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emblematic of our notion of the freedom of speech, his
dismissal of writing and art sounds very familiar, very
now, particularly to anyone searching for truth in art.
We can see the correlation between Postmodernism (no
truth, no meaning), popular culture (no error), and the
ancient philosophers’ dismissal of art. It is attractive as
there is another correlation, perhaps the most important:
both are also liberations. In each case, freedom is
granted to those previously enslaved to truth. Writers
can let their imagination run wild; there is no comeback.
Instead of celebrating or lamenting this development,
Blanchot considers the silence of the gods revealed
in the written word. He wonders what it is that
disarms Plato and Socrates so much that they deny it
is even relevant, and compels us, their descendants,
to fill the empty space with reductive theories: social,
psychological, post-colonial. For a possible answer,
he turns to Heraclitus, the first poet-philosopher,
pre-dating Socrates, the first rationalist. In one of
his enigmatic fragments, Heraclitus says the oracle
“neither speaks out nor conceals, but points”. From
this Blanchot deduces that the “language in which the
origin speaks is essentially prophetic.” However, he
clarifies the final word:
“This does not mean that it dictates future events, it
means that it does not base itself on something which
already is … It points toward the future, because it does
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not yet speak, and is language of the future to the extent
that it is like a future language which is always ahead of
itself, having its meaning and legitimacy only before it,
which is to say that it is fundamentally without justification.”
(trans. Leslie Hill)
It does not base itself on something which already
is. This could be the cry of the opponents of the kind
of literature that does not engage with current events
or familiar social relations, and where the style,
language and subject matter – or lack of it – resists
the utility of common understanding. Is modern
literature, then, prophetic?
The nature of the question means the answer cannot
be stated as such, only experienced. The moment it is
answered, the language of the future is negated and
drawn into Socrates’ dialogue of utility. However, this
is not to distinguish experience and literature. Contrary
to popular opinion, literature is intimate with daily experience.
Blanchot puts it this way:
“Upon the background noise constituted by our
knowledge of the world’s daily course, which precedes,
accompanies, and follows in us all knowledge,
we cast forth, walking or sleeping, phrases that
are punctuated by questions. Murmuring questions.
What are they worth? What do they say? These are
still more questions.” (trans. Susan Hanson)
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