Apocalypse as Limit of Signification

Bamberg Apocalypse - Dragon Pursuing Woman In Wilderness (Commons)

The Apocalypse is the limit of signification. For the western mind there can be no beyond it, no possible emotional commitment can be found in anything but the twin Janus faces of the apocalypse: revelation or destruction; the one looking ahead, the other drowning all possible futures in the abyss. Ours is a culture that… Continue reading Apocalypse as Limit of Signification

Happy 200th Birthday Socialist Richard Wagner

Caricature of Wagner by Karl Clic in the Viennese satirical magazine, Humoristische Blätter (1873).

An Introductory Note As I edit this article, in a world where the socialism that Richard Wagner fought for may have achieved gigantic global proportions, and perhaps should deserve a name more fitting to its real nature (since humanity seems now to be the enemy), I wonder what the revolutionary, some say “terrorist” genius that… Continue reading Happy 200th Birthday Socialist Richard Wagner

Routine is not Revelatory – Destruction in the Book of Revelation

The usual associations of the Book of Revelation with plague and destruction can hardly be called a mystery and less of all a revelation. The exploits of the dragon and the beast are sadly commonplace and a daily occurrence there to be seen for those who care to look: either the beast behaves like men… Continue reading Routine is not Revelatory – Destruction in the Book of Revelation