Thursday, January 27, 2011

The Infinite and the Indefinite

You need to distinguish between the indefinite and the infinite. The indefinite is the bad infinite. It is the infinite of capitalism, the endless repetition of the present. What is the other infinite? It is the infinite as the emptying of the future into the present, the explosion of time. As though water would flow back into a pouring vessel until it bursts.


In the indefinite, the future is merely what persists. It is the endless repetition of the present without change or difference. The infinite future, on the other hand, is the creative power of the present. The present as a productive ontological power; the new, as opposed to the endless repetition of the same.


You need to distinguish between fate and redemption. Fate is synonymous with cynicism. Dead time and cynicism belong together. Time is at the heart of all moods. The time of cynicism is the endless repetition of the present. What will happen has already happened and will happen again. This is why it is fatalistic. Why bother with anything since it has already happened. The difference between fate and redemption is both one of time and moods. The time of redemption is one of the future to come, as opposed to the endless dead repetition of the present, and its mood is one of hope, rather than cynicism.