Democracy Today.indb - Universidade do Minho

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DEMOCRACY TODAY
possible without denying the real possibility and threat of nihilism,
I wish to use the analogy of the writer’s writing. Why this analogy? I
see two arguments for it. First, writing has to do with language, with
building signifying systems and discourses, and it therefore stands
close to the language and discourse-based theory of Laclau and Mouffe.
Second, analogy must be used in order to broaden the horizon of the
problem, because in Mouffe’s and Laclau’s philosophy we are simply
left with a tension, and there are few, if any, clues towards a solution.
Analogy is an important tool for solving problems, although we should
also be aware of its limits. Analogy is never a literal translation of the
problem to be solved. In the same way, the analogical answer cannot
be interpreted as a literal answer, but instead must be conceived as a
direction in which we should search for an answer.
I use the analogy of a writer’s writing because I think the writer is
constantly confronted with the impossible possibility of writing itself.
The possibility of writing can only exist through the final impossibility
of writing. A writer never succeeds in writing the Ultimate Book
which contains everything he ever wanted to say or that ever can be
said. The writer’s writing never comes to an end. And, if it ever came
to an end, writing itself would no longer be possible. A writer can
only continue to write by virtue of the ever-unfinished nature of his
activity. [19] This is a necessary consequence of the nature of art itself.
Art always seeks to capture the infinite in a finite object – whether it be
a picture, a poem or a symphony. [20] The infinite can only be captured
through the finite, yet, of course, the finite can never fully capture the
infinite. If we are blinded by the illusion of fully capturing the infinite
through the finite, then the infinite as such disappears.
This same idea is present in Blanchot’s interpretation of the myth
of Orpheus and Eurydice. In this myth, Orpheus is offered the chance
to recover his deceased lover Eurydice from the underworld. Hades
was thrilled by the way Orpheus sung about his lost Eurydice, and that
is why Orpheus had the opportunity to get Eurydice back. But Hades
set one condition: Orpheus was not allowed to look back at Eurydice
while he guided her out of the underworld. Only in broad daylight could
19
Critchley (2004) 36.
20
Compare to Badiou (2005) 37.