The Third Table/Der dritte Tisch

I recommend this pamphlet by Graham Harman from documenta (13) to anyone who wants a brief introduction to OOO (object oriented ontology).  Here's a taste:

"The real is something that cannot be known, only loved.  This does not mean that access to the table is impossible, only that it must be indirect.  Just as erotic speech works when composed of hint, alllusion and innuendo, rather than of declarative statements and clearly articulated propositions, and just as jokes or magic tricks are easily ruined when each of their steps is explained, thinking is not thinking unless it realizes that its approach to objects can only be oblique." (12)

That first line is my favorite: "The real is something that cannot be known, only loved."  Wish I'd written it.

Actually, though ,I can imagine a joke or magic trick being effective through the performed deconstruction of its process.  Some of my poetry works that way.  And, really, I think poetry is related to jokes and magic tricks.  Not to mention philosophy.

Harman is always worth reading.  Even when I have quibbles.  He always makes me think, always delights me in some way.