Category: Authors
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The Privatization of the Future and Human Essence
Introduction In his work Neuromancer (1984, 17), William Gibson explains that the economy of the future is experienced as “a constant subliminal hum, and death the accepted punishment for laziness, carelessness, lack of grace, the failure to heed the demands of an intricate protocol.” This approach to capitalism seems to be a staple when it…
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Off the Record: FTR Coffee Corner’s Bert
From the moment I enter the 15th floor’s coffee corner, I am welcomed by the ever-warm and comforting smell of coffee. On the table lies a crossword puzzle, glasses and an empty cup. “Can I get you something?” Bert asks, holding a small stick of liquorice in the left corner of his mouth. “Coffee, please,”…
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Philosopher Abroad: Culturicide in the Shadows of the USSR
Please be aware of a trigger warning for cultural genocide and war. The war in Ukraine is entering its 16th month, and the terrifyingly destructive battles show no sign of relenting. With the Russian army launching a slaughter in their ‘fraternal’ nation, other peoples of the former Soviet Union find themselves at odds with each…
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Reviewing Owen Jones’ Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class
While discussing unfortunate misrepresentations within British society, Owen Jones’ Chavs: Dehumanization of the Working Class (2011) is highly applicable to the media coverage of working-class people in many Western societies. Jones uses the term “chav” (2011) as symbolic of the most common portrayal of the working class – comparable to the derogatory Dutch epithet, “tokkie”.…
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Dying for God?
On how Dutch media influences the imagery of ‘IS women.’ ‘We have an insatiable desire for classification, for through it we create the world. Power, true power, is held not by those with the largest bank accounts or the strongest military, but by those who give us the words with which to view the world.’…
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What Gary Lachman Taught Me About Surrendering To Myself
Gary Lachman, Rejected Knowledge: A Look At Our Other Ways of Knowing, 2015 A few weeks ago, I had the great pleasure to attend a reading group in Arnhem with a dear friend, hosted by the interdisciplinary philosophy platform “future based”. The evening was filled with the laughter of strangers, sitting muddled up on the…
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Racial Segregation in Brazil
Content Warning: This paper refers to sexual violence as a result of racism “To be an oppressor is dehumanizing and anti-human in nature, as it is to be a victim” (hooks, 2015). In this quote, the author bell hooks shows how the subjugation of an individual or a group is a way of excluding them…
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Friedrich Nietzsche en de luxe van Epicurus
Inleiding Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) was naast filosoof ook getalenteerd filoloog. [1. Een taalkundige die zich specialiseert in oude en dode talen.] In 1869 werd hij als 24-jarige benoemd tot hoogleraar klassieke filologie aan de universiteit van Bazel. Antieke denkers hebben dan ook een grote invloed gehad op het denken van Nietzsche. Er is in de…
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The Metaphysics of Techno
Imagine you are standing in a dark night club, surrounded by hundreds of people dancing ferociously to an amalgamation of synthesizers and drum machines beating together in rhythmic unity. The atmosphere is ecstatic and vibrant in the sort of way that makes you temporarily forget about your life outside the walls of the club. You…
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Editorial
This edition is, I think, the most special edition I have worked on in my time as editor-in-chief, as it is both our annual theme edition as well as the issue that completes our 50th anniversary. On the 15th of September 2022, Splijtstof turned 50 years old. To celebrate this monumental achievement, the editorial team…