Definitions by Andy
cathexis
The formation of a libidinal investment. The attachment of oneself to a particular external element or a particular alignment of discourse, a role, etc. through the rearticulation of psychological desires/drives which are already present.
The verb for is "to cathect".
The verb for is "to cathect".
His frustration with his father was repressed, but re-emerged through a cathexis in relation to his boss.
stress and duress
Newspeak for torture, used by the CIA and its allies. "Stress and duress" tactics are used in interrogations, and refer to a variety of tortures and forms of mistreatment which the CIA thinks are OK. These include:
sleep deprivation
overload of light
complete darkness
stripping and sexually humiliating prisoners
threatening to torture and rape prisoners
threatening prisoners' families
making prisoners stand, sit etc. in uncomfortable positions to induce pain
denial of satisfaction of basic rights and needs such as food, bedding, clothing and exercise
deliberate cultural insensitivity and intolerance
verbal abuse
use of painful "restraint" techniques
beatings
sleep deprivation
overload of light
complete darkness
stripping and sexually humiliating prisoners
threatening to torture and rape prisoners
threatening prisoners' families
making prisoners stand, sit etc. in uncomfortable positions to induce pain
denial of satisfaction of basic rights and needs such as food, bedding, clothing and exercise
deliberate cultural insensitivity and intolerance
verbal abuse
use of painful "restraint" techniques
beatings
These techniques are widespread also in US prisons, although nominally illegal. They are more widely used in deregulated offshore gulags such as Guantanamo Bay, abu Ghraib in Iraq and Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan.
Don't be fooled - these tactics ARE TORTURE, and are defined as such both by the UN and by experts in trauma. Their role is to break down the sense of personality of the prisoner and to deliberately induce psychological trauma and crisis.
They are directly referred to in CIA handbooks - so the photos from abu Ghraib show a systematic pattern of torture, NOT rogue acts by a few stupid/evil/misguided soldiers.
Don't be fooled - these tactics ARE TORTURE, and are defined as such both by the UN and by experts in trauma. Their role is to break down the sense of personality of the prisoner and to deliberately induce psychological trauma and crisis.
They are directly referred to in CIA handbooks - so the photos from abu Ghraib show a systematic pattern of torture, NOT rogue acts by a few stupid/evil/misguided soldiers.
stress and duress by Andy May 7, 2004
power/knowledge
Concept used in the work of Michel Foucault, to denote the interchangeability and mutual supportiveness of power and knowledge. Because he thought a regime of power always constructs forms of knowledge and a regime of knowledge always institutes a regime of power, he fused the two words into a single concept.
For example, prisons are an example of a regime of power/knowledge: the observation of prisoners and the recording of different categories of criminality are in many ways identical with the process of incarceration itself, as a system of control of people's bodies and of physical spaces.
For example, prisons are an example of a regime of power/knowledge: the observation of prisoners and the recording of different categories of criminality are in many ways identical with the process of incarceration itself, as a system of control of people's bodies and of physical spaces.
Mental asylums, schools, armies, etc. are all different examples of regimes of power/knowledge. The way in which people are recorded as elements in these discourses is connected to their subordination to or complicity in particular relations of power.
power/knowledge by Andy May 7, 2004
return of the Real
Term used by psychoanalysts, especially Lacanians, for the eruption into social life of impulses or phenomena which have been repressed from the symbolic order in the process of the formation of a master-signifier. The excluded element is not destroyed but returns in a form which is incomprehensible and terrifying. A "return of the Real" is a sudden eruption and interruption which spectacularly reveals the contingency of social relations and shatters fixed certainties.
For instance, Slavoj Zizek analysed September 11th as a "return of the Real": the repressed fundamentalist impulse which was the hidden outcome of the US's own activities produced an explosive and terrifying result which rocked people's identities and the existing political framework.
For instance, Slavoj Zizek analysed September 11th as a "return of the Real": the repressed fundamentalist impulse which was the hidden outcome of the US's own activities produced an explosive and terrifying result which rocked people's identities and the existing political framework.
A reworking of the return of the repressed.
Doesn't make as much sense outside Lacanian ontology, because the violence and negativity of the "return of the Real" are crucial to its use as a concept. One can reconfigure it to some extent if one suggests that the social order makes its own Real, so that the phrase "return" is simply figurative.
Doesn't make as much sense outside Lacanian ontology, because the violence and negativity of the "return of the Real" are crucial to its use as a concept. One can reconfigure it to some extent if one suggests that the social order makes its own Real, so that the phrase "return" is simply figurative.
return of the Real by Andy May 7, 2004
Zaaryx
City in the world of Lone Wolf. It is ancient, and is buried underground, beneath the modern city of Tahou. It can only be accessed through the Tahou Cauldron.
The abandoned city-scape of Zaaryx is home to the Zaaryx Ghouls, fearsome creatures which prey on humans, and also the mysterious but good Crocaryx, and strange monsters such as the Zadragon. It is the site of one of the Lorestones.
It attracts treasure-hunters, but few come back alive.
The abandoned city-scape of Zaaryx is home to the Zaaryx Ghouls, fearsome creatures which prey on humans, and also the mysterious but good Crocaryx, and strange monsters such as the Zadragon. It is the site of one of the Lorestones.
It attracts treasure-hunters, but few come back alive.
Crocaryx
A mysterious reptilian people who dwell in the long-lost, abandoned underground city of Zaaryx. Initially appearing to be enemies because they stalk Lone Wolf, they turn out to be allies if he is able to approach them successfully and speak their language. They are good-aligned and have been awaiting a time when they can hand over the Lorestone which was left in their protection.
They appear to exist only for the task of guarding the Lorestone and feel its handover to be the beginning of their decline and extinction.
Despite being ancient, they have many powerful and unusual technologies. They hate and fight the Zaaryx Ghouls.
They appear to exist only for the task of guarding the Lorestone and feel its handover to be the beginning of their decline and extinction.
Despite being ancient, they have many powerful and unusual technologies. They hate and fight the Zaaryx Ghouls.