SITUATIONISM

deadcity12 · Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2004 11:41 am Post subject: SITUATIONISM

i'm trying to get a grasp on situationist thought lately. i think that i might be looking to deeply at it. something about grasping it's essence seems ellusive to me. i just finished Guy Dubord's "Society of the Spectacle" and am currently reading Vaneigem's "The Revolution of Everyday Life". i also feel that i lack sufficient knowledge of marx and other radical theorists, and the history of radical movements---along with a lot of other references from those texts that go right over my head.

anyway, has anyone else read these or anything else i might find useful?

also, any opinions on this stuff?

i'm also a bit unsure about what "situationism" actually is. it seems like a vague term--kind of like existentialism--that is misapplied at times.

deadcity12 · Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 10:51 am Post subject: Re: SITUATIONISM

uhh, ok thanks for the input. is this in the wrong forum? are you guys offended that i mis-spelled a few things?

anyway, here are some definitions from the Situationist International

"Definitions
by SI 1958
------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------

constructed situation

A moment of life, concretely and deliberately constructed by the collective organization of unitary environment and the free play of events.

situationist

Relating to the theory or practical activity of constructing situations. One who engages in the construction of situations. A member of the Situationist International.

situationism

A word totally devoid of meaning, improperly derived from the preceding term. There is no situationism, which would mean a theory of interpretation of existing facts. The notion of situationism was obviously conceived by anti-situationists.

psychogeography

The study of the precise effects of geographical setting, consciously managed or not, acting directly on the mood and behaviour of the individual.

psychogeographical

Relating to psychogeography. That which manifests the direct effect of geographical setting on mood.

psychogeographer

One who studies and reports on psychogeographical realities.

dérive

An experimental mode of behavior linked to the conditions of urban society: a technique for hastily passing through varied environments. Also used, more particularly, to designate the duration of a prolonged exercise of such an experiment.

unitary urbanism

The theory of the combined use of art and technology leading to the integrated construction of an environment dynamically linked to behavioural experiments.

détournement

Used as an abbreviation for the formula: détournement of prefabricated aesthetic elements. The integration of past or present artistic production into a superior environmental construction. In this sense, there cannot be situationist painting, or music, but a situationist use of these media. In a more primitive sense, détournement from within old cultural spheres is a form of propaganda, which lays witness to the depletion and waning importance of these spheres.

culture

The reflection and prefiguration at any given historical moment, of the possible organization of daily life; the complex of mores, aesthetic, and feelings by which a collective reacts to a life which is objectively given to it by its economy. (We define this term only from the perspective of the creation of values, and not of their teaching.)

decomposition

The process by which traditional cultural forms have destroyed themselves, under the effects of the appearance of superior means of dominating nature, permitting and requiring superior cultural constructions. We distinguish between an active phase of decomposition, effective demolition of older superstructures -- which ends around 1930 -- and a phase of repetition, which has dominated since then. The delay in passing from decomposition to new constructions is tied to the delay in the revolutionary liquidation of capitalism "

RickU · Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2004 6:41 pm Post subject: Re: SITUATIONISM

Sorry Dead, it's a complicated issue and I haven't taken the time to respond. I promise I will though. I HAVE been thinking about it. When I work out a decent response. Promise.

In Vino Veritas

RickU · Posted: Thu Oct 14, 2004 6:43 pm Post subject: Re: SITUATIONISM

I think that what this breaks down to is the same thing as moral relativism. The argument is as follows:

Absolute morality breaks down in the face of different situations.

Absolute morality: The idea that a specific action is right or wrong no matter what.

Situationalism or moral relativism is, as I see it, a more realistic approach to morality.

I'll give an easy example. Killing. If I were to ask the question, "Is killing a human being wrong?" The bulk of the answers would be, "Yes". There would also be people that say, "No", and "It depends."

Situationalism is the ,"It depends" answer.

And if you examine it in this narrow example, you'll see why. There are times when it's necessary to kill another human being! My life is worth more than any being's life that is trying to take my life. There are those that would say that this position is wrong...that NO human life can be taken without compromising yourself.

This is the crux of the Situationalism argument.

Let's narrow our scope a little more. Let's make it killing in general. (The Wiccans main tenant is "Harm Nothing".) Let's establish that killing, in any form, is wrong. You cannot survive with this tenant, I realize...but it serves the greater argument. You cannot live as a human without killing things. You kill the things that you eat whether they're animal or vegetable. (or someone else does for you) But in the face of the simple statement, "Killing is wrong", is the fact that in some cases it is the only option.

I hope this is what you were looking for, and I apologize my answer has taken so long.

In Vino Veritas


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