cavell apa address

7/31/2019 Cavell APA Address

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Something out of the OrdinaryAuthor(s): Stanley CavellSource: Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association, Vol. 71, No. 2(Nov., 1997), pp. 23-37Published by: American Philosophical AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3130939 .

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SOMETHINGOUTOF THEORDINARYStanleyCavell,Harvard niversityPresidential ddressdelivered efore heNinety-ThirdnnualEasternDivisionMeetingof The AmericanPhilosophicalAssociation n Atlanta,Georgia,December 9, 1996

Ithappens hatI lived or hefirst evenyearsof mylife n a house placedthreeorfourmiles romhesiteof thishotel,na neighborhoodntermittentlytillrecognizablerommychildhoodmagesof Atlanta.Irealized,nchoosing hematerialopresentnresponse o thehonor fdeliveringhisyear'spresidentialaddressto our division f theAmerican hilosophicalssociation,hatIwasfantasizingtas representingomefragmentfa mapbywhich ofigure ow hatdistanceand directionnto hecityand to this room an have been traveled. Iwantsuch a map,since I keep discoveringhatI haveto go backto collectbelongingshatothersmaynothavecome to careforas I have.Aconjunctionfquotations,rom extsthatwereI think mong he earliestrecognized s belongingosomebodyof work alledphilosophy,maygiveanideaof what t is Iwant otalkabout oday, nimportantartoreminisce bout.The first is from John Dewey's Construction and Criticism,dating from 1929:

As Emerson says in his essay on "Self-Reliance": "Aman shouldlearn to detect and watch that gleam of lightwhich flashes acrosshis mind from within, ... Else to-morrow a stranger will say withmasterly good sense precisely what we have thought and felt allthe time, and we shall be forced to take with shame our ownopinion from another." ... Language does not help us at this point;rather the habits of our vocabulary betray us.... To know what thewords mean we have to forget the words and become aware of theoccasions when some idea trulyour own is stirringwithin us andstriving to come to birth.

Nowonder todoa littlenitialx-grinding it s commonlyaid, nthe recentvaluable rediscoveriesor reconstructionsf Dewey's achievements, hatpragmatisms an intimateontinuationfEmersonianism.ndnowonderkeepfindinghatwhat scalledpragmatismo often trikesmeas an intimateegationof Emersonianism.ForwhileDeweytakesupthe Emersonianheme of oursuffocationyconformitynd heaccretion f unexaminedabit,Deweydiscardsthe power hatEmersonpreciselydirectsagainst ixated orm, he powerofturningurwordsagainstourwords, o make hemours(oursagain,we mightsay, as ifthingshadever beenotherwise).HowEmerson'smannernwhathecallshisessays accomplisheshis ask,andwhy, n heface ofmyknowledgefhowgrating ismanner an be tocontemporaryhilosophicalensibilities,takeit to be a modeofthinkingostwithoutakingtupas philosophy,as been aninsistenthemeof mine ora decadeanda halfnow.Thequotation conjoinwith hatfromDeweyis fromNietzsche'sBirth fTragedy, ublishedbout ixtyyearsearlier,whenDeweywas thirteenearsoldandNietzscheroughlywice hirteen.Nietzschewrote hen:- PROCEEDINGS AND ADDRESSES OF THEAPA, 71:2 - 23


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- PRESIDENTIALADDRESS OF THE EASTERN DIVISIONArt has never been so much talked about [by critics,journalists, inschools, in society] and so little esteemed. ... On the other hand,many a being more nobly and delicately endowed by nature,though he may have gradually become a critical barbarian in themanner described, might have something to say about theunexpected as well as totally unintelligibleeffect that a successfulperformance of Lohengrin, forexample, has on him- except thatperhaps there was no helpful interpretinghand to guide him; sothe incomprehensibly different and altogether incomparablesensation that thrilledhim remained isolated and, like a mysteriousstar,becameextinct ftera shortperiod fbrilliance.But t wasthen that he had an inkling f what an aesthetic listener s.(Chapter2, closing)

Nietzsche'sportraitftheunexpected ndvanishingxistenceof the aestheticlistener ecallsmetoanearly ssay in hecollectionhatmakesupmy irstbook,MustWe MeanWhatWeSay?- so muchofwhich s engaged by myneed tojustify ninterestnwhatJ.L.Austin nd he aterWittgensteiname heordinary- anessaycalled"Aestheticroblemsf Modernhilosophy,"nwhichproposethat Kant'scharacterizationf the aestheticjudgmentmodels the relevantphilosophicallaim o voice whatwe shouldordinarilyay when,and whatweshouldmean nsaying t. Themoralsthatwhilegeneralagreementwith heseclaims can be "imputed"or "demanded" by philosophers, they cannot, as in thecase of more straightforward empirical judgments, "postulate" this agreement(using Kant's terms).Iwas notable thento pressthisintuitiveonnectionery ar, orexampleosurmisewhy here houldbe thisconnection etween hearrogationf therightto speakfor othersabout he languagewe share and aboutworksof artwecannotbearnot o share. Igestured tcomparingheriskofaesthetic solationwithhatof moral rpoliticalsolation,utwhat couldnotgetat,Ithink ow,wasthefeature fthe aesthetic laim,as suggestedbyKant's escription,s a kindofcompulsionosharea pleasure, enceas tingedwith nanxietyhat he claimstands o berebuked.t s a conditionf,or hreato,thatrelationothings alledaesthetic,hat omethingknow ndcannotmake ntelligibletands obe lost ome.Experienceostormissed s what heconjunctionfmyopeningquotationsspeak about (Dewey'sof missingan originaldea strivingo get formed;Nietzsche's f losing heworld pened nart, nstancednopera),andtheyareparts fwhat sforeachwriter fundamentalriticismf hispresent ulture.Thisfact orfantasyofexperiencepassingme byis also explicitly wayinwhichIhavewished o wordmyinterestnAustin ndinthe laterWittgenstein,speciallythinkwhen heirprocedures resenthemselvesas returnings totheordinary,a placewe have neverbeen. Itseems that he more mightind heirnstancestrivial,hemorepuzzledcouldbecome hat hadnotrealized,rcouldnotretaintherealizationf,theirdiscoveries suchas, inWittgenstein,hat t s wegoonin calling something a chair, or saying that someone is expecting someone, or iswalking, rwhyIsometimesmagine difficultyverpointingothecolorofan24 - PROCEEDINGS AND ADDRESSES OF THE APA, 71:2-


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- PRESIDENTIALDDRESSOFTHEEASTERNIVISIONobject as opposed opointingo theobject).To knowhow otellsuchthings,tseems, is justto knowhowto speak. Myoblivion f themcame to strikeme,intermittently,otexactlyas revealingmy ife o be unexamined,utas missedbyme,lost onme.Experiencemissed, ncertain f the formsphilosophyas interestedtself nthiscondition,sa themedevelopingtselfhrougharious fmy ntellectualurnsinrecentyears,ones Iwouldbe mostunhappyo exclude rom hisoccasion,ones thathaveexactedtheircosts tojustify s partof a prosethatclaimsaninheritancef philosophy;et ones that have affordedme rarepleasureandinstruction nd companionship I mean for instance my interests inShakespeare nd in Emerson ndThoreau nd n film nd,mostrecentlynanextendedway,inopera.Toepitomizehesurprisingxtensionsof thetheme,and as anexperimenthighlightinghe difficultiesnthewayofshowing ndsharinghepleasuresn tsdiscoveries, am goingtoward he end of myremarks,o screena brief ilmsequence,chosen also so as to allow omechance,on a verysmallscale, ofshowinga differencenmyapproacho aestheticmattersromhatof most,ofcourse notall,work naesthetics ntheAnglo-Americanaysofphilosophy,rfor hatmatternthepractice f Kantthough otfrompassagesto be foundnHegeland inNietzscheand,forbetter rworse, nHeidegger),mean hesortofemphasis placeon thecriticism,rreading, f individualorks f art. Ithinkof thisemphasisas letting workofarthavea voiceinwhatphilosophy aysabout t,andIregardhatattention s awayoftestingwhetherhe time s past nwhichaking eriouslyhephilosophicalearingf a particularork fartcan bea measureof the seriousnessofphilosophy.The fragment of film I have chosen readily allows itself to be dismissed asinconsequential;ut o mymindtproves obe a memorablenactment ftheordinarys what s missable.It s a routinerom Hollywood usicalomedyofthe early1950's,onsisting ssentially f a manwalking longa trainplatform,singing notevidentlyemandingongto himself.Theman, thappens,s FredAstaire,bynowall but ncontestablyecognizedhroughouthe world s one ofthegreatestAmericanancersofthetwentiethentury.He is alsoincontestablynot,ornotexactly,muchof a singer, o thefragmentontains nopeninvitationtojudge heroutine nditsapparentlyneventfulinematic resentation,o betrivial. t sa task oneIwelcome totry omake uch a conclusion matterofjudgmentatherhanonesimply ftaste;as itweretochallengeaste.To give this task a decentchanceof success I need to do a bit morephilosophicalable-setting,ndthengo on togivesomedetailsofmy nterestnthe voice inoperaalongwitha relatednterestnAustin's ense of thepowersofspeech.Ihave ratherssumed,moreor lesswithoutrgument,ince thatearlypaperof minecitedearlier,hatKant'socation f theaestheticudgment,s claimingtorecordhepresenceofpleasurewithoutconcept,makesroom ora particularformofcriticism,ne thatsupplies heconcepts hat,after hefactofpleasure,articulatehegrounds fthatexperiencenparticularbjects.The mplicationfsuchcriticismsthat tsobjecthasyetto have tsdueeffect, hat omethinghere,fully pened o thesenses, hasdespite hatbeenmissed.Ishall laim hatwhile

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- PRESIDENTIALADDRESS OF THE EASTERN DIVISIONit is nota factthat he Astaire outines trivial,hesequencecan be seen to beabout riviality;ndto show thatwillrequire howinghowitspleasurederivesfromts location fformal onditions f itsart.Afurther ariationn therelation f theordinaryo whatmaybe seen as theaesthetic s takenupina lateressay inMustWe MeanWhatWeSay?whichgoes back o my having espondedo Wittgenstein'snvestigationss written,however lse, inrecurrentesponse o skepticism utnotas a refutationf it;ratheron the contrary, s a task to discoverthe causes of philosophy'sdisparagementf, or its disappointmentith, he ordinary,omething havecalled he truth fskepticism. n hatessay, "KnowingndAcknowledging,"heordinarys discoverednot as whatis perceptuallymissablebutas whatisintellectuallyismissable,not whatmay be butwhat must be set aside ifphilosophy'sspirationsoknowledgeretobe satisfied.There articulatemysense of whathappens o philosophy'sspirationsysaying hatskepticismsnotthe discovery f an incapacitynhumanknowing utof an insufficiencynacknowledginghat nmyworld think f as beyondme,ormysenses;so thatwhen Ifound, na followingssay on KingLear, hatShakespeareanragedyenactsthe failureoacknowledgenother,hence orms lethal et ofattemptsto denythe existenceof another s essential o one'sown,Icame towonderwhetherShakespeare's ragediescan be understood s studies of (whatphilosophydentifiess) skepticism.If in beingdrawn o the skeptical urmiseDescartesreachesa pointofastonishmenthatopenshim o a fearofmadness,andtheyoungHume pointthat presents itselfto himas his sufferingan incurablemalady rom theknowledgef whichhe seeks to protect is(non-philosophical)cquaintances,a pointhat o Kant epresents scandal ophilosophy'suestforreason, hencanthegreat iteraturef theWestnothaverespondedowhatevernhistory ascaused this convulsion n the conditions f humanexistence? Orwere thephilosophersot o havebeentakenquite eriouslyn heir irsofmelodramaticcrisis? Yetmighttnotwellhauntus,as philosophers,hat nKingLeardoubt sto a lovingdaughter's xpressionsof love,orinOthello oubt ast as jealousyandterror fa wife's atisfaction,r inMacbeth oubtmanifesteds a questionabout hestabilityf a wife'shumanityinconnectionwithwitches),eads to aman'srepudiationrannihilationf the worldhat s linkedwitha loss of thepowerof orthe convictionnspeech?Or,again,shouldwe considerrather hatphilosophy as indeedproperlydrawnhemoral ftragedy, amelyhat incewe allalready nowhat kepticismis somespeciesof intellectualragedy, rfolly,we areadvised hat he rationalresponse o it is not orevel n it orcultivatetsallure, ut o seek toavoid t.Totake a celebrated instance,when Quineimplicitly locksskepticismout of thecourtofepistemology, hat s naturalizedpistemology,by(as inPursuit f Truth)"repudiatinghe Cartesiandream" ndenrollingphilosophy"asa chapterof thescience of "anantecedentlyacknowledgedworld," e cites as a normative ointof philosophy's elf-inclusionnscience that it"[warns] s against telepathsandsoothsayers"(p. 19). Idiscover thattheyearthat bookof Quine'swas publishedIwas givinga lectureaboutMacbethin whichI articulatehe terrorMacbethseeks refugefromas an interaction f telepathyand soothsaying. Ispell them26 - PROCEEDINGS NDADDRESSESOF THEAPA,71:2 -


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- PRESIDENTIALDDRESSOFTHEEASTERNDIVISIONdifferently,amelyas mind-readingnd prophecy.Take themas termsofcriticism aming nemiesof reason,and link hemwith he listofphilosophy'sirrationalompetitorsdentifiednKant'sReligionWithinheLimits f ReasonAlone,whichhe namesfanaticism,uperstition,elusion,andsorcery. Thisbudgetof favorite nemies of the Enlightenmentlso constitutes fairset ofdimensionsftheevents nMacbeth,nd ndeed,ndifferentconomies, fthoseintheothergreat ragedies fShakespeare.So IhavealsoineffectsuggestedthatShakespeare'sragedies re hemselvesomethingikewarnings gainsthecravingfortelepathyand soothsaying,and Ido notknowthatthey and theirkinhavebeenless effectiven heirwarningshan cientifichilosophyas in ts,northat o chooseoneagainst he other s safe.InQuine'sonstrualfphilosophy'smbitionsor mpiricalnowledgewhathe calls the construction f "a unified ystemof the world" the only,butindispensable,oleofexperiences toprovideor ucha system ts"checkpointsin sensoryprediction."tis, I suppose,inresponseto suchan ideathat,forexample,WilliamamesandJohnDewey omplainfother mpiricismshatheyhavea poorview of experience.The richer xperienceDeweychampions etends ocallaesthetic;amesmost amouslyocuments arietiesfthereligious.Even if you disagreewithQuine'sview of epistemology ou can enjoythedemonstrationf thepower, ven thebeauty,of scienceinshowinghowfaralittle xperiencecango. Whereasyouhave to agreewithJamesandDeweyfarther han I do - and I meanto grantall honor o theirefforts o saveexperience rom tsstiflingby unresponsivenstitutions inordernotto feelsometimes that they demonstratehow a mass of experiencecan gophilosophicallylmostnowhereforDewey ntoa hundred bstract ejectionsfsome patentlyunintelligenthesis togetherwith its obviouslyundesirableantithesis;orJamesintoa meresurmise ftranscendence).Maywe think s follows?:Ifphilosophyf science can be taken o be whatphilosophys, that s becausephilosophys,and is content obe, recognizable,orpracticable,s (achapter f)science;whereaswerephilosophyf art o makeof itselfa chapter fone or moreof thearts, twouldnolongerbe recognizableas philosophy.Withouthallenginghisnow,what amproposingssomethingratherlse, following hatIconstrueKant'sxamplesofthetransgressionsfreason, ntheirntersectionithShakespeareanrama,osuggest(perhapst sHegel's suggestion),that the arts, beginningwithtragedy(or, in Hegel'saesthetics, ndingwithragedy),mayvariouslyeseen,orclaimed, s chaptersof the history, rdevelopment,f philosophy,enceperhapsof certainof itspresentmanifestations.amgoing na littlewhile oextend hethoughto a polarrelation f tragedy,o a Hollywoodmusical. It is a suggestionbased on twocontentionshatIhavearguedor nvarious ontextsover heyears. First,hatin hemodern eriod f thearts markedariously ysplitsn heaudienceandconception) f artbetween heacademicand the advanced the greatartstogetherwith heircriticismncreasinglyakeon the self-reflectiveonditionfphilosophyteachingus, let us say, to see thatKingLear s about heaterascatharsis,that Macbeth s abouttheateras apparition,Othelloabout thetreacherousheaterof ocularproofs,Hamlet boutwhatsurpassestheatricalshow).Thesecondcontentionsthat hemedium f film ssuchthat from he

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- PRESIDENTIALADDRESS OF THE EASTERN DIVISIONtime of its first masterpieces n the second decade of its technologicalestablishment- itcould akeontheseriousnessof the modernwithoutplittingitsaudience,betweenhighandlow,or betweenadvanced ndphilistine.Topreparemore pecificallyorproposingnAstaireoutines a checkpoint,or touchstone,of experience, wantto summarizehe way it figuredn theintroductiono acourseontheaesthetics ffilm ndopera gave or hefirst imetwo years ago. The idea of the course is that wordsand actionssuffertransfigurationnopera theartwhichreplaces peakingbysinging)hatbearscomparison ithheirransformationn filmtheartwhich eplacesiving umanbeingsbyphotographichadowsofthemselves).So mysummarymustbegin ospecifyin whichphilosophicalormationilmand operaformchapters hatmeasure omeparticularonditionsfthesearts,orcall hemmedia.HereIshould imply onfessthatmy nterestnopera s tied o a convictionthatmatchesyet one furtherway I haveformulatedn interest nthe workofAustinand the laterWittgenstein.Their ense of returning ordsfrom heirmetaphysicalo their everydayuse is drivenby a sense of a humandissatisfactionithwords notas itweresolelya philosophicalissatisfaction)nwhichan effort o transcend r to purifypeechends by deprivinghe humanspeaker favoice nwhatbecomeshis(or,differently,er) antasy fknowledge,a characterizationhavegivenofwhathappensnskepticism.nWittgenstein'scase of a man trikingimself nthe breastand nsisting,OnlycanhaveTHISsensation!,"e aretowitnessa speaker bandonedyhiswords, rabandonedtomerewords.Nowopera stheWesternnstitutionnwhich beginningn hesame decade as thecompositionfthegreat ragedies fShakespeare thehuman oice is given tsfullestacknowledgment,enerally yshowinghat tshighestforms of expressionare apt not to be expressiveenoughto avoidcatastrophe,speciallyorwomen.Ifwe provisionallyharacterizehe medium foperaas music's xplorationof its affinitieswithexpressiveor passionateutterance,hen one specificresponseit invites rom he recentpresentof philosophys representednAustin'swork, s to determinehow his theoryof speech as actionmay beextended, n a sense re-begun,n order o articulate theoryof speech aspassion hatcan proposean orderly tudyof the effects of thevoiceraised nopera;butthismust nreturn llow he studyof opera o inspirephilosophy'sinterestnpassionate peech. To sketchthe progressof mythoughtsnthisprojectwill tillnotexactlyprepareor he use towhich wish oput heAstairesequence, butit willshare the burdenof significanceI load itwith,and help tospecifywhy Ipress it intoservice.The examples which initiallyIask a theory of passionate speech to illuminateare in part rom he operasI assignedin mycourse. It is importantormypurposes hat allarewarhorsesof the medium nd thattheystill,or again,inspire new productions: The Marriageof Figaro, Don Giovanni,Carmen,Tannhauser,Otello,LaBoheme, and scenes fromIdomeneo,TheMagicFlute,and LuciadiLammermoor.wantalso tobeguidedbythe warhorseexamplesfromemotive or expressive utterance that were the rage inmoralphilosophy, andso-called value theorymoregenerally,inthe years Iwas ingraduateschool. Irecall the list from A. J. Ayer's Language, Truth,and Logic: "Youacted wrongly28 - PROCEEDINGS NDADDRESSESOF THEAPA,71:2-


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- PRESIDENTIALDDRESSOFTHEEASTERNDIVISIONinstealinghatmoney,"Tolerances a virtue,"Youught o tell hetruth,"nd,mostdelightfully,Iam bored."Ayercharacterizeshe expressionof moraljudgment, amously,by denying hattheysay anythingbut"areratherpureexpressions ffeeling, ndarecalculatedoprovoke ifferentesponses,andassuch do notcome under hecategory ftruth ndfalsehood,"p.108),"they renot inthe literal ense significant"p. 103). Now he claim hatcertainamiliarhumanutterancesrecompromisedntheirmeaningfulnessnthegroundhat"theydo notcome under he categoryof truth ndfalsehood"s preciselyhethesis to whichAustin,n histheory fspeechacts,providesmassiveclasses ofcounterxamples.Austin penswith heexamples"I o"take hiswoman, tc.),"Ibet you ...""Iname this ship ..." "Igive and bequeath ...",and says of them: "Itseems clear that to utterthe sentence (in, of course, the appropriatecircumstances)s not odescribemydoing fwhat shouldbe saidinso utteringtobe doing ..: it is to do it. Noneof theutterancesited s eitherrueorfalse: Iassert hisas obvious nddonotargue t"p.6). But hephilosophicalick ftheexamplesrestson twoearlier fAustin'sntroductoryemarksboutwhichhe ispreparedosay thathe assertsthemas obvious:"theypeofutterancewe aretoconsider s not,ofcourse, ngenerala typeofnon-sense,"ndthat"theyallintonohithertoecognizedrammaticalategoryave thatof'statements"'p.4).Notably bsent,itappears, rom hetypesof utterancesAustin oes on toinvestigate re thosewarhorseexamplesofAyer's, rtheirdescendants,hatAustin'sheorysdesignedochallenge.Thismayhavebeenatactical ecision,meantoshifta newargumentntophilosophicallyreshground"anewsiteforfieldwork"Austinwould call it). But there is reason to think hatAustin'sexperiencehadbeenfixatedbythewayhe rebeginshistheory o include heperlocutionaryndistinctionromheillocutionaryorceofspeechacts. Whenheis ledtosay,"[C]learlynyoralmost nyperlocutionaryctis liable o bebroughtoff, in sufficientlypecial circumstances,by the issuing,with or withoutcalculation,ofanyutterancewhatsoever .." p.110),he is evidentlyntheterritoryinwhichAyerwas tyingethicalwordsboth o "thedifferenteelingstheyareordinarilyaken oexpress,andalso[to] hedifferentesponseswhich heyarecalculatedoprovoke":ereAustin istinguishesetweenorderingomeone ostop (illocutionary)nd getting hemto stop by sayingor doingsomethingalarmingrintimidatingperlocutionary),utAustinsabletodonext onothingwiththe fieldof the perlocutionaryomparableo his mapping f that of theillocutionary.t s fromherethatIamsuggestingAustin'sheorymustre-beginagain goingbackagain othefactofspeakingtself,or Imight ay,tothe factoftheexpressivenessandresponsiveness fspeechas such. How?Let'sreformulatelightly ndsaythat na passionateutterancehefeelingsand actionsI wish to provoke Ayer)or bringoff (Austin) re ones I canacknowledge,rspecificallyefuse oacknowledge,s appropriateesponses omyexpressionsoffeeling.This s presumablyrueevenofAyer's"Iambored,"which, f it is said to you by a child, s perhapsan appealforan interestingsuggestionorofferofamusement,nd fbya friendromanticrnot) s aptstilltobeanappealandstill o seta stakeonsomepieceofour utureogether.Youhad neither ase better nswer, ndcarefully. gain,Ayer bserves hat"ifsayto someone,'Youactedwronglynstealing hatmoney,' amstatingno more

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- PRESIDENTIALDDRESSOFTHEEASTERNDIVISIONthanif I hadsimply aid, 'Youstole thatmoney' .. [and]evincingmy moraldisapproval f it."p. 107) So presumably couldequallyhavesaid,"Why idyoutake that money?,"which specifies that I am questioningyourconduct, and Isuppose moredrastically takingourfuture. This would be clearerifAyerhadobserved, moreexplicitlyo the moralpoint, hatsayingto someone "Youactedwrongly nstealing"s saying (notno more thanbut)no less thanthatyou stoleitand s(notust implybut)distinctlyxpressing isapproval.yer's uggestionthat hat sallIamstating uggeststheremight e more.Buthaving onfrontedyou,questionedou, acedyouwithyour onduct,whatmore sthere,except nthesamevein prepareds Imaybe toreason,dependingponyour esponse- for me to say?I proposethatsomethingcorrespondingo whatAustin ists as the sixnecessary conditions he sometimes calls them rules) for the felicityofperformativetterance olds orpassionate tterance.Austin's re(I) heremustexista conventionalrocedureorutteringertainwords ncertain ontexts, 2)theparticularersonsandcircumstances ustbeappropriateor heinvocationof the procedure, 3) the proceduremust be executedcorrectlyand (4)completely, 5) where the procedureequires ertain houghtsor feelingsorintentionsor heinaugurationfconsequentialonduct,hepartiesmusthavethosefeelingsorthoughts ndintendo to conducthemselves, ndfurther6)actuallyo conduct hemselves ubsequently.Now nthecase of passionatespeech,inquestioningrconfrontingouwithyour onduct, ll his s upended,butspecificallyndindetail.There s (asAustinnotes)no conventionalrocedureorappealingoyoutoact in responseto myexpressionof passion(ofoutrageat your reachery rcallousness, of jealousyover yourattentions, f hurtover your slightsofrecognition).Call hisabsenceofconventionhefirst onditionfa passionateutterance;nd et'sgofurther.Whether,hen,Ihave hestandingoappeal oortoquestion ou- tosingleyououtas theobjectofmypassion is part f theargumento ensue. Callstandingand singlingout the compound econdcondition f passionateutterance.Thiscompoundonditionor elicity, rsayappropriateness,snotgivena prioriut s to be discovered rrefined,relse theeffort oarticulatet is tobedenied. There s noquestionherefore fexecutinga procedure correctlyand completely, but there are the furtherunshiftabledemands,orrules,(third)hat he one uttering passionmust have the passion,and (fourth)he one singledout mustrespondnowandhere,and(fifth) espondin kind, that is to say, be moved to respond; or else resist the demand.Austin bserves hat"TheI'who sdoingheactionwhile otalways xplicit]does ... come essentiallynto hepicture"p. 61). Inthe case of performativeutterance ailuresto identify he correctproceduresare characteristicallyreparable:hepurser houldnothave undertakeno marry s, buthere is thecaptain;oucanrefuseunderstandablyndwithout ardeelings he offerof abetbeyond ourmeans,orrefusea giftas prematurerexcessive;but ailureohavesingled ououtappropriatelynpassionate tteranceharacteristicallyutsthe future f ourrelationship,s partof mysense ofmyexistence,on theline.One can say: the"you"ingledoutdoes comeessentiallynto he picture.Aperformativetterances an offer fparticipationn heorder f law.Andperhaps30 - PROCEEDINGS NDADDRESSESOF THEAPA,71:2-


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- PRESIDENTIALADDRESS OF THE EASTERN DIVISIONwe can say: A passionateutterances an invitationo improvisationn thedisorders fdesire.Here a certain relation o opera, using the representativexamples Imentioned,houldbecomemanifest.Let'sbeginwithCarmenince her inglingout of Don Jose notablyproduceshis FlowerSong as his mostarticulatedresponse oher. This neffectacknowledgesperaas the scene ofpassionateutteranceince herea set aria sdirectedo Carmens to anaudience, newiththe freedom o resist t, udge t,as inappropriater neffectivewhichhe does).Then there is DonnaElvira, perfect ype of the abandonedwoman,whoreceivesa perfectlyonventionalesponse rom heman,DonGiovanni,s shechargeshimwithbeinga monster, felon,and a deceiver:he asks her to bereasonable ndtogivehima chance ospeak,andthencontrivesoslipaway,leavingLeporelloo coverhistracks.Theres herenobeingmoved orespond,onlya move o avoid esponse.Tannhauserssingled utbyeachof twowomen,orbyeach of twomoodsof onewoman,each timebecause ofwhat t is theyavowthathisvoicehas done tothem. Hisresponse o Venus s three imes odeclarehis love andeach time o askforhisfreedom; isresponse o Elizabethis torespond s if oVenusand hus o causehisexpulsionrom heplacehehasimaginedwas the field for his freedom. Lucia'saria of madness is therecognition,rabsenceofrecognition,hat heone she hassingledouthas beensilenced.Theextremityf demand f TheQueenof theNightorvengeance sin a sense matched - that is turnedaside - by the metaphysicalclaim tospiritualurityySarastro.Almaviva'sountess sansweredbyAlmavivatthedenouement f Figarona twowordpleafor orgiveness, ttractingMozartoprovidehimwitha Shakespeareanheightof understatement,ne whoseappropriateness,rsincerity,t salsoforusto divine.For lia,nIdomeneo,hereis no acceptableorappropriateesponsepossible rom he manher love hassingled ut,since she isat the sametimecommittedo hatehimas thecaptor fher and her people;onlythe Gods can - and do - respond. WithOtello theman akes on theposition ftheabandonedne,as iftodenythathisisolationhas beenlifted, ndsuffocates hepossibilityf response,no formof which sbearableorhim.Bythe timeof Puccini ndLaBohdme,here s nosingling utbypassion,nospecific esponse o whathasbecomea general motionality,sifthepowerofspecific xpressionsas suchbecoming thingofmemory.Ihaveshared hesense that he ideaoflanguage s expressionsunlikelyoget very aras a theory flanguagenpartbecausehumanbeingshaveso fewnaturalxpressions.But his eems to me tounderestimatehathappenswhencreatures f a certainpeciesfall nto hepossessionof language ndbecomehumans. As I readWittgenstein,s well as Freud,whathappens s thattheybecome victimsofexpression- readable theireverywordandgesture readytobetrayheirmeaning.In heconjunctionfAustin'sppeal otheordinary,ndspecificallytspowerto reveal he actionofspeech,togetherwith hepassionofabandonmentntheraised peech ofopera,Icanprovisionallyocate hepertinenceattach o theAstaireequenceweareabout o screen. Eachofmyclaimsofsingling utandofresponse ntheoperasrequires judgmentfthe musicwithwhich heyareelicited.Withwhatconfidence o Iplacesuchjudgments, specially ince,for

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-PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS OF THE EASTERN DIVISIONall the fact that I was trained as a musician, my dominating musical experienceis of a culture that does not compete with the operatic cultures of Italy andGermany and France. (I claim, for example, that when Carmen rejects Jose'sFlower Song as a response to her singling him out, saying, in triple piano, "No,youdo not oveme," he is respondingruly, s itwereobjectively,osomethingshe hears in his music, or say his tone. Butevery other description I know of thatmoment takes her to be continuing to taunt the man and to seduce him intocoming away into her life.) My confidence lies in recognizing that the traditionsof jazz and of American musical comedy represent, for some of us, comparablecontributions to world art, and ifthese can be taken as bearing on the experienceofopera and ndeed, s Iwillwish onote,on the issueof theordinary)henIwillhave what aesthetic reassurance I can claim, since Iought to be able to know andto experience just about everything there is in such a ninety- second sequenceas we are about to witness.Itis the opening number from one of the last, not perhaps the best known, butamong the most criticallyadmired, of the classical Hollywood musicals adaptedfrom a Broadway original, called The Bandwagon, directed by Vincente Minelli,withCyd Charise as Astaire's partner. The judgment Imake inasking you to viewthe sequence expresses my pleasure in itand awaits your agreement upon this.

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- PRESIDENTIALDDRESSOFTHEEASTERNDIVISIONNow of course this particularxperimentstands to be compromised(beyondquestions of my tact in choosing the particularobject) by the remarkablypersistent air of exoticism in presentinga piece of film in service of seriousintellectualntentions,especiallya popular ilm. ButI do not see that the initialmild ndecorousnesshisrisks houldbemoredisturbing,ometothink fit, hanholdinga philosophicalectureina hotel ballroom.Letme set the scene. The occasion ofthenumber s that hecharacterplayedbyAstaire a song-and-dancemanwhose starhas faded inHollywoodndwhois returning ervously o New York o trya comeback on Broadway exits fromthe train hat has returnedhim,takes the awaitingreportersand photographersto have come to interviewhim,and is rudelyawakened to realityas a stillvividstarsteps outof the adjacentcar andthe newshoundsflockto her(AvaGardnerin a cameo appearance). As our hero walks away ruefully,a porteroffers aremark o himon the rigorsof publicityo which stardomsubjectsa person,anduponanswering,Yes, don'tknowhow heystand t,"Astaire rrives t hissong,entitled"ByMyself."Let'sbegin uncontroversially.From he beginningof the song at a baggagecartto the conclusion of the song at a gate, the camera has led the man inonecontinuoushot;attheendofthesingingtstopsas hedoes and hen,as itwere,

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- PRESIDENTIALDDRESSOF THEEASTERNDIVISIONwatcheshimeavethroughhegate;wethencut o a view romwithinhe stationand see the mancontinuehis walk owardus, humminghe same tune,thenpause,andshiftnervously, s ifexpecting omeone.Ifthisweretheater, heroutinewould learlyndwithheexitoutof thegate. Beinga film,heentranceintothe stationmaycount as partof the song. Overallt seems as nearlyuneventful s a photographedongcanbe. Astairehadbegunsingingwithalittleelf-consciousaugh,magnifiedy tsproducingpalpableloud fcigarettesmoke. It is a self-reflexiveesponse o the factthat n him hinkingmanifesthere,classically, s melancholy)s about o becomesinging.IreporthatwhenI recallAstaire'sdelivery f "ByMyself,"tbringswith t a sense of emotionalhovering, ot so mucha feelingof suspenseas one of being nsuspension,aspiritualracketing.Icite twopairof facts to begina sketchof anaccountof thistouchstone fexperience,nepair oncerninghesong,theother oncerninghepresentation,orrepresentation,f thepersonAstaire.About hesong. Here merely ssert wo eatures hat twouldbeimpracticaltotry overifynow, hough would oveto. First, was led to it,or confirmednitssuitability,yanessayof thegreat talianomposerLuigiDallapicollanwhichheannounceshisdiscovery fa traditionfarias nclassical talianmelodrama(meaninghe traditionfoperaexemplifiedt itshighestbyVerdi),ne thatusesa quatrainorm thephrasesoccurringn hepattern ABA, ithheemotionalcrescendopeakingn hethird,rBphrase.NowanAABAorm s the basic ormofsong intheso-calledGoldenAgeof theAmericanmusicalheater,rom he1920'sthroughhe 1940's,when the majorworksof Gershwin,rvingBerlin,JeromeKern,Rodgersand Hart,Cole Porter,and others,were originallyproduced.ThesongintheAstaireequence s from heBroadwayroductionfthe 1930's and exhibits an ingeniously modified AABA form inwhich, moreover,it satisfies the observation hat the emotional limax s reached n the thirdphrase. The secondfeature mention bout hesong is that ts melodicandharmonicrganizationontributeso the experienceo whichI assignedtheconceptof hovering.HereI simplynote thatharmonicallyts openingchordprogressionnalyzesas a certain orm fcadential reparationhatcanbesaidalsoto fitprecisely erhapshemost amouslyontroversialpeningn hehistoryof monstrouslyamiliarmusic,namely he openingharmonic rogression fTristan. f hesoundofmusic an eversensiblybe saidtorepresentuspendedanimationsupposeTristan ndIsolde s thecrucialase.Iturnothepair ffactsconcerninghepresentationf thepersonofAstaire,andfirstofhiswalking.Recall obeginwith tsjauntiness,heslightbutdistinctexaggerationf his bodyswingingrom ide to side as the platforms beingpaced. Narratively,e is hopingo cheerhimself,ettinghisbody,as WilliamJamesoncesuggested, ellhimwhathisemotions. Butontologically,e couldsay, itis the walkofa manwho is knowno move ndanceexactlyikeno otherman. It s a walk romwhich,atanystep,this manmaybreak ntodance- heis knownromothercontexts o have founddancing alled or nthe courseofdrivingolfballs,or rollerkating, rwhile wabbinghedeckofa ship. Now fhiswalkingoes turn ntodancing,hen sn'twhatwesee of hisdeliveryevealedto havebeenalready ancing, sortoflimitingase, orproto-state,fdancing?34 - PROCEEDINGS NDADDRESSESOF THEAPA,71:2-


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- PRESIDENTIALDDRESSOF THEEASTERNDIVISIONWeshould eadily gree hat t sn'tjustwalkinge isexhibiting. henwhat s therelationfdancingowalkingorofsingingotalking)?Thathissongdoes notherereachunequivocalancing,s asong-and-danceman's ong is normallyequiredodo,thatwe arefor hemoment onfined,oto speak,to this dancevirtuouso'smore or less untrainedoice,throws heemphasisofinterestnthisnumber lsewhere onthequalityfthewordsandmusicofcourse,butspecificallyn his"delivery"fthesong; he walk s partofitsdelivery.nopera,deliverys essentially functionf voice. What s called"acting"s availableocertain peratic resences,butapartrom hebasisofthevoice,the operaticpresenceis ineffective.InAmericanmusical heater, heeconomys roughlyeversed:unlessyouareidentifieds a dancer, ras somekindofclown,yourvoicewillhaveto be better rainedhanAstaire'sforalltheperfectionf its own"manner");etapart rom hebasisofyourdelivery,as itweremountinghevoice), hetheatricalresencewillbemoreor ess ineffective.When, nhis nextroutine,Astairedoes findhiswayto dance,it is on NewYork's ormer treetof theater,42nd Street,where,continuing is openingadventuresna spacethat s nowan amusement rcade,hestumbles vertheoutstretchedegsof a preoccupiedlack hoeshineman,respondsbysingingtinpanalley unecalled"When here's ShineonyourShoes," nd,ascendingthe shoeshine tandandreceiving transfigurativehine, s invited ythe blackman- so I invitethe encounter to be read- to come to earth andjoininthedance. Therefurther nfoldsone of the mostelaborate ndstunningnthehistoryof Astaireroutines,one whichprovideshimwith an occasion foracknowledgingis indebtedness orhisexistenceas a dancer hisdeepestidentity to thegeniusof blackdancing.(Howully uch anacknowledgmentis acceptableis a furtherquestion,one that I hope willbe considered nconnection ithheextraordinaryetails fsucha routine s theoneinquestion.)From heirpas de deux,Astairemoves intoa trance-likeolo,quasi-dancing,quasi-singing,nwhichhisrealizationhathehasfoundhisway(back)odancingstrikeshimas havingoundhis feetagain,as having efound isbody,and hisecstacyis suchthatwhen, nhistwirlingrreelinghroughhearcadehe comesacrossa coin-operatedhotographooth,hehappilymaneuvers isbody n tsoas to have the pictureakenof his feet(narratively,f theshineon hisshoes).Notexactlyanabandonedwomanbutan artistwhosepublic asdispersed,hediscovers hat ora comebackt shimselfhatmustbesingled ut,orre-singled,byhimself.That hediscoveryfintactxistencehereexpresses tself s ecstacyis linkednmymindwithThoreau's nceexpressing isrecognitionf hisdoubleexistence, ayas seerandseen, as a conditionfbeingbesidehimself,oughlythedictionaryefinitionfecstacy.Perhapsoutof theexperience, rre-experience,f thisode to hisfeet,wemayat somestageremark afterninetyeconds,or as inmycase about ortyyearsafterhavingirstviewed he film that he earlierwalkwe vieweddownthetrainplatforms framednsucha waythatwe neversee Astaire'seet, notevenwhenhedrops hecigarettehathaslasted hroughhesongtothegroundandsnuffs tout so we fill n he motion withhisfoot;he isthroughoututoffbetween hekneeandthethigh, ivinghatconventionalollywoodorm f shota furthereterminateife.His eet first ppearo us as wecuttohimwalkingnto



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- PRESIDENTIALDDRESSOF THEEASTERNDIVISIONthe station,where,also, we hearhimrepeatingorcontinuinghe tune he has justsungtohimself, otprecisely y hummingt,butwith he kind fsyllabification,orproto-speech,hatmusiciansometimes se to remindhemselves ftheexactmaterializationf a passage of sound,butwhichcan occur,as here,as anunguardedexpression of a state of consciousness, in its distraction,disorientation,ispossession:DA:DA,DADA;DA,DADA. Weshouldnot ailtoappropriatehisevidentrivialityorphilosophy.Thatparticularonsciousnesshasjustbeen revealedo us (byitsdeliveryalongthe platform)nconcretenessandrichness,expressedbywhateversexpressed nthesongthat s stillevidently n this fictionaligure'smind. Ourperceptionf thosesyllables DA,DA,DA),we mustbear nmind,s what, sessentially llthat, heworld as so farwitnessed fthatconsciousness;we arealerted o thefact,or theconventionccordingowhich,heopeningdeliveryfthe singingwas inaudible, nd the openingproto-dancingas unnotable,invisible, ithints fictional orld.Had hatcrowd fpassers-by n theplatformbeen aware of a mandoing n theirpresencewhatAstaire,or his particularshadow, is doing in ours, they would have felt, let us say, a reportableindecorousness.(Adifferentrowd,underdifferentonventions,mighthavejoined n.) Itakethe unremarkablenessthemissableness), ogetherwith heremarkablenesstheunmistakability),fAstaire'smusicalyllabification,ndofthe routinehatrenders tso, toemblematizewayofmanifestingheordinary.Thatthe ordinarinessn experience s figured n the imageof walking ssomethingI have on severaloccasionsfoundespeciallyworth aking ntoaccount.Letmesketchhowwegothereanotherway. It eemsrightoemphasizehatKant's estheticudgmentinradicalontrastwithhis moraludgment)sa form,yet to be specified,of passionateutterance:one person,riskingxposure orebuff,inglesoutanother,hroughheexpression fanemotion,orespondnkind,hat s,withappropriatemotion ndactionifmainlyfspeech),hereandnow. And tseems plausibleo assume that ftragedys theworkingutof ascene of skepticism,hencomedy ncontrastworksouta festiveabatement fskepticism,all it an affirmationfexistence. Now heutterance rdelivery fAstaire'songandproto-danceassingledme outfora responseof pleasurewhich I propose to read in terms of the concepts of psychic hovering, ofdissociationrom hebody,withinstateofordinarynvisibility,hichthoughouhave to take my word for it now), subsequently inds resolutionn anacknowledgement of origins which reinstates a relation to an intact body andcauses a state of ecstacy. In my wish to share this pleasure Ijudge a scene ofwalkingand of melodicsyllabifications appropriate xpressionsof theordinary,as the missable, and the takingof a portraitof a shod foot as an ecstaticattestationfexistence.Suchproposedouchstones fexperienceonot, rust,immediatelyut hefuture tstakebetweenus,but heyaremeasures, etto beassessed, ofwhat hestakesmight e.Inbringinghese remarks o a close, Ipick upmyearlierchallengeto myselfto say whytaking kepticismeriouslys somethingmore hanrevellingnitsempty ascinations; hythe workofa more eriousphilosophyeed not be totakemeasures oavoid hatdistraction.36 - PROCEEDINGS NDADDRESSESOF THEAPA,71:2-


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- PRESIDENTIALDDRESSOFTHEEASTERNDIVISIONIhaveportrayedheworkingutofskepticismnHamlet thinkingf thisasHamlet'strugglenotto knowwhathe knows as Hamlet's residing ishtodenyhisexistence that verhe was born),mademoreor less explicitwhen, nthelastacthe proveshisexistencebyannouncing,Thiss I,HamletheDane,"oras Descartesphrases hemattern he SecondMeditation,I m,Iexist, strueeachtime hatIsay itorthinktinmymind".Theannouncements undertakenbyHamlet s somepreparation,rexplanation,orhis eap ntoOphelia'srave,as if facingthe deathof love is the condition f announcingne's separateexistence. Nowwhatwould tmean o adviseHamlet,r forhim o havetakenmeasures,oavoidhisskepticism,isavoidance fexistence, all hishismakinghimself ntoa ghost. Hehas beenadvised o reasonableness yhisrelations("Thouknow'st tiscommon,allthat lives must die ....Whyseems it so particularwithhee?").And heplaycontainswhat suppose sthemost amous cene of

such advicewe have in ourliterature. nthatscene Polonius'spreceptsofmoderationre to showhis sontheway obeunnoticeable,runinvolved,s faras possible("Neitherorrowerorlenderbe").Takenas summarizeableyPolonius's hrase"reservehy udgment,"ispreceptsrom distance chothechiefpointsofadvice nancient kepticism to livea customaryife Emersonsays conforming)ndto suspend udgment.But nthe ancientworld andaccordingosome,forathousandearsafter philosophyasidentified,enceskepticism s an instanceof philosophy as practiced,s a wayof life. Wasskepticismhenliveable? Is anythinglse nowliveable? Whathappens ophilosophy?


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