Books/Robert Pfaller/Interpassitivity

From No Subject - Encyclopedia of Psychoanalysis
Jump to: navigation, search

‘Interpassivity: The Aesthetics of Delegated Enjoyment’ by Robert Pfaller

Interpassivity.jpg

Why do people record TV programmes instead of watching them? Why do some recovering alcoholics let others drink in their place? Why can ritual machines pray in place of believers?

Robert Pfaller advances the theory of ‘interpassivity’ as delegated consumption and enjoyment. Applicable to both art and everyday life, the concept allows him to tackle a vast range of phenomena: culture, art, sports and religion.

Pfaller criticises dominant assumptions, offers an escape from prevailing ideologies and exposes how cultural capitalism promotes commodities with the promise of happiness.