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Plasticity, Contingency, and Virtuality in the Age of Automatic Reproduction
Szymon Wróbel
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DOI:10.17265/2159-5313/2025.04.001
University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
In this paper, the author follows the trail of C. Malabou, Q. Meillassoux, and G. Deleuze and tries to test three philosophical concepts that seem to be particularly threatened in the era of automatic digital reproduction. These three concepts are plasticity (defended for many years by C. Malabou), contingency (reconstructed by Q. Meillassoux), and virtuality (developed by G. Deleuze). The main task of the text will be to reflect on which of these three concepts better protects our thinking against automation and stays faithful to the ideal of creativity. In what sense are plasticity, contingency, and the possibility of virtualization the a priori condition of any transformation, physical or intellectual, affective or conceptual metamorphosis? In what sense are these three concepts the only conditions for the survival of every living being? Would a being without contingency, plasticity, and disposition to virtualization simply be a dead being?
automatic society, contingency, plasticity, technical reproduction, virtualization
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