tons oF
scnsibility, thcy arc rcmovcd Froma modcoFculturc or oF
moral dcvclopmcntwhich wouldtcnd, asispropcr, toFrcc
thcsc Facultics From thcir dcpcndcncc on scnsiblc obccts`
,Essatsur les{ondemen/sdelas,chologte,i nOM,VI I I , p. 87, n.
I ).
But nomorcthani nCondillaci s thcqucstionhcrconcoF
hcsi tati on, ` a conFuscd noti on which always marks a
rcading` scmpiricistlimi t. Suchas VaincdcBiran` srcadi ng
oFCondi llac, nodoubt , butoFwhichwcmustconscqucntly
twiccbcwarc.
Customary and insuFhcicntly shakcn or disturbcd sol
ltct/ee] , thc opposition oF activity and passivity Forms thc
hingc. In rclyingon thccvidcncc oFthcvalucoFpassivity,
Biranturns , lctsturnthccriticismoFidcali smas ancFFcctoF
'Chicy I am spcakingoFjCondil|ac sdoctrinc] in thc1reo/tse on /he Seno/tons
. . . which thcn docs notrcston any principlcoFFact . 1hcrchcalrcady tacitly
and abovca|l prcsupposcdthc cxistcnccoFthcpcrsona|ityorego , which prccxists
in thcvcrynaturcoFthcsou|orscnticntsubcct,asthcalchcmistsbc|icvcd"(Lssot
sur /es[ondcen/s de /o ]scho /ogte , in UMB, VI t t , p. l 68) . Condillac'sdoctrinccan
|cad to a kind oF idca|ism whcrcin thc cgo would rcmain a|onc i n thc purc|y
subcctivc world oFis vcry own modication' (De /o decom]ost/ton de /o ]enee, in
UMB, I I I , p. l 37) .
Biran bcgan by ca|ling For a Condi||ac oFthc will" whowould do For thc
activity oF wi||ing what thcLsso had doncForthc undcrstanding. It would bc
advantagcoustodcsirca manaccustomcdtobcingcircumspccttoana|yzcthcwil | ,
as Condi||achasana|yzcdthcundcrstanding" (Cohter-journo/, inUMB, I, p 7O) .
Gabricl Madinicr, For cxamplc, cvokcs Mainc dc Birans hcsitations" Scc
Madinicr'sConsctence e/ mou:emen/ ( Paris . F. Alcan, 938) , p 78.
58
passivityi ntoacriticismoFidcalismas activi sm, artihcialism,
Formalism, and s o on. Jhis i s bccausc thc cgo rcmains
cncloscdi nitsclFonly tothccxtcntoFitspassivity, andtoo
muchFrccdomisthcothcrsidcoFtoolittlcFrccdom.akind
oF idcalism whcrcin thc cgo would rcmain alonc in thc
purclysubcctivcworldoFitsvcryownmodihcations ,whilc,
on thc othcr hand, thcsc modihcations ( sincc thcy arc all
passivc) ncccssarily prcsupposc thc obcctivc rcality oFor-
ganswhichrcccivcthcmandoFbodicswhichproduccthcm.
Wccannot, I bclicvc, cscapc thcsc contradictions without
goingbacktothcFoundationoFatwoFoldobscrvation,orto
thchrstFactoFconsciousncssandtothcprimitivccondition
on which it is Foundcd` Dela decomost/ton delaensee , in
OM, I I I , pp. I 3738] .
OF what docs thc opcration oFrcading consist, rcading
which,hcrcForcxamplc, amountstoconstitutingasaFormal
contradicton,hcsitation,orsystcmatici ncohcrcnccwhat,in
thcothcr, isclaimcdorassumcdtobcduplicity: Whywould
thc couplc activity/passivity givc risc to a contradiction in
Condillac, but to thc analysis oF a duplicity in Biran: Do
rigorouscritcria oFrcadingcxisttodccidcthis : Jhisqucs-
tion( thcrclationsbctwccntcxtualityononchand, dialcctic
and mcaningonthcothcr)isspccihcdinthisspaccthrough
thatoFree/t/tonsuchwouldbcthccconomyoFthcrcading
proposcd hcrc. In Condillacas in Biran (and in thcwholc
tcxtualhcldindicatcdbythcscnamcs) ,thcconstantrccoursc
toavalucoFrcpctition-whosclawandpossibilityarcncvcr
qucstioncd-umblcs thcoppositionactivity/passivity, with-
outthcrulcoFthisi ndccisioncvcrcomingtoconccptionau
conce/] . No doubt thc limit hcrc is nota conccptbut , with
rcgardto thcstructurc oFrcpctition, /heconccpt.
59
' '
|
Undoubtcdly this simpliFyi ngcriticism, oFwhich Condil-
lac` s philosophy was alrcady thc obcct in thc ninctccnth
ccntury, ncccssarilyborc, simultancouslyor altcrnatcly, on
his matcriali smandhisidcalismor spiritualis m, onhis cm-
piricismandhisFormalism,onhisscnsationalistorgcncticist
psychologismand hislogicistalgcbraism. I nFrancc thchis-
tory oF thc rcadi ng oF Condillac is also, according to a
rclationnotatallcxtcrnalorcontingcnt, thatoFthc Forma-
tionoFaUnivcrsityanditsmodclsoFphilosophicaltcaching.
JhcsystcmoFthisrclationshouldbcanalyzcdvcrycloscly.
At thccnd oFa complcxandncccssaryproccss , Condillac`s
thought is oFtcn limitcd (in thc i magination oF so many
undcrgraduatcs)toastatuc` spctrihcdhardhcadcdncssand
thc cvancsccncc oFa rosc' ssccnt.
VightCondillachavcbccnsurpriscd: Inanycaschchad
nolovc For thcunivcrsity oFhis timc. '
' A longcitationsccmsindispcnsablc.1hcsctcxtsbyCondillacarclcssavailablc
bccaus
oFth
.
c
opcration to which history has ~as it happcns submittcd thcm.

Hcrc
htstoryisitsclFrcprcscntcdby thc historyoFthc univcrsity. 1hc manncroF

tcachmg Fcc| s thc cFFccts oFccnturics in which ignoranccFormcd thc plan oFthis
wayoFtcac|mg, Forthcunivc
.
rsiticswcrcFarFromhavingFollowcdthcprogrcssoF
thcaca)cmtcs. IFthc
nc
p losophybcgins tointroducc itsclFthcrc, itishaving

muchdtFF cultycstabshmgitsclF, Furthcrmorc,itisallowcdtocntcrthcrconlon
thc
co
ditionthatit
i|lclothcitsclFwithsomcscholasticrags. . . . lisnotcn
ugh
to mst
tutc good thmgs. wc must still dcstroy thc bad oncs , or rcForm thcm
acco
dmg to thc plan oF thc good oncs according to a bcttcr plan, iF that is
p
ssblc. l do not prctcnd that thc manncr oF tcaching is as Faulty as i n thc

thttcc
th
ccnt
ry1hcscholasticshavccurtailcdsomcdcFccts,buti mpcrccptibly
and as tFm spt
c oF thcmsclvcs.
.
LcFt to thcir routinc, thcy valuc what thcy still
p
cscrvc,andtt
.
h thcsamcpasstonthcyvalucdwhatthcyabandoncd1hcyhavc
gicn up battlcs m ordcrto losc nothi ng. thcy gavc up i nordcrtodcFcnd what
thcy havc not lost. 1hcy do not noticc thc tcrrain thc havc bccn Forccd to
abandon. thcydonot Forcscc that thcy will bc Forccd to
bandon still morc . . .

1hcunivcrsiticsarcoldandhavcthcawsoFagc. I mcanthcyhavcdonclittlcto
corrcctthcn
sclvcs.Can wcprcsumcthc proFcssors will rcnounccwhat thcy think

thcy know m ordcr to lcarn what thcy do not know' (Cours dètudes. Htstotre
modere, in Ol, l l , pp. 235-36) .
GO

Lctus considcrthcdtssolu/tonof/heal/erna/tte at thcpoint
whcrc it conccrnsl css a dctrmincd obcct or a particular
domainthanthcvcryprocctoFthcscicncctowhichitgivcs
risc. Hcrcthc qucstion isoFa neo scicncc which, howcvcr,
would only sct in ordcr (by gcncralizingthrough analogy)
thcacquisitionoFknowlcdgcinordcrtoadministcri tscon-
scqucncc.Ncithcragcncrativcmodclnoracombinativconc
can, takcn scparatcly, accountFor thisfac/ .
JhcFactthat`ncwcombinations`cxi st. JhcinvcntionoFa
scicnccis atonccthccxamplcandthcdiscovcryoFthis, thc
productionoFoncoFthosccvcntsandthcconccptoFthislaw.
JhcEssa,attributcsi nvcntiontogcniusrathcrthantotalcnt.
But lct us not prctcnd to undcrstand whatgentus mcans.
First, wc would havc to considcr/ratl/laztng Frayagc] . thc
possibility oFa ncwcombination, acrcationìnsomcmcas-
urc. `Wc arc stillFarFromthat.
Wcdo notpropcr|ycrcatcanyidcas wcon|ycombi nc, by
composinganddccomposing,thoscwhichwcrcccvcbythc
scnscs . ! nvcntion consists i n knowing how to makc ncw
combinations . thcrcarctwokindsoFit, ta|cnt, andgcnius.
Ja|cntcombincsthci dcasoFanart, oroFascicncc,insuch
a manncr as i s propcr to producc thosc cFFccts, which
shou|dnatura||ybccxpcctcdFromi t . Somctimcsitrcquircs
morcimagination,somctimcsmorcana|ysi s. Gcniusaddsto
ta|cntthcidcainsomcmcasurcoFacrcativcmind. !tinvcnts
ncw arts, orin thcsamcart , ncwbranchcscqua| , andcvcn
somctimcs supcrior to thosc a|rcady known. !t cxamincs
thingsi napointoFvicwpcculiartoitsc|F, i tgivcsbirthtoa
ncw scicncc, or i nthosc a|rcady cu|tivatcd it carvcs out a
road totruths, whichitncvcrcxpcctcdtorcach(Essa,, ! , 2,
s l O4, p. 97 jmodiFcd] )
Jhc conccpt oFgenera/ton, i ndispcnsablc to thc Essa,' s
structurc'edtce] andtothcwholccriticismoFinnati sm, is
G l
THE FCHEOLOCI OE THE EFI|OLO|S
itsclFa combinativc conccpt , providcd novclty is admittcd
thcrc.Jhcinnatistphilosophcrsarcblindtothisnovcltyand
bclicvcthcymustchooscbctwccnthcclassihcationoFi nnatc
idcas and thc cmpiricism oFgcncsis , bctwccn calculus and
cngcndcri ng. Jhcobscuri ty andconFusionwhich prcvails
inthcwritingsoFphilosophcrs ,ariscsFromthcirnotsuspcct-
ingthatthcrcarcanyidcas which arcthc workmanshipoF
thcmind,oriFthcysuspcctit,FromanincapacityoFdiscovcr-
ingthcirrcalori gin,thcirgcncration. . . . Hcncc,lctmcbcg
lcavc to rcpcat it , thcrc is a ncccssity oF making a ncw
combinationoFidcas. . . (ibid. , I I , 2, 32 ,p.322modihcd]) .
As thisparagraphFromthcEssa, clcarlyindicatcs ,ancw
combi nation oFidcas dcsignatcs both a gcncralpossibility
( ncwcombinationsoFidcas can bc produccd) and thc con-
ccpt oFthis possibility. thc philosophcr must Form a ncw
combi nation oFidcas conccrningthccombination oFidcas .
Hc nust producc anothcr conccpt oF thc ordcr and thc
gcncration oFidcas . Hcncc, lct mc bcg lcavc to rcpcat it,
thcrc is a ncccssity oFmakinga ncwcombination oFidcas ,
bcginning with thc most simplc idcas transmittcd by thc
scnscs ,andFramingthcmintocomplcxnotions, whichcom-
bincdi nthcirturn,willbcproductivcoFothcrs, andsoon.
Jhislaysclai mtoancwlogic.thcadditionoFthcncwariscs
From thc s olc as soci ati on or compli cati on-analogi cal
conncction-oFa hnitc numbcroFsi mpl cgivcns .
AsancxamplcoFitsclF,thislogici s ncw, sincci t i s saidto
bclongtoahistoricalconhgurationbrcakingwithallthcpast.
And yct this logicdocs nothingbut rccomposc a scricsoF
clcmcntaryphilosophcmcsbclongingtothcoldcstFundsoF
mctaphysics . JhccxamplcoFthis logic not onlyrcsists thc
moroppositionoFcontinuistodiscontinuist, cvolutionist
G2
t
CENI|S'S DEEEFFED CTION
or cpigcnctici st historics (oFculturc, idcology, philosophy,
scicncc) ,indccditrcsistst hcmaoroptionoFtaxonomyand
history. AlrcadycapablcoFthcscoppositions, morcpowcr-
Ful than thcy ( potcntially in thcmeuutssauce d'elles]) , this
logicshould notbcablctobccomcthcobcctoFadisciplinc
( traditionalormodcrnandwhatcvcritsnamc)govcrncdby
thcsccatcgorics ,thcsccritcriaoFcutti ngoutdecouage]and
oF articulation. Jhis logic thwarts and dcconstruts thcm
almostbyitsclF,itisalrcadynolongcrthcrcwhcnwcnaivcly
bclicvc wc havc capturcd itin a widc-mcsh nct .
I ncFFcct , Condillacnotonlyclai mstocngcndcr- pcrhaps
wc would havc to say gcncratc a ncw scicncc, or at lcast
bringaboutasingularcontributiontoagcncrationwhichis
onc oF his timc . hc simultancously proposcs a gcncral
intcrprctation, a thcory oFthc gcncral conditions For thc
upsurgc oFa thcory.
Jhis dublc gcsturc, this sort oF historic rccctivity
FoldsitsclFovcrits vcry own dcscri ption.
Apparcntl y, cvcrythingrcturnst oat hcoryoFgcnius. Jhc
advcntoFancwscicnccdcpcndsonthcstrokcoFgcnius , and
oFanindividualgcnius . Gcnius` scsscntialqualitysccmstobc
imaginati on. But imagination only invcnts whatit must in
ordcr to Follow naturc` s dictatcand to know wich way to
bcgin.Jhis motiFisatworkFromthcEssa, onward( thiscan
bcvcrihcd) ,but Lauguedescalculs trikcsitsbcstFormula-
tion. 1otuteu/, pcoplcsay,ts/o ]udsome/htugueo/hrough /he
{orce o{ oue ` tmagtua/tou. Jhi s dchnition is compl ctcly
wrong. AndaFtcrhcsubstitutcdthcpowcroFaual,stsForit.
Whatthcnisgcnius :Asimplcmindwhohndswhatnoonc
kncwhowtohndbcForcit. aturc,whichputsalloFusonthc
path oFdiscovcrics , sccms to watch ovcr it sothat it ncvcr
G3
straysordcviatcs . Gcniusbcginsatthc bcginningandgocs
ForwardFromthcrc. Jhatisallitsart ,asimplcart ,whichFor
thisrcasonwillnotbchiddcn`,LaLanguedesca/cu/s, BookI I .
DcsopcrationsducalculavcclcschiFFrcsctavcclcslcttrcs , `
Ch . l . L' analogicconsidcrcccommcmcthodcd` invcntion,`
inOI, I I , p. 470) . And, whcn I saymen o{gentus , I do not
cxcludc naturc whosc Favoritc disciplcs thcy arc` (ibid. ,
Intro. , p. 420) .
Whatrcscmblcsathcorcticaldccrccoraprcsuppositionat
oncc mystical , naturalistic, psychologistic, obscurantistic,
andahistori c, docs notlimitopcningup historical kindsoF
qucstions . Suchiscvcna rulcoFthcsystcmoFconstraints
on thcsc grounds do wc rctai n hcrc thc cxamplc From
this-which bi nds Condillac` scourc. thc prcsupposition is
putinplaccinordcrtosctFrcc,asFromitsownpropcrlimit ,
thccstablishmcntoFqucstionsandhypothcscs , oFi nquirics
on thc conditions oFpossibility. Jhcconccpts oFscnsibili ty
andcxpcricncc,whichdchncthchcldoFthoscpossiblcsand
opcnqucstioningaboutorigins ,arcconstitutcdthusstarting
From anarticlcoFFaith. (WhcncvcrthcrcForc I happcnto
say,//a/oe/atenotdeas/u/o/a/come {rom//esenses ,i tmustbc
rcmcmbcrcd,thatIspcaonlyoFthcstatci ntowhichwcarc
allcnbysin.JhispropositionapplicdtothcsoulbcForcthc
Fal l , or aFtcr its scparation From thc body, would bc abso-
lutclyFalsc. IdonottrcaoFthcknowlcdgcoFthcsoulinthc
two cxtrcmc statcs , bccausc I cannot rcason but From cx-
pcricncc. . . . Ouronlyvicw mustbc to consult cxpcricncc,
and to rcason only From Facts , which no onc can call in
qucstion` Essa, , I, l , 8, pp. l 8 l 9] . )
Jhusthcgcniuswhohndswhatnoonckncwhowtohnd
bcForci t` ncvcrthclcsshndsonl yonccrtaincondi tions . Jhc
G4
.
origin oFoncscicncc is notthc origin oFscicncc itsclF. Jhc
distinctions proposcd by thcDtc/tonnatre des S,non,mes bc-
twccn]nd, dtscoter, tnten/, come or /tg// uon rencon/rer] ,
clcarlyshowthatForCondillacascicntihcdiscovcry,indccd
thcinstitutionoFancwscicncc,bclongstothccomplcxchain
oFahistoryinwhichFact,hypothcsis ,conccpt, thcory,andso
on, arcnothomogcncousandcontcmporancousnovcltics . `
Jhcscdchnitionstakcasthcircxamplc-butitisatoncblow
morc than an cxamplc -onc oF thc two discovcrics that
Condillacwillconsidcr(inascnscstill tobcstatcdprcciscly)
tobcthcmodclsàndthcconditionsForcxcrcisinghisown
discoursc. that oF Ncwton. I n thc birth oF thc arts and
scicnccs ,morcthingsarccomeuonthandtscotered.I nthclast
ccntury morcwasdtscoteredthancomeuon. Onlybyrccct-
ing on what hasbccncomeuon has onc bcgun tomakcany
dtscotertes. Somci ndividuals bcForc Ncwton came uon thc
attractionwhich hc discovcrcd and which Dcscartcs could
nothnd` (Dtc/tonnatredess,non,mes, i nOI, I I I , p. 545 also
sccLaLangue des ca/cu/s , i nOI, I I , p. 47 l ) .
JhcmcdiumoFthcconditions Fordiscovcryisalwaysthc
history oFlanguagc, thc history oFsign systcms .
Jhis history, which itsclFhas natural conditions that arc
analyzcdinthcEss, always prcparcs thc strokcoFgcnius.
JhisstrokccannotbcproduccdbcForct hcconstitutionoFa
ccrtai n statcoFlanguagc, oFccrtain scmioticpossibiliticsin
gcncral . Jhc lcast natural languagc, algcbra, and thclan-
guagc oF calculus , at oncc scicncc and languagc, rcmain
/ts/ortca/possibilitics.Jhcyhavcahistoryandthcyopcnupa
history.
JhccrcumstanccsFavourab|ctothcdsp|ayingoFgcnius ,
arca|waystobccomcuponinanaton,whcnthc | anguagc
G5
THE BCHEOLOCI OF THE FB!|OLO|S
bcginstohavchxcdprincip|csandasctt|cdstandard.sucha
pcriod isthcrcForc thc cpochaoF grcat mcn. . . .
!F wc rcco||cct that thc habit oF thc imagination and
mcmory dcpcnds intirc|y on thc conncxion oFidcas , and
thatthc|attcrisFormcdbythcrc|ationandana|ogyoFsigns,
wc sha||bc convinccdthatthc| css a |anguagc abounds in
ana|ogous cxprcssions , thc | css assistancc it givcs to thc
mcmory and thc imagination. JhcrcForc it is not at a||
propcr For thc cxcrtion or disp|ay oF ta|cnts . !t is with
|anguagcs as with gcomctrica| hgurcs , thcy givc a ncw
insightintothings,anddi|atcthcmindinproportionasthcy
arcmorcpcrFcct. Sir!saacNcwton' scxtraordinarysucccss
wasductothcchoiccwhichhadbccna|rcadymadcosigns,
togcthcr with thc contrivancc oF mcthods oF ca|cu|ation.
Had hc appcarcdcar|icr, hc mighthavcbccna grcatman
For thcagchcwou|dhavc|ivcdin, buthcwou|dnothavc
bccnthc admiration oFours . !tis thcsamcincvcry othcr
branch oF|carning. Jhcsucccss oFgcniuscswohavc had
thc happincss cvcn oF thc bcst organizatio, dcpcnds in-
tirc|yonthcprogrcssoFthc|anguagci nrcgardtothcagcin
whichthcy|ivc, Forwordsanswcrtogcomctrica|signs ,and
thc manncr oFusingthcmtomcthodsoFca|cu|ation. ! na
|anguagc thcrcForcdcFcctivc in words, orwhoscconstruc-
tionisnotsuFhcicnt|ycasyandconvcnicnt , wcshou|dmcct
withthcsamcobstac|csasoccurrcdi ngcomctrybcForcthc
invcntion oFa|gcbra. (Essa, , I I , I , s s I 4G-47, pp. 287-88
modiFicd] , a|so sccCours d' e|udes. Hi|oire Modee, in OP,
! ! , p. 222)
ButiFgcnius is borncbylanguagc, bya ccrtain statc oF
thcanalogy oFsigns, itisal sodchncdbythcscicnccoFthat
languagcandstatc.JhisscicnccisascicnccoFcombi nation,
and oFthc ncw combination. ` Jhis scicncc takcs i nto ac-
countboth a historicaldcvclopmcntoFthcanalogyoFsigns
and thc pcculiar gcnius oFlanguagc, which is itsclFonly a
particul ar manncr oF combi ni ng. I woul d Fain know
GG
|
CEN!|S'S DEFEBBED CT!ON
whcthcr it bcnotnatural Forcvcrynationtocombincthcir
idcasaccordingtothcirownpcculiargcnius, andtoconncct
accrtainFundoFprincipalidcaswithdiFFcrcntadvcntitious
notions , accordi ng as thcy arc diFFcrcntly aFFcctcd. Now
thcsc combinations authorizcd by ti mc and custom, arc
propcrly whatconstitutcs thcgcnius oFa languagc` ,Essa, ,
I I , l , l o0, p. 298 modihcd] ) .
YctnothingoFall this sccms to makchistory. Jhcword
andcvcnmorcthcnotionoFhistorysccmincompatiblcwith
this conccption oF dcvclopmcnt, prorcss , oF changcs oF
cvcry ki nd. JhcordcroFnaturc limits thcm oncvcrysidc.
CondillacspcaksoFthishistoricalaccountoFthcprogrcssoF
languagc`(ibid. , l o2 , p. 299modihcd]) ,oFthchistoryoF
languagc` (ibid. , I , 2, 49, p. o0) , oF thc history oF thc
human spirit` ,Cours d'c/udes. Hts/otre moderne, i nOI, I I , p.
22 l ) , butthcqucstionconccrnshistoryasanarrativcrctrac-
ingaprcsribcdprogrcss ,anaturalprogrcss . Historyisonly
thcdcvclopmcntoFanaturalordcr.Ononchand,ccrtainl y,
thcrol coFgcniusisncvcroblitcratcd.LanguagcFurnishcsi t
clcmcntary conditions which ithas nomorcthan torccog-
nizcinordcrtobringthcmi ntoplay. But gcnius kccpsinits
own right somc powcr that i t in turn givcs to languagc.
Jhoughitbctructhatgrcatmcnpartakc,insomcscnscor
othcr, oF thc charactcr oFthcir nation, yct thcy havc still
somcthingthatdistinguishcsthcmFromthccrowd.Jhcyscc
and Fccl i n a manncr pcculiar to thcmsclvcs , which thcy
cannot communicatc without i magining neo /urns o{ e
resston ot/htn /he rules o{ analog, or a/ leas/ so as /o detta/e
{rom/hem aslt//leasosst/le. Hcncc thcycoorm/o /hegentus
o{ /hetr language, /o ohtch a/ /he same /tme /he, communtca/e
G7
/hetr oon' ,Essa,, I I , l , l 53, p. 292 modihcd] , my cm-
phasis) . ' '
i i ' as to dcviatc From thcm as |ittlc as possib|c ` 1hc archco|ogy oF thc
Fri vo|ous is this dcviation oFgcnius. AFtcr having shcwn thc causcs oFthc |ast
improvcmcnts oF|anguagc, it wi|| bc propcr toi nquirc i nto thosc oFits dcc|inc.
thcyarci ndccdthcsamc 1hcmanoFgcniustricsancwroad.Butascvcry
sty|cana|ogoustothccharactcroFthc|anguagc,andtohisown,hathbccna|rcady
uscdby prcccding writcrs, hchas nothing|cFtbut todcviatcFromana|ogy 1hus
in ordcrto bc an origina| , hcis ob|igcd to contributc to thc ruin oFa |anguagc,
which a ccntury sooncr hc wou|d havc hc|pcd to i mprovc. 1hough such writcrs
ay bc criticiscd thcir supcrior abi|itics must sti|| command succcss 1hc casc
thcrcisinopyingthcrdcFccts,soonpcrsuadcsmcnoFindiFFcrcntcapacitics,that
thcysha|| acquircthc samcdcgrccoFrcputati on. 1hcn bcgins thcrcign oFsubti|
and straincd conccits, oFaFFcctcd antithcscs , oFspccious paradoxcs, oFFrivo|ous
turns ,oFFar-Fctchcdcxprcssions,oFncw-Fang|cdwords ,andi nshortoFthcargon
oFpcrsonswhoscundcrstandingshavcbccn dcbauchcdbybad mctaphysics.1hc
pub|ic app|auds. Frivo|ous and ridicu|ous writings, thc bcings oF thc day, arc
surprising|y mu|tip|icd . Lsso, I I , l , l 559, pp. 2997 jmodihcd]) .
G8
.
HugIHIHg -COHCtQIuu
8IuHU-IH uHU IHt HOVt O
O1Ct
IF thcrc wcrc only (natural or national) gcnius and thc
progrcssoFlanguagc,wcmightthinkthcrcwouldnotbcany
history. I ndividualgcnius, thcncwcombination, `thc ncw
turnsoFcxprcssionwithinthcrulcsoFanal ogy, àndidioma-
ticdcviation,allthcscmakchistory, soFarashistoryinvolvcs
thcunForcsccablcnovclty oFthc cvcnt. Convcrscly, iFi ndi-
vidualgcnius , itscvcnt , cannotbcrcduccdtoitsowncondi-
tions, wc might thi nk thcrc i s no morc history, only gaps
ecar/s], irruptions, discontinuitics rcFcrrcd to a powcr oF
singularimagination.But , aswchavcalrcadysccn,i nvcntion
nomorc
cpcndsoni magination than imagination has thc

abilitytocrcatcanythingwhatcvcr.JhcFactis ,productionoF
t hc ncw - and i magi nati on-arc only producti ons . by
analogical conncction and rcpctition, thcy bring to light
what, withoutbcingthcrc, otll hate |een thcrc.
AllthislcadsusbacktothctimcoFrcpctition,tothcstatus
oFi magi nationasdcscribcdinthcEssa, . I maginationiswhat
re/races , what produccs as rcproduction thc lost obcct oF
pcrccption, thcmomcntattcntion (oFwhich i maginationis
ncvcrthclcssonlythchrstmodihcation) nolongcrsuFhccsto
makc thcobcctoFpcrccptionsu|sts/ , thc momcntthchrst
modihcationoFattcntionbrcakswithpcrccptionandrcgu-
latcspassingFromwcakprcscncctoabscncc.Suchisthccasc
tns/ance] oF thc sign and thcn oF thc hstoric milicu in
gcncral ,thcclcmcntoFdcviation ecar/] whcrcin i ndividual
gcnius and thc progrcss oFlanguagcs arcintcrchangcd.
7 I
LxpcricnccshcwsthatthcFrstcFFcctoFattcntionistomakc
thosc pcrccptions wicharcoccasioncdbythcirobccts to
subsiststi||inthcmind,whcnthoscobcctsarcabscnt. Jhcy
arc prcscrvcd, gcncra||y spcaking, in thc samc ordcr in
whichthcobcctsprcscntcdthcm. Bythismcansachainor
conncxion is Formcdamongstthcm, From whcncc scvcra|
opcrations, aswc||asrcmi nisccncc,dcrivcthcirorigi n. Jhc
Frstisimagination,whichtakcsp|accwhcnapcrccption,by
thc Forcca|oncoFthcconncxionwhichattcntion has cstab
|ishcd bctwccn it and thcobcct, isrctraccd atthcight oF
thisobcct. Somctimcs ,Forinstancc,thcbarcmcntioningoF
thcnamcoFathingissuFFcicnttorcprcscntittoonc' ssc|F,
asiFitwcrcrca||yprcscnt.(Essa,, ! , 2,sI 7 , p. 38jmodiFcd])
FirstlctusrcmarkthcvalucoFthcForccoFconncction. `
Condillacdocsnoti nsi stonthis ,butitisanactivcspringoFall
hisdiscoursc. Jhcpassagc(continuityand/orrupturc)From
onc opcration or structurctoanothcr and thc articulation,
thcn, oFthcir conccpts always amountt oa diFFcrcncc oF
Forcc,oFthcquantityoFForcc.But -suchisthcunivcrsallaw
oFanalogy which dominatcs this wholc sct oFproblcms
quantity oFForcc is always quantityoFconncction. . . .
Forcc is hrst dctcrmincd as Forcc oFconncction and its
quantityas quantity oFconncction.
What is a quantity oFconncction:
Pcrhaps this qucstion, which Condillac ncvcr sccms to
answcr, could guidc a dcconstructivc rcadingoFthcEssa,.
Jhc ncw` oFa combination ariscs From thc analysis oF a
ccrtain-thcgrcatcst -quantityoFconncction` .
!thasbccna|rcadyobscrvcdthatthcana|yticmcthodisthc
on|y mcan or instrumcntoFinvcntion. Butsomc pcrhaps
wi||askmc,bywhatmcanorinstrumcntarcwctodiscovcr
thc ana|ytic mcthod itsc|F: ! answcr, by thc conncxion oF
idcas. Whcn ! want to rccct upon an obcct , in thc Frst
p|acc!obscrvcthatthcidcas!havcoFitarcconncctcdwith
72
IMCININC
thosc ! havcnot, andwhich! amin scarchaFtcr. ! obscrvc
ncxt, thatthc onc and thcothcr maybc combincd a grcat
manyways ,andaccordingasthccombinationsvary,thcrcis
morcor|cssconncxionbctwccnthcidcas. ! maythcrcForc
supposcacombinationinwhichthcconncxionisasgrcatas
itpossib|ycanbc, and scvcra|othcrsinwhichthcconncxion
gradua||ydiminishcs ,ti||itccascstobcscnsib|c. !F!vicwan
obcctonthatsidcwhichhasnoscnsib|cconncxionwiththc
idcas! amsccking, ! sha||Fndnothing. !Fthcconncxionis
supcrFcia| , !sha||discovcrvcry|itt| c, myconccptionssha||
sccm to bc no morc than thc conscqucncc oF a vio|cnt
app|ication,orcvcnthccFFcctoFchancc,andadiscovcryoF
this naturc wi|| aFFord mc vcry |i tt|c assistancc towards
makinganyFurthcrprogrcss . But|ctmcconsidcranobcct
on that sidc which is mostconncctcd with thc idcas ! am
invcstigating, thc who|c sha|| bc Fu||y discovcrcd to my
vicw. . o . (Essa, , ! ! , 2, s39, pp. 327-28 modiFcd] )
Jhc quantity oF conncction bctwccn a known and an
unknown, analysis as thc analogical proccss (cvcntually oF
proportioality) , i nnovation as rcvclation, thccncrgy con-
ncctingthcprcscnttothc abscnt, diFFcrcnccoFdcgrccasa
structural opposition, discontinuous continuity -all thcsc
incrcascandarticulatcthcmsclvcsinthcconccptoFForccas
thc Forcc oFrcpctition (rctracing, supplying) .
I n this rcading, wc can asccrtain that thc systcm oFthis
articulation or this incrcascrcgularly produccs a silcntcx-
plosion oFthc wholc tcxt and introduccs a kind oFhssurc,
rathcrhssion, withincachconccptaswcllascachstatccnt.
I nthccontcxt occupyingus hcrc, thcrc arctwocxamplcs.
l . Jhccxplanation gctscarricd away, disappropriatcsit-
sclF, sinccitovcrplaysthcnotionoFForccwhoscobscurantist
cFFcct or mctaphoric' valuc Condillac dcnounccs clsc-
whcrc.Jhcmctaphori c, hcnccanalogicalvaluc. thcForccoF
conncction,thcanalogicalcncrgycan,itscl,givcrisconlyto
ananalogicalconccpt. HcrcwcmustrcFcrtothcDtc/tonnatre
73
'
dess,non,mes(thcnaturalproductoFaphilosophyoFanalogy
andthcapplicationoFa mctaphoristicthcory oFlanguagc) ,
tothcarticlcona//rac/ton, thcphysicalmodcloFthcunivcrsal
conncction thatis transFcrrcdbyanalogyi nto thcrcalmoF
idcas .
++ro+|o. n.
Namcgivcn to a causcnomorc known than impu|sc.
!tisaForccwhichdrawsustasimpu|scisa Forccwhich
pushcs .Nowthcword]orce isanamcgivcntoacauscwcdo
notknowata|| , scc ]orce. ] //rac/ion isunivcrsa|andinsomc
cascsthc|awsit Fo||owsarcknown. Butmy p|andocs not
inc|udc dwc||ing on words oF this kind. ! on|y spcak oF
attractionbccauscitisthccauscoFwcight, oFgravity, andso
on,aboutwhich ! havcbccnab|ctocrcatcanartic|c. Yct!
cou|dprcdict thatthis word wi||bcuscdFgurativc|ywhcn
Ncwton'ssystcmwi||bcmorcgcncra||y known. !nFact, For
cxamp|c, why wou|dn t onc say. thcrc is an a//rac/ion bc
twccnman, butitactson|yatthcpointoFcontact ,oratmost
ata sma|| distancc. j ! nOP, ! ! !]
Now rcad thc articlc on{orce . )ust as cvcrything hc did
whilccriticizingthisvalucinthcartclcona//rac/ton , Condil-
lacinadvanccoutmancuvcrs, capturcsBi ran` sobcctonthc
ank. ' Jhc primitivc scnsc procccds From thc intcrnal
' 1hcrcisinusaprinciplcoFouractions, whichwcFcclbutcannotdchnc. Wc
ca|li]orce' (!S , I, 2, I I , p. $, n. I ) . Fromthisintcrna|Fcc|ing, butFrom ita|onc
athrst, dcrivcsthctdea wchavcoFForcc ForCondillacncvcrdcnicdwchavcsomc
idcaoFForcc,cvcniFthisidcadocsnotgivcrisctoacognitionordchnitionoFthc
obcct(Wcowctoi ntcrna| FcclingorconsciousncssthchrstidcaoFwhatwccall
[orce. ) . 1hus it wou|d bcncccssaryat|cast tocomplicatc Maincdc Biranscriti-
cis m. I nthatcasc, I asiFwccanconFuscthiscapacityorrcccptivcpropcrtyand
its passivcrcsultson thconc hand, whilc scttingasidc, Fo|loing thccxamplcoF
naturalphi|osophcrs,t hcidcaoFanacttve Forcc,asrcali nusasthcvcryFcclingoF
ourcxistcncc(De/adecomostttonde/aensee, i nOMB , I I , p. O l ) .No, undoubt-
cdlywcdonotatallFormtmagesoFForccsutastothctdea orinncrFccl ingoFhat
wccxcrtinancFFort,avoluntarymovcmcnt, howdoyoudcnyit(ibid. , p. I $5, n.
l) .
74
l
I
l
IMCININC
FcclingoFcFFortandis, likccvcry primitivcscnsc, scnsibl,
physical , oF thc ordcr oF onc` s own body. Jhis scnsc is
transFcrrcd and hgurativcly` cxtcndcd by mctaphor and
analogy-suchisthcrulcwhichorganizcs thiswholcdictio-
nary oFsynonyms .
Wc owc to intcrna| Fcc|ing or consciousncss thc Frst idca
oFwhatwcca||]orce . Jhis qua|ity is whatmakcs us ab|cto
movcandcarryourbodics, toovcrcomcwhatrcsistsus , to
rcsistwhatactsonus. . . . Fromthcbodythiswordhasbccn
transFcrrcdtothcmindandthcsou| . . . . Forces arctakcnFor
thcmu|titudcoFthingsoFwhichthcyarcthccFFcct. . Jhis
wordwasa|sotransFcrrcdtoinanimatcthings .Butthcnitis
thcnamcoFacauscoFwhichwchavcnoidcaandwhichwc
know on|y by cFFccts, indccd this causc has occasioncd
variousvcrba|disputcsamongthoscwhothoughtthcyhad
discovcrcditandconscqucnt|ycauscdrathcrabsurdthings
tobc said. Scc whatthc natura|phi|osophcrsj/es h,siciens]
havc said about thc]orce oFbodics. . . . ! naddition, wcsay
thc]orce oFa thought , ancxprcssion, an argumcnt, a dis-
coursc, butana|ogycn|ightcnsusonthcsccxamp|csandon
a|| thc othcrs . jDic/ionnaire, inOP, ! ! !]
Jhusonlyin thcrcal moFphysics ,thcscicnccoFinanimatc
bodics ,is{ocethcnamcoF acauscoFwhichwchavcnoidca.
B{orce docs notrccovcr its pri mitivcscnscwhcn passing
From inanimatc bodics to spiritual animation, to thought,
mind,oridca.thislastcascstillsconccrnsamctaphor(From
thcbodythiswordhasbccntransFcrrcdtothcmindandthc
soul . . . . I n addition, wc say thc{orce oF a thought . . . a
discoursc, butanalogycnlightcnsus . . . `) . Jhchrstidca,`
thcprimitivcscnsc, thcn,isrcscrvcdForonc` sownintcrnal ,
bodil y cxpcri cncc, to thc scnsibl c i ntcrnal Fccli ng or
consciousncss . `ButhcrcwcarcshortoFal l dch
nition.Sincc
Condillac rcFcrs in thc Essa, to thc Forcc alonc oF thc
conncxion`todchncthcrclationbctwccnaprcscnccandan
75
abscncc, a pcrccption and all its othcrs, sincc hc rcFcrs to
bcginning with attcntion and imaginati on, in what scnsc
mustwcundcrstandthcwordo :Jowhatscnscmustwc
cxtcnd it: Rcscrvcit: And iF, thc organizing thcsis oFthis
discoursc, languagc is primordially mctaphorical , iF thc
primitivcishgurcd,whcrcisForccFound:Hcrcwconlywant
tobcginconsidcringthis qucstion.
2. Anothcrdisappropriation,anothcrhssion.thistampcrs
with thc vcry conccpt oFwhat disappropriatcs, what pro-
duccs thc ncw combination, ` what opcns up thc givcn, it
tampcrs thcnwith thcwholc systcm whichl inks rcpctition
(rctracing-supplying) , sign, timc, analogy.
I t con
ccrnsimagination.
FirstoFall , i nChaptcrI I (Essa, , I , 2, p. 38) ,i maginationis
purclyreroduc/tte ,itrctraccs`thcpcrccivcd. Inthisscnsc,
i maginationinvcnts or innovatcs nothing, it only combincs
inrclationtocach othcrthcgivcn` shnitcprcscnccs . Butthc
ForccconncctingthcprcscnttothcabscntsctsFrccproduc-
tion oFthcncw. `
Iroduc/tte Forcc isal socallcd imagination.
Jhisnamcwillnotbccquivocalprovidcdwcknowhowto
rcgulatcits usc, howcvcr,it is thc namcoFwhat(alongwith
analogy,mctaphor,thcconncctionoFknowntounknown,oF
prcscncctoabscncc)willintroduccintoalllanguagcthcrisk
oFambiguity.
Wccan saythatallthproblcmsoFthcEssa,arcsprcadout
bctwccn thctwoscnscsoFthcwordtmagtna/ton , thcrcpro-
ductivc imagination which rctraccs (conncction is in somc
way ticd to this) and thc productivc i magination which, i n
ordcrt osupply,addssomcthingmorc. I ts{reedomisdchncd
somcchaptcrs Farthcr onand occasionsa notc.
7G
IMCININC
Fromthcpowcrwc havcoFrcvivingourpcrccptionsi nthc
abscnccoFobccts ,isdcrivcdthatoFrcunitingandconncct-
ingthcmostdistantidcas. Lvcrythingiscapab|coFassum-
inga ncw Form i n our imagination. By thc Frccdom wi th
which ittransFcrsthcqua|iticsoFonc subccttoanothcr, it
unitcsinoncon|ythcpcrFcctionswhichnaturcwou|dudgc
suFFcicntFor thccmbc||ishmcntoFmany. NothingatFrst
sight sccms morc contrary to truth, than this manncr in
whichthci maginationdi sposcsoFouridcas .Andindccdi F
wcdonotrcndcroursc|vcsmastcrsoFthi sopcration,itwi||
inFa||ib|ymis|cadus, whcrcasiFwc|carnhowtosubcctitto
ru|c, it wi|| provc onc oFthc principa| sourccs oFa|| our
know|cdgc. (Ea, ! , 2, s75 pp. 78-79 j modiFcd])
Jhcnotciscal lcd For righthcrc. BcForc wccitcit , lctus
rcmarkthatthcFrccdomisonlyoncoFtransFcr(adisplacc-
mcnt oF prcdicatcs From onc subcc to anothcr and a
mctaphorical opcration) , and that thcrc arc not only two
conccpts oFi magination. thc productivc imagination itsclF
has two pssiblc valucs or cFFccts . truthand nontruth.
Jhcnotc.
Hithcrto ! havc takcn thc imagination For that opcration
on|ywhichrcvivcsthcpcrccptionsinthcabscnccoFobccts .
but now that! considcrthccFFccts oFthisopcration, ! Fnd
no i nconvcnicncy i n Fo||owi ng thc common acccptation,
nay, ! am ob|igcd to do i t. Hcncc it is that in thc prcscnt
chaptcr! takcthcimagination For anopcration, whichby
rcvivi ngouridcas ,Formsncwcombi nationsoFthcmatwi| | .
Jhus thc word imagina/ion sha|| hcnccForward havc two
diFFcrcntsigniFcationswith mc. but this sha||notoccasion
anycquivocationorambiguity,bccauscthccircumstanccsi n
which ! usc i t, wil| dctcrminc cach ti mc my particu|ar
mcaning. ( !bid. , p. 79)
i
A rcmarablcindcx, thc imaginationappcarstwicc,in two placcs,undcrtwo
diFFcrcnttitlcsonthcsccondtolastpagcoFthcLo. atthcsamctimcasmatcrial
77

I Fwcrcndcroursclvcs mastcrs oFthis opcration` . wccan
vcriFy that, in thcEssa, , torcndcr oncsclFmastcroF,` to
disposcoF, ìsthchnalscnscoFcvcryopcration.IFactionand
thclanguagcoFactionarcatthcbcginning, Condillacalways
dctcrmincs thcm axiomaticallyas mastcry or as thc movc-
mcnttowardmastcryWithimagination' sduplicityFunction-
ing as a hingc, to rcndcr oncsclFmastcr oF, to control thc
ambiguity and risks , is thc maor stratcgic opcration oF
mastcry -wc could almost say, mastcry itsclF.
But sincc mastcry, in ordcr to bc what it is , must takc
posscssion oFwhat is not, oFnothing thcn, to bc surc it is
ncvcritsclF. Vastcry,//eretsan, , docs notcxist.
1/e i magination constitutc thc placc oFhistory and thc
progrcssoFlanguagc. `Jhc narrati vcwccan constructwill
havc to bc probablc but , in thc milicu oF imagination, oF
languagc on languagc, always risks resem|/tng a Fablc. I ts
aFhnity with thc novcl or romancc, indccd with a mythic
cpistcmology, ' cmainscongcnital to thc narrativc.
and ascploymcnt , ascontcntand asForm. 1hc scnscsarc thcsourccoFhuman
knowlcdgc 1hc diFFcrcnt scnsations, pcrccption, consciousncss, rcminisccncc,
attcntion and imagination, thc two last considcrcd as not yct subcct to our
controul,arcits matcrials. mcmory,imagination, as subccttocontroul , rccxion,
and thc othcr opcrations, cmploy thcsc matcrials. t hc signs t o which wc arc
indcbtcdForthchabit[/' eerctce]oFthcscvcryopcrations,arcthcinstrumcntsthcy
makcuscoF.andthcconncxionoFidcasisthchrstspringwhichputsallthcrcsti nto
motion` (ssa, I I , 2, 53, p. 33$) .
1hcopposition matcrial/cmploymcntthustravcrscs anddividcsthcconcptoF
imaginationwhichisconscqucntlyitsclcmcntorcnvironmcnt Corrclativcly,thc
opposition which intcrnal l y marks thc imagination is also that oFnonmastcry to
mastcry, oF noncontro/ to contro/, oF dtsosttton to noudtsosttton. 1his opposition
Furrows and ordcrs thc wholc ssa. 1hc sign, signication is thc opcration oF
mastcry, thc utttng-nder-the-contro|-o], at oncc ,as wc havc ust sccn) as thc
conditionandthcinstrumcntoFcxcrcising. I FthcrcarctwoconccptsoFimagina-
tion, thcrc arc two conccpts or valucs oFthc sign, and that will not bc without
conscqucncc.
Ignoranccalwaysrushcsitsudgmcntsandtrcatsas impossiblccvcrythingit
docs not undcrstand. 1hchistory oFour Facultics and idcassccms a complctcly
78
IMCININC
FromthishistoricalaccountoFthc progrcssoF|anguagc
cvcrybody may scc, thattoa pcrsonwc|| acquaintcd with
|anguagcs ,thcyarcapaintingoFthccharactcrandgcniusoF
cvcrynation. Hcmaysccin what manncrthcimagination
hrst madca combinationoFidcasFromprcudiccandpas-
sion. . . . But iFthc manncrs oF a pcop|c inucnccd |an-
guagc, thc |attcr, as soon as its ru|cs wcrc asccrtaincd by
cc|cbratcdwritcrs ,hadinitsturnani nucncconmanncrs,
andFora|ongtimcprcscrvcdtocachpcop|cthcirpccu|iar
charactcristic.
.
Somc pcrhaps wi|| |ook upon this who|c history as a
romancc. butthcycannotat|castdcnyitsprobabi|ity.(Essa, ,
I I , l , ssI G2-G3, p. 299 modihcd])
Vol tairchadwrittcnonLockc. SuchamultitudcoFrcason-
crshavingwrittcnthcromanccoFthcsoul ,asagcatlastarosc
whogavc,withanairoFthcgrcatcstmodcsty,thchistoryoF
it. ` ' Jhc Essa, rcgularly dchncs Lockc`s cntcrprisc as a
modcl ,bu
asonctobccorrcctcdandcomplctcd,stillaFablc
tobc madc morchistorical , morc probablc.
WhatNcwtonhasaccomplishcdopcrFcctioninthcrcalm
oFphysicalscicncc,LockchasonlyroughcdoutinthchcldoF
psychology.
JhcEssa, makcs two maor rcFcrcnccs to this . Ncwton
undcrstoodthcordcroFtruthsinthcscicnccoFthcphysical
univcrsc. But in doing this , hc not only gavc Condillac an
amplctotransposc, thcparticularmodcloFa mcthodical
andFormalsucccssi nadiFFcrcntdomai n. Condillacnowhas
chimcrical romanccto minds which lack any pcnctration. it would bc casicrto
rcduccthcm tosilcnccthan to cnlightcnthcm. In physicsand astronomy, how
manydiscovcricswcrc udgcdimpossiblcbyignorantpcoplcoFFormcrtimcs `(De
/'art de ratsonner, in Ol, l , p. 633) .
' Lettresht/osohtques , I 734jstpublishcdin I 733in LondonasLettersConcern
tngtheng/tshNatton, tr.)ohn Lockman, sclcctions rpt. nd slightly mod
rnizcdin
7hen/tghtenment. Comreheu:tventho/og, cd. PctcrGay( NcwVork. Sronand
Schustcr, I 973) , pp I 47-74, citation Foundonp . I 62~1rans. ] .
79
acccsstoaunivcrsalcontcnt. thcidcaoFasimplcanduniquc
principlcrulingthcconncctionoFthingsamongthcmsclvcs
onthcbasis oFonc Fundamcntal propcrt.
WhatdidNcwtondiscovcr: Condillaccxplai nsi nDe/'ar/de
ratsonnerby advancingacomparison, àtcchnicalcompari-
son to bring i nto vicw a physical truth. IF thc bcam oF a
balancc is placcd on thc tip oFa nccdlc, andiFthc Farthcst
bodicsarcmadctoturnaroundthcsamcccntcr,wcwillhavc
thc imagc oFthc univcrsc. ` Jhc machinc, thc balancc or
lcvcr, isthcprinci plc oFallothcrmachincs , simplc( whccl ,
pullcy,inclincdplanc, pcndulum)orcompound. Jhcidcn-
tityisscnsiblc thcmachincstakcdiFFcrcntFormsinordcrto
producc morc convcnicntly diFFcrcnt cFFccts, but in thc
bcginning thcy arc all only onc samc machinc. Now our
univcrscis only a grcatbalancc. . . . Jhc] pointoFsuspcn-
sion, Fulcrum, and thc ccntcr oFgravity arcat bottom thc
samc thing. Jhis comparison is cnough For us to makc
comprchcnsiblchowallthcscmasscsarcrcgulatcdinthcir
courscbythatsamc ForccwhichmakcsthisnotcbookFalliF
youstopholdingitup. . . . ForiFthcrcisFundamcntallyonly
oncmachinc,thcrcisFundamcntallyonlyoncpropcrty`(in
OI, I , p. o7o)
Jhis uniquc propcrty assurcs discoursc oF thc powcr to
procccd by idcntial propositions , that is, sclF-cidcntially
dans /' ettdence] , si ncc idcntity isthconlysignoFcvidcncc`
(ibid. , p. o77) . Soidcntityisthcsignbywhichaproposition
isrccognizedassclF-cvident ,andidcntityisrccognizcdwhcn
a proposition can bc translatcd into tcrms which rcturnto
those vcrytcrms ,//esamets//esame'(ibid. , p. o2 , alsoscc
Logtc , pp. 888) .
Jhc pri nciplc oF cvidcncc which alonc must cxcludc
cvcry kind oF doubt` (ibid. , pp. o3o37) is thc ultimatc
8O
IMCININC
appcal . Hcrc rccoursc to thc idcntical ( nontautological)
proposition Follows thcrulc oFthc cvi dcncc oFrcason that
CondillacdistinguishcdFrom cvidcncc oFFactandcvidcncc
oFFccling(ibid. , p. o20) .
I n t rans pos i ng t hc Ncwt oni an

di s covcry i nt o t hc
psychological ordcr, Condillacalsosubmits thcEssa, t othc
cri tcrion oFcvidcncc and oFa non-Cartcsian indubitability
( ouronlyaimshouldbctodiscovcra Fundamcntalcxpcri-
cncc which no onc can qucstion, and will bc suFhcicnt to
cxplain all thc rcst` Essa, , Intro. , p. o ( modihcd) ] ) . I n
combi ning and ovcrsccing thc thrcc typcs oFcvidcncc, hc
studics as wcll thc univcrsal conncction (oF idcas among
thcmsclvcs ,oFidcasandsigns, oFsignsamongthcmsclvcsin
analogy) . Hclcads all cxpcricncc back to a hrst propcrty
whichknowsitsclFandwhichdocs nothingthcnbutmodiFy
itscl F. scnsibility.
Althoug thcEssa, only trcats thc undcrstandi ng, it im-
plics thc latcr proposition oF thc 1rea/tse on //eSensa/tons .
)udgmcnt, rccxion, dcsircs , passions , ctc. arc onlyscnsa-
tion itsclF diFFcrcntly transFormcd` (Dcdication, p. xxxi
modicd]) .JheEssa,statcs. Jhcpcrccptionorthcimprcs-
sioncauscdinthemind/'me ]bytheagitationoFthcscnscs ,
is thc rst opcration oF thc undcrstanding. Jhe idca oF it
cannotbe acquircd by anydiscoursc or words whatsocvcr,
nothingcanconvcyittousbutthc rccxiononwhatpasses
withinus, whcnwcarcaFFcctcdbysomecxtrancousimprcs-
sion on thc scnscs` ( I , 2 , l , p. 27)
JhcgcncralprinciplcoF analogyauthorizcsthistransposi-
tion oFNcwtonian discoursc. No doubt this principl c, li kc
cvcryphilosophyoFmctaphorwhichprocccdsFromit,givcs
risctoanambiguousaxiology.Analogycanalsoislcadus ,
butthcnthatisbccauscthcanalogyiswcak, thcquantityoF
8 I
conncction` is notgrcatcnough. Analogy crcatcslanguagc
andmcthod.Analogy makcspossiblcandhomogcncousthc
passagcFromoncplaccoFdiscoursctoanothcr,thctransFcr
oFa sicntihc modcli ntoanothcrhcl d. Anal ogyisitsclFthc
unity oFmcthod, i tis//e mcthod
Although Condillac oFtcn criticizcd thc mathcmatism oF
ccrtai n phil osophcrs , hc acccpts consi dcrati on oF thc
mathcmaticalobcctandmcthodasmodcls ,butasmodclsoF
languagcincludcdinthcgcncralhcldoFscicnccasparticular
domains . Jhis Fundamcntal homogcncity oF thc scicntihc
hcldingcncral dcpcnds notonlyondiscursivcanalogybut
alsoonthcFactthatthisanalogyisnatural ,Formsascqucncc
withnaturc Analogyncvcrdocsanythingbutcxtcndnatu-
ral productions . Jhc continuity oFthis obscrvation can bc
vcrihcdFrom thcEssa, toLaLanguedesca/cu/s .
Jhc FrstcxprcssionsoFthc|anguagcoFactionar
.
cgi
.
vcn
bynaturcsinccthcyarcacontinuationoFourorgamzaton.
thcFrstcxprcssionsarcgivcn,ana|ogyFormsthcothc
sand
cxtcndsthis|anguagc,which|itt|cby|itt|cbccomcssrtcdto
rcprcscnting our idcas oFwhatcvcr kind.
Naturc which starts cvcrything, starts thc |anguagc oF
articu|atcd sounds, ust as it has bcgun thc |anguagc oF
action, and ana| ogy, which comp|ctcs |anguagcs, Forms
thcmcorrcct|y, iFi tcontinucs as naturc hasbcgun.
Ana|ogy is propcr|y a rc|ation oFrcscmb|anc
.
c. thc
a
thingcan bccxprcsscdin manyways, si n
cthcrcrsnothrng
which docsnotrcscmb|cmanyothcr thrngs.
ButdiFFcrcntcxprcssionsrcprcscntthcs
mcthingu
dcr
diFFcrcntrc|ations ,andthcmcnta|aspccts ,r . c. , thcrc|at
ns
undcrwhich wcconsidcrsomcthing,dctcrmincthcchorcc
wcshou|d makc. . . .
Ianguagcs arc a|| thc morc impcrFcct sincc thcy scc
morc arbitrary, butrcmarkthatthcy sccmtobc|csss
m
good writcrs. Whcnathoughtiswc||rcndcrcd, cvcrythmg
is Foundcd on rcason, cvcn up to thc p|accmcnt oF cach
82
IMCININC
word. Jhusarc thc mcn oF gcnius whohavc madc cvcry-
thingthatisgoodin|anguagcs, and,whcn!saymen q genius ,
! do notcxc|udcnaturc whoscFavoritc discip|cs thcyarc.
A|gcbra is a wc||-madc|anguagc, andit is thcon|yonc.
nothingthcrcappcarsarbitrary. Ana|ogy,whi chncvcrgcts
away, |cads scnsib|y From cxprcssion to cxprcssion. Hcrc
usagchasnoauthority. Ourconccrnis nottospcak|ikcthc
othcrs, wcmustspcakaccordi ngtothcgrcatcstana|ogyin
ordcr tocomctothc grcatcstprccision. Jhoscwhomadc
this|anguagchavcFc|t thatsty|isticsimp|icitymakcsa||its
c|cgancc. a truth |css wc||-known in vu|gar |anguagcs.
Assoonasa|gcbraisa|anguagcthatana|ogyconstructs ,
ana|ogy which Forms |anguagc Forms thc mcthods . or
rathcr, thc mcthod oFinvcntion is on|yana|ogy itsc|F.
Ana|ogy. that thcn is what a|| thc art oF rcasoning is
rcduccd to, as is a|| thc art oFspcaki ng, and in this sing|c
word wc scc how wc can instruct oursc|vcs oFothcrs` dis-
covcricsandhowwccanmakcsomcoFthcmoursc|vcs. . . .
Mathcmaticsisawc||-discusscdscicncc,whosc|anguagcis
a|gcbra. So |ct us scc howana|ogy makcs us spcak in this
scicn, andwcwi||knowhowitoughtto makcusspcakin
thc othcrs . Jhat is what ! proposc. Jhus mthcmatics ,
which!wi||trcat ,isinthisworkanob cctsubordinatcdtoa
much grcatcr obcct. Jhc qucstion is showing how this
cxactitudc can bc givcn to a|| thc scicnccs , an cxactitudc
bc|icvcd tobc thccxc|usivc |otoFmathcmatics . (La Lange
des ca/cu/s, inOP, ! ! , pp. 4 I 92O)
Jhis situation oF mathcmatics (as modcl and includcd
obcct)rcsultsFromthcunli mitcdgcncralityoFthcprinciplc
oF analogy. thc typcs oF analogy ( scnsibl c, natural rc-
scmblancc, proportionality, andsoon)arcanalogousamong
thcmsclvcs (ibid. , p. 450) . IFthc cnd oFthcEssa, sccms to
criticizcphilosophicalmathcmatismandcvcn,asisthought,
thc mathcmaticalin gcncral , itaimstomakc thcmonlythc
conFuscd transposition oF what is thc |cast mathcmatical .
gcomct ry , t hc gcomct cr' s prcFcrcncc For s ynt hcs i s
83
(Gcomctriciansthcmsc|vcs, who oFall phi|osophcrsought
to bc bcst acquaintcd with thc advantagcs oF thc ana| yti c
mcthod,givcthcprcFcrcnccvcryFrcqucnt| ytothcsynthctic.
Hcnccitisthatwhcnthcyquitthcirca|cu| ationstocntcri nto
rcsarchcs oFa diFFcrcntnaturc, wchndthcy havcncithcr
thc samc c|carncss , nor prccision, nor thc samc cxtcnt oF
comprchcnsion. OF Four cc|cbratcd mctaphysicians, Dcs
Cartcs , Va| | cbranchc, Lcibnitz, and Lockc, thclattcris thc
only onc that was not a gcomctrician, and yt how vastly
supcrior is hc tothcrcst| ` Essa, , I I , 2, 52 , pp. 337-38] . ) .
Jhcprogram oFLa Lane des ca/cu/s is on thc othcrhand
vcryc|car|y opcncd (ibid. , I I , 2, 7FF. , pp. 304 FF. ) .
Jhc status oF thc two modc|s diFFcrs. Ncwton must bc
transposcd, Lockc mustbccomp|ctcd and corrcctcd. ' " On
numcrous points, which al| sccm rcducib|c to this . Lockc
misscdthc signbccauschc| ackcdordcr. Hcdinotrccog-
nizc thc principlc oFthc gcrm` s dcvc|opmcnt ( thc usc oF
signsisthcprincip|cwhichunFo|dsthcgcrmoFal|ouridcas`
ibid. , I ntro. , p. l l ( modihcd)) ,bccauschcdidnotradical|y
ana|yzc thc gcrm orsccd.
Lack oFordcr. I Fthcrc has bccn historica| progrcss , For
cxamp|cFrom LockctoCondi||ac,thatisbccauscthcnatural
ordcr had bccn pcrvcrtcd. IF that ordcr had bccn i m-
mcdiatc|ypcrccivcd,thcrcwou|dnothavcbccnanyhistori-
ca| dcnsity. Bu cvcn morc so, notwithouta rcturn to thc
natura| ordcr. Wc wil| havc to takc thcsc two motiFs i nto
account.
' Bcsidcs thccriticsmslormu|atcdby thcLsso, scc notab|ythcLx/rot/ rotsonne
du 1ot/e des seuo/tons ,i nOl, ! , . 3z4ll.) andDe /òr/ de ]enser ,in Ol, ! , . 73$
ll. and. 774) .
84
IMCININC
Jhcy not on|y cxp|ain Condillac s i ntcrprctation oF his
own rc|ation to Lockc` s discovcry, but al so Condil l ac` s
|incagci nrc|ationtohimsc|F, al sothcprogrcssòFhisown
thought. hrstwithin thcEssa, , thcn From thcEssa, to sub-
scqucntworks , i nparticu|arto thc1rea/tse on//eSensa/tons .
Condi||acmulti p|icsthcconsidcrationsoFhistoryin his own
discoursc. Hcdocsnotho|dthcmasmarginal .Jhcymustbc
partoFthcdiscourscitsclF which,markingoutthctrai| ,must
bcrccountcd, mustcxplainitsstcps(iFnotitsFaux-pas) ,thc
ru|cs i tFo|lowcd or thosc itshould havcFo|lowcd.
Jhat such ana| yscs arc part oF thc principa| discoursc
undoubtcd|y indicatcs thcir importancc and scriousncss .
But simultancous| y wc arc ordcrcd not to trust this too
much. thcscana| yscs tcllus what Condillacwasthi nkingoF
doing, or rathcr thought hc had donc. Jhis cnscmblc oF
ru|cshadtoconstitutc mcthod (and thcgcncra|conccptoF
mcthod) Ftcr thc Fact, as thc rccction oF a succcss, a
mcthodwhichshou|da||owsucccssors torcpcatthcscicncc
and multiply its discovcrics . Jhcme//odo/ogtca/ opcration is
in somc way a reto/u/tonar, opcration. A rarc mcrit is ac-
cordcdDcscartcs ,inapassagcoFthcEssa,whichwi|lbc,|ikc
somanyothcrs, litcrallyrcproduccdbyDe/àr/deenser (in
OI, I , p. 7o8) . Philosophcrs wou|dhavcsupp|icdourgcn-
cralincapacityoFsc|Frccxion, iFthcyhad|cFtusthchistory
oFthcprogrcssoFthcirminds .DcsCartcsindccdhasdoncit,
andthisisoncoFthcgrcatobligationswcowchim. . . . Iam
apttothi nkthatthiscontrivanccgrcat|ycontributcdtothc
rcvolutionoccasioncdbythis philosophcrÈssa,, I I , 2, 4 ,
pp. 32930] . I F thc Essa,`s truth, ` its possibility, thcn its
limits havc twicc appcarcd aFtcr thc Fact, iFthc systcm is
unFo|dcd, ex/atned in a history, thatis bccauscthcrc was a
85
lackoFordcr, bccauscthcnaturalordcroFidcaswasviolatcd.
Jhcrctrospcctivc cvidcncc hrstoccurs within thcEssa, , i n
thccourscoFi tscxposition.
But thiscxpositioni snotthcoutsidcoF hislabor.What ,up
t othc cndoFthcbook, willhavcbccn hiddcnbya FaultoF
composition, by a lapsc in thc ordcr oFdidactic linking, is
prcciscly thc cxtcnt oFthc principlc oFthc conncxion oF
idcas . `Jhisprinciplc is nothingbutthc principlc oFordcr
itsclF,oFordcrconFormingtonaturc. WhatthclackoFordcr
will havc hiddcn -not any particular obcct or momcnt
dctcrmincd in thcconscqucncc-is thcprinciplcoFconsc-
qucncc. thisprinciplcthcnabysscs`_sà|,me]orshowssomc
oFitsclF. In short, Condillaccxplains that, hadhcFol lowcd
ordcritsclFincomposingthcEssa,, hcwouldhavcdiscovcrcd
morcquickly thcprinciplcoFordcrAscntcnccwhich,sincc
itcanbcinvcrtcd,cncirclcshistorywithinnaturc. Butlookat
thcconsidcrationsonthcordcroFcxpositioninthcEssa, ( I ,
2 , l 07 , pp. l 0203 , and I , 2 , 45FF. ,pp.3 3 3 FF. ) .Among
othcr things that will bc brought i nto rclicFis Condillac` s
silcncc on thc scnsc oF that crror which For a long timc
limitcdordclaycdthcgcncralizationoFhisdiscovcry. With
rcgard to philosophic works , nothingbutordcrwillcnablc
anauthortopcrccivcsomcthingsthathavcbccnForgottcn,
or othcrswhichhavcnotbccnsuFhcicntl ycxamincd.JhisI
havc oFtcn myscl F cxpcri cnccd. Jhc prcscnt cssa, For
cxamplc, was hnishcd, andyct I did not cvcn thcn undcr-
standthcprinciplcoFthcconncxionoFidcasinitsFullcxtcnt .
Jhis was owing i ntircly t o a passagc oFabout two pagcs ,
which was not in its right placc` (ibid. , I I , 2 , 47 , p. 334) .
Whatis thcstatusoFt hisrcmark,inscribcdin thcbookonly
whcn thc prcscntcssay, For cxamplc, was hnishcd`:
Condillac ncvcr rctouchcd thcEssa, .
8G
IMCININC
Whattwo pagcs wcrc thcsc: ' Whydocsn` tCondillactcll
us: IFthcsc pagcshcrcarcmadctoopcn andnotcloscour
rcadi ng, mustwcstop atthis point:
' ' ucrci sthcplacctorcmarkothcrmissingorprcviouslyrcmovcd pagcs thc
two sgnaturcs oFthcDictionnaire des s,nonmes . 1hcy disappcarcd undcr condi
tionswhichmakcanaccidcntaldisappcarancclcsslikcly"( LcRoy,PrcFacc,inOl,
! ! ! , p. viii) . 1hcsc signaturcsmight havc containcd thc dchnitionoF\i , butalso
such nouns bcginning with s which hold so many othcrs in thcir ncts .
immcdiatcly adaccntt oscience andsign: sense, sensation, sentiment yee/ing] , sentir.
DocsthcDictionnairedess,non,ms thcnopcnuporFillupitsabyssbynotdcFining
cithcrana/og or s,non,m ordictiona or, conscqucntly, that opcration, its own,
whichdcscribcsthcmovcmcntoFscnscbctwccnthcprimitivcscnscand thchgurcd
scnsc,thcwordtakcnbycxtcnsion'orgurativcly:1hislastword,likcthcword
[gred, isdchncdbythcDictionnaire onlyinitslit al or propcrscnsc 1hccascis
rarcand signihcant.
87
+ .
Hu1gIHu HOIt O1
1tHu1K-IHt IWO OO8t
Qugt8
` + - HuVC _VCH IOO DutD IO S_HS.
` HuVC SuU DOIC IDuH WuHICU IO, IHuH DCuHI.

Notwithouthavingposcd-toordcrourrcading, thatis ,to

cxami nc thc ncgativity oF thc ordcr- thc qucstion oF thc
de/our.
How is a dctour possibl c:
How dowcgctback From onc:
WhcthcrthcqucstionthcrcisoncoFliFcordcath,rcason
or Fol l y, From now on wcarcbound t thi nki t.
Jhi scanbcvcrihcd-inmyhypothcsis -oncvcrypagcoF
thcEssa, .)ustasanindication, thisre{ec/ton -twaswrittcn
lng aFtc
thc Essa, and pcrtai ns to i ts arrival in Hts/otre

moderne (inOI, I I , Q. 22 l ) .
L|scwhcrc! havcshownyouthatthcwho|cartoFwri ting
bcarsonthc princip|coFthcgrcatcstconncction oFidcas,
bccausc i n Fact thcartoFthi nki nghas noothcr princip|c
itsc|F.Jothccxtcntwcarccapab|coFFo||owingthisconncc-
ti on, our mind is strctchcd morc. it sccs cach thingin its
p|acc, it cmbraccs at oncc a mu|titudc oF obccts , and
pcrccivingthcmc|car|y, i t cxposcshcm with prccision.
Jhc morcyourccctonthchistoryoFthchumanmind,
thc morc you wi|| bc convi nccd oF thc univcrsa|i ty oFthis
pinci p|c. Iockc rcmarkcd that thc Fa|sc conncctions oF
i dcas makc madncssorFo||y, and hc stoppcd thcrc. Yctit
wascasytoconc|udcthatthctrucconncctionoFidcasmakcs
rcason. Andi n rccctinga |itt|c on this conscqucncc, this
phi|osophcrhadsccnthatthispri ncip|cisthcuniquccausc
oFa|| thc mi nd' s qua|i tics .
Jhis path was ccrtain|y thc shortcstoncto discovcr thc
uni vcrsa|ityoFthisprinci p|c. Andpcrhaps you bc|icvc it is
thconc! havctakcn. Notata|| .On|yustnowhavc!barc|y
9 I

,
! '
THE HFCHEOLOCI OE THE EFI|OLO|S
pcrccivcdi t. Andnowthat!havccomctoit,! sccthat!havc
madc grcatdctours .
I nshort, as wc willscc, thcsignisthcnamcthcEssa, will
havcgivcntothcdctouringcncral ,tocx
cricncci ,sclFasa
dctour, thc gcncration oFthc supplcmcntrng[su/ean
e ] t
,
o
bc rctraccd. Nowanothcrinstancc oFthcabyss, Condllacs
rccurrcnt i ntcrprctation oFthcEssa, docs not appcar only
insidcandoutsidcthcEssa,conccrningthcnaturalordcroF
idcas .
Jhcintcrprctationcvcngrapplcswith thcconccptoFthc
sign.
.
Hcrcagain,thcqucstionislcssacriticalrcturnbcaHngon
thc contcnt oF any particular proposition than a gcncral
rcordcring, arcdiscovcry,andaFundamcntalrcconstitution
oFthc i ntcrconncctions . In Fact, whcn Condillac wrotc thc
Essa,, hcconsidcrcdthcprincipalcontributionoFthisbook,
itsmostoriginaladvancc,tobcthcthcoryoFsignsandoFthc
analogy oF signs. Now somc ycars latcr, in . 752(t-cEssa,
datcsFrom l 74o) ,Condil lacthanksVaupcrtusForhrsIeex
tons/t/oso/tquessur/'ortgtnedes/anguesandacknowlcdgcshc
himsclFwas mistakcn. `
Butitis diFhcult to dctcrmincCondillac` s crror.
WhatincFFcctisgivingtoomuchtosigns` :I wouldhopc
thatyouhadshownhowthc progrcssoFthcminddcpcnds
onlanguagc. I tricdthatinmyEssa, on//e Ortgtn o{Human
Knoo/edge , but I was mistakcn and havc givcn too much to
signs . `'
' Iciicr io MaucriuIs, 25 )unc I 752, In Ol, ! ! , , 5)6. 5o ondIIIac
a
rcccicd' on ihIs bc!orc MaInc dc Iran, whosc rcs
"
rvaiton hcIicraIly anict-
aicshcrc. hc morc ! rcccionihcInucncc
ihai stgnsand
,
mcihodshavcon
ihcario! ihInkIng, ihcmorc ! amIncIIncdiobcItcvcihai CondtIIachascxicndcd
92
H MHFCINHL NOTE
BcForcconcludingFromthisthatCondillac` sthoughthas
cvolvcd` (notc oF G. Lc Roy, in OI, I I , p. 53o) , wc must
prudcntlyanalyzcthiscorrcction. Jhc corrcctionconccrns
lcss thc ordcr oFintcrconncctions than thc dcgrcc oFthc-
matic insistcncc and thc importancc accordcd to a link
noncthclcss notoutoFplacc. I nsistcncc, Forcc, thcquantity
or qual i ty oF i nsi s tcncc , is not a sccondary val uc i n
philosophical discoursc, and our conccrn hcrc i s not to
minimizc it. On thc contrary, wc should nodoubt havc to
thcorizcandFormalizcitsstatus. Itrcmainsthata variation
oFinsistcncc, adiFFcrcnccoFcvaluationisnotanaltcrationoF
ordcr.
JhcinsistcncconthcsignwasinFactmassivc.Anditdocs
notwaitForPartI I (OFlanguagcandmcthod`) . FromPartI
( OFthcmatcrialsoFourknowlcdgc, andparticularlyoFthc
opcrations oFthc soul `) , thc scmiological program oFthc
i ntroduconislargclybroachcd. AndyctI havcthoughtit
propcrtomakcthissamcsubcctwords]aconsidcrablcpart
oFthcFollowingwork, aswcllbccausci tmaybcvicwcdina
ncwandmorccxtcnsivclight, asbccauscIamconvinccdthat
thcuscoFsignsisthcprinciplcwhichunFoldsthcgcrmoFall
our idcas` (Essa, , I ntro. , p. l l modihcd]) . As soon as thc
qucstionconccrnsthcconncctionoFidcas( Chaptcr3)andoF
need,asthcuniqucprinciplcoFourrclationtothings ,Condil-
lacsituatcsthosckindoFchains ,whoscForccwouldintircly
consist in thc analogy oFthc signs` (ibid. , I , 2 , 29, p. 4o
modihcd] ).
ihIsInucnccioo!ar'(MaIncdcIran,Notessur/ìu[uencedessignes ,InOMB , ! ,
508) . ui ihc ioo much o! ihc sIgn'Isnoi rcadIn ihc samc wayIn boihIaccs,
CondIIIac mIghi noi havc subscrIbcd io whai ImmcdIaicIy!oIIows. hc w
nis
'
o
rovc (. 226-27 o! La Lange des ca/cu/s) ihai ihc
.
mci
od o!
rcasomng
mciahysIcsIsnoidI!!crcni!romihcmcihodo!caIcuIustnarihmcircoraIgcbra,
93
Forcc, analogy, signihcation will always bc ordcrcd to a
thcory oFnccd.
Do not hurry too quickly to opposc this to a thcory oF
dcsirc.
Andit isstillin PartI (longbcForchc cxprcsslydiscusscd
languagc) that thc wcll known distinction is proposcd, cx-
trcmcly provisional this timc, bctwccn thc thrcc kinds oF
signs. accidcntal signs , natural signs, and institutcd signs
(ibid. , I , 2, 35, p 5 l ) . VuchFarthcron,inthcsamcpartoF
thc work.
1his opcrationis thc rcsu|toFthcimagination, which prc-
scnts signs to thc mind with which it had bccn as yct
unacquaintcd, and oF thc attcntion which connccts thcm
with our idcas . !t isoncoFthc mostcsscntia|opcrationsin
thcstudyoFtruth, andyctitisoncoFthoscwhicharc|cast
known. ! havca|rcadyshcwnthcuscandncccssityoFsigns
inacquiringahabitoFthcopcrationsoFthcsou| .!sha||now
dcmonstratcthcsamcthing, considcringthcmirc|ationto
thcdicrcnt spccicsoFidcas.1hisisatruthwhichcannotbc
toooFtcncxhibitcdundcrdicrcntvicws .!bid. , , 4, ch. i ,
p. I I 4 modiFcd])
SothcEssa, i sthrough andthrougha scmiotics.
Part I I docs notopcn a ncw hcld, it unFolds or, iF onc
prcFcrs , Folds itsclFback againovcr Part I . Whilc trcating
languagc, Part II dcscribcs only onc spccics oF sign, thc
arbitrary,thconcwhichbcarsourFrccdomthchighcst, thc
oncoFwhichwcarcthcgrcatcstmastcrs( thiswordmight
bc Followcd as a guidingthrcad, a cluc) .
Andyct, although scmiotics occupics thcwholcsccncor
rathcr thc prosccnium oF all his discoursc, Condillac will
ncvcr havc aFhrmcd that thc sign is hrst in cxpcricncc in
gcncral .JhcchainoFsignsisraiscdoterpcrccptions(Ovcr
94
MFCINL NOTE
cach oFthcsc scrics , othcr scrics oFidcas might bc raiscd,
which should Form a kind oF chains , whosc Forcc would
intircly consist in thc analogy oFthc signs, in thc ordcr oF
pcrccptions, andinthcconncctionthatshouldbcFormcdby
thccircumstanccswhichsomcti mcsrcunitcthcmostdissimi-
laridcas' ibid. , I , 2 , 29, p. 4o( modihcd) J . ) .
Notonlyi s thcchainoFsignssupcrstructural ,itsprinciplc
is Formal . Jhis chain comcs to organizc a matcrial and to
dcvclop, to distributc a sccd. Its opcration is always con-
ccivcdaccordi ngtothisoppositionoFatcrialandcmploy-
ncnt. Jhc uscoFsigns i sthc principlcwhich unFolds thc
gcrm oFall our idcas . '
AlthoughhcdcvotcdaFcwpagcstothcsc,althoughinsum
hcgavcthcmtooFcw, Condillacwillnothavcbcgunanylcss
bydcscribingthcclcmcntarymatcrialsandopcrationsoFthc
soul . Jhc hrst thrcc chaptcrs do thi s. H/ //e momen/ thc
prcscnt occt comcs to bc missing From pcrccption, thc
momcnt pcrccptionisabscntFromitsclF,atthatmomcntthc
spaccoFsigns , with thcFunction oFi magination, isopcncd
(ibid. , I , 2 ,l 7 ,p. 38) .( Butthismomcnt , poscdassccondary,
asnonprimordial -isitamomcnt: Isti mc,whichsccurcsthis
catcgory oFthc momcnt, not that vcry thing which a|sen/s
pcrccption:) I nthc ordcr oFcxpcricncc and oFthc opcra-
tionsoFthcsoul ,thcsignthcnisncvcrqost/ed)atthcbcgin-
ning. Jhc 1rea/tse on //e Sensa/tons which will rcstorc thc
balanccoFthcinsistcnccdocsnotcorrcctthcEssa, ,docsnot
rcordcrthings .Itrctraccs'thcgcncrationbygoingFurthcr
back to thc hrst knowns , to rac/tca/ /noo/edge. Practical
knowlcdgcdocsnotnccdsignsorlanguagc.JhcEssa, ,aswc
rccal l , i sa trcatisconthcundcrstandi ng(and notthcwill
anothcrmatricalopposition) ,itconccrns//eore/tca//noo/edge
95
anddisti nctidcas .Jhcsclasttwonccdsignsorlanguagc.)ust
asthclanguagcolactionprcccdcsandgroundsalllanguagc
(thcthcsisolthcEssa, thatwillncvcrbccallcdintoqucstion
agai n) , so practical knowlcdgc prcccdcs thcorctical knowl-
cdgc. And in thc logical ordcr, which is not timc' s , thc
trcatisconthcscnsationsprcccdcsthccssayonthcoriginol
human knowlcdc. Wc must distinguish, howcvcr, as I
havcalrcadypointcdout , thcorcticallrompracticalknowl-
cdgc. Now thcorctical knowlcdgc rcquircs a languagc, bc-
causc it consists in a scqucncc ol disti nct idcas and con-
scqucntlyhasnccdolsignstoclassily anddctcrmincthcm.
Practicalknowlcdgcon thcothcrhandconsists olconluscd
idcaswhichrulcouractionswithoutlcttingusrcmarkhow
thcy makc us act (1S, I V, I ntro. , p. l 95 modihcd] ) . '
' "1nihIshiIosohyoIconscIousncss,inihIshcnoncnoIogyoIccciIon,ihc
vaIucoIremarkvcyoIicnIaysInanocoIcssaacniIashIonadIscInInaiIng
oIc. Hcc ihc caaciiy io cnak' sccns io dIsiInguish ihcociIcaI knowIcdgc
IonaciIcaI knowIcdgc.+hc Iaiic gIvcs Isc io sonc conIuscd Idcas,` Docs
c-naking such idcas aIIod ihcn cIaiiyand ihcociIcaI dignIiy cIoc ihc
7reattseontheSen:atton:,ihcssa, (whIchocnswiihacIiIcIsnoIIcIbnIz)docsnoi
adnIiihccxIsicnccoIobscucandconIuscdIdcas(FoihiscasonIihInk,ihaiio
havc cIca and disiInci Idcas Is, InanocconcIsc way oI scakIng,caIIyio havc
Idcas,andiohavc obscuc andconIuscdIdcas,Isio havcnoncaiaII` 1,1, 13,.
24] .) . ThccacihccIocnoccciIons in ihc souI, oI whIchIi docs noi iakc
noiIcc.HcnccccciionandconsciousncssaconIyihcsancocaiionundciwo
diIIccninancs' (IbId. , 1, 2, 13,. 3jnodihcd]). WcoughinoiioconcIudcIn
IavooIaconiadiciion,ocvcnancvoIuiion.ihcssa,anaIyzcsundcsiandIngand
ihcociicaIknowIcdgc, IisobcciisonIyremarkedidcas,hcncccIcaanddIsiincioncs.
ThccacnooihcsaiaIIin ihcihcociicaIodc.
1I wc wanicd io IoIIow ihc conIcx and aIways ocn cousc oIihc cIaiIon io
LcIbniz,ihcnoiIonoIremark couIdoganIzconcoIihcossibIccadIngs. AiIcasi
conccnIng ihc obIcn oI unconscIousncss . iI ihc knowIcdgc CondIIIac couId
havcoIIcIbnIzwasgcncaIIyvcyInsuIbcicni, IiwasnuIIInihcaiicuIacgIon
oIihcIgcaicsioxIniiy(unIvcsaIchaacicisiicandIanguagc oIcaIcuIus,and
soon).RcconsIdcInghIsinicciaiionoI LcIbnIzaoosobscucIdcas,CondiI
Iac,inaIciicioCanc,nakcsaIIihccrtttca/IoccoIhIsaguncniaiion bcaon
ihc oIgInaIossibIIIiyoIremarktng. +akIngnoiicc yrendre connatssance| bcIongs
ioconscIousncss,andcnakIngioaiicniIon.ThccxanIc1gIvcoIwhaihacns
Inananwhocads sccnsconvIncingionc'(Lettres ,. 82), As Iowhiconccns
9G
MFCINL NOTE
Signsclassilyandcnlightcn.Arcthcy, lorallthat ,wi thout
lorcc:1hcrcisalsoalorcc,aquantityolthcanalogyolsigns.
And wc mustask oursclvcs whatrclation thcrc is bctwccn
practi callorccandthcthcorcticallorccwhichcomcsinshort
toremar/howthcconluscdidcasrcgulatingouractions ,how
prclinguisticand prcscmioticudgmcnts and mutcanalysis
makcusact . `Forthcrcisidca, udgmcnt, anal ysisbclorcall
signihcation. By signihcation, wc mustundcrstand activity,
activation itscl l, activation by putting into an articulatablc
chai n, signihcation as concatcnation, concatcnation as dis-
tinction. Bclorc signihcation, scnsation anal yzcs , udgcs ,
knows , but in conlusion and obscurity, say in thc natural
light olinstinct.
ihc cI
.
iicIsn oI Lci
nIz
wc nusi cIc abovc aII ioihc 7tte des s,stemes . +hc

o
"
a
'
to
oIc
akmgmihc'nanwhocads'(ihcchoIccoIihIscxanIccannoi
bcmstgmhcani)rsanaIyzcdIonihchsiagcsoIihcssa ,buiihcwodremarkIs
siiIInoiinscibcdInii.ThcconcciisvcycIcaIyaiwokhccanddcicnincdas
conscIousncssiakingnoiIccoIacnakabIcihoughnoncnakcdconsciousncss,
aconsciousaciuaIizaiion oIa subconscious consciousncss.
RcnakIng Is cnakcd againsi unconscIousncss in gcncaI . 1Iwccccion
ouscIvcsihc
.
noncniaIicwchavcbccncadIng, IiwiIIacaiousasiIwchad
hadnoc
'
nsc
'
usncssbuioIihcIdcaswhichihaicadinghasoduccd.WcshaII
no noc tnagmc ihai wchad a ccciion oI cvcy Iciic, ihan ihai wc havc a
ccciIon oI dakncss so oIicn as wc invoIuniaIIy cIosc ou cycIIds, ui ihIs
acaancc cannoi inosc uon us, whcn wc conc io ccci ihai wIihoui a
consciousncssoIihcccciion oI Iciics,wcshouId noi havcbccnconscIous oI
ihc wods, no conscqucniIy oIihc idcas' (ssa, , I , 2, 9, . 32), As wiih aII oI
CondiIIac'sconccis,ihoscoIconsciousncss,unconscIousncss,cnak,andsoon,
ihc ga o dcviaiIon is noiihaioIasiuciuaIoosiiion bui oIa dIIIccncc oI
dcgcc. a subiIc, gaduaI, inhniicIy diIIccniIaI iansIiion Ion onc quaIiiy io
anoihc, as Ion onc quaIiiyihcn back io iiscII again. AiicniIon io diIIccncc,
aIwaysaiihciskoIcniicisn-andoIoccuIiIocc. KnowIcdgcisncvcabscni,
onIynoco IcsssIIghi. owIIbyconsciousncss oIa ccciion isundcsiood
cccicdkn
.
owIcdgc which hxcs ihccncnbancc oI Ii, ihcn obvIousIy nosi oI
ou
cccitonscscacouconsciousncss.uiIIbyihaiIsundcsioodknowIcdgc
htch,iiughi
'
osgh
io Icavcanyiaccs aIicIiscII,IsncvcihcIcsscaabIcoI
muc
cmg and
.
Iaci mucnccs ou conduci ihc noncniccciion bcconcs
c
cicnccd,ihccrsn
'
doubiihaiwcacconsciousoIanuIiIiudcoIccciIons
whrch sccn noi io noitIy us oI ihcI cscnc. 5onc cxanIcs wIII cIaIIy ny
97
But rcason ts insti nct. As thcrc is bctwccn rcason and
instinctonlya diFFcrcncc oFdcgrcc, thc twoconccpts , hcrc
again, do not opposc cach othcr. And yct rcason ts no/
i nstinct. JhcdiFFcrcnccoFdcgrcc( analogy,thcn)produccs
and dcstroys thcts oFcvcry prcdication, supports and dc-
portsatoncccachontologicalstatcmcnt. Andalrcadycvcry
mctaphysical dctcrmination or dclimitation. For cxamplc,
thc allcgcd scnsationalism and allrccoursc to a primordial
principlc. Whatsimultancouslyconstructsandruinssucha
discursivccdihcccanbcanalyzcd. JhcFacultyoFFcclingis
thchrstamongallthcsoul` sFacultics ,itiscvcnthcsolcorigin
oF thc othcrs , and thc scnticnt bcing docs nothing but
transFormi tsclF. I nthcbcaststhcrcisthatdcgrccoFi ntclli-
gcnccwccalltns/tnc/ , andinmanthathighcrdcgrccwccall
reason` (1ate desantmaux , i nOI, I , p. 379) .
Jhus thc statuc has a mcthod, and nothingi n thcEssa,
cvcrcxcludcdthis Whatcvcrprorcssitmakcsi nrcccti ng
on itsclF, in thc cxactitudc and clarity oF thc analysis , i n
philosophyandin thclanguagc oFcalculus , mcthod ncvcr
thought` (De/'ar/deenser,in Ol, l, p. 7z3) . Wc probably should cxaminc
'
hc Iact
that nonc oI thc thrcc announccd cxamplcs rcturns to a 'natural pcrccptton but
to rcading oncc morc, to a thcatrical sccnc, and to thc paintcd picturc.
Dictionnaire des s,non,mes . KN^KK. n. Scc N
te .
. . .
KM^KK. v. 7o mark , as it wcrc, a sccond ttmc, t . c. , to scc wth a parttcular
attcntion what cscapcs or what is supposcd ablc to cscapc othcrs and is thought
uscIul to rccall. Scc O/serve .
Jhus Irom rcmark wc arc rcIcrrcd to obscrvation, thc ultimatc rccoursc and
valuc oI this philosophy. And to noteas sc
io-
.
gnoscolo
}
ical unity

^l. n. Fro

aoscereno/um,to know. Mark by which a thmg rs rccogmzcd or dcst
|
na
'
cd. Bu
.
t
thts
namc is particularly givcn to ccrtain charactcrs propcr Ior
brdgmg w
!
ttmg.
Jhcrc a:c somc Ior chcmistry, astronomy, algcbra, and so on, without spcakmg oI
musical notes , which arc suIhcicntly known. Note d'inamie (a mark or brand oI
inIamy) is said hgurativcly.
. .
Note, mark, sign, sig/, nota, enseigne. Sign is thc gcncral tcrm and is sata oI
cvcrything propcr to indicatc a thing. Mark is
.
a sign th
t is nat
ral to
'
hc tht
|
,
i .c. , a scnsiblc qt:ality by which a thing is rccogmzcd. Noteis an arbitrary stgn . . . .
98
MFCINL NOTE
oocs anythingbutdcvclop thc utc matcrial oFscnsation
thc practical ncthod andtacitanal ysis oFthc statuc.
!
,
ts mcthod oFacquiri ngthcm idcas is toobscrvc succcs-
srv
| y, onc aFtcr thc othcr, thc qua|itics it attributcs to

obcct
. !ta
a|
scsn
tura||ysutithasno|anguagc. Nowan
n
| ysrswh
a r scarrcdonwrthoutsignscanon|ygivcvcry
mrtcdc
gmtons
,
Jhcyarcncccssari|yFcwinnumbcr, and
bccauscrthasnotbccnpossib| ctoputthcmintoordcrthc
co||cction oFthcm must bc vcry coFuscd Whcn ! trcat
thcn
oFthcidcas which thc statuc acquircs ! donotc|ai

t|atrthasj thcrcnchcontinucs cognitionsForwhichitcan
rvc
.
anc
acta
count. i
ha
on| y practica| cognitions. A||

t|c
htr
.
t has r s
ca|| ymstmct , that is to say, thc habitoF

drrcctmgrtsc| Fbyrdcas For whichitdocsnotknowhowto
acc
unt. )hishabit , oncccontractcd,guidcsitsurc|y, with-

outrtharngthc
.
nccdtorcca||thcudgmcntswhichmadcit
ontractthchabr t.
.
!nawordithasacquircdidcas . Butoncc
rdcashavctaughtrt toguidcitsc|F, it thinksnomorc itacts
yhabit Joacquircthcorctica|cognitionsitmustnc.cssar-
| y
.
vc a |anguagc. Forit must c|assiFy and dcnc idcas,
whrchsupposcsthatsignsarccmp|ocd with mcthod. ( Scc
thcFrstpartoFmygrammar, ormy| ogic. ! ! 8 s35 p
l I G)
, 7
, ,
Jo account For, to givc an cxact account oF thc c
qucncy oF this hgurc urgcs us on as much as thc wholc
systcm
Fromthcmostnaturalarticulationuptothcgrcatcst
FormalrtyoFthclanguagcoFcalculus , thcsign sFunctionisto
accou;t For, ` is to givc thc ra/to to itsclFaccording to its
calculatrvc csscncc. But this calculus rcmars , its Forcc rc-
pcatsaForccoldcrthanitsclF, on thcsidcoFaction,passion,
nccd.Jhcthcorcticalisonlyasupplyingrcmaruneremar
quesu/ean/e] oFthcpractical .
.
So
Ce;dillac si mul tancously Forcwarns agai nst a scnio

ngu strcrstintcrprctationoFhissystcm(includingthcEssa,)
andagar nsta rcadingoFhistoryas thc historyoFdiscoursc,
99
indccdasanautonomoushistoryoFdiscursivcstatcmcnts .I n
goingbackt ot hcprcscmioticstratumoFpractical nccd, hc
wants to i nsti tutc or rcstorc all scicntihc languagcs , all
thcorctical discourscs . bccausc thcy arc madc oFsigns and
valucs , abovcallwhcnthcytrcatsignsandvalucs(psychol-
ogy,linguistics ,scmiology,rhctoric,historyoFidcas ,history
oF scicncc, and so on) . In cach casc wc can transposc thc
i ntcnt that opcns Le Commerce e/ /e gouternemen/ constderes
re/a/ttemen/ /'uou /au/re( l 77o) . toproduccthclanguagcoFa
ncwscicnccbygoingbacktoitsprinciplc,hcrcthcFounda-
tion oFthc valuc oFthings` in thc systcm oF( natural and
Factual) nccdsorwants . Eachscicnccdcmandsaparticular
languagc,bccausccachscicncchasidcaswhicharcpcculiar
to i t. I t sccms that wc should bcgin by Fashioning this
languagc. but wc bcgin by spcaking and writing, and thc
languagc rcmains to bc crcatcd. Jhat is thc statc oF thc
scicnccoFcconomics , which is thcobcctoFthisvcrywork.
Among othcr things , wc proposc to makc up For that , to
supply that` (inOI, I I , p. 242) .
As long as thc dcFccts oF languagc will not havc bccn
supplicd,thcallcgcddiscourscoFascicncc,Forcxamplcthat
oF cconomics in l 77o, is condcmncd to rcmain an indc-
ciphcrablcciphcr'( notcaddcdaFtcrthchrstcdition,ibid. ) .
Josupplyalanguagc` sdcFcctsisa//eore/tca/andme//odtca/
opcration oFremar/tng. Whcrcvcr such an opcration takcs
placc-thatis , cvcrywhcrc, whcnthc prcscntcomcstoprc-
scntitsclF, todo away with itsclFinits timc- this opcration
rcmarksthcantcriority inFact, oFthc {ac/ (inthcbcginning
was action, practicc. in thc bcginni ng, i . c , i n naturc) as
antcriorityonitsclFoFwhatcomcstobclackinginitsclF.Jhc
analogy(toitsclticsthisantcrioritytothatlack. Josupply
i s, aFtcr having rcmarkcd and rctraccd` thcoriginoFthc
I OO
|
MFCINL NOTE
lack,toaddwhatnecessa ,whattsmtsstngt/{au/] .Butwhat
tsnecessar,-whatislacking-alsoprcscntsitsclFasasurplus ,
anovcrabundanccoF valuc, a Frivolous Futility that would
havctobcsubtractcd,althoughitmakcsallcommcrccpossi-
blc (assign andvaluc) . Scvcralconscucnccs .
l . Lcarni ng al ways amounts , t hrough a rcmarki ng
supplcmcntationarsu/canceremarquan/e] , t orccognizing
what is alrcady known, tn rac/tce . Hcrc languagc is an
cxamplcandthccnvironmcntoFthisproccs s . Jhcharm( too
muchmissing)alwaysrcsul tsFromthispracticalprccipitancy
oFlanguagc(hrstandalwaysoFaction)whichprcccdcsitscl,
spcaks bcForc knowing ( itscl F) how (to spcak) . I will havc
morc than onc occasion to obscrvc that thc diFhculty oF
makinggoodclcmcntscomcsi npartFromalanguagcwhich
hasbccnbadlymadc,whichwcpcrsistinspcakingbccauscit
was spokcn bcForc us` (La Langue des ca/cu/s, in OI, I I , p.
423) . Jhsi ncalculating will wc lcarn to cal culatc, as in
spcaking wc lcarncd to spcak. Wc would livc a long timc
bcForcknowingourlanguagc,orwcwouldncvcrcvcnknow
it , iFwc wantcd to spcak only aFtcr having cach timc con-
sultcdourgrammar. Naturcdocsnoti nstructus thatway
what it wants to tcach us it makcs us do. . . . I am not
supposcd to makc thcsc signs known to thcm thc bcgin-
ncrs] . thcyarcsupposcdtosccthcsigns inwhatthcyknow,
andIanswcrthcmthatthcywilldiscovcrthcscsigns'( ibid.
p. 425) . A rcmindcr to cvcry Futurc scicncc or thcory oF
languagcthati twillalwayshavctodrawonthis {ac/ ,onthis
obscrvablc. thcrcislanguagcanditisspokcnasitisspokcn.
No rulc, no transgrcssion oFthc rulc cxtcnds bcyond thc
Factuality oFthatFact .
2. Givcn thc ovcrabundancc oF val uc and thc Frivolous
FutilityncccssarilyproduccdbythcopcrationoFsupplcmcn-
I O I
taton or supp| y ng sueance ] , thc cconomc and thc
scmo|ngustcsccnccs arcno morcux|aposcd |han sub-
ord na|cd to cach othcr. Jhc r ovcr|appng and cross-
chcckng wthn a gcncra| thcory ol nccd and ovcrabun-
dancc,olu|| tyandnonut||y ,drawamorccomp|cxhgurc.
rst , a rcc proca| hgura|on whcrcn cach gocs round |hc
othcr. Jhus , us|nowyourcadapropostonon|hcncccss|y
|o rcmakc thc|aguagcolcconomcs n ordcr|o const|utc
thc sccncc ol cconomcs . Jhs proposton opcncd |hc
trca|sc on Le Commerce e/ /egouternemen/ (commerce s a|so
rcgu|ar|yuscdbyond||acn|hcscnscolsoca|and|ngus-
tc cxchangc scc |hc oppos|on commcrcctradc n thc
Dtc/tonnatredess,non,mes) . crcnowsthchna|propos ton
olthc1rat/e dess,s/emes .
Whcn you study a ncwscicncc ( i Fit is wc|| |aid out) , i ts
bcgi nni ngs oughttobc as casy as can bc. For it |cads you
Fromthcknowntothcunknown.SoyouarcmadctoFndin
your know|cdgc itsc|F thc Frst things you arc madc to
rcmark, andit sccms you kncw thcm bcForc you |carncd
thcm.
. . . Butrcmarkthatyouhavca|anguagcto|carn,andthat
a|anguagci snotknownbccauscitswordswcrconccsccn. it
is ncccssary to spcakit. . .
cta di Fcu|ty rcmains, anditisa grcat onc. !tdcrivcs
From this. bcForc havingstudicd thcscicnccs , youa|rcady
spcaka|anguagc,andyouspcaki tbad|y.For,bcsidcssomc
words which arc ncw to you, thcir |anguagc is your |an-
guagc. Now you agrcc that you oFtcn spcak your own
|anguagcwithoutyouyoursc|Fundcrstandingwhatyousay,
or that, at bcst, youa| mostundcrstand yoursc|F. Howcvcr,
that is cnough For you and For othcrs , sincc thcy pay you
with thc samc moncy. !n ordcrto maintain our convcrsa-
tion,wctacit|ysccmtoagrccthatinourconvcrsationwords
takc thc p|acc oFi dcas , as i n p|ay tokcns takcthcp|accoF
moncy. And, cvcn though a cry is raiscd against thosc
imprudcntcnough to p|aywithoutbcinginFormcdoFthc
I O2
MFCINL NOTE
tokcns' va| uc, anyonc can with i mpunity spcak without
having |carncd thcva|ucoFwords.
Doyou want to|carn thc scicnccs with casc: Bcgin by
|carningyourown |anguagc. ( ! nOP, ! , pp. 2 l G- I 7)
Jhc cllcc| olovcrabundancc produccdby wha|supp|cs
thc|ackgvcs rsc|ocommcrcc, bo|h cconomc and|ngus-
tc, as wc| | as totradcand |o thc lrvo|ty olch|chat. Jhs
cllcctproduccs nbothhc| dsthcsamcobccts mcrchandsc,
moncy, t hctokcn or dca, | hclu| | sgn, t hccmpty sgn.
utloundcd on nccd a|onc, |hs cconomy can ncvcrthc-
| css luncton, or a||cas|tradc, on|ynsolar as tproduccs a
usc|css supp|cmcnt , an ovcrabundancc une sura|ondance] .
arx, as s known, hrs| dcnounccs a conluson bctwccn
usc va|uc and cxchangc va| uc.
Hcncc, wc scc that bchind a|| attcmpts to rcprcscnt thc
circution oF commoditics as a sourcc oF surp|us-va|uc,
thcrc |urks a quid ro quo , a mixing up oFusc-va|uc and
cxchangc-valuc.Fori nstancc,Condi||acsays. !tisnottruc
thatonancxchangcoFcommoditicswcgivcva|ucForva| uc.
nthccn trary,cachoFthctwocn tractingparticsi ncvcry
casc, givcs a |css For a grcatcr va|uc. . . . !F wc rca||y cx-
changcd cqua| va|ucs, nci thcr party cou|d makc a proFt.
Andyct, thcybothgain, oroughttogai n. Why:Jhcva| ucoF
a ti ngconsists so|c|y i ni tsrc|ation to ournccds . Whati s
morctothconcis|csstothcothcr, andtice tersa . . . . !tisnot
tobcassumcdthatwcoFFcrForsa|cartic|csrcquircdForour
ownconsumption. itisourovcrabundancc] .. . . Wcwishto
partwithausc|cssthing, inordcrtogctoncthatwcnccd, wc
wanttogivc|cssFormorc. . . . !twasnatura|tothinkthat,in
an cxchangc, va|ucwas givcn Forva|uc, whcncvcrcach oF
thc artic|cs cxchangcd was oF cqua| va|uc with thc samc
quantityoFgo|d. . . . Butthcrcisanothcrpointtobcconsid-
crcd i nourca|cu|ation. Jhc qucstionis , whcthcrwcboth
cxchangc somcthi ng supcruous sura/ondan/] For somc-
thingncccssary. Wcsccinthispassagc,howCondi||acnot
on|yconFuscsusc-va|ucwithcxchangc-va|uc,buti narca||y
l O3
chi|dish manncr assumcs , that in a socicty, in which thc
production oF commoditics is wcl| dcvc|opcd, cach pro-
duccrproduccs his own mcans oFsubsistcncc, and throws
intocircu|ationon|ythcxccss ovcrhisownrcquircmcnts .
Sti|| , Condi||ac's argumcnt is Frcqucnt|y uscd by modcrn
cconomists ,morccspccia||ywhcnthcpointistoshow, that
thc cxchangc oFcommoditics in its dcvc|opcd Form, com-
mcrcc, is productivcoFsurp| us-va|uc.
-
Condillackcptthccasctns/ance]oFthcsignin its placc,in

ordcr.AndsolittlcdidhcFcclanynccdtoqucstionagainthc
contcntoFhisthcoryoFthcncccssityoFsigns`thathcrccalls
in De/'ar/deenser(inanotcaFtcrl 775) . Sinccthcprinting
oFmyEssa,on//eOrtgtno{HumanKnoo/edge ,Fromwhichthc
grcatcstpartoFthisworkisdrawn,I hnishcddcmonstrating
thcncccssityoFsigns ,inmyCrammarandLogtc (inOI,I , p.
73 l ) .
Will thcEssa, , thcn, havc putinto placca nunbrcakablc,
onlytransFormablc,machinc,onchcnccForwardcngagcdin
anunintcrruptcdmovcmcnt:Jhcrcarctoo many prcsup-
positionsinsucha qucstion. Lctus saythathcrcwcwould
havc to cxaminc picccs rathcr than rush toward any rc-
sponsc.
Whatmostresem|/esarupturcFromthcEssa,tothc1rea/tse
on//eSensa/tonsisabandoninganidcalist`conccptionoFthc
structurc oFscnsibili ty.
Hcrcthcwordidcalist` is notoncoFthoscamplcrcay-
madcgarmcnts whicharcloosclyhungonthcphilosophcrs
wc wouldncvcrbc ablcto rcad.
Firsta citationFromDidcrot .
Caita/. Critica/ na/,sis o] Caita/ist lroduction, trans. Samucl Moorc and
LdwardAvcling, cd. FrcdcrickLngcl s, Vol . I , Part I I , Ch. 5. Contradictions in
thcGcncrallormulaoFCapital`(Moscow. ForcignLanguagcsPub|ishingHousc,
I 96 I ) , pp. I 59-60 modicd .
l O4
MFC!NL NOTE
1hoscphi|osophcrs ,madam, arc tcrmcdidea/is/s who, con-
scious on|y oFthcir own cxistcncc and oFa succcssion oF
jin]tcrna| scnsations, donotaditaythingc|sc, ancxtra-
vagant systcm which shou|d to my thinking havc bccn thc
oFFspringoFb|indncssitsc|F,andyct, tothcdisgraccoFthc
human mind and phi|osophy, it is thc most diFhcu|t to
combat , thoughthcmostabsurd. ! t issctForth withcqua|
candourand|uciditybyDoctorBcrkccy, BishopoFC|oync,
inthrccdia|ogucs. !twcrctobcwishcd thatthcauthoroF
thcEssa, on /he Origin o]Human Knou/edge wou|dtakcthis
work i nto cxamination, hc wou|d thcrc hnd mattcr For
uscFu| ,agrccab|c, andingcniousobscrvation-Forwhich,i n
a word, nopcrsonhasabcttcrta|cnt. ! dca|ismdcscrvcsan
attackFromhishand, andthishypothcsisisadoub|cinccn-
tivcto himFrom its singu|arity, and muchmorcFrom thc
diFhcu|ty oFrcFuting i t in accordancc with his princip|cs ,
whicharcthcsamcas thoscoFBcrkc|cy.Accordingt oboth,
and according to rcason, thc tcrms csscncc, mattcr, sub-
stancc, agcnt, ctc. , oFthcmsc|vcsconvcyvcry|itt|c |ightto
thcmind. orcovcr, asthcauthoroFthcEssa, on /he Origin
o]Human Knou/edge udicious|yrcmarks, whcthcrwcgoup
tothchcavcns, ordowntotcdccps ,wcncvcrgctbcyond
oursc|vcs ,anditison|yourownthoughtsthatwcpcrccivc.
Andthisisthcconc|usionoFBcrkc|cy' shrstdia|oguc, and
thc Foundation oF his cntirc systcm. Wou| d you not bc
curioustosccatria|oFstrcngthbctwccntwocncmicswhosc
wcaponsarcsomucha|ikc:!Fcithcrgotthcbcttcritwou|d
bchcwhowic|dcdthcscwcaponswiththcgrcatcraddrcss,
thcauthoroFthcEssa, on /he Origin o]Human Knou/edge has
|atc|ygivcninhisTrea/ise on S,s/ems additiona|prooFoFhis
adroitncssandski||andshownhimsc| Farcdoubtab|cFocto
thcsystcmatics .
WchavcwandcrcdFarFromthcb|i nd,youwi||say.1ruc,
madam, butyoumustbcsogood astoa||ow mca| | thcsc
digrcssions. . . .
-
'Letter on the B/ind]or the |se o] 7hose hho See, i Diderot'sar/, lhi/osqhica/
hork, trans. and cd. Margarct)ourdain (Chicago. Opcn Court, I 9I 6) , pp I 04-
0 jmodihcd. A|sosccthcl ongpassagcalitt|cFarthcronaboutthcqucstionoFthc
born-blindanditsintcrprctationbyCondillac( pp. I I 9 FF. ) , aswc||asthcnotcsi n
idcrot's Oeuvres lhi/osohiques , cd. Paul Vcrnirc ( Paris. Garnicr, I 964) , .
I O5
I n taking i nto account a criticism, in rcintcrprcti ng thc
opcration oF thcborn-blind, in insisting on thc priority oF
touch in thcmovcmcntoFobcctihcation, thc1rea/tse on //e
Sensa/tonscontradictsthcEssa,lcssthanitsauthorsomctimcs
sccms to think. I n Fact, thc Mcmotreoincd, in thc Corrc-
spondcncc,tothcLe//resuCramerilluminatcsCondillac' sown
rcading oFthcEssa, . On morc than onc point and on his
rclationtoLcibnizi nparticular.NowastothcproblcoFthc
born-blindandallitlcadsto,thcauthorwants toparcclout
thc crrors' . Lockc, Bcrkclcy, and I - all thrcc oF us arc
wrong. As to thc rcason For this , ask thc younglady who
mdcmcsccthi s. ShcwillnotgranttoyouorBcrkclcythat
sight all alonc can givc thc idca oF surFaccs oF only two
dimcnsions , and I bclicvc shci sright' (Le//res , pp. I 0708,
alsoscc1S , Dcdication, pp. xxxandxxxiii) .
Joi nsistonthcFactthattouchisthconlyscnscwhichoF
itsclFcanudgcoFcxtcrnality'andwhichtcachcsthcothcr
scnscs toudgccxtcrnalobccts' 1S, I I , p. 73 , and I I I , p.
I 33J , i s hrst t orcturn t othc practical basc oFthcorctical
knowlcdgc. this was rccognizcd in thcEssa,. Ncxt, it is to
try -wc do notsay succccdtoaccountFor thcrcprcscnta-
tivc charactcr oFthc idca. thc program For this had bccn
hxcd bythcEssa, . JhcEssa, didnotFulhllthisandmcrcly
conhncd itsclF to thc thcorcti cal surFacc oF knowlcdgc.
Ncvcrthclcssithadclcarlypositcdthcrcprcscntativccharac-
! I 4I 5 and I 29 FF With what cyc did Condi|lac rcad DidcrotsLette: Wc will
udgcitwith howhcwrotctoCramcr. 1hcPruss ianocu|istj Hi|mcr, FamousFor
having succcssFu|ly pcrFormcd cataract opcrations] lcFt bchind in Paris a rathcr
cquivoca| rcputation hc staycd in Lyon only For thc timc rcquircd to work
wondcrs.I hcarhcisgoingtoGcncva. Ircckonhcwillbcbcttcrudgcdthcrcthan
clscwhcrc IF you havc any born-blind, I rccommcnd him to you Arc you ac-
quaintcd witha work by DidcrotcntitlcdLetterontheB/ind]orthe|seo]7hose hho
See: Iwi||tc|lyounothingaboutitFortampraiscdtoomuchinit` (Lettres ,p. 54) .
I OG
MFCINL NOTE
tcroFscnsationasidca,i . c. , asrclationwiththcobcctoutsidc
us. NJ o philosophcr cvcr asscrtcd that thcy scnsationsJ
wcrc innatc, this would havc bccn plainly contradicti ng
cxpcricncc. Butithasbccnsaid,thatthcyarcnotidcas ,ust
as i Fthcy wcrc notin thcmsclvcs as rcprcscntativc as any
othcrthoughtoFthcsoul '(Essa, , I , I , 9, p. I 9) . Wc must
thcrcForcdistinguishthrccthingsinourscnsations . I .Jhc
pcrccptionwhichwcFccl .2. JhcapplicationwcmakcoFitto
somcthingwithoutus .3. Jhcudgmcnt, thatwhatwcapply
orattributc to thosc things , rcally bclongs to thcm' (ibid. ,
I l , p. 2 I ) .
Errorand obscurity can onlyaFFcctudgmcnt. I t Follows
thatthcrcprcscntativcncssitsclFisinus ,whcrcinithndsthc
condition oF its clarity and ccrtainty. o grounding this
rcprcscntativcncssontouch,asthc1rea/tsewilldo, willnot
suFhcc to cscapc strictly thc accusation oF idcalism. Jhc
qucstion accts vcry littlc. Wc could say that thc 1rea/tse
corrcctcd thc Essa,' s idcalism. Wc can say as wcll that thc
1rea/tseconhrmsit. OrthatthcEssa,ncvcradvanccdthclcast
idcalistthcsis . HowisthiswholccombinationoFstatcmcnts
or cxamp|c, whcn dcF ning thc idca itsclF in its rcprcscntativc structurc,
CondillacstatcsthatthcobcctivityoFthcidca(aswcllas,itmustbc addcd,oFthc
languagc oF calculus) controls with thc F ngcr rathcr than thc cyc, and that
scnsationbccomcsidcaonlyby Focc oFtouch. 1hcwordidea cxprcsscsa thing
thatnoonc, t mustsaythis hasyctcxplaincdwcl l . 1hatiswhythcrcarcdisputcs
on thcirorigin.
Ascnsationissti|lnotatal lanidca,to such ancxtcntthatitisconsidcrcdtobc
onlyaFccling,whichissimplyconcnttomodiFythcsou| . . . . PrcscntscnsationsoF
hcaring, tastc, sight, and smc|l arc only Fcclings , whcn thcsc scnscs havc not yct
bccn instructcd by touch, bccausc thcsoulthcncan onIy grasp thcmas modiF ca-
tionsoFitsclF. . hc prcscnt, l i kc thc past, scnsation oFsolidity isby itsc|Falonc
bothFcc|ingandidca.ItisFcclingbythcrc|ationithastothcsou|whichitmodics
itisidcabythcrclation it hasto somcthinoutsidc.
1hisscnsationsoonForccsustoudgcasoutsidcoursclvcsa|lthcmodiF cations
thcsoulrcccivcsthroughtouch, andthatiswhycachscnsationoFtouch ndsitsclF
rcprcscntativcoFobcctsthchandholds'(xtrai/raiscnned7raitedessensation,in
, I , pp. 333-34) .
I O7
alwayspossiblc:Alwaysustihabl c:Whatisitsprogram: Can
a ncwcombinationariscFroi t:AndisthisqucstionoFthc
ncwcombination prcscribcd ornotby Condillac s tcxt:
Whatisprcscribiga qucstion: Opcningit: Horizontally
closingi toFFFromitsrcsponsc:Abandoningitonthcway:
Canqucstioningbcwithdrawn,prcscrvcdFromtclcology:
Whatis tclcologyconccrningthc tcxt:
Jclcology thcn. Youhavcalrcadyrcmarkcd that this al-
lcgcd I ntroduction prohibitcd i tscl F From saying in short
anythingaboutthcEssa, ,aboutwhatwcwouldwanttohnd
thcrcasitsownpropcrandvcntralcontcnt. Anintroduction
shouldnoti ntrudcs'tn/rodutre] , i tshouldnotcntcrintothc
tcxt, abovcallnotsaturatc thc tcxt with rcadi ng. Jointro-
duccistoscducc. JoscduccthctcxtoFcourscandnotthc
rcadcr, to dcviatc thc tcxt From itsclF, butust cnough to
surprisci tagain vcryclosc to itscontcnt , which can always
opcn out as nothing. as a ccntral void, an alarmingsupcr-
hciality,arigorousabyss . ccauscoFthat, tobus yoursclvcs
round about . lincs , grati ng, bordcrs , ribs , architccturc,
aFtcr-cuts ares-couure] . Jhc Essa, in thc spidcr wcb oF
othcr tcxts , oFthc wholc tcxtsigncd by Condillac, in its
rclationtocvcrycFFcctoFsigningandsignaturcaspossibl c,
i n i ts own, propcr spidcr wcb, in i ts rclation to cvcry
cFFcct oFpropcrty or proprictyas possibl c. Not a Formalist
rcadi ng (lct that bc said to Forcstall thc small rcvicw oF
prohibitions) ,butananalysisoFthcgrcatmachincoFopposi-
tions (including that oFForm and contcnt) whcrcin a tcxt
displaccs its program. what thc tcxt programs , what pro
grams thctcxt , andwhatonallsidcs|reac/es thc program,
li mitsi t in itsvcryown opcning, anddcFcatsi nadvanccits
tclcology, undccidcs its circlc.
Jclcologythcn,inordcrtosuspcndthcEssa,onclasttimc
I O8
MFCINL NOTE
on oncoFits cutaFtcr-thc-Fact ribs nertures ares-couees
Apparcntly thc book is dividcd into two parts oFcqual
lcngth,oralmostso. ( l ) OFthcmatcrialsoFourknowlcdgc,
and particularly oF thc opcrations oF thc soul . ` ( 2) OF
languagcandmcthod. Ì nhisownparticularIntroduction,
ondillac cxplains this partition, thcrc is no usc spcaking
aboutthathcrc,itiscnoughtogoandsccalittlcFarthcron.
First, bothpartscanbcthoughttobalancccachothcrand
corrcspond totwoobccts placcd sidcbysidc.
Docsn` tCondillaccncouragc this :
! n ordcr to cxccutc this doub|c obcct, ! havc traccd
thingsashighaspossib|c. Onthconchand, !havcasccndcd
topcrccption,bccauscitisthcFrstopcrationwccanrcmark
in thc sou| and ! havc shcwn how, and in what ordcr it
produccscv
ryothcropcrationoFwhichwccanacquircthc
act and habrt. On thc othcr hand, ! havc bcgun with thc
|anggc oF action. hcrc thc rcadcr wi|| scc how it has
produccdcvcryartpropcrtocxprcssourthoughts suchas
gcsturc, danci ng, spccch, dcc|amation, arbitrarymarksFor
wordsorthings/àr/ de /a no/er] , pantomimcs ,music,poctry,
c|oqucncc, writing, and thc diFFcrcnt charactcrs oF |an-
guagc. Jhis history oF |anguagc wi|| disc|osc thc cir-
cumstanccsinwhichthcsignswcrcimagincd,wi||shcwthc
trucmcaningoFthcm, wi||hc|ptoprcvcnt thc abuscthcy
maybcturncdto,and,inmyopinion,wi||rcmovca||doubt
conccrningthcoriginoFouridcas .
At|cngth aFtcr|ayingopcnthcprogrcssionoFthcopcra-
tions oF thc sou| , as wc|| as that oF |anguagc, ! havc at-
tcmptcd to point out thc mcans by which wc may avoid
Fa||ingintocrror,andtoshcwthcordcrwcoughttoFo||ow,
cithcrincndc
vouringto makcdiscovcrics , orinstructing

othcrsconccrmngthoscwchavca|rcadymadc. Suchisthc
gcncra|p|anoFthiscssay.(Ea , ! ntro. , pp. 7-8 modiFcd] )
ut -sccondly -isn' thcbalanccupsctononcsidc: Isn' t
thc partconccrning languagc thcothcr part oFthcbook,
l O9
ncxttothchrstpartconccrningthcmatcrialsoFourknowl-
cdgc: Iar/II tsar/ o{ a o/o/ede]ned tn Iar/I, soIar/I t
a/read,,|,t/seqa/one,//eo/o/e .Jhcwholc-thatis ,thcsystcm
oFpcrccptionandoFthcthrcckindsoFsign.PartIIanalyzcs
thc gcncration and thc Functioning oFthc systcm oFinsti-
tutcd signs, only onc oFthc thrcc kinds .
But - thirdly - thiskindisnotoncamongothcrs .Fromthc
outsct(arupturcoFprcscnccatthcorigin)thcwholcproccss
ismagnctizcdtowardthcgrcatcstmas/er, possiblc,thatis ,thc
insti tutionoFarbitrarysignswhicharccntirclyatourdtsosa/
or con/ro/. Lct us Follow thc progrcss oF rcpctition which
assurcs passing From pcrccption to imagination and From
oncsigntothcothcr. itisonthcmarchtowardFrccdom, thc
spontancityoFauto-aFFcction, sothatthconlytrucsign,thc
complctc sign, that From which tclcologically procccds all
naturaloraccidcntalsignihcation,isthcinstitutcdsign.Jhc
Essa,dcscribcsthistclcologicalproccss , Condillaconlystatcs
thisaFtcrthcFactarescou] . Jhisccrtainlyappcarstobca
corrcction, a rcpcntancc, but it still conccrns a tclcological
dcFcrrcdaction unares-cou] , whichrcvcalsinthccndan
ordcroFclarihcation. Vcthodically,accordingtothcconccpt
andthcpracticcoFthismcthodwhichshowsthcordcrwc
ought to Follow aFtcr layingopcn thc progrcssion oFthc
opcrations oFthcsoul , as wcllas thatoFlanguagc.
Jhcrc arc only arbitrary signs, and signihcation is thc
proccssoFinstitution. Jhcsign' sactivccsscncc,i tscncrgy,is
Frccdom.
uchis thcsense oF thcEssa, as rcrcadbyCondillac, who
willtalkFrcclyaboutthissomcycarslatcri nalcttcrtoGabricl
Cracr.
Youwantmctocxp|ainthcprcrogativcoFarbitrarysigns
ovcrnatura| oncsand whythcarbitrary signssctFrcc thc
I I O
MFCINL NOTE
opcrationsoFthcsou| thatthcnaturaoncs|cavcncccssary.
Jhatisthcmostdc|icatcpointoFmysstcmonthcabso|utc
ncccssity oFsigns. JhcdiF cu|ty has a|| its Forcc andis so
much bcttcr Foundcd sincc ! did notanticipatc it. Jhatis
whatcauscsmctobca|itt|ctang|cdonthiswho|cmattcr. !
cvcn noticc that ! havcsaidmorcthan ! wantcd to, than !
mcant.
Fora momcntgrantmcthat ,bcForcthcuscoFarbitrary
signs ,thcopcrationsoFthcsou|arcnotFrcc.Jhcqucstionis
provinghow thcybccomc such by mcans oFthosc signs.
Ict usconsidcrmcnwhcnthcybcgit o|ivctogcthcr. Jhc
circumstanccs inwhichthcyFndthcmsc|vcs givcthcmthc
opportunity tocstab|ishamongthcmsc|vcs arbitrarysigns,
andthcsignsmakcthcircommcrcc Frccrandmorccxtcn-
sivc, as thcopportunitytomu|tip|y thcmFurthcrisscizcd.
(Le/tres , pp. 83-81)
And aFtcr having unhookcd thc chain which tics com-
mcrcc (thcinstitutcd socicty) , thcarbitrarincss oFthc sign,
Frccdom, d mastcry oF thc prcscnt obcct , that i s, thc
possibility oFmanipulating itsabscncc.
On thc contrary, bcForc this commcrcc thcy on|y at-
tcndcdtothcprcscntobcct. Forwhatoccasionwou|dthcy
havc had to think oFa nccd which no |ongcr wou|d havc
madcitsc|FFc|t: . . . Soyouscccommcrccrcscucsmankind
From that statc whcrcin hc on|y attcndcd to thc prcscnt
obcctwhichaFFcctcdhimmorc. . . . Soagainthiscommcrcc
bcgins to drawthcsou| out oFits currcnt statcoFdcpcnd-
cncconobcctsab|ctoactonthcsou| , andcauscsthcsou|to
cnoyitsFrccdom. ! nPart!, pp.2O5, 2OG, 2O7 sccEs}, I , 1,
s25, pp. I 32-31] , ! said things which amountto that.
Now rcmark that thc princip|c oF what dcrivcs From
commcrcc|icsinthc uscoFarbitrarysigns. For howhasthis
commcrcc bcgun, how has it cxpandcd itsc|F, prcscrvcd
itsc|F, iFnotby mcansoFarbitrary signs:
But, youwi||askmc,arcnatura|signsnothing:! answcr
that, unti| commcrcc, natura| signs arc not at a|| propcr|y
signs. (Le//res , pp. 81-85)
I I I
So theroer , theroer/, oFthe sign is the system oFthe
arbitrary. And Condillac always said this . And when he
acknowledgeshewasmistaken,thatistoi mpl yhiserrorwas
only apparent and through an insuFhcientclearness and a
tangled` exposition, a too much, agai n, or a too little. He
hada/oa,sa/read, saidthatthesignassuchwasa/oa,sa/read,
destinedForthearbitrary,withitswholesystemoFassociated
values .
Jheteleology oFthe rereadingis everywhere.
! answcr that, unti| commcrcc, natura| signs arc not at a||
propcr|y signs. Jhcy arc on|y crics accompanying Fcc|-
i ngsoFpai n, oF oy,andsoon,cricswhichmcnthcnactuatc
byi nstinctandthcconFormationa|oncoFthcorgans .Jhcy
must|ivctogcthcrtohavcthcopportunitytoattachi dcasto
thcsc crics and to cmp|oy thcm as signs. Jhus thcsc cri cs
mcrgc with arbitrary signs. ! prcsupposc that in many
p|accs ,amongothcrs ,Part!, p. 2O3 , andPart! ! , pp. G and7
scc Essa}, , 1, ss 23-21, pp. I 3 I -32, and ! ! , I , ss2-3, pp.
I 72-73] But ! sccm to supposc thccontrary and thcrcby
p|acc too much di FFcrcncc bctwccn natura| and arbitrary
signs. On that ! waswrong.
So my who| c systcm on thi s mattcr is rcduccd to thc
Fo||owi ng. Commcrccgivcsthcopportunitics( I ) tochangc
natura|cricsi ntosigns ,and(2) toinvcntothcrsignswcca||
ar/i/ra. And thcsc signs ( natura| as wc|| as arbitrary) arc
thc rst princip|c i nthc dcvc|opmcntandprogrcssoFthc
opcrationsoFthcsou|. !admitthatona||thismyworkisnot
ata||suF cicnt|yc|car.!cxpcct!wi||dobcttcranothcrtimc.
(Le//res , pp. 85-8G)
JhusthepossibilityoFthearbi trarysigngoverns , butFrom
itsend,thetotalityoFtheprogress. Consequentl y, articulated
language,asystemoFarbitrarysigns, isnolongeroneregion
among others within a general semiotics . it is exem/ar, .
Articulatedlanguageresemblesoneexampleamongothers ,
l I 2
MFCINL NOTE
itseemstocons/t/u/eone, onlyone, oFthethreekindsoFsigns .
Actually, i t organizesbyorienting,as thebestexample, the
hnalized totality oFthe semioti c process . Language is the
most sensible example oF the connexions spontaneously
Formed` (Essa, , I , 2, 77, p. 79) . Condi|lac specihes thisin
PartIoFtheEssa,i nordertoannouncethathewilltreatitin
Part I I . Jhe obect oF Part II then wil l no longer be a
particularobect . it envelopsin advanceand draws toitselF
everything which precedes , it dehnitively upsets the sym-
metry to itsownbeneht. Iar/I ot///ate |eenar/ o{ a o/o/e
dnedtnIar/II,soIar/IIrematns, onceaatn,|,t/seqa/one,//e
o/o/e .
I I 3
J .
HI1OUuCIIOH IO .n !u
0n |/c |Il_ln 0j1umun
1n0u/cJ
_
c 1IVOII\ Il8t
Ixr, d([ernr, rmotndr
ICH u1C WO1US WIC SI_HI1\
j1CCISCl\ IC SuDC IIH_, DuI
IH uSIH_ ICD IC DCHIul uSjCCIS
u1C HOI IC SuDC.
For an intcrnal rcading oF thc Essa,, all this -thc thcory
secu/a/ton] oFthc cxcplar, inclusion oFthc wholc in thc
part-hnallyrcturnsi nthc gurcoFitshnalitytothcsaoe .to
thcpowcrFul circlcoFantden/tca/roost/ton . I dcntityinthc
circlcoFscnsc, atlcast ,ForthcdiFFcrcnccoFthcwholctothc
part, or thc tcxtual surFacc oFthc cxposition, docs not lct
itsclF bcrcduccdtothat .FirstoFallbccauscsuchadiFFcrcncc
isan cvidcnccoFrcason, 'pcrhapscvcnthccxamplcoFan
idcnticalproposition.De/'ar/deratsonner. Jhcstatcmcnta
o/o/e tsgrea/er//an one o{t/sar/s isstillan idcnticalproposi-
tion, For i statcs thata wholcisgrcatcr than whatis notas
grcatasitsclF.oidcntityisthcsignbywhichapropositionis
rccognicdassclF-cvidcnt, andidcntityisrccognicdwhcna
proposition can bc translatcd into tcrms which rcturn to
thosc vcrytcrms , //e same ts //e same` (inOI, I , p. o2 l ) .
How can thc circlc oFscnantic idcntity bc produccd or
rcproduccdthroughthcdiscloscddiFFcrcnccoFthcwholcto
thcpart:JhroughthcdiFFcrcnccoFthcsigntothcidca, oF
thc signihcr to thc signihcd: How is such a circlc to bc
considcrcd: How docs thc Essa, on //e Ortgtn o{ Human
Knoo/edge i nvolvcits tcxtin i ts thcsis:
JhcrcadcrcanbclurcdintoFollowingallthcturnsoFthis
circlc, and notust oFthconc Rousscau dcnounccs onlyto
stcpinto it morc quickly.
Here! a reFerringto thesecondDtscoutr , totheobecionRousseauaddres
ses therein to Condillac, and to that wholeset oprobles now wel known.
I I 7
l nplaceoFanintroduction-tosuchacircle-ourreadi ng
canonly add n+ore(too nuch)oFanelipticaland Frivolous
blw
ButunderwhatconditionsisFrivolitypossible
JheFormoFthisquestionletsitselFbedisintegratedsimply
by thevery semblance oFits obect .
Frivolity consists in bei ng satished with tokens. lt origi-
nates with the sign, or rather with the signiher whch, no
longersigniFyi ng, isnolongera signiher. Jhe empty, void,
friable,uselesssignier.SoCondillacsays. I ntheDtc/tonna|re
dess,non,mes ,hereFersusFron+{rtto/os touse/ess,
1HI|ULULS .
ad . See |se/ess. ) . |se/ess then. ad . tatn, {rtto/ous,{u/t/e .
Uslessis said oFthings which serve no purpose, are oFno
use. IFthey appearto have someutility butareFundamen-
tallyuseless ,theyarecalledtatn . IFtheirutilityearsonlyon
obectsoFlittleconsiderationorworth,theyare{rtto/ous . As
For{u/t/e , itaddsstil more tortto/ous andissaid chieFly oF
reasoningorargumentswhichbearonnothing.
1hesignisdtsosa|t/t/, . iFthrough theimperceptionand
the absence oFthe thi ng(tine) the si gn assures our ideal
mastery, puts (as Condillac says) at our disposal , ' the
sign-Fragile and en+pty , Frail and Futile-can also, im-
n+ediately ,losetheidea, getlostFarFro theidea,thistime,
andnotonlyFrom thething, From senseandnotonlyFrom
thereFerent .Consequently,thesignremainsFornothi ng, an
overabundance exchanged withoutsayinganythi ng, like a
token, theexcessiverelieFoFa deFect . neithermerchandise
nor money. Jhis Frivolity does not accidentally beFall the
sign. Frivolity i s its congenital breach. i ts en/ame , arc/,
beginning, commandment , its putting in motion and in
orderiFatleast ,deviatingFromitselF,Frivolity ,thesign' s
disposability,caneverbeorpresentt/se. Sincei tsstructure
I l 8
FFI|OLITI ITSELF
oF
.
)eviat.on
.
prohibits Fri volity From being or having an
oHgr n, FHvolrtydehesal l archeology, condemnsi t, wecould
say, to Frivolity.
A philosophyoFneed-Condillac' s-organizes allits dis-
coursewith a viewto thedecision. betweentheuseFul and
the Futile.
A philosophy oFthe sign -Condillac` s -always threatens
thisdecisionbutalsoexpendsandmultiplesitselFinorderto
reducethethreat, al waysaddstoomanysignsìnorderto
eFFac, the
ap orFraction. All the negativity subect to the

Essas
.
ctrcrsm (bad metaphysics , bad rhetoric, bad lan-
guager ngeneral) Falls under the categoryoFtheFrivolous .
thearrangementoFhollowor unnecessary signs. Unneces-
sarybecausetheydo not proceedbyidentical propositions ,
hollow because, under the guise oF identical propositions ,
the tautol ogy there is purely verbal , without content, ex-
pended in pure loss without the leastidea, that is , without
representi ngthe least obect, without obect or end, with
nothing to say. '
Constaotlyresort.ngtothevaluesoFthesame, oFanalogy,
oF anal ysrs , oF the rdentical proposition, Condillac had to
guardhisdiscourseFromFrivolityasiFFromitsinhnitelyalike
doale. Rescmblingi t, reassemblingit , the analog was that
posrtrve whrch produced its negative, the analog oF the
analog, theuselessandvai nsemblanceoFdiscourse, chitchat,
the idle tale. Condillac' s method consequently consists in
indehn.tely rechargi ng signs , in saturating semiotics with
semantrc representation, by i ncluding all rhetoric in a
etaphorics , byconnec/tng//estgner.
Condillac considers metaphor to be the nost general
conceptandthecon+monnameoFalltropes .Jhatmetaphor
markstheoriginoFlanguagesisnowa wellknownthesisoF
I I 9
thcEssa, ,andthcimplicationsoFthisarcvcryra
iscd.Iwill
lcavc this thcsis hcrc in thc dark. ( l ) bccausc r t rs, Fro
.
m a
ccrtainpcrspcctivc,dcrivcdFromaFunda
cntalanalogrsm,
( 2) i n ordcr t ocxaminc i t morc systcmatcally and closcly
clscwhcrc.
b
d
Hcrc is how not to bc Frivolous , bctwccn Lcr nr an
ant , whcrc t hc qucsti on oF thc a rt ort s ynthcsi s i s
approachcd i n tcrms oF signs ( i ntcr
i n
bly) . nd why
synonymsdonotncccssarilymakconcsrgnrscrtoomany
For thc mcntal aspcct/a tue de /'esrt/] acts rn conccrt .
Excess, dq]erence, remainder th
n ar
wordswhich signiFy
prccisc|y thc samc thing, but 1 usrng thcm thc mcnta|
aspcctsarcnotthcsamc. . . .
DocsConuiIIacw:iic,wiihouiknowingii,inihcna:
ins
Fa
ookhch
i
:cau 1s his uiscou:sc ihc]rtvo/ous tcciiii
n
.
ot
.
ihc identqc
ton
oF Ictbmz
.
s
siaicncniswhichihcnscIvcsa:csi:iving iousitngtsh
iwccntucni
'
caI
:o_s_
iionsanuF:ivoIousoncs,anuihus,ncxi,iosavcncia
stcsF:onaF
tvo
Itiy
L
gnawsai iiF:onihcinsiuc: WiIIConuiIIachavcIagtaizcuF:onIctbmzwtihoui
knowing ii: On ihaiaccounianu in sucha casc,La Languedesca/cu/ wouIu
c
:cscnicu as a a:i, a iccc,an inagc, o:a shcci
uciachcuihcn Iaccu os
'
ic
Icibniz`sNewssaysConcerntngHuman |nderstandng,asa F:ancnioFihtshcitc
uiaIogucwhich iisIFscisIcibnizovc:againsiIockc,ihcngs
Faihc:oFConuiI
Iac.Iockc`sucaihiook awayIcibniz'sinc inaiionioubIish(
tsow
):cn
:kson
Iockc`swo:ks." Thc New ssa,s coniainachaic: (VI11)
itiIc
. OFivoI
us
P:oosiiions,' hich is noi Founu in ihc book on Wo:us bui tn ihc book OF
KnowIcugc."
`l KlNll\ lKlllbl"b
Phjt/a/ethes] . 1 bcIicvc, inuccu, ihai:casonabIc
.
c:sons havc noi bccn uisin-
cIincuiocnIoytdenttca/ axions
.
in ihcw
yoFwhtchwch
vcsokcn.
1iaIso
sccns ihai ihcsc u:cI iucnitcaI naxtns a:c onIy]rt:o/ous roostttcns o:
nugatortae ,asihcschooIsnuccucaIIihcn.1shouIunoibcc
nicniiosa
ihaiihcy
sccnihus uiunoiyou:su::isingcxanIcoFthedemonstrattcno] converstcnbyihc
ncuiaiion
oFihc iucniicaIs nakcnc:occcu, b:iuIc inhanu,ihcnccFo:ih,wh

"
n
conicniFo:anyihing isihc qucsiion. ui1shaIIicIIyouihaiwh
iyouaIIcg
tn
ihci:Favo: :ocIains ihcnwhoIIyF:ivoIous, viz. ( 3) you :
"
coguzcai:si
.
stg
i
ihaiihcyconiain noinsi:uciionunIcssioshowa nan soncitncsihcabsu:utiyU
whichhcis invoIvcu.
I 2O
FFI|OLITI ITSELF
Ict usrcca|| thatwc can go on|yFrom thcknown to thc
unknown. Now, howcanwcgoFromonctothcothcr:Wc
canbccausc thcunknownisFound in thcknown, and i tis
on|ythcrcbccauscitisthcsamcthi ng. SowccanpassFrom
whatwcknowtowhatwcdonotknowon|ybccauscwhatwc
do not know is thc samcthingas whatwc know. You who
havc |carncd nothing whi|c rcading this chaptcr, you arc
c|car|yconvinccdthatcvcrythingI saidisthcsamcthingas
what you kncw. Jhus whcn a chi|d wi|| know somcthing,
whathcwi|| havc|carncdwi||bcthcsamcthingaswhathc
kncw.
Nowsincccvcrythingwcdonotknowisthcsamcthingas
whatwcknow, wcobvious|ycannotobscrvctoomuchwhat
wcknow, iFwcwanttoarrivcatwhatwcdonotknow. . . .
Jhatis why I bcgi n whcrc noonchas cvcrbcgun bcForc,
and I rcmark at grcat |cngth things cvcrybody udgcs
usc|cssto say. ! scnscI must appcar scrupu|ous aboutthi s
but ! bcgt hcpub|ict ohavcFor mct hcsamcindu|gcnccit
hasForso manyothcrs. . . .
7hjeoht/us] .Doyoucouniihaiasnoihing,si:,anuuoyounoi:ccognizcihaiio
:cuucc a :oosiiion io absu:uiiy is io ucnonsi:aic iis coni:auicio:y: 1 inuccu
bcIicvc ihai you wiII insi:uci no nan byicIIing hn ihai hc nusi noiucnyanu
aFh:n ihc sanc ihing aiihcsanc iinc, bui you insi:uci hin by showing hin by
ihc Fo:ccoFihcconscqucncc,ihaihcuocs ihiswiihouiihinkingoF ii.1iisuiFbcuIi,
innyoinion,aIwaysioass F:onihcscaagogtca/demonstrattous, t.e. ucnonsi:a-
iionswhich:cuuccioabsu:uiiy,anuio:ovc cvc:yihing bytheostenstves ,asihcy
a:c caIIcu; anu gconcic:s, who a:c vc:y cu:ious on ihis oini, havc i:icu ii
suFbcicniIy, P:ocIus scaks oF ii F:on iinc io iinc, whcn hc sccs ihai cc:iain
ancicnigconcic:s,coningaFic: EucIiu,havcFounuaucnonsi:aiionno:cui:cci
(as ihcyihink) ihan his
ui ihc siIcncc oFihis ancicniconncniaio: suFbcicniIy

showsihaiihcyuiunoiaIwaysacconIish ii.
3. Ph . ouwiIIaiIcasiaunii,si:,ihaianiIIion:oosiiionsnaybc Fo:ncuai
IiiiIc cxcnsc, but aIso oF vc:y IiiiIc usc Fo: is ii noi F:ivoIous io :cna:k, Fo:
cxanIc,ihai ihcoysic:isihcoysic:,anuthaiiiisFaIscioucnyii,o:iosayihaiihc
oysic: is noi ihc oysic:: As io which ou: auiho: ag:ccabIy says ihai a nan who
wouIu nakc ihis oysic:sonciincs ihc subcci, soncincs ihc aii:ibuic, o: ihc
redtcatum,wouIuusiIybc IikcanonkcywhoshouIuanusc hinscIFbyih:owing
oncoysic:F:ononchanuioihcoihc:,which:occcuingcouIuaIiogcihc:aswcII
saiisFyihchungc:oFihcnonkcyasihcsc:oosiiionsa:ccaabIcoFsaiisFyingihc
unuc:sianuing oFnan
7h. 1 nu ihaiihis auiho:,as FuIIoFinicIIigcncc as giicu wiihuugncni, has
cvc:y:cason inihcwo:Iu Fo: scaking againsiihoscwhowouIusouscihcn.ui
I 2 I

Pcrhaps ,thcn,itwi||bcobcctcdthat, in thc|a
uagcoF
ca|cu|us, on|y idcntica| , hcncc Frivo|ous,
roposrtrons arc
Formcd. ! agrcc that, i n this |anguagc as rn a|| thc othcrs ,
on|yidcntica| propositionsarc Formcd, whcncvcr thc pro-
positions arc truc. For havi gshown that waat wc do not
knowisthcsamcthingas whatwc know, obvrous|ywccan
on|yFormidcntica| propositions , whcnwc pass From what
wcknow towhatwcdonotknow. Howcvcr, i nordcrtobc
idcntica| ,a propositionisnotFrivo|
us.
. .
Su is six is a proposition atoncc rdcntrca| and Frvo|ous.
Butrcmarkthatthcidcntityisatthcsamcti mci nthctcrms
andinthci dcas .Nowthcidcnti tyini dcasisnotwhatmakcs
thc propositionFrivo|ous, itisthcidcntity in tcrms . ! nFac
,
/here can oeter /e an, need mycmphasis ,. D. ] to Fo
m t
.
hrs
propositionsix is six, itwou|d|cadusnowhcrc.AndFr
|rt
,
as wc havc had thc opportunity to rcma
k, consr
.
sts rn
spcaking to scak, without obcct or cnd, wrth nothrngto
say.
youcciainIyscchowihcidcniicaIsnusibccn
ycdiocndcihcnusc!
I;vz .
byshowingby!occo! conscqucnccsanddcGmironsihaioihciuihs whrch ou
wishio csiabIishcduccio ihcn
4. Ph. IknowiiandI scccIcaIyihaiihcynaybcaIicdwiihn

'
chsiongc
cason io oosiiions which aca !ivoIous and on
nany o
stons a
c so,
whccinaaio! ihcconIcxidcaisa!Gncdo!i
hcobc
io! iht
rdca,asH
hc
siaicncni./eadtsameta/. Inihcnindo!ananwhorsacquarticd
,
wrihihcncamng
o!ihcscicnsandwhoknowsihaiIcadsigniGcsavc
hc
.
avy!ustb
IcandnaIIcabIc
bod,ihccisihisuscaIonc,ihaiin sayingnciaI,you rrdrcaiciohtna
ionccnany
sin cidcas insicad o! cnuncaiing ihcr
oncbyonc.
.
5. +hcsancrsiucwhcn
aio!ihcdcGniiionisalGncdo!ihcihtrgdcGncd;asH ihcsiaicncni.a//go/dl3
]ust//e, suosingyouhavcdcGncdgoIdasaycI
Iow,hcavy,!us
,
ibIc,an
naIIcabIc
bodAgain,io sayihaiihciiangIchasihcc stdcs,i
aina
rsanartnaI,ihaia
aIcy qa/e]ro, anoId cnch w
'
d)isa
,
naninaIwhrc
ncghs,scvcsiodcGnc
ihcwods,buinoi io icach anyihtr+g bcsrdcsihcdcGmiron, uiwc
.
Ica sonc-
ihing!onihc siaicncniihainan hasa noiion o! CodandihaiornIungcs
hininio sIcc.
. ,
7h . csidcs whai !havcsaido!ihcrdcncaIswhtchacwhoIIyso,wcshaIIGn+
ihai ihcsc scni-idcniicaIs havc aIso a aiicuIa usc. Fo cxanIc, a w
se man ts
a/wa,saman, ihaigivcsusihcknow
Icdgcihaihcisnoiin!aIIibIc,ihaihcrs
oiaI,
cic. 5onc oncin dangc nccds a tsioI-baII,and lacks ihc Icadio !
und ri tt ihc
!onhchas a!icnd sasiohin. cncnbcihaiihcsi|veyouhavct
ouu
sc
is]ust//e, ihis!icndwiI noiicachhinaquaIiiyoiihcsiIvc
,
, b
'
iwtII
akc htn
ihinko!auschcnaynakco!ii,inodciohavctsioI-aIIsH ihrscssmgnccd.
l 22
FFI|OLITI ITSELF
!t is not thc samc with this othcr proposition, /hree and
/hree make six. !tisthcsumoFanaddi tion.Sothcrccanbcthc
nccdtoFormit, andthcpropositionisnotFrivo|ous ,bccausc
thcidcnti ty isso|c|yi nthcidcas .
!t has bccn supposcd, For want oFhavi ngdistinguishcd
twoidcnti ti cs , onci nwords , thcothcri n i dcas , thatcvcry
idcntica| proposition is Frivo|ous, bccausc cvcry idcntica|
proposition in words is Frivo|ous in cFFcct . !t was ncvcr
suspcctcd that a proposition wou|d not know how to bc
Frivo|ouswhcnthci dcnti tyison|yini dcas . Noonchascvcn
wantcdto pcrccivc this idcntity. For why say,Forcxam|c,
/uo and /uo make ]our (whymake:) , i Fnotbccausc/uo and /uo
arcthoughttobcsomcthi ngothcrthan/uo and /uo . itsccms
tomconcwou|dsay/uo and /uo arc]our,i Fonchadrca||yFc|t
that/uo and /uo arc thc samcthingas]our . . . .
Whcn ! say thcy do not rcmark this idcnti ty, I do not
mcanthatthcydonotpcrccivci t. Whocou|dnotpcrccivcit
Buti Fthcyrcmarkcdi t, thcywou|dbcForccd toconc|udc
that, whcn thcy ca|cu|atc, thcy Form and can Form on|y
idcntica| propositi ons. Now thcyobcct ,as i Fbyinsti nct , to
this conc| usion,bccausc thcy havc thc prcudicc that cvcry
idcntica|propositionisaFrivo| ousproposition, andthcyarc
|oath to bc Fri vo| ous . (La Langue des ca/cu/s , i nOP, I I , pp.
13 I -32)
AIagcaiolmora/truths ando!ihcnosibcauii!usentencesolauihosi s o! ihis
naiucihcyvcyolicnicachusnoihing,buiihcynakcusihinkaiihcighiiinc
o! whaiwcknow +haiianbicscnaius o! ihc Laiin iagcdy, -
Cuivis oicsi accidcc, quod cuiquan oicsi,
whch ight bc cxcsscihus,aIthoughIcsscttiIy. ihaiwhichnayhacnio
onc,nayhacn io cvcybody, onIynakcs uscncnbcihc hunan condiiion,
quod ntht/humanta no/ts a/tenumutarede/emu . +his uIc o! ihcuisconsuIis . qut
ure suo utttur, nemtnt]actt tnurtam (hc who uscs his own ighi, inucs no onc)
a
cas livoI
us.uiiiisvcyusc!uIon cciain occasionsand nakcsoncusiIy

ihmk o! whairsncccssay
Il,!oinsiancc,any oncaiscdhishouscas!aashcis
aIIowcdbyihcsiaiuicsandusagcs,andbysodoingdcivcdhisncighboolsonc
vicw, hc wouId ay ihis ncighbo ai oncc, accoding io ihis uIc o! Iaw, i! hc
vcniucdio conIain. Foihccsi,oosiiions o! la, ocxcicnccs,Iikcihai
which siaics ihai oiun is a nacoiic, cay us !aihc ihan ihc iuihs o! uc
I 23
All thc morcrcason,wcrccall , totcachgoodmctaphysicsto
calculators. So that thcy ovcrcomc thcir loathing, most
ccrtainly, thcirprcudiccwhichisl ikcani nstinct(rcasonstill
bound in instinct) , without For all that thcir bccoming
Frivolous .Sothatthcydonotccasctosaythcsamc,torcmark
it at lcast, but whilc avoiding spcaking to spcak, without
obcctorcnd, with nothingtosay. `
Yct ust asbadmctaphysicsbcginswithlanguagc,withthc
dcviationorgapoFthcFutilcsignihcr,withthcdriFtincoursc
by which thc signrcpcatsitsclFand idcntihcs with itsclFto
signiFy nothingothcrthanitsclF, soFrivolityariscsFrom thc
originoFthcsign
Jhatis whyphilosophicalFrivolity is notustan accidcnt .
Condillac undoubtcdly wants to bc right about this , which
amounts toconsidcringFrivolityasasupcrvcninghistorical
cvil , which aFFccts From thc outsidc an csscntially scrious
discoursc. Butsimultancously, accordingtoa logicwchavc
now idcntihcd, thc accidcnt is also dcscribcd as a kind oF
csscntial Fatc, structuraldcstiny, original sin.
rcason,which can ncvcr makc usgobcyondthatwhichisin ourdistinctidcas . As
For this proposition, that cvcry man has a notion oF Cod, it is From thc rcason,
sinccnotionsignihcsidca. lor thc idca oFCod,accordingtomyvicw,isi nnatci n
al | mcn. butiFthi snotion signihcs ani dcai nwhichyouactua|ly thi nkit, iti sa
propositionoFFactwhichdcpcndsonthchistoryoFthchumanracc.7. linally, to
say thatatrianglchasthrcc sidcsisnotsoidcnticalasitsccms,Foralittlcattcntion
isrcquircdtosccthata po|ygon musthavcas manyang|cs as sidcs, itwouldalso
havc anadditiona| sidc, iFthc polygon wcrc notsupposcd tobccloscd.
9.Ph. It sccms that thcgcncralpropositionsconccrningsubstanccsarcForthc
mostpartFrivo|ous,iFthcyarcccrtain. HcwhoknowsthcmcaningsoFthcwords
substancc, man, anima| , Form vcgctativc,scnsitivc,rationa|sou|, wil|Form From
thcm many indubitab|c but usclcss propositions , particu|ar|y about thc soul , oF
which wc oFtcn spcak without knowing what it rcally is. Lvcry onc may scc an
inF nitcnumbcroFpropositions,rcasonings, and conclusionsoFthisnaturcinthc
books oF mctaphysics, scholastic thcology, and a ccrtain kind oF physics, thc
rcadingoFwhichwilltcachhimnothingmorcoFCod, spirits,andbodicsthanhc
kncwbcForchavingrun through thcscbooks.
l 24
FFI|OLITI ITSELF
JhcmcthodForrcducingthcFrivolousismcthoditsclF. l n
ordcrnott obcthclcastFrivolous , bcingmcthodic suFhccs .
Ordcr, clari ty, prccision. notonlydocslogiclackthcsc,but
writigtoo-thcphilosophicalstylc.Philosophicalstylccon-
gcnitallylcads to Frivolity. But thcrcasonFor thisislogical ,
cpistcmol ogical , ontological . I F philosophical wri ti ng is
Frivolous , that is bccausc thc philosophcrcannot Fulhll his
statcmcnts . Hcknowsnothi ng, hchasnothingtosay,andhc
complicatcs ,subtilizcs ,rchncsthcstylisticcFFcctstonaskhis
ignorancc. Jhushcmislcads , payschangcdonnec/ange]out
oFthccsscntialcmptincssoFhisdiscoursc.Whcnphilosophi-
calwritingis diFhcult , csotcric, rcscrvcdtoa smallnumbcr,
thatisbccauscsuchwritingis hollow
7h. It is truc, that abstracts oF mctaphysics and such othcr books oF this
charactcr d arc commonly sccn, tcach only words. 1o say, For cxamplc, that
mcta
hysics is thcscience oFbcing in gcncra| , which cxplains thc principlcs and

aFFcctions cmanating From i t, that thcprinciplcsoFbcing arc csscncc and cxis-
tcncc, that thc aFFcctions arc cithcr primitivc, viz. . unity, truth, thc good, or dc-
rivativc, viz. . samcncss divcrsity, simplicity, comp|cxity, ctc. and, in spcaking oF
cachoFthcsctcrms ,togivcon|yvagucnotionsandvcrba|distinctionsisindccdto
abusc thc namc oFsc/ence. But wc must rcndcrthisusticc to thc morc proFound
Scholastics, likcSuarcz,whom Crotiusvalucdso highly) and admit thatthcrcis
somctimcs in thcmdiscussions oFvaluc,as upon thccontinuum, thcinnitc,thc
contingcnt , thc rcality oF abstracts, thc princip|cs oF individuation, thc ortgo F
vacuum]oru:arum, thc soul and its Facultics, thc concurrcncc oF Cod with his
rc
tu
s, ctc. , andcvcni ncthics,uponthcnaturcoFthcwi|landthcprinciplcsoF

usticcH aword, wcmustadmitthatthcrcisstil|somcgoldinthcscscoriac,butit
isonlycn|ightcncdpcrsonswhocanprohtFromit, and toloadthcyouthwiththc
rubbishoFinutilitics,bccauscthcrcissomcthingoFvaluchcrcandthcrc,wouldbc
badlyto disposcoFthc most prcciousoFa|l things timc. lor thc rcst, wcarc not
who|ly dcstitutcoFgcncral propositions rcgardingsubstanccs which arc ccrtai n,
anddcscrvc tobcknown thcrcarcgrand andbcautiFul truths conccrning Cod
and thc soul which our clcvcrauthorhas taughtcithcrin his own rightorin part
aFtcrothcrs Wc havc pcrhaps addcd somcthingalso thcrcto. And asForgcncral
knowlcdgc conccrning bodics, considcrablc additions arc bcing madc to what
AristotlclcFt,anditshou|dbcsaidthat physics,cvcngcncralphysics ,hasbccomc
muchmorcrcalthanitwashcrctoForc.AsForrcalmctaphysics ,wcarcbcginning,
as it wcrc, to cstab|ish it, and wc hnd importanttruthsgroundcdi n rcason and
conrmcdbycxpcricncc,whichbclongtosubstanccsingcncral . Ihopc, also,that
l 25
Pocts and orators atan car|y stagc Fc| tthc uscFu| ncssoF
mcthod. Jhus with thcm mcthod madc thc most rapid
progrcss . Jhcy had thcadvantagcoFtryingtcir produc-
tions on a who|c pcop| c. witncssing thc imprcssions thcy
causcd, thcy obscrvcdwhatwas |ackingin thcir works.
Phi|osophcrs havcnothadthcsamcassistancc. Rcgard-
ing writing For thc crowd as bc|ow thcm, thcy havc |ong
madc it thcir busincss to bc unintc||igib|c
,
Frcucnt|y this
wason|yadctourForthcirsc|F-cstccm. thcywantcdtohidc
thcir ignorancc From thcmsc|vcs , and it was cnough For
thcmtosccmcducatcdin thccycsoFthcpcop|cwho, madc
morcForadmiringthanForudging, wi||ing|ytookthcmat
thcir word. Sincc, thcrcForc, thcy havc as udgcs on| y
di sci p| cs who b| i nd| y adopt cd t hci r opi ni ons , t hc
phi|osophcrs did not havc t o suspcct thcir mcthod was
dcFcctivc onthccontrary,thcyhadtobc|icvcthatwhocvcr
did not undcrstand thcm |ackcd intc||igcncc. Jhatis why
thcirworkshavcproduccdsomanyFrivo|ousdisputcsand
contributcdso|itt|ctothcprogrcssoFthcartoFrcasoning.
(De /àr/ dècrire , nOP, I, p. 592)
1hc root oF cvil is writi ng. 1hc Frivolous stylc is thc
stylc -that is writtcn. Unlikc thc poct and thc orator,
philosophcrs (invcntors oFprosc, l ctusnotForgct) did not
! havcadvanccd a littlcthc gcncral knowldgcoFthc soul and oFspirits Sucha
mctaphysic was thc dcmand o Aristotl c, it is thc scicncc which hc cal lcd
, thc dcsircd (/a destree) or that which hc sought, which must bc as
rcgards thc othcr thcorctic scicnccs what thc scicncc oFhappincss is to thc arts
whichitnccds, and what thcarchitcctistothcworkmcn. 1hisiswhyAristotlcsaid
thatthcothcrscicnccs dcpcnd upon mctaphysicsasthcmostgcncralscicnccand
mustdcrivcFrom itthcirprinciplcs,dcmonstratcdby it.Voumustknowalsothat
truccthicsistomctaphysicswhatpracticcis tothcory,bccauscuponthcdoctrinc
oF substanccs in common dcpcnds thc knowlcdgc oFspirits and particularly oF
Godandthcsoulwhichgivcsapropcrmcaningtousticcandvirtuc.loras! havc
clscwhcrc rcmarkcd, iFthcrc wcrc ncithcrprovidcncc nor aFuturcliFc, thcwisc
manwouldbcmorcli mitcdinthcpracticcoFvirtuc,ForhcwouldrcFcrcvcrything
mcrclytohisprcscntsatsFaction,andcvcnthissatisFaction, whichappcarsalrcad
in Socratcs, in thc cmpcror Marcus Aurclius, in Lpictctus and othcr ancicnts ,
would not bc so wcll groundcd always without thcsc bcautiul and grand vicws
whichthcordcrand harmonyoFthcunivcrscopcnForuscvcni naFuturcwithout
l 2G
FFI|OLITI ITSEIF
witncss . . . thcimprcssionsthcycauscd,` nordid thcyhnd
thcrulcoFthcirdiscourscinlivci ntcrchangc. AbscnccoFthc
obcct , abscncc oF thc intcrlocutor, philosophy, writing,
Frivolity. whcrccanthischainagorgivcway
Frivoli tybcginsitswork,orrathcrthrcatcnsthcworkoFits
work in rcpctition in gcncral , i . c. , i n thc hssurc which,
scparating two rcpctitions , rcnds rcpctition in two. Jhc
rcpctition oFthcidca, thcidcntity oFidcas is notFrivolous.
Idcntity in words i s Frivolous . Condillac undoubtcdly says
this aproposudgmcnts , scntcnccs , and prcdicativc statc-
mcnts . But hcclcarly must prcsupposcthisconccrningthc
sclF-idcntity oFthc idca i n itsclF, oFthc word in itsclF. Jhc
diFFcrcnccbctwccn thcsctwoidcntitics , thusbctwccn thcsc
twoForccsoFrcpctition,wouldustiFythcgapordcviationin
alli tsFormsbctwccnthcmorcandthclcss, thcpositivcand
thcncgativc, notablybctwccnthcscriousandthcFrivolous .
But Condillac has ticd thc two Forccs oF rcpctition to onc
anothcr. AgainstLockc, hcwantcdtoarkthatthcrcwasno
conncction oFidcaswithout thc conncction oFsigns. Jhc
limit bctwccn thc two rcpctitions within rcpctition itsclF
lim,ts, othcrwiscthctranquillityoFthcsoulwouldbconlywhatiscallcda Forccd
patrcncc,
o that wc
maysay thatnatura/theo/og, comprisingtwoparts ,thcorctical

and practical,contamsaltogcthcrrcal mctaphysics and thc mostpcrFcctcthics .
9 I 2. lh. 1hcrc is doubtlcss knowlcdgc which is Far rcmovcd From bcing
Frvolousorpurclyvcrbal. Butthislastsccmstobcthatinwhichtwoabstractsarc
aFF rmcdthconcoFthco
hcr,Forcxamplc,thatarsimon,u ]ruga/it,,thatgratitudeu
tice,andhowcvcrs pccrousthcscandothcrpropositionssomctimcsappcaratF rst

sght, yctwhcnwcprcssthcirForcc,wcF ndthatitalamountstonothingclscthan
thc signiF cation oFthc tcrms.
7h. ButthcsignihcationsoFtcrms t. e. dcF nitionsunitcdwithidcnticalaxioms,
cxprcss thc princplcs oFall dcmonstrations . and as thcscdcF nitions can makc
knownat
.
thcsamctimcthcidcasandthcirpossibility,itisplainthatwhatdcpcnds
on thcmrsnotalwayspurclyvcrbal . AsFor thccxamplcthatgratttude t usttce , or
rathcrapartoFusticc,itisnottobcdcspiscd,Foritshowsthatwhatiscallcdactto
ingrati , orthccomplaint which canbc madc againstthcungratcFul , shouldbclcss
l 27
cannot bc rcproduccd, statcd, or comc to signihcation
withoutcngcndcringthatvcrythingthclimitcxcludcs .
Frivolity ori gi natcs From thc dcviation or gap oF thc
signihcr, butalsofromits FoldingbackonitsclFinitscloscd
andnonrcprcscntativcidcntity.SowccscapcFrivolityonlyat
thcscnanticriskoFnonidcntity. Condillacnamcsnonidcn-
tity mctaphor and makcs it thc primordial structurc oF
languagconlyinordcrtobcginitsanalogicalandtclc
.
ological
rcappropriation. Jhisrcappropriationispursucd srncc thc
timc oF thc languagc oF action, which opcns mctaphor,
throughallthcsupplyingmodihcations ,tothcmostFormal ,
thusalsothc mostnatural ,languagcoFcalculus . Jhiscanbc
vcrihcd, Forcxamplc, atthcbcginningoFPartI I . Jhcrcwc
willrccognizcthchiddcnguidingthrcad,thcrhctoricoFthc
tcmporalmodcsina narrativcwhichalsotcllsthcoriginoF
timc and thc origin oF rhctoric. But wcll bcForc Part I I ,
timc-or thcgapoF thcprcscntrclationt oi tsclFandstillthc
prcscnt` ssclF-rclationinitcrability-willhavcnamcda/once
thc rootoFscnsibiliy and thcinstanccoFthc Frivolous.
Nccdsccmst obcthcsystcm' suniqucpri nciplc.Howdocs
thcpropositionoFnccdbccomccomplicatcd:
ncg|cctcdinthctribunals . 1hc Romansrcccivcdthis actionagainstth
Libcrti
.
or
Frccdmcn, and sti|l to-day itshould takc p|acc as rcgards thc rcvocaton oFgtFt
.
lor thc rcst, I havc a|rcady said c|scwhcrc that abstract idcas a|so may b
at
r-
butcd to oncanothcr, thc gcnusto thcspccics,as i nthcstatcmcnt
. 1
raticn l3 a
continuit,, virtueisaha/it, butuniversa/ustice isnot on|yavirtue , but t
.
tsdccdthe
com/ete ethica/ virtue' (trans. AlFrcd Gidcon Lang|cy, 2nd cd. jChtcago. Opcn
Court, l 9 l 6], pp. 4997 jmodihcd).
. .
1hisrcpctitivcstructurcoFknowingnoton|y givcsrsc, aswcarcgogto
cc, to
an archcological intcrprctation oF thc Frivolous |ut also t

.
o a mctaphystcs o
plagiarism Condillac had suFFcrcd much Fro
.
m ths a
satton (Ol
,
I, pp
.
222,
3 I 8, ctc. ) ~or rathcr to a thcory oFmctaphstca| p|agtarsm. Notc. Lxpcrc
cc
hascorroboratcd mcin thoscrccctions which ! would nothavc addcd hcrc,iFI
had notplaccd thcm in thcssa,ontheOrigino]HumanKnow/edge ,which
.
l copyi n
thisp|accasinmanyothcrs . I stil|bclicvcI oughttowarnthatmanywrtcrshavc
I 28
FF!|OL!TI !TSELF
l nthcCoursd'e/udes(Prcisdcslconsprli minaircs') ,thc
dchnitionoFdcsircisplaccdbctwccnthatoFthcundcrstand-
i ngand thc wil l . Jhc implication and thc rcciprocal mod-
ihcationoFallthcscinstanccsFrcqucntlyrcmainmislcading
and conFusing. Jhis logic rcquircs , cach timc, mcticulous
rcconstitutions, i FwcwanttolinkthcdiFFcrcnttcxtsamong
thcmsclvcs . Hcrc, Forcxamplc, dcsircisgoingtocngcndcr
orbctransFormcdintowill(Faculywhichcmbraccsallthc
opcrationswhichariscFrom nccd,ustas undcrstandingis
thc Faculty which cmbraccs all thc opcrations which arisc
Fromattcntion') .ButustasitisatthcoriginoFallknowlcdgc
(thcorcticalandpractical)andoFattcntioningcncral ,dcsirc
also produccs undcrstanding and thc thcorctical rclation
with thcobcct .
ursirr
Jo bc dcprivcd oF a thing you udgc ncccssary For
yoursc|Fproduccsun-casincssordisquictudci nyou,sothat
youmorcor|csssuFFcr. thatisca||cdneed.
Jhc un-casincss dctcrmincs your sight, touch, a|| your
scnscs conccrning thc obcct you wcrc dcprivcd oF ! n
addition, thc un-casincss movcs de/ermine] your sou| to
copicdthis Lssay,Foritcouldbc thought thatI mysclFcopicdthcmby writingon
thc art oF thinking. Plagiarizing mctaphysicians could not bc morc common.
Whcn thcyarcshown, within thcmsclvcs, mctaphysicaltruths, thcy attcrthcm-
sclvcs that a| by thcmsclvcs thcy would havc Found thcsc truths , and thcy un-
scrupulouslyprcscntthcsctruthstothcmsclvcsasdiscovcrics. Oncday Du Mar-
sais complaincd to mcabouta shamclcssp|agiarism madc From him. I spokcoF
thistothcplagiarist,whorcplicdthatDuMarsaiswaswrongtocom/ainandthatthose
thingsthere/e/ongedtoevegoodmindoriritwhowanedtoattendtothem . Ncvcrthc-
lcssthoscthingsthcrccscapcdthcgcntlcmcnoFPort-Royal ,whowcrccvcnbcttcr
minds . lorhispartancxcc|lcntmctaphysici an, DuMarsaishasbccnoncwhohas
crcatcd many p|agiarizing mctaphysicians. 1hosc p|agiarists rcFcrrcd to carlicr
arcrccognizcdbythcbadmctaphysicsthcyFormwhcnthcyarcclumsycnoughto
look withoutany guidc ForthcFactswithinthcmsclvcs(De/'artdeense,inOl , I ,
p . 35n) .
I 2O
THE HFCHEOLOCI OF THE FFI|OLO|S
attcnd to a|| thc idcasithas oFthis obcct, as wc|| as to thc
p|casurc it couldrcccivc From thcm. So un-casincssdctcr-
mincs thcaction oFa||thcbody` sand sou| sFacu|tics .
JhisdctcrminationoFthcFcu|ticsconccrningthcobcct
oFwhich oncisdcprivcdisca||cddesire . Jhusdcsircdirccts
on|ythcsou|`sFac|ticsiFthcobcctisabscnt, iFthcobcctis
prcscnt, it a|so inc|udcs dirccting thc body sFacu|tics . ( !n
OP, ! , p. 1 I 1, a|sosccTS , !, 3, s s I -3, pp. 25-2o)
Jhus it rcmai ns that, although dcsirc i n all its Forcc is
nothing but nccd, although thc notion oFdcsircisdcrivcd
fromthatoFnccdandalthoughthisdcrivationncithcradds
norsubtractsanyForccandonlymodalizcsanccdbyimpart-
inga dircction to i t, knowlcdgc (or consciousncss) oFnccd
passcs through dcsirc, through this dircctcd dcrivation,
through thc obcctoFthis dircction. Jhisi nparticular Fol-
lows . Frivoli ty -thcsccmingrcpctitionoFdcsircwithoutany
obcctoroFaoatingdcsirc-isalsonccdlcFttoitsclF, nccd
withoutobcct ,withoutdcsirc` sdircction_rec/ton] . Andsoon.
Condillac` sLogtc , which rcscmblcs noncoFthosc which
havc bccn composcd hithcrto` (p. 2) , docs not opposc thc
logicoFnccdtothclogicoFdcsirc.Onthccontrary,thcLogtc
is arrangcd to articulatconc to thc othcror to think thcm
togcthcr, as thc Forcc and thcdircction oFa novingbody
mo|t/e] . In Part II oFthcLogtc ( Analysis consdcrcd in its
mcans and cFFccts , or thc art oF rcasoning rcduccd to a
corrcct languagc`) , thc hrst chaptcr is cntitlcd How Jhc
nowlcdgcWcOwctoNaturcFormsASystcmI nWhichAll
IsPcrFcctlyUnitcd, AndHowWcStrayWhcnWcForgctIts
Lcssons. ' It opcnswiththcdcsiringdircctionoFnccd. Wc
havcsccnthatby thc worddestre wccannotmcananything
cl sc but thc di rcction oFour Facultics towards thc things
whichc nccd. Wc havcthcrcForc onlydcsircs ,bccauscwc
l 3O
FFI|OLITI ITSELF
havcnccdstosatisFy. Jhusnccdsanddcsircsarc thcmovcrs
/emo|t/e] oFall our rcscarchcs` ( p. 4o modihcd] ) .
I Fnccdisthcsystcm` suniqucprinci pl c, iFdcsircisonlythc
rcprcscntativcvcctor-ingtec/ton ]oFnccd,itsrclationwith
thcobcctthclackoFwhichconstitutcsitasnccd, thcnnccd
ariscsandchangcsintoadcsiringrcprcscntationonlyinthc
tcmporal dchisccncc oFthccomparison.
Jhcrc is no diFFcrcncc in gcncral , only oFdcgrccs . Jhis
Fundamcntal proposition propagatcs its cFFccts ovcr all oF
Condillac` sdiscourscandrcgularlycomcstounFoldde/ter] ,
as it wcrc, all thcconccpts oFrupturc and rcpctition. Jhis
uo/dtng is timc' s It i s thc vcry origi n oFnccd and oFthc
dcsiring rcprcscntation which rclatcs nccd to an obcct in
gcncral . I ndiFFcrcncc itsclFis only an cFFcct oF(tcmporal)
comparison, hcncc ancFFcct oFdiFFcrcncc.
s21 s/a/e is on/, indq]eren/ ( comarison. Among thcsc
diFFcrcnt dcgrccs thcrc is no statc oFindiFFcrcncc. At thc
Frstscnsation, howcvcry_sic] Fccb|citmaybc, thcstatucis
ncccssari|y cithcr contcntcd or discontcntcd. Whcn it has
Fc|tinsucccssion thc sharpcst pains and thc kccncstp|ca-
surcs, it wi||udgc indiFFcrcnt, or wi|| ccasc to rcgard as
agrccab|c or disagrccab|c, thosc Fccb|cr scnsations which
wi||appcarFccb|crwhcncomparcdwiththcstrongcst. . . .
s25Origin o]need. Whcncvcritisi||atcascor|csscomFort-
ab|c than itwas , it rcca||s itspastscnsationsandcomparcs
thcmwithitsprcscnt, anditFcc|sthcimportanccoFbc com-
ing again what it was . From this ariscs thc nccd, or thc
know|cdgcithasoFa wc||-bcingwhichitudgcs ncccssary
Forits comFort.
!tknowsoFnccdson|ybccauscitcomparcsthcpainwhich
jDcrridasaysolvecton. Vcction' isa rathcrrarcword, ilitcvcncxists Its
scnsc thc oricntcdmovcmcntolavcctor,olwhat ts n motionand carricsin a
dircction. Dcrrida'suscol:ectton sccmstoplay ollh
iscar|icrusc, p. I 50)olthcO|d
lrcnchwordrectton. dircction,govcrnancc. 1rans.]
I 3 I
i suFFcrs wih hc p|casurc which it has cnoycd. (TS , ! , 2 ,
. I 3- I 4)
Aswchavcnotcd,thcdcgrcc,thcgradualdiFFcrcnccruins
thcidcnti calpropositionbydislocati ngthcts .Butatthcsamc
timcthcdcgrccmakcsthcidcnti calpropositionpossiblcby
ivingit a synthcti cvaluc which advanccs knowlcdgc and
prohibits Frivolity. Soti mc, anclcmcntoFdcgrcc, marksat
oncc thc possibility and thc impossibility oF Frivolity. 1hc
Fragility,thcFrailstructurcoFthcFrivoloustsno//tng|u/(thc
timcoFa)diFFcrcncc(oFdcgrcc) ,thcspacingthatontology,as
such,simplycoul dnotbccapablcoF.1hcrcisacrackthcrc.
onstruction and dcconstruction arc brcachcd/broachcd
thcrc. 1hc linc oFdisintcgrati on, which is not straight or
continuousorrcgular -philosophyisaFFcctcdbythi salmost
byitsclF.PhilosophydcviatcsFromitsclFandgivcsrisctothc
blowsthatwillstrikcitnoncthclcssFromthcoutsidc. Onthis
conditionalonc,atonccintcrnalandcxtcrnal ,isdcconstruc-
tionosst|/e.
Withoutthccomparison,withouttimcwhichdcstroysthc
tabl c, thcrc would bc ncithcrthcopposition plcasurc/pai n
(thc princi plc oFthc pri nciplc " ) , noranalogy i n gcncral .
Withoutti mcthcrcwouldbcnoobcct .1hcgapordcvi ati on
oFtimc(rcpctitionandabscnccoFthcpcrccptualprcscntto
itscl) opcns thc rcprcscntativc vcctor-i ng withi nboth thc
signandthcidca.1hcopcrationoFsupplyingju/eance]
thcconccptandthcwordrcappcarrcgularly -isintcrprctcd
as rcprcscntati on. Now thc sign' s vacancy -a Frivolous
Scc7S , I , l and2, pp. 3FF.1hcrcagainthcrc|ation totimc,tothcabscnccoF
thc prcscnt)ispositcdasthcoriginoFdcsirc.In thcctionoFaprctcmpora|aFFcct,
dcsirc rcmainsoFstonc. Asycti tjthcstatuc] has noidcaoFchangc,succcssion,
duration. I t cxists, thcn, withoutbcingablc to Formdcsircs',ibid . , 2, 3, . 5) .
l 32
FFI|OLITI ITSELF
onc- thc suspcnsion oF its rclation with thc obcct, i ntcr-
vcncs bcForc thc sign. Or rathcr, thc sign announccs itsclF
bcForcthcsign.alrcadyonthcthrcsholdoFgcncralizationor
abstraction, thatis ,ascarlyasthisproccssoFcxtcndingscnsc
whi ch pcrmi t s t aki ng a si gn hgurati vcl y , i nscri bcs
mctaphor in thc poctic origin oF languagc, and rulcs thc
dictionary oF synonyms. A strctchcd scnsc always risks
bcing cmpty, oating, slackcncd i n its rclation with thc
obcct. 1hatis why, ust as thcrc arc two mctaphysics, two
barbarisms , two i maginations, two idcntitics, wc ncvcr cs-
capcthcdoublcorstand-inForthcidcaitsclF.1hisisFrivoli
ty' slast or hrst garmcnt. Wc Fallinto crror on this subcct
whcnwcsupposcthatthcwordtda hasonlyoncmcaning.
Howcvcr, ithastwo, oncwhichispropcrtoitandanothcr
givcn itby cxtcnsion. l Fl say onc pcbblc, two pcbblcs, thc
wordidcaistakcnpropcrlyorlitcrally,ForlhndthcidcasoF
oneand/ointhcobcctslhavcoincdtothcscnamcs. ButiF
l say one o , thcy arc ust gcncra| namcs, and only by
cxtcnsioncan thcybccallcdidcas(LaLanguedes ca/cu/s , in
OI , l l , p. 430) . What is said by cxtcnsion is always said
impropcrl y i mpropcrlyorbycxtcnsion, CondillacoFtcn
says (ibid. p. 433) .
1hcFrivolouscxtcnsionwhichlcavcsthcidcawithoutthc
thing and thc sign without thc idca, which cts thc tcrm` s
idcntityFallFarFromitsobcctthcidcntityoFthcidca,this
cxtcnsion incrcascs with progrcssitsclF. lt Follows thc tclc-
ologicalmovcmcntandcxtcndstothclimitoFwhatitdisin-
tcgratcs . 1o thc limit, For cxan plc, oFcommcrcc, oFlan-
guagc,andoFi nstitution. NowinthcordcroFthcarbitrary,
thcFrivolousinstanccrcsultsFromasupplcmcntarycompli-
cationoFthcmovi ngbody`(nccd/dcsirc)whichwchavcnot
yct takcn intoaccount.
l 33
Onthconchand,Frivoli tycouldbcthoughttocomcFron
nccdthroughdcsirc.dcsircopcnsthcdircctionoFthcobcct,
produccs thc supplying suean/e] sign which can always
worktonocFFcctttde .oncmpty,inavacuumJ ,bymcansoF
vacancy, disposability, cxtcnsion. Vorc cspccially sincc, by
itsclFalonc,asanoricntationwithouti ntrinsicForcc,dcsircis
csscntially sli ght, thin and inconsistcnt, inconstant.
Onthcothcrhand,andconvcrscly,nccdinitsclFisFrivo-
lous. Nccdwithoutdcsircisblind. Ithasnoobcct, isidcnti-
cal to itsclF, cncloscd in itsclF, tautological and austi c. OF
stonc. Byrclatingncedtoanobcct, dcsircwouldmobil zcit,
moralizc it, subcct ittothc law, hxit in anordcr.
Butto rcmain contcntwi thsuchan opposition oFcsirc
andnccd,howcvcrchiasmaticitmaybc,istoForgctthatwith
t hc human ordcr ( t hc s ccond hrs t - mctaphys i cs as
humanism) , withlanguagc,t hcarbitrarysign,commcrcci n
gcncral , t hcchiasmus bcnds with a supplcmcntay dccc-
tion //e need/o estre .
1hisnccd,whichisnotadcsirc,docsnotbcongtonaturc.
Ori Fi t docsbclongtonaturc -toman` s -itisas thcabilityto
acquirc. 1hc1rat/edes antoauxcxplainsFro whatdiFFcr
cncc alonc ariscForusthc plcasurcsand painsoFwhich thc
animalsould notFormidcas`.
!]t is no|ongcr possib|c to Fu| F| | a|| our dcsircs. On thc
contrary, sinccthcygivcusthccoymcntoFa||thcobccts
to which thcy carry us, wc wou|d bc powcr|css _on nous
me//rai/ dans /'imuissance] tosatisFythc mostprcssingoFour
nccds ,thatoFdcsiri ng. JhisactivitywouldbcrcmocdFrom
oursou| , anactivitywhichhasbccomcncccssarytothcsou|.
1hcrcwou| drcmainForuson|yanovcrwhc|mingvoid,an
cnnui oFcvcrything and oFoursc|vcs .
Sodcsiri ngis thc mostprcssingoFa|| our nccds. thusno
sooncr is onc dcsirc satisFcd than wc Form anothcr. Frc-
l 34
FFI|OLITI ITSELF
qucnt|ywcobcyscvcra|atoncc, or, iFwccannotdothat, wc
savcForanothcrtimc thosc towhichprcscntcircumstanccs
donotpcrmitustoopcnoursou| . Jhusourpassionsrcncw
succccd,mu|tip|ythcmsc|vcs ,andwc|ivcon|ytodcsircand
on|yinasmuch as wc dcsirc. (!n OP, !, p. 372) .
No longcr is dcsirc thc rclatio with thc obcct, but thc
obcctoFnccd.Nolongcrisdcsircadircction,butancnd. An
cnd without cnd bcnding nccd into a kind oFight. 1his
cscapcswccpsawaythcorigi n, systcm, dcstiny, andtimcoF
need(ancxcmpt]ranc]wordandaconccpt withoutidcntity) .
Jhcmomcntthcstatucawakcns ,itlikcwiscsctstoworkto
rcducc thc gap. Stonc Iterre] bcginning to producc -in
ordcr( not)tobccomcagainwhatitwil|havcbccn,contra
to thc Frivolous distraction-thc hcadstrong idcntitics oF
signs, othcrFrivolitics . thcFcaroFaVcdusa,lcgitimacyitsclF.
I 35
nJcx
Abraham, Nico|as, 4, 5
Abscncc,abscnt obcct,76, 77, 5,
97n, | , l l 8, l 3O, l 32, l 32n
Absurdity, l 2On- l 2 l n
Abyss, l 6, 86, 87n, 92, l O5, l O8
Acion, 78, 97, 99, l OO, l 3O
|anguagcoF, 78, 82, 96, l O l , l O9,
l 28
Activity, 97
activitypassivity, 58-59,74n
Adami , Va|crio,4
AFtcr thc Fact . Scco]res cou]
A|chcmism, 58
A|chcmy,54
A|gcbra,37, 49, 56, 57, 65-66, 83,
93n, 98n
A|gcbraism, 5
Allison, David, l 8
Ana|og, l l 9
Analogic, l 7- l 8, 46
Ana|ogism, l 2O
Ana|ogy, l 7, 35, 4 l , 43, 44, 47, 6 l ,
64, 67, 67n-68n, 7 l , 72, 73, 74,
75, 76, 8 l -83, 87n, 94, 98, l OO
oFsigns,65-66, 92, 93, 95
Ana|ysis, l 5, 33, 35, 36, 4O, 63 , 72-73,
97, 98, l 3O
Antoninus, Marcus Aurclius, l 26n
o]res cou], aFtcr thc Fact. (A|so scc
DcFcrrcd Action) l 9, 4O-4 l , 45,
49, 85, l l O
Arbitrary, 57, 82, 83, 94, 98, l 33
sins, l l O- l 2, l 34
orch, l l 8
Archco|ogy, 2 l -22, l l 9
oFthc Frivolous, l 9, 67n-68n, l 28n
Aristot|c,34-35, l 25n-26n
Arithmctic,93n
Astronomy, 79n, 98n
Attcntion,45, 7 l -72, 76, 78n, 94,
96n, l 29
l 3 7
Attraction, 74
Author, 48-49, 86
Auto-aFFcction, l l O
Bacon, Francis,42
Barbari sm, 37n, l 33
Barthcs , Ro|and, l l - l 2
Bass , A|an, l 8
Bcing,34, 55, 98, l 25n
Bcrkc|cy,corgc, l O5, l O6
Bio|ogy,48, 49
Biran, Maincdc, 53-59, 74, 74n,
92n-93n
Cohter_ouro/, 57, 58n
De /o decom]osttton de / ]ensee,
53-55, 58n, 59, 74n
Lssot sur /es [onJments de /o
]schoIogte , 57, 58, 58n
Aotes sur /'tpluence des stgnes ,
92n-93n
Blind,b|indncss,born-b|ind, l O5-O6,
lO5n-O6n, l 34
Body, 75, l 25n, l 3O
moingbody(mo0t/e) , l 3O, l 3 l , l 33
Brcach,broach,entomer, l 8, l O8, l l 8,
l 32
Ca|cu|ation,calcu|us (colcul) , 37, 38,
4O, 47, 48n, 55, 62, 63, 66, 93n,
96n, 99, l O l
|anguagcoF, 65, 98, 99, l O7n, l 22,
l 28
Causc, 33, 34, 38, 44, 74, 75
Chcmistry, 98n
Chitchat(bo:ordoge) , l O3, l l 9
Combination (ncw) , l 8, 34, 4O, 44,
45, 46, 6l 62, 66, 7 l , 72, 76, 77,
l O8
Comc,|ightupon(rencontrer) , 64
Commcrcc, l OO-O3, l l l - l 2, l 33, l 34
Communication, 2 l 23, 67
I^DLX
Condi||ac, Lticnnc Bonnotdc, ]osstm
Le Commerce et h gou:ernement, l OO,
l O2
De /` ort d' ecrtre , l 26
De /'ort de ]enser, 46, 84n, 85,
97n-98n, l O4, l 28n-29n
De /'ort de rouonne, 38, 39,
78n-79n, 8O-8 l , l l 7
Dtcttonnotre des sjonmes , 64-65,
73-75, 74n, 87n, 98n, l O2, l l 8
Lsso on the Urtgtn o[Humon
Kuouledge, 3, l 9, 33, 34, 36, 39,
4O, 4 l , 43, 44, 45, 46-47, 55, 56,
57, 6 l , 62, 64, 65-66, 67,
67n-68n, 7 l -73, 75, 76, 77, 78,
77n-78n, 79, 8 l, 82, 83, 84, 85,
86-87, 9l -92, 93-96,96n-97n , 98,
99, l O4, l O5, l O6, l O7, l O8- l 3 ,
l l 7, l 2O l 28, l 28n-29n
Lxtrott mtsonne de 1rotte des
sensottons , 84n, l O7n
Grommor , 99, l O4
Htstotre mderne, 35, 36, 4O, 4 l -42,
6On,66, 67, 9l -92
Lo Longu des co/cu, 34, 36-37, 56,
57, 63-64, 65, 82-83, 84, 93n,
l O l , l 2O-23, l 2On, l 33
Lcttcr to Maupcrtus, 92
Lettres tnedttes u Go0rte/ Cromer, 96n,
l O6, l O6n, l l O- l 2
Logtc, 38, 44-45, 56, 57, 8O, 99, l O4,
l 3O-3 l
Memotre , l O6
Prccis dcs |consprciminaircs,
45-46, l 29-3O
1rotte des ontmcux, 98, l 34-35
1rotte des sstmes , 54, 56, 97n,
l O2-O3, l O5
1reotue on the Sensottons , 55, 56-57,
58n, 74n, 8 l , 85, 95, 96, 96n, 99,
l O4, l O6, l O7, l 30, l 3 l -32, l 32n
Conncction (/totson) , 33, 4 l , 44, 46,
65, 66, 72, 73, 78n, 8 l -82, 86, 9l ,
93, 95, l 27
ana|ogica|,62, 7 l
o l signs , l 27
Consciousncss, 9, 59, 74n, 75, 78n,
96n-97n
phi|osophyol,96n
olnccd, l 3O
I 3 8
Contradiction, 47, 49, 53-54, 59
Corpus, 49, 53
Cousin, Victor, 29
Cramcr, Gabric|, 96n, l O6, l O6n,
l l O- l 2
Cu|turc, 62
DA|cbcrt,]can Lc Rond, 4 l
Dcath, 9l
Dcconstruction, l O- l l , l 3, l 5, l 6, 2 l ,
63, 72, l 32
Dclcrrcd Action (o]es-cou],
Aochtrug/tchkett) (A|soscco]res
cou) , l 9, 5 l , l l O
Dccicncy(corence) , 47, 48n, 49, 56
Dcgrcc (A|so scc Dillcrcnccol
dcgrcc) , 93, l 32
Dcmonstration, l 2On, l 2 l n, l 27n
Dcrrida,]acqucs, l -23
Dcscartcs,Rcnc,34, 65, 84, 85
Dcsirc, 8 l , 94, l 29-3 l , l 32n, l 33-35
thcdcsircd, l 26n
Dctour, 9l -92, l 26
Dcvc|opmcnt, 38-4O, 45-47, 53 , 58,
66, 67, 84, 95
Dcviation(ecort, gap) , l 7 l 9, 23, 63,
67, 67n-68n, 7 l , 74n, 97n, l l 9,
l 24, l 27, l 28, l 32
Dia|cctic,59
Didcrot,Dcnis, l O4-O5, l O6n
Dillcrcncc, 5-6, 93, l l 5, l l 7, l 2O,
l 3 l
ol dcgrcc, 44, 73, 97n, 98, l 3 l , l 32
Discoursc, 37, 8 l , 82, 85, 93, 94,
99- l 0O, l l 9, l 24, l 25, l 27, l 3 l
Discovcr(y) , 36, 37, 4O-4 l , 42, 6 l , 63,
64-65, 73, 79n, 8O, 83, 84, l O l ,
l O9, l 29n
Disposabi|ity (dts]ont0t/tte) , 53 , l l 8,
l 34
Disposition, 58, 77-78, 78n, l l O, l l 8
Doubt, 8O-8l , l O9
Du Marsais, l 29n
Lconomics,cconomy, l OO, l O2, l O3
Lllcct, 38, 39, 44, 54, 75, 8O, l O3
Lgo, 54, 58n, 59
Lmpiricism, 35, 49n, 6O, 62, 97n
Lpictctus, l 26n
I^DLA
e]tsteme, 48-49
Lpistcmo|ogica|,cpistcmo|ogy, l 25
mythic, 78
Lrasurc(roture) , l O- l 5, l 6, 23
Lrror,42, 86, l O6, l O7, l O9, l l 2
Lsscncc, 33, 34, 38, l O5, l l O, l 25n
Lthics, l 26n, l 27n
Luc|id, l 2 l n
Lvidcncc, 8O-8 l
Lccss, l l 5, l 2O
Lpcricncc,53, 64, 72, 8 l , 92, 94, 95,
l O7, l 23n, l 25n, l 28n
Fab|c,78-79
Fact, 29, 39, 4O,42, 58n, 59, 6 l , 64,
65, l OO, l Ol , l 24n, l 29n
Fa||, thc, 64
Fa|sc |cad, l 3- l 4, l 5
[oux tttre , l 4- l 5, l
Fcc| , lcc|ing(senttr, senttment) , 38-39,

74n, 75, 87n, 98, l O7n, l l 2
Fiction, l 3- l 5, 2 l , 23 , l 32n
Find, 64-65
Fo||y, 9 l
Forcc, 29, 44 49, 54, 63 , 72, 73-76,
74n, 8O, 93-95, 97, 97n, 99, l O7n,
l l l , l 22n, l 27n, l 3O, l 35
imagcs ol, 74n
olconncction, 72, 73, 75
olrcpctition, 73
Form, lorma|ism, 47, 56, 6O, 78n, 8O,
95
lorm/contcnt, 47, 78n, l O8
Foucau|t, Michc|, 2 l -22, 48n
[rooge , l 8- l 9, 6 l , 85
Framc, l 4- l 5, 22
Frccdom, 57-58, 59, 76-77, 94, l l O,
l l l
Frcud, Sigmund, l 8
Frivo|ity, 2O-22, 23, 29, l Ol , l O3,
l l 8-35
Ga|i|co,44
Gap. SccDcviation
Gcncra|, 39, 4O, 83
Gcncration, 35, 4 l , 45, 6l -63 , 92, 95,
l l O
Gcncsis,4O, 47, 48n, 62
Gcnctics, 48
I 39
Gcnius, l 8- l 9, 42, 6 l , 63, 64, 65, 66,
67, 67n-68n, 7 l , 79, 83
strokcolgcnius(cou de genu) ,
4O-4 l , 63 , 65
Gcomctry,66, 83-84, l 2 l
Gcrm, 3 5 , 46-47, 84, 93
God, l 22n, l 24n, l 25n, l 26n
Go|d, l 22n
Gouhicr, Hcnri, 55n
Grammar, 37, 4 l
Grotius, 25n
Hcaring, l O7n
Hcgc| , G. W. F. , 2, 5-7, 9
Hcidcggcr, Marti n, 8
Hc|vctius,C|audcAdrcn, 29
Hcsitation, 48n, 49, 58
Hi|mcr, l O6n
Historicity,4O
History, 4O, 6On, 62, 64, 65, 67, 7 l ,
78, 78n-79n, 79, 84, 85, 9 l ,
99- l OO, l 24n
hors-texte , l O, l 6
Husscr| , Ldmund, 4
Hyppo|itc,]can, 2, 6-7, 9
t dca, l 6, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 4 l ,
42, 45, 47, 54, 56, 57, 6 l , 64, 66,
72, 73 , 74n, 75, 8 l , 84, 85,
9l -96n, 97, 97n, 99, l O3, l O6-O7,
l O7n, l O9, l l 2, l l 7, l 22n, l 24n,
l 27, l 27n, l 3O, l 32, l 32, l 33,
l 34
innatc, 4 l , l O7, l 24n
history ol, l OO
obcctivityol, l O7n
Idca|ism, 53, 58, 6O, l O4-O5, l O7
I dcntica|s , l 2On, l 22n
tdcntity,3 , 46, 8O, l l 7, l 23, l 27, l 28,
l 33
in idcas, l 22-23, l 27, l 35
i ntcrms(words) , l 22-23, l 27
Idco|ogy, 62
Ignorancc, 37n, 78n-79n, l 25, l 26
t/[out , l Ol
Imaginationimagining, l 9, 63,
65-66, 67, 7 l , 76-79, 77n-78n,
94, 95, l l O, l 33
I nnatism, 6l -62
tnstinct, 38, 45, 97-98, 99, l 23, l 24
I^DLX
t ntroduction, 3- l O, l 6, 93, l O8, l O9,
l l 8
t nvcnt(ion) ,43, 6 l , 63-65, 66, 7 l , 83
t s, 98, l 32
ttcrabi|ity, l 28
]ohnson, Barbara, l 7
]udgmcnt, 46, 78n, 8 l , 97, l O7, l 2 l ,
l 26, l 27, l 3 l
ana|ytical,43
Kant, t mmanuc|, l 2O
Knowlcdgc(so:otr, connotre) , 2 l -22,
35, 36, 39, 43, 45, 6 l , 77, 93,
97n, l O l , l O2, l O9- l O, l 2On,
l 2 l -22, l 25n, l 26n, l 28n, l 29,
l 3 l , l 32
practical, 95-96, 96n, 99, l 29
thcorctical, 95-96, 96n, 99, l O6,
l29
olnccd, l 3O
Lacan,]acqucs, 22
Lack (mopue) , l OO-O l , l O3, l 3 l
Languagc, l 8- l 9, 36-38, 43, 45, 46,
48n, 55, 56, 65-66,67, 67n-68n,
76, 79, 82-83, 92 93, 94, 96, 99,
l OO, l Ol , l O2, l O3, l O9, l l 2- l 3,
l l 9, l 22, l 3O, l 33, l 34
historyol, 65, 67, l O9
Lcad, l 22n
Lcarn(ing , l Ol -O3
Lccvrc,Rogcr,49n
Lcibniz, G. W. , 84, 96n, l O6, l 2O,
l 2On-28n
Lc Roy,Gcorgcs,49n, 93
Lcvcr, 49, 8O
Lilc,9l
Linguistic(s) , 48, 48n, 56, l OO, l O2
Lockc,]ohn, 29, 4O-43, 56, 79, 84, 85,
9 l , l O6, l 2On, l 27
Logic(al) , 7, 9- l O,42, 43, 48n, 62-63,
l 25, l 29
Logicism, 49n
Machinc, 8O
Madinicr, Gabric|, 58n
Ma|cbranchc, Nico|as dc, 84
I 4O
Margin, 22-23, 85
Marx, Kar|,29, l O3-O4
Mastcry,77-78, 78n, 94, l l O, l l l ,
l l 8
Matcriacmp|oymcntopposition,45,
47, 77n-78n, 95
Matcria|ism, 29, 6O
athcmatics,42, 83
Mathcmatism, 82-83
Mattcr, l O5
Maupcrtuis, 92
Mcaning(:ou/otr dtre) , 59, 6 l , 89,
l l l
Mcdusa, l 35
Mchl man,]cllrcy, l 8
Mcmory,65-66, 78n
Mctaphor(ica|),47, 73, 75, 76, 77,
l l 9, l 28, l 33
Mctaphorics, l l 9
Mctaphysics, l l , l 7- l 8, l 9, 29, 33-4 l ,
45, 46, 49, 57, 62, 93n, 98, l 2On,
l 24, l 24n, l 25n27n, l 28n29n,
l33, l 34
bad, 36, 68n, l 24, l 29n
Mcthod, 3, 35, 36, 39, 4O, 4 l , 42, 44,
55, 57, 64, 66, 72-73, 82-83, 85,
92n93n, 93, 98-99, l O9, l l O,
l l 9, l 25-26
ana|ytical, 84
Mind Scc Spirit
Monkcy, l 2 l n
Mosconi, ]can,48n-49n
Myth, cpistcmo|ogica|,47, 48n
Namc, 33, 72, 74, l 33
Narrativc (rectt) , 67, 78, l 28
Naturc,37, 38, 4 l , 44, 45, 63, 64, 77,
82-83, 86, 98n, l OO, l Ol , l 3O,
l 34
Nccd (0esotn) , 93-94, 95, 96, 99, l OO,
l O2, l O3, l 22, l 22n, l 28-3 l ,
l 33-35
philosophyol, l l 9
Ncwton, t saac, 4 l , 42, 44, 65-66, 74,
79-8 l , 84
Nonidcntity, l 28
Notc,98n, l O9
Novc| (romon) , 78-79, 79n
Novc|ty, 6l , 65, 7 l
I^DLX
Obcct,44, 55, 57, 58, 63 , 73, 74n, 77,
9l , 99, l O6-O7, l l l , l l 9, l 22,
l 27, l 29-3O, l 32, l 33, l 34
rc|ation with thc, l 29, l 3 l , l 32,
l 35
Old Namc (Alsoscc Pa|conymy) ,
l O- l l , 34
Ontology, l 3, 98, l 25, l 32
Opium, l 22n, l 23n
Ordcr,2 l , 84, 86, 92, 93, l O9, l l O,
l l 8, l25, l 34
Origin, 34, 35, 37n, 38, 45, 64, 72,
l OO, l O7n, l O9, l l O, l l 9, l 24,
l 28, l32n, l 33, l 35
Ostcnsivcs, l 2 l n
Oystcr, l 2 l n
Painting, l l - l 3, l 5, 79
Pa|lrcy, l 22n
Pa|conymy, l O, l 7, 34
Parcrgon, 8, l 4- l 5, 22-23
Passion, 79,8 l , 99, l 35
Pcrccption, l 6- l 7 , 48n,7 l -72, 76, 77,
78n, 8 l , 94-95,96n, 97n, l O7 ,
l O9, l l O, l 23, l 32
Phcnomcno|ogy,
olpcrccption, 96n
olthcthingsthcmsc|vcs , 33
Phcnomcnon, 33, 34
Philosophcmc, l 5, 62
Phi|osophcrs,natural ghstcten) , 74n,
75
]ht/osqhto ]rote, 34
Phi|osophy, 7, 2O-2 l , 29, 4O, 4 l , 55,
56, 6On, 62, 98, 98n, l O5, l 27,
l 32
rst, l 7, 34-36
olanaIogy, 74
ol|anguagc,36, 46
Physical scicncc, 79
Physics, 38, 4 l , 75, 79n, l 24n, l 25n
Pisto|-ba||, l 22n
P|agiarism, l 2On, l 28n-29n
Play, l O2
P|casurc, l 3 l -32, l 34
Poct,poctry,4l -42, l 26
Po|itics, l5
Port-Roya|, l 29n
Practica|, 99, l O6, l 27n
Practicc,]rats , 29, 35, 39, l OO, l O l ,
l 26n
Prclacc, 2, 5- l O
Prcscncc,prcscntobcct, 76, 95, 97n,
l OO, l O7n, l l O, l l l , l 28, l 3O,
l 3 l , l 32, l 32n
]rtmum mo:ens , l4
PrincipIc,29, 34, 35, 38, 4 l , 47, 54,
55, 58n, 65, 74n, 8O, 84, 86, 9 l ,
93, 98, l OO, l O5, l l 2, l 25n,
l 26n, l 3 l
o l analogy, 8 l , 83
olcvidcncc, 8O
olthc principlc, l 32
Proc|us, l 2 l n
Progrcss(ion) , 4O, 42, 54, 55, 67, 84,
85, 92, l O9, l l 0, l l 2, l 33
olart olrcasoning, l 26
ol|anguagc, 66, 7 l , 78, 79, l O9- l O
ol scicncc, 43
Propcr, l l 2
Propcrty,8O-8 l , l O8, l l 2
Proposition,
I 4 I
lrivolous, l 2On-28n, l 22 , l 23
idcntica|,43, 44,45, 46, 8O-8 l , l l 7,
l l 9, l 2On, l 22, l 23, l 32
ollact , l 23n
Prosc,4 l , l 26
Psychoanalysis,48
Psycho|ogism, 6O
Psychology,4O, 79, 8 l , l OO
Rationa|ism, 58
Rcading, 2-3, l O- l l , l 6, 22, 49,
53-6O, 87, 96n-98n, 99, l O8, l O9,
l 2On, l 2 l , l 24n
Condi||acs rcrcadingolLsso, l O6,
l l O- l 3
dcconstructivc rcadingolLsso,
72-79
Dcrrida's rcading, 9l , l l 8
intcrnal rcading olLsso , l l 7
Rcason, 82, 9 l , 98, l O5, l 24, l 25n
Rcasoning, art ol, 4 l , 63 , l 3O
Rclcrcnt, l l 8
Rccction, 38-39,4O, 45-46,54, 56,
72, 78n, 8 l , 85, 9l , 92n, 97n,
l 28n
Rccctivity,63
^DLX
Rcmark(ing)(remorquer) (A|soscc
Supp|y) ,96-97,96n-98n, 99, l OO,
l O2, l O5, l O9, l 2 l , l 2 l n, l 23,
l 24, l 26n
supp|ying, (remorque su_/eonte) 99
Rcmaindcr(reste) , 8, l O, l l 5, l 2O
Rcmcmbrancc, 97n
Rcminisccncc,72, 78n
Rcpctiion, l 3, 42-43, 59, 7 l , 73, 76,
99, l l O, l 2, l 28n, l 3O, l 3 l , l 32
Rcprcscntation, scmanti c, l l 9
Rcprcscntativcncss oFidca, l O6-O7,
l O7n
reste SccRcmaindcr
Rctracc(retrocer) , 34, 35, 4O, 7l -72,
76, 92, 95, l OO
Rhctoric,47, l OO, l l 9, l 28
Romancc (romn) , 78-79, 79n
Rousscau,]can-]acqucs, 5, l l 7, l l 7n
Said, Ldward,4
Samc, 8O, l l 7
ho|astic,6On
Scicncc,22, 34, 35, 38, 4O, 4l -42, 45,
48n, 55, 57, 6 l , 62, 63, 64, 65,
66, 82, 83, 85, 87n, l O l , l O2,
l O3, l 25n-26n
critical scicncc oF|imits , 33
doub|c, l O
gcncra| , 33
history ol, 39, 44, 47, l OO
originol, 64
Scmio|ogy, 56, 93, l OO, l O2
Scmiotics , l 8, 94, l l 2- l 3, l l 9
Scmiotism, 46
Scnsation, l 7- l 8, 45, 56, 78n, 8 l ,
87n, 96, 97, 99, l O5, l O7, l O7n,
l 3 l
Scnsationalism, 29, 53 98
Scnsc (sens) , 87n, l O9, l l 7, l l 8, l 33
primitivc, 74-75, 87n
Scnscs,64, 8 l , l O6, l 29
Scnsibility, thc scnsiblc,49n, 55, 58,
64, 8 l , l O4, l 28
Scrious, l 27
Sight, l O6, l O7n, l 29
Sign, l 8, 2O, 36, 45, 46-47, 48n, 57,
7 l , 76, 78n, 8 l , 84, 87n, 89,
92-97, 92n-93n, 98n, 99, l OO,
l O l , l O3 , l O4, l O9, l l O- l 3 ,
l l 7-2O, l 24, l 27, l 32-35
history oFsignsystcm, 65
ncccssityol, l O4, 1 1
philosophy oF, l l 9
thrcc kindsoF, l l O- l 3
Signaturc, l O8
Signication, 97, l l O, l 27n, l 28
Signicd, l l 7
Signicr, l l 7- l 9, l 24, l 28
Si|vcr, l 22n
Sin(original) , 64, l 24
Smcaring(so/tssure) , l l - l 5, l6
Smc||, l O7n
Scratcs, l 26n
So|idity, l O7n
Sou|(/'cm) , 38, 43-44,45, 58n, 64,
75, 79, 8 l , 93, 94, 95, 96n, l O7n,
l O9, l l O- l l , l l 2 , l 24n, l 25n,
l 26n, l 29-3O, l 34-35
Spacing, l 32
Spcaking, l OO, l O l , l O2, l 22, l 24
Spirit(es]rtt) , 29, 33, 38, 39, 4 l , 43,
62, 66, 67, 72, 75, 82, 9 l , 92, 94,
l O5 , l 2O, l 22n, l 29n
crcativc, 6l
Spinoza, Baruch, 29
Spivak, Gayatri, 2-3, l O, l 8
Statuc, 56, 6O, 98-99, l 3 l , l 32n, l 35
Stoncgrre) , l 32n, l 34, l 35
Stylc, l 25, l 26
Suarcz, l 25n
Substancc, 34, 56, l O5, l 24n, l 25n,
l 26n
Supply(ing) , supp|cmcnt(ing)
(su_/eer, su]]/ement) (A|soscc
Rcmark) , 8, l 9-2O, 36, 73, 76,
l OO-O2, l O3, l 28, l 32, l 33, l 34
supplcmcnting(su]]/eonce) , 92
rcmarking supp|cmcntation
(su_/eonce remcrquonte) , l O l
Surp|us , l O l , l O2, l O3
Synonym, 87n, l 2O, l 33
Synthcsis,a priori, l 2O
1ab|c,48, 48n, l 32
1a|cnt,6 l , 66
1astc, l O7n
1axonomy, 48, 62
I 42
1cachng, l 5, 6O, 6On, l 23n

1clco|ogy, l O8-O9, l l O, l l 2- l 3, l 28,
l 33
1cxt, 2-3, l 2, l 3- l 4, l 6, l 9, 23,

47-48, 49, 59, 73, l O8, l l 7
1hcology, 34-35, l 24n, l 27n
1hcophrastus, 35
1hcorythcorctica|, 29, 34, 39, 4O,
48, 54, 56, 63, 65, 92, l O l , l O2,
l 26n, l 27n, l 28n
mctaphoristic thcory oF|anguagc,
74
1imc, 66, 76, 95, 96, l l 8, l 25n, l 28,
l 3 l , l32, l 32n, l5
1okcn, l O2-O3, l l 8- l 9
1orok, Maria, 4, 5
1ouch, l O6, l O7, l O7n, l 29
1racc, 97n
1racy, 54
1radc, l O2-O3
1rai|, markcdout, 4l -43
1rai|blazing.Scc [moge
1riang|c, l 22n, l 24n
^DLX
l 43
1ruth, 4 l , 77, 8O, 85, 94, l 22, l 22n,
l 25n, l 29n
moral, l 23n
oFpurcrcason, l 23n-24n
1wombly, Cy, l l - l 2, l 3, l 5
Unconsciousncss, 96n-97n
Undcrstanding(entendement) , 42-44,
45, 68n, 8 l , 95, 96n, l 29
Univcrsity, 6O
Usclcss, l O3, l l 8 l 2 l
Vai n, l l 8, l l 9
Va|uc, l OO-O l , l O3-O4
Vcctor-ing(:ectton) , l 3 l , l 3 l n, l 32
Vo|tairc, F. M. A. , 29, 79, 79n
Wi||, 44, 57, 95, l 29
Word (mot) , 36, 66, 74, 8 l , 97n,
l O2-O3, l 2On, l 23, l 25n, l 27,
l 35
Wrtng, 2, l O, l 2, l 3, l 5, l 8, l 9, 2O,
2 l -22, 9 l , 98n, l OO, l O9, l 25-27

The Archaeology of The Frivolous Derrida

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Archaeology of The Frivolous Derrida

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

DuuesneStudiesI/i/oso/ico/Se:ies

i nscribi ng oF 'rc+dcr( s) , 'wri tcr( s), and |angu+gc rs

Dcrridamakcsc|car, thattc Fu|F||cdconccptthccndo

tati on. 1hcn bcgins thc rcign oF

us paradoxcs, oF Frivolous turns , oFFar-Fctchcd cxprcs-

u1CHuCO!O_\ HHOS IHC [OIHI O\ Du!uHCC O\ IIS uHu!\SIS IH

THE FCHEOLOCI OF THE FF!|OLO|S

ordmcans. Aristot| c, thinkingtocrcatcascicncc,

in Aristotlc` s hrst philosophy is as wcll an uncon-

blc wcrc caught up in a total adcquation. ' And Farthcr

acr an|agenests as thc

l opposition, to bc surc (and cvcn oldcr than a

CENI|S'S DEFEFFED CTION

opcration to which history has ~as it happcns submittcd thcm.

htstoryisitsclFrcprcscntcdby thc historyoFthc univcrsity. 1hc manncroF

p losophybcgins tointroducc itsclFthcrc, itishaving

ssblc. l do not prctcnd that thc manncr oF tcaching is as Faulty as i n thc

bandon still morc . . .

sclvcs.Can wcprcsumcthc proFcssors will rcnounccwhat thcy think

cpcndsoni magination than imagination has thc

THE FCHEOLOCI OF THE FFI|OLO|S

morc arbitrary, butrcmarkthatthcy sccmtobc|csss

Notwithouthavingposcd-toordcrourrcading, thatis ,to

thc Essa, and pcrtai ns to i ts arrival in Hts/otre

wc nusi cIc abovc aII ioihc 7tte des s,stemes . +hc

| y, onc aFtcr thc othcr, thc qua|itics it attributcs to

oFthcidcas which thc statuc acquircs ! donotc|ai

on| y practica| cognitions. A||

ca|| ymstmct , that is to say, thc habitoF

unt. )hishabit , oncccontractcd,guidcsitsurc|y, with-

Ce;dillac si mul tancously Forcwarns agai nst a scnio

Condillackcptthccasctns/ance]oFthcsignin its placc,in

vouringto makcdiscovcrics , orinstructing

ap orFraction. All the negativity subect to the

oFihc iucniicaIs nakcnc:occcu, b:iuIc inhanu,ihcnccFo:ih,wh

ui ihc siIcncc oFihis ancicniconncniaio: suFbcicniIy

THE FCHEOLOCI OF THE FFI|OLO|S

4. Ph. IknowiiandI scccIcaIyihaiihcynaybcaIicdwiihn

us.uiiiisvcyusc!uIon cciain occasionsand nakcsoncusiIy

hysics is thcscience oFbcing in gcncra| , which cxplains thc principlcs and

s, ctc. , andcvcni ncthics,uponthcnaturcoFthcwi|landthcprinciplcsoF

maysay thatnatura/theo/og, comprisingtwoparts ,thcorctical

tice,andhowcvcrs pccrousthcscandothcrpropositionssomctimcsappcaratF rst

an archcological intcrprctation oF thc Frivolous |ut also t

Fcc| , lcc|ing(senttr, senttment) , 38-39,

1cachng, l 5, 6O, 6On, l 23n

1cxt, 2-3, l 2, l 3- l 4, l 6, l 9, 23,

You might also like