Penser le Cthulhucène et son géotraumatisme : le cas Cyclonopedia de Reza Negarestani

In Iranian philosopher Reza Negarestani’s Cyclonopedia: Complicity with Anonymous Materials (2008), concepts by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari intersect with the cosmic deities imagined by H.P. Lovecraft, occult Zoroastrian relics explain John Carpenter’s horrific science fiction imagination, and...

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Main Author: Fabien Richert
Format: Article
Language:fra
Published: Université de Limoges 2023-06-01
Series:ReS Futurae
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/resf/11931
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author Fabien Richert
author_facet Fabien Richert
author_sort Fabien Richert
collection DOAJ
description In Iranian philosopher Reza Negarestani’s Cyclonopedia: Complicity with Anonymous Materials (2008), concepts by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari intersect with the cosmic deities imagined by H.P. Lovecraft, occult Zoroastrian relics explain John Carpenter’s horrific science fiction imagination, and develop a most extravagant hypothesis: oil, a “tellurian entity” imprisoned in the deep layers and formations of the earth, has been waiting for a long time to be released from the depths of the earth and to spread into the atmosphere. Negarestani’s work presents oil as the real subject of history, humanity as its host, the industrial revolution as its point of no return. The esoteric allure and sophistication of the argument, set against a backdrop of conspiracy theories, draws the reader into a paranoid delusion marked by a conspiracy fomented on a quasi-cosmic scale: the burning of oil, seen as a fundamental step in its own “satanic agenda”, is the key moment from which it can spread into the atmosphere. Capitalism extended to a global scale is then seen as the most adequate solution to the uninterrupted burning of fossil fuels. In this article, we would like to reflect on the contributions of Negarestani’s work to the field of climate fictions. We will begin by presenting his geophilosophical dimension before returning in more detail to his imaginary world under the influence of an evil entity. We will then show how Cyclonopedia presents itself as a speculative climate fiction that adopts a neo-materialist perspective inspired by the approach of speculative realism.
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spelling doaj-art-c2a467b6cab043479e26f5c4b3d66b502025-01-06T10:43:05ZfraUniversité de LimogesReS Futurae2264-69492023-06-012110.4000/resf.11931Penser le Cthulhucène et son géotraumatisme : le cas Cyclonopedia de Reza NegarestaniFabien RichertIn Iranian philosopher Reza Negarestani’s Cyclonopedia: Complicity with Anonymous Materials (2008), concepts by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari intersect with the cosmic deities imagined by H.P. Lovecraft, occult Zoroastrian relics explain John Carpenter’s horrific science fiction imagination, and develop a most extravagant hypothesis: oil, a “tellurian entity” imprisoned in the deep layers and formations of the earth, has been waiting for a long time to be released from the depths of the earth and to spread into the atmosphere. Negarestani’s work presents oil as the real subject of history, humanity as its host, the industrial revolution as its point of no return. The esoteric allure and sophistication of the argument, set against a backdrop of conspiracy theories, draws the reader into a paranoid delusion marked by a conspiracy fomented on a quasi-cosmic scale: the burning of oil, seen as a fundamental step in its own “satanic agenda”, is the key moment from which it can spread into the atmosphere. Capitalism extended to a global scale is then seen as the most adequate solution to the uninterrupted burning of fossil fuels. In this article, we would like to reflect on the contributions of Negarestani’s work to the field of climate fictions. We will begin by presenting his geophilosophical dimension before returning in more detail to his imaginary world under the influence of an evil entity. We will then show how Cyclonopedia presents itself as a speculative climate fiction that adopts a neo-materialist perspective inspired by the approach of speculative realism.https://journals.openedition.org/resf/11931Deleuze (Gilles)Guattari (Félix)climate fictionnew materialismcli-fiNegarestani (Reza)
spellingShingle Fabien Richert
Penser le Cthulhucène et son géotraumatisme : le cas Cyclonopedia de Reza Negarestani
ReS Futurae
Deleuze (Gilles)
Guattari (Félix)
climate fiction
new materialism
cli-fi
Negarestani (Reza)
title Penser le Cthulhucène et son géotraumatisme : le cas Cyclonopedia de Reza Negarestani
title_full Penser le Cthulhucène et son géotraumatisme : le cas Cyclonopedia de Reza Negarestani
title_fullStr Penser le Cthulhucène et son géotraumatisme : le cas Cyclonopedia de Reza Negarestani
title_full_unstemmed Penser le Cthulhucène et son géotraumatisme : le cas Cyclonopedia de Reza Negarestani
title_short Penser le Cthulhucène et son géotraumatisme : le cas Cyclonopedia de Reza Negarestani
title_sort penser le cthulhucene et son geotraumatisme le cas cyclonopedia de reza negarestani
topic Deleuze (Gilles)
Guattari (Félix)
climate fiction
new materialism
cli-fi
Negarestani (Reza)
url https://journals.openedition.org/resf/11931
work_keys_str_mv AT fabienrichert penserlecthulhuceneetsongeotraumatismelecascyclonopediaderezanegarestani