Jamesonian

--- by JLS
----- for the Grice Club.

--- FOR SOME ODD REASON, I have not been able to post this below under thread to J. K.'s post, "Jameson", so I'm attaching it here. Thanks.

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JLS

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Thanks, Jason. Have just checked "Jameson" with the wiki. He was born in the same hills (Cleveland, Yorkshire) as Butler (Ohio). So that may be a link. "Philosophers born in the Clevelands -- cfr. the Cotswolds).

I will provide a running commentary along Gricean lines. We want to see if Jameson, who studied in Aix-en-Provence, Berlin, Muenchen and Yale under Auerbach has forgotten his Cleveland roots, and is flouting (unconsciously) some of the maxims (c) Grice. (Try to avoid "Griceian" as applied to 'maxim' -- he don't [sic] own them).

Jameson wrote in his 1981 bestseller (8,765 copies this far) with Cornell (that Kennedy owns). I will bold-type the keywords of what we call the "Jamesonian" (apres Jameson) style -- his PhD Yale was: "Sartre: the style, the man".

Mechanical [read: economical] causality [cfr. causation] is thus [conventional implicatum marker of conclusion of syllogism] less a concept which might be evaluated on its own [self-same. JLS] terms, than one of the various laws and subsystems of our peculiarly reified [literally: made real, from Latin res: a piece of stuff. JLS] social and cultural life. Nor is its [sc. 'mechanical causation's] occasional experience [in its own self-same terms. JLS] without benefit for the cultural critic [but is rather within her benefit. JLS], for whom the scandal of the extrinsic comes as a salutary [yet unwelcome, on occasion. JLS] reminder of the ultimately material [hence the 'materiality' of the causation. JLS] base [or basis, if you must. JLS] of cultural production [cfr. above reference to our 'cultural' life -- and Kramer on 'culturism'. JLS], and of the 'determination of consciousness by social being.' [this is a quote -- by Althusser. Unless otherwise indicated, all quotes are (c) Althusser -- or (c) The Trustees of Althusser, rather. Since he committed suicide, no? JLS]. It must therefore [again, marker, along with 'thus' of conclusion to syllogism] be objected [but not re-jected. JLS], to ALTHUSSER's ideological analysis of the 'concept' of [the afore-mentioned subject in the first clause to this paragraph, to wit:] mechanical causality, that this unsatisfactory category [but with some benefits, though. JLS] is not merely a form of false consciousness or error [or mistake, if you must. JLS], but also a symptom of objective [yet not reified. JLS] contradictions that are still [but for no much longer, we trust -- this as per implicatum of 'still'. Cfr. 'stillborn'. JLS] with us [majestic 'we'. Jameson. JLS]. This said [and nonetheless implicated, too. JLS], it is also clear [where 'it' is the rain. JLS] that that it [i.e. the rain. JLS] is the Second Form of Efficacy ALTHUSSER enumerates [second in the list, as it happens. JLS], so-called [by ALTHUSSER 'expressive' [i.e. non 'mechanical' merely. JLS] causality,' which is the polemic heart [or the hearty polemos, or battle, rather. JLS] of his [viz. ALTHUSSER'S. JLS] argument as well as the more vital [or life-giving. JLS] issue [or affair, as in current affair. JLS] (and burning temptation [unless burned by yielding to it. JLS]) in cultural [cfr. Kramer, 'culturism'. JLS] criticism today [March 26, 1981. The paperback came in June. JLS]. The conter-slogan [from Scots 'slo-gan', a graffito in kilts. JLS] of 'totalization' [and totalitarianism. Vide "ALTHUSSER". JLS] cannot be the immediate [cfr. the Dodo: "I move the meeting adjourn, for the immediate adoption of more energetic remedies. JLS] response to ALTHUSSER's critique of [the aforementioned] 'expressive' [i.e. not yet 'mechanical. JLS] causality,' if for no other reason that [this same-self reason, which seems reasonable enough. JLS] totalization [now without scare quotes. JLS] is itself numbered [or enumerated. JLS] among the approaches stigmatized [or scandalised, if you must. JLS] by this term [sc. 'totalization'. JLS], which range [singular verb form: subject: approaches, rather than range. JLS] from the various [and 'varied'. JLS] conceptions of the world-views [Weltanschauungen if you must. JLS] or period styles [cfr. Jameson, PhD Yale, Le style du Sartre -- Jameson teaches Romance liteature at Duke] of a given historical moment([Hypolite] Taine [author of "A Short History of British Literature"], [Jack] Riegl, [Herbert] Spengler [of the Decay or Waning of the West], [Nathalie] Goldmann) [cfr. Kennedy on the 'historical avant garde', only different. JLS, :)] all the [long. JLS] way to [Tipperary. JLS and] contemporary [i.e. today's. JLS] structural or [or both. JLS] post-structural efforts [by people. JLS] at modelling the dominant [vide BUTLER HEGEMONIC. JLS] episteme [from the Greek, 'episteme'. JLS] of [a] sign-system [semiosis. Morris. JLS] of this or that [or th'other. JLS] historical period -- i.e. not in the mathematical sense of 'period'. JLS], as in [Mike] Foucault, Deleuze-Gattari, Yurii Lottman, or the theorists of the consumer society (most notably Jean Baudrillard). [and less notably my aunt. The maternal one. She spends hours at the supermarket. JLS]