Famous Philosophers Bicker Over the Meaning Of... Las Vegas
March 16, 2006 | 10:23
pm
Oh, dear. Is philosophy running out of important questions? French New Philosopher Bernard-Henry Levy and American high end pontificator Francis Fukuyama got into a spat over the meaning of Las Vegas in "The American Interest:" You would think such mighty pointy heads would have fresh insight to bring to this bar argument of a question. But in fact only the most stereotypical views of our town are presented by the duo:Fukuyama writes: "Las Vegas is a real city with real people, not just sex workers, in it." (FYI: Mr. Fukuyama, don't let their boobs fool you the sex workers are real people, too.)
As for Levy's view---like a true French Professor--- it arrives in the form of a rhetorical question:"Francis, are you implying that all this American grandeur, this fundamental belief, this dream that has inspired so many generations of men and women throughout the world is to find its truth in this empire of imposture, this triumph of tackiness and falsehood, which you cannot deny is the other reality of Las Vegas?"
(and to think a student of Derrida introducing a duality in the first place, tsk- tsk)
No one will win this argument; both men hold shallow and obvious views. Yet, to reach these pedestrian conclusions some awful prose, lots of name dropping. If not the best argument, at least, my favorite sentence clearly goes to Levy: "I see how some elements of this argument tie up with your earlier Kojevian observations on Hegel, on the happy animality that will be the fate of post-historical humanity." Ouch.
photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY- AFP/Getty
The reality of Vegas is that it "personifies everything 'POP' about American culture" - and I mean everything...people, places, practices, pussies, possies, and the paparazzi.
It's as real (or not) as you want it to be (or don't). So...whatever happens (or didn't happen) in Vegas may or may not ever stay in Vegas...Hunh???
Chowda!
Posted by: Dag | March 19, 2006 at 06:27 PM