CL Althusser

This weeks readings struck a cord to me about our everyday lives. There are many things in our modern existence that we take for granite, or simply do not even recognize as functions. Althusser discusses the concept of ourselves as being subjects, and the practical rituals of our everyday rituals. He writes:

"But to recognize that we are subjects and that we function in the practical rituals of the most elementary everyday life (the hand-shake, the fact of calling you by your name, that fact that knowing, even if I do not know what it is, that you 'have'' a name of your own, which means that you are recognized as a unique subject, etc.)- this recognition only gives us the 'consciousness' of our incessant (eternal) practice of ideological recognition- its consciousness, i.e., its recognition- but in no sense does it give us the (scientific) knowledge of the mechanism of this recognition."

That is one long sentence. I have been thinking mostly of Saussure when I read this, and the idea of language. We need language to function. It does not necessarily make us believe that we are worth more "scientifically" or "eternal." Langauge, as Saussure would surely agree, is the most basic way we, as humans, function. But it is not the only way. Another type of language that we are all fluent in, our body language, plays a huge role in human interaction. As Althusser points out "the hand-shake" signifies a relationship between two people. We all know what it means- in our culture. In other cultures, different actions reflect the same idea.

The French kiss on both cheeks. The Japanese bow. I have a friend from Puerto Rico who told me that he used to kiss people on the cheek when he first moved to the U.S. like he used to do at home, but they got mad. Now he offers a very formal hand-shake to even his closest friends when he greats them. It is odd and overly formally, but he does not realize that he is being "too formal" for a friendly handshake. I view it as odd.

These cultural divides and language barriers will always keep us from communicating with one another fluently. But the "practical rituals" of everyday life will continue to demand. It is up to us to interpret them.