Project at AIAS

In this book project, I consider the unexplored European tradition of philosophical commentary on the communicative practices of mass society, especially insofar as this commentary can be shown to inform ongoing discussions of collective life in the digital age.  In particular, “The Chattering Mind” traces the conceptual history of ordinary conversation as it stretches from Søren Kierkegaard’s inaugural theory of “chatter” (snak) to Martin Heidegger’s resurgent account of “idle talk” (Gerede) to Jacques Lacan’s culminating treatment of “empty speech” (parole vide)—and ultimately into our digital present, where “small talk” has become the basis for “big data.”