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Introduction to Nick Land's Philosophy

Apr 13, 2025

Lecture Notes: Introduction to Nick Land Course by David McCarrier

Overview

  • Instructor: David McCarrier
  • Platform: Theory Underground website and app
  • Course Focus: Introduction to Nick Land, taught by Michael DS
  • Lecture Date: Recent recording

Course Context

  • Theory Underground serves as an educational platform hosting various philosophy courses.
  • Most courses require membership or payment, but this lecture is offered as a free resource or "taste" of the platform's offerings.
  • Michael DS: Recognized for his clear explanations of philosophical concepts from a range of thinkers.

Course Content

Introduction to Nick Land

  • Nick Land: A British philosopher known for his controversial and radical ideas.
  • The course will explore Land's thoughts, especially related to philosophy, capitalism, and the future.
  • Divides philosophical thought between humanistic/existential/phenomenological tradition and posthuman/vitalistic pro-metaphysics philosophy.
  • Discusses the philosophical divide between negation/lack versus affirmation/positivity.

Land's Influence and Relevance

  • Controversial Figure: Seen by some as a philosophical boogeyman or radical thinker.
  • Influence on Modern Theory: Accelerationism, speculative realism, and xenofeminism trace back to Land.
  • Theory Fiction: Land and the CCRU pioneered this genre, blending theory with narrative fiction.
  • Impact on Politics: Understanding Land is necessary to grasp the roots of some contemporary political movements like the Neo-Reactionary movement and Dark Enlightenment.

Philosophy Background

  • Philosophical Trajectory: Traces a lineage from Kant to contemporary thought.
  • Libidinal Materialism: Land's philosophical lineage includes thinkers like Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Deleuze and Guattari.
  • Two Camps: Humanistic idealism vs. libidinal materialism.
    • Idealism Camp: Focused on phenomena and human experience.
    • Libidinal Materialism: Focuses on impersonal forces and the 'outside' beyond human cognition.

Lecture Structure

  • Week 1: Focuses on the metaphysical foundations of Land’s thought.
  • Week 2: Capitalism, cybernetics, and Land's mature period.
  • Week 3: Neoreactionary thought and Dark Enlightenment.
  • Week 4: Land’s occult and CCRU activities.

Key Concepts Discussed

Kant to Schopenhauer

  • Kant's Critique: Introduced the notion of transcendental conditions of experience.
  • Schopenhauer’s Will: Transition from Kant’s reason to Schopenhauer’s 'will' as the driving force.

Nietzsche’s Influence

  • Affirmation of Life: Nietzsche’s concepts of the Overman and Amor Fati, a love of fate.
  • Overcoming Humanity: Idea that humanity is a stepping stone to something greater.

Freud’s Death Drive

  • Libidinal Economy: Desiring production and unconscious forces driving human behavior.
  • Death Drive: Self-destructive forces within the psyche.

Bataille’s Excess

  • Eroticism and Death: Connection between pleasure and self-destruction.
  • Accursed Share: Concept of surplus energy beyond utility, aligning with libidinal materialism.

Deleuze and Guattari

  • Desiring Machines: Non-individualistic, impersonal flows of desire.
  • Body Without Organs: A complex metaphor for a potentiality beyond organized structures.
  • Deterritorialization and Reterritorialization: Processes of becoming, breaking free from fixed identities.

Future Speculation

  • Philosophy of the Future: Land’s work speculates on future potentials, aligning technology with human evolution and potential extinction.
  • Hyperstition: Fiction that influences reality, a concept developed by Land and CCRU.

Conclusion

  • Land's work challenges traditional philosophical boundaries, offering a radical affirmation of change and transformation.
  • Next Steps: Further exploration of Land’s texts and ideas, particularly his relationship with capitalism.

Full transcript