Abstract
In many of his texts French cultural critic, city planner and philosopher Paul Virilio emphasises that speed is not a phenomenon, but a relation between phenomena. The difference between contemporary society and societies of the past consists in the fact that earlier speed used to be mainly connected with transport, now it concerns relations within information. The question of speed is central. Speed and wealth go hand in hand. To give a philosophical definition of speed, we can say that it is not a phenomenon, but rather the relationship between phenomena. In other words, it is relativity itself. Virilio’s influential books analyses new problems resulting from the fact that the development of industrial capitalism has reached the stage in which wealth and power in society have been interconnected with ever increasing speed. In view of Virilio’s statement that wealth is an aspect of speed it has become necessary to consider speed and all its aspects and consequences through a prism of a new discipline – dromology. Dromology originates from the Greek word dromos. Hence dromology is the science of the ride, the journey, the drive, the way. This means that speed and riches are totally linked concepts. And that the history of the world is not only about the political economy of riches that is, wealth, money, capital, but also about political economy of speed. Text analyzes the two main themes. Firstly, the treatise attempts at a philosophical analysis OD – dromology. Dromologic revolutions cause artificial acceleration of speed in the form of steam or combustion engine, or, nowadays, nuclear energy and they immediately form both e.g. waging wars and kinds of communication. The second part of the study discusses the difference between contemporary society and societies of the past. Vehicles of speed create new dromospheric chronology, new tracks and nodal points (ports, roads, airports, telecommunications etc.) through which things; goods, money, weapons, people or information will start flowing within a different structure.
Highlights
In the third chapter of the book Polar Inertia, Virilio presents one of variations on the topic – what is speed as follows: “For if speed is not phenomenon, but only relation between phenomena, we might adapt Bernard de Clairvaux by stating that light is the name for shadow of absolute speed, or to be more precise, that the speed of rays of light is the name for the shadow of the speed of light of electromagnetics waves
Accident is inseparable from the speed [4]
As we try to protect ourselves from excess in real speed by means of breaks and automated safety systems, we have to try to protect ourselves from excess in virtual speed, from what unexpectedly happens to substance – meaning to what lies beneath engineers awareness as producer
Summary
In the third chapter of the book Polar Inertia, Virilio presents one of variations on the topic – what is speed as follows: “For if speed is not phenomenon, but only relation between phenomena (relativity itself), we might adapt Bernard de Clairvaux by stating that light is the name for shadow of absolute speed, or to be more precise, that the speed of rays of light is the name for the shadow of the speed of light of electromagnetics waves. In other words, continuing modernization, which is according to Virilio one of the consequences of speed, constructs its new dimensions of space and time: dromologic teletopy and dromospheric chronology. It is possible to live, communicate, do business, become rich, love, acquire higher share in power and even wage war in these new dimensions of time and space The one to which the author felt most attracted was quite naturally Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and his Phenomenology of Perception [4] In many of his texts Virilio emphasises that speed is not a phenomenon, but a relation between phenomena. Virilio’s influential book - Speed and Politics, analyses new problems resulting from the fact that the development of industrial capitalism has reached the stage in which wealth and power in society have been interconnected with ever increasing speed. In view of Virilio’s statement that wealth is an aspect of speed it has become necessary to consider speed and all its aspects and consequences through a prism of a new discipline – dromology
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
