Sine and Catal Try See Bated by Baas erase rh nd Roy Weintrand BLoeo. 136 pele On the Modern Cult of the Factish Gods Bruno Latour Ft chapter rosary Catherine omer nd Heather MacLean Dike Univer ress thane annx Prete Devereu in Pars. ranted a check the st teat on fetishism and ish agrnst abe seul pete of el practioner The Sst haper of te prevent book isthe transition ofthe pamphlet pubs shed on his experience The, for fou year, ad th ood foun of reazing the exhblion onadsh for which was curator, wit seve ‘ends, and which opened in 2002 Ihe notion fallow one 0 ‘spend te ble of eli har of nach aims a suspending ooo. slamic gestures. Instead of another lenoclatic exibition, we wasted ‘0 do an exibition stout iconoclasm, uansforing this notion fom = ‘esoureto atop. The sumpeuous etal bela tof prin, sce good det repels is itrodocton? Since the quston of height ‘way consider mages and more general matios isa the eat of alle issues of feiss and ionodlat, Ihave adda thie chante ‘which Jeompare religous inagesto thse of inte practice, so 5 to propose another take onthe siece and eligion debate? ‘Taebookthus composed egies noting mre fom he reader than ‘thesuspeasion, no doabe momentary, of belief in belie andinccgu. eis in my experience, the ony way to focus of the cretons of out ands, and to pay one's exact ues to creator and to create aie. “Teonoclash” fro Latour and Peter Weibel Copyright 2005, ZK ‘Zenwam for Kunst und Medientecoologe Ktlsube, Germany and “The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass, Al ight reseed “Thou hal Not reeze-Frame, fom Science, Rg on the man Be eet, e, James Proto, 27-48. Copyight 2005, Oxoré University res. Repsiced by permission fhe publisher. On the Cult of the Factish Gods "he gh inl pnp sn te ater ahs of te ote ei ae erway of weg the gs. They oon expen to ber ins, rts of hei ges, ad deste tem ge efi, sige ‘thee af Pei eho shan sh bra ngage em sn rg, mms, a gh ey i har hae a fs nd ats iirc dso freer nations om ck ings, hey em ohare ue {igen hr itis phn on lh ad he pole wo oe ted ths ey by inl geste ep Mk Den end whe or ‘east eth, eset ote ad te ae st many tmp nd erty oie he eas ig, Fn, and bark ios, Dag set reno ested fl genes 2 rat hy sa el es tl amen Tyas eg few fom te arenas frome ty hae feds fom Be gods ‘Seyan dower hy ae. Tg tan milf hor art hf dos and Tere ls, tof ol apse forbeilaceiey west One sex isha nde the pope wsdl nto dep dei tft of shee automat bt a te raps fr neigh, hi they cl uma’ Fel bj —or eet ee. on econ ht hy esol ating al nd ht hy re en preset eal so eal jes (ets an ude nn ou anu Than afte by ee ari oni overt pat an endo despa he Meh Ds gps ey asi rake, mtn comers ed erfis:ty ptgds bk pat hess lg hn tery nog verter tars ‘Deyo seid where a adi Bb oun nage—incth wes oes Ie theses, omnes ave maser of al be es, nd somtimes ope ones Tas hsba ppd tse undo ohare Yo” “—Repoaed by Counselor De-ru-Osh, emlsar to China om the ‘Koreen Roel Court inthe mi-eighteenth cacy2 Capers PartOne airy objers, axe objerts ‘tw oder to mock both ou ova foolish belief and those of oes, our Sethiking ancestors handed down wows the scofing one set by Vol- tate among others. But in oxdr to mock al frm of worship i this vn onder co oveehrow allo ols, we had oben in eso, he only fore capable of seeing trough ll chose follies. How can we pea ‘symmetrical about ourselves and others without believing either se ono: bel, while sl respecting both fetishes and facts? The eed syyhand at this, somewhat ww, by defining epasioeas way easing to beleein bel. oh Moon bia ehh Lado Peleg Next Bais ota tate of ming bata result of relationships among peoples we hive known this since Montaigne. The visor knows; the person sted belive. Convers the stor knew, the person ited makes ‘im understand that eon thought be knew. Lets apy this pape tothe case ofthe moderns Where hey drop nh, they 000 Setup fetishes thats the se al he peoples hey encounter as worhippes of meaningless objets, Since she Moderns natty have to come up ‘withan explanation for the strangeness of form of woth that cannot be used objectively, hey abate othe sages 2 meatal sate eat ‘sincera rather than eteral reference. sth wie of oonzation sdraces, the world fils up wih elves. Modem is someone who belies that others beleve. An agnosie, conversely, doesnot wonder ‘wheter itis necessary wo blew or ot, but why the Modersssodespet- stely need ele in order o sue ups eationship with thes. ‘kal stared onthe WestCoast of Altes, somewhere ia Guinea, with ‘he Poragues.Conered wth amulets of he sunt andthe Vega them Seles, theyacusd the Gold Cousblaks of worshipping tishes When the Pomguese demanded an snaver tthe ist question, “Have you ‘ade thesestons, cli, and wood oe ouhonorwithyour own hands?™ Donte cutoff Godt a ‘he Guineanstepledatoncethatindeed they ad. Ordered toansnerthe second question, “Ae thes stone a, and wood Kas tre dines?” ‘th Slack anemeced Ye" with wtmorianocene ye, ofcbae ober ize hey would not have made them with thee on hans! The Por ‘pete, shocked bat erapulos, not wanting 1 condemn without proof, ‘gave the Afcans one last chance: "Yu cart say both tat you're made yout own fetishes and that they ae tru ies: yu hase hos’ ‘throne othe othe, Unless" they went on indignant "you relly ‘bave aa sing, and you're a oblivious to he principle of contradiction as yow are thes of ol Stunned slave fom the Blacks, who fed to see contrition, proved how many ring separated ters fiom flan complete humanity. Bombarded wih questions, they per sted in epeatinghat hey di make chee own ial andthe these ‘were indeed tue vines, Confronted with sah tas bad Et, the Borsgies cold only respond with jes, delsion, and disgust. "To designate the aberaion ofthe costal Gina Bsc, 20d 19 coves up theron misunderstanding, the Roreaguse (very Catal, rplorers, conquerors, and to a cera exten ave traders a wel are ‘aught hase used theatre fii, fom to, the pat ppl of the orraguese eb "to do, to make" Av nous, Itmeans frm, gure configuatin, but a an adjective, artificial, ebsised tions and ‘ial, enchaned* Right from he sar, the wor emolgyzefisd, like the Blac, to choose beteen wh shaped by work and what sults fil, his hesitation, induced fasination and brought ‘on sels. Been though ll exymologlaldleionares agree onthe oi ‘in ofthe erm, hares de Bross, who invented the word “fess” (Preach étichisme) in 276, lnked ies olga wie frum, o sig, the source ofthe French noun Fe, “ue” an ofthe adjective fem in the noun ise objet, robert” also of he English adc “fey “me lake fom the wertoset of ies, snd even tose om the interior al he way up to ubl, along the Egyptian border, wor ship catia dvnis that the Baropsns cll ihe, aterm de‘sed by ou traders ftom Senegal based on the Rertguete word ets) -that iso saya feeobjet an enchanted, dine, ot acu objec, om the ala oot Fara, Fant at”? Whaterertote may prefer the eter orchice eains the one on ‘which he Poreaguese asted andthe Blacks reece “Whois speaking inthe orale? Is tthe human being, othe faey-obet sls the nity real oars" “Both” the defendants reply a ce sce they are unable to asp the dence. “You havo choose,” say the conqueror, witha Freres ‘het rot ofthe word indicate ater well he ambiguy suo ing an obec that lls, thats fabricated o, o blend both meanings lntoa single expresion, an objet tha provokes alk es, the fish ina eallemakes” “oo bad the Afficans did uot tum the compliment. I would have been ic to ee them ak the Portguese dealers fhe own amet of ‘he Virgin had been made by hand or hd fllen direst out ofthe a. ‘cael crafted and engeaed by cu goldsmith” ther moat Ise answered pray. So are they ely sacred” the Blacks wosld Bae asked. “OF course they ae; they were solemnly blessed by the ache shop in Noss Senhora dos Remédis church nthe presence of ie King” "Soi you recognize both the working of gold an vera the smitcracibleandthe sire character of your ions wha you accusing us of contaicton, when wet saying the sate ting? Whats good fo the goseis god forthe gande” “Sactilege! No on can confse als tobe smashed with cons tobe prayed tthe Porguese would have ansmete, indignant alloveragin inthe Face f such impudence. ‘onthe caethe ci Gods 3 Sil we canbe that hey woul ave ale spon theologian ogee then out of the predicament into whic they had een thrawa by the ‘meres hint of symmenta anthropology. Bu they woud have needed 2 auble acholarto tech thers how to ditingish between lt (ec ‘este adoration, reserved for God) and dua (moderate adoration as forexample ofthe Virgin Mar). “ious images” che theologian would ‘nave iatoned, “are nothing in and of verses; hey simply serve to remind sof the model that is the ony legitimate objec of worship. ‘our monstrous il, on the oe and ze supposed to be the diva tes themsees, fom wht you say and yt you impudent adi that youve mae them ours ftom scratch” Why shoul he jeopardize ‘ls epuaion in a theologies lscusion with mare ates, anyway? Ashamed ofequrocating nthe gi of ao ele holon would have toppled the ols, burned the feihe, znd then consecrated the ‘rue mage ofthe sueing Cit and his Holy Mote inside the din fectedtemples. ‘ren without the belo this imaginary loge, we can se periciy vel tat what we have ete sao contrast beowee dolatrous Gold ‘Coase Backs and imagefee Portuguese visitors, We see one group of peopl covered with amulets sofing at another group of people overed ‘ith amalets. Wedonothaeconopiles on one side and iconoclstson the other, buteonodules om bth lds (one ide being made of electie scooocasy) et the misunderstanding persisted, because each de, act ng i oa erm, rete tn choose. The Pogues fied a hes tate berven ue objec of piety and sinister masks covered with sc rif blood and grate On the Go Cost, every oraguete rddenly ipayed the fervent indigncion Moses expressed agains the Golden Cale "dois have mouth, but ctr speak pes, but neve se, ea bat severe" The Guinans on thle, oud notsceaay boos dir cence beewen the iol hat ad been brought down andthe icon erected init pace. Relatvits before the tem wa invented the ehought what ‘the Domaguese were doing was he sme thing they id. And itwas pe lst this failure to dsinguish, hs lak of comprebension, chat eon emed them nthe cps ofthe Portuguese. These stages could noterenOpts ‘cle difereae beeneea lyn is, beeen their own Stes and ‘herholy icons ofthe ivades they refed to rasp she extent of he aulfehatseparted human construction fanatic rom the defite reality of hat no human ha ever constricted. Even the dicen be. tween imimanence and transcendence seed to be beyond them. How coud the Poraguese flo se then se primis, and ihn ay a rimlsereigion?® llth more so since he savages have een dab persistent in ‘el err. Thre centuries ltr in contemporary Ro defnez, Bsc snd Porguese mestizos stbbornymalatain both hat theirs se made, ibricated “sete,” and that, a a el they at eal The anthropologist Patricia de Aquino has colecredand tasted accounts Dy Candombl inate: “vas shaved init) in Sadr for Oss, ut I bad wo ses ‘ews (who asked, though dhvnstion, to be seated, installed, ‘ade absicated), and Mother Ania (hi inion) ent met Rio because atthe ine Yews ws slay an endangered Oras, so ' spea, There were many who a lage knew te ro (rub te for “the words and ites") of Yew” “1am fom Obs, Ob isalmos dea already because noone knows howto seater, 0 onc knows the crf oleae here (this Can ombié beaut Iwas shaved here, and here not pingto forget ‘he so (Yoruba tem for “eres for making he ™* ‘Te ant-siishist slumbering within ws cannot stad the beazenoess ‘of such sateen Hide the consruction process, the raf the fe ‘hate cant see How anyou so sanctimonious ame hat you bare ‘o make fabricate, seat, sat, const these dvlies that rp you and yet ein outof reach? Are you so unuaze of he difrence be ‘oven making whet comes fom youtehes and receling what comes fiom eeewbete? No mater where they landed, the Poeaguse, sucky the sae ot ofimpadence, ho andestnd fcihiamy kenigitetbero nates (teu ofthe Fach Gos 7 ceca. point bite eeouron ise oes, Fouon ths soo tou pl ens pp oul beveling einen cer veh ape Ing Meir paar lh, youth we cond otis an ier wo acoing th sts ep thlog serps Orel yeaeynrown aoe ke souls yo sable tesihey ate oP Th ts pre sch degre feet eo are oad a the eral nao an hed ar mike pga ‘Seng beet pl ie oe ay of a rom the mouths of the Fontenelles, the Voltares, and Feuerbachs cttw sae eerste eps pring bier souae aly linge sng reo ae ng hal Os een Towns iter oscil fad testes Ofte Cando peri rtp "a fom Dad ser one {hows tot ise Dl, eget Sagoo On 0 at hey wit ake ee peso eal’ Wheaten eis ig eoneting ha ete complet soos nro ‘Sone a fee in sr ne dle pet, the tage ge comeing ih a, an low the dens Tera eter ropes nae boven in iat oo Suving stent eee iene ty then ap ke ovr and os xh al hy ae 0 fr of depen oven does dou cen dei yl Moderne tele ibeltn nero ended odes ome iret todd ero unevtand esses Cae trove tl mayo iting oa? How he Modes nag Bld Fetus TO ands \fweallow ourseles toler from thosewhe do aoblievela belie we notice thatthe Moderns do nt believe sit any more than the costal ‘Slack id, The Whites may have accused the savages of ela, but8 os ‘his id otaesesslly mae them nine as-is theses IFwe ‘belived tht, would move us Erte ftom Sel bt loser to Char dis fe belived that, we would save the Blick fom bei and bel? \woald then become an acuston leveled by he Whies agaost some thing they did not understand—but we woul be plunging the Whites {nto an abyss of ave We woud are them belving thatthe others ‘ite! We would be conisig Whites wih Slik! What we at ast ove fr he eishist we most de now forthe st-ishiss, and show lures tobe as chartable toward the later as we ave been toward the Forme. ‘As Iehappens, just as the charge of fchim completely fl to de- ‘ecb the practices ofthe coat Backs the ela of ants ike ‘wise fais toexpain the pracces ofthe Whites, Wheteetheyinstal thle _ratfes-snashing machines, the Whites begin once sgaln ope the same sor oF uneerain beings the Racks produce, anit impose sible el whether these beings ze constricted ols, immanent ‘or wanscendent. Let us cose, for example, everyting he fei ob ects capable of dong, ven though tis accused of dang noting. ‘Whats the definition ofan anc-feshie? An ant-feihiat issome- ‘onewho acute someone else of beings feiss. And whetis the con ‘ent ofthe complain? The fetishists aecatd of being mistaken about ‘he origin ofthe power in question. Hehe ul an iol with is own hands his own human labor, his owa human fats, bis owahuman owers—petheatibaesthisabor, these anti a these powees 0 ‘he very object hat e has erated. The Ftish—at at according to the snt-eishst—acts, so to spe, Ike an orechend projec. The image cones from the professor who has plcedatansarency on thet oer the binding ligt, but wha is shown seems mo sptng ftom the sreenomard the audience, aif either the profesor norte overhead projector ad anything do wihit The uscinated spectators “arwibte ‘navtonomy tothe image” tat it does ot poses, Overaring fei ism thus amounts to jverngan iaerion, reversing reves ec ing th image, ad grantag thera maser ofthe action rdf in ‘tog. Along the wa, however, the real master hs dieppeate! The Ont ute Fach Godt 4 object, which was nothing, is now doing something. As forthe origin ofthe ato, ic ges los na ghtfly mixed-up bare of inheritance. 1s son 2 the antes aves che i's inefeevenes, he in ‘act plunges ito a contadeton from whick be cannot escape. Jest when che ft deesied to Be nothing aac begin to act and shi rething about Ie capabl is paricalr, of reversing the origin of power Betr yer sine acceding to the at-feshiss the eft ofthe Fei is eficacious only if restr is unaware of origin, t most be capable of complete islmulating ts own manufctre. Tasks t0 the fish, ina single ave of mage wand is restr can tum bins ‘Bom acyicl manipulator int a ingensons dap. Thus, eventhough the fess nothing but hata human makes of i, tnevenbeless 284s slide somethin: t nents the origi ofthe action, simulates the human wok of aniplation, anditrasformserestorito acest ow could anyone deny the efcsionnes ofan objec that capable of so many prodigious fexs? ‘But he fetish does bers: it modes the ery guatyof human action and work, ander, by tevelngtharonlyhuran acon givesroie and power wo objet, the eel thinker ght aver he iveted ‘gins of power, ending te ison ofthe fetishes once and forall ‘Someone who (sin Beliewed he was hearing vies woud then tra ‘nnn avettrlogis, Having become sare of his owa doube-dealing, hewould be ecole wth hmtelé. Someone who believed he was de- pendent on ditties wood ote that he stall alone with hs own {nner oie an that nies own nothing he has ot given them. Once the scales hd fille from his ees, he woud see that here was not into se. He would hat ned hie slienaion— meatal, eligius, eco- omic, an poleal-sine no lien woald ever gain ome tolatch ob pastel, to something be had built wih hls own calosed hands td his own creative epi Caried aay by the exe's denunciatioo, Inumaos woud Sali esl tattheyare sole masters in aor freer pte oficial he ie that Prometheus had stolen from the gods ‘wold bestoles bck fom Promos himself cal thing. Fee ‘would come ftom humans, and ftom humans alone.—— ee » Capers Alone? Not quite, and se where things become complicated once ‘gin_Lkean curestawyerwhoks todideanearewhea there isn0 wand no hey, the crcl hiker never knows to hom he sho ce store the power that was mistakenly abut tthe fetishes. Should it ‘be giten bcktothe indvideal who ls masterofhinsef aswel ak ofthe Unireri, oto society of indus? Ifthe answer is tht one should ender unto sci that which sole’, matey os al over aga, “he inbertance recovered ftom the eis is dispersed smong coud flea er. Once delay’ reversal has been reese, ence te Projection of pomer hasbeen “projected” back ota an oven, iis ot the“1"the working ndvdoal whos found ache end ofthe ron, buta group, a mulide, a cole. Under the now dispelled fntany ofthe fetish the enlightened kuman bing realizes that be isnot realy lone, but that e shares is asence witha cxowd of actor, The len he thought he was eliminating comes back the gh complicated ‘om of sci male. The human ator has meely exchanged one form of waascendenc for another We can ee thi quite well in Ele Durkin, in whose hands het whic social seems hares opaque than the offending religion explains? Mary, in his famous defiiion ofthe fetishism of commodities, Hustates how something that oes nothing ca still manage opolieae: ‘There. isa deine sea relaon between me, tht esume, {in dhe ees, the fantasce Form of atelation between things. In loner, thetfore, to find an analogy, we must have recouse tothe Imstenveloped spins ofthe religious worl, In hit world the productions ofthe human bran appears independent blag en owed wit if, and ening nto relation both with one anocher ‘nd the umn race, Sti isthe word of commmodices wit the products of mens hands. This eal the Fetishisn which aches Selo the products of labour, sa soon a8 they ae produced at commodities, and which stherefreinepaableim the peodse- tion of commodities ® Feonomic anthropology atest tothe fc tht relationships azsong Jnuman beings, whether feishized byway of merchanditeo not seem Conte Clothe Fath Gots a po me ingle o mss an amon des fen "Ele ening toy, Reman eis ste 22 in erate esr roe og ome Sean ‘Sateen ape tft Sicveneem ffs, erin of etree Rear anuotesethenn tats srpst iene ‘Stn beens Neher ts or eit noe “insomnia be ogsofacon wna eo atted rps cm omg ese ch tom engi often oes ‘Soporte mead pert ogee re Shite at mee eh nda st power pico dey 0 ees i is ce feb Bae i ij a eaves inher olds nes ins Creo linge pets thr imi ie Snot ors anh oc an esa jo te tei he espn ane sange mane nr ate ae fonetohae oanange™ ow he Modes Stuge—and alto ising as fom Fes ‘Why must che Moderns retort to compliated forms inorder to be- tive in other naire bei, o in knowledge without bel among thezselves? Why mis hey 2a fer lee in fetishes, wie they seemingly prastice the mos austere ant-feihisa? Why ao jos edit hatter 0 such hing as Fetish —and no at-fecshisen teher—andrengnize the strange efleay of thes action displaces ‘rth whieh ores aeintmately bound up? The reason is that Mod ios azesrogly tached t the conveion tat there isan eset ifeencebeeween fact and fetishes. he goa of belie aether to ‘ils the mena state of fshists nor to account forthe aie of fnifeishsts Bebe depends on something completely diferent on the disincin beoseen knowledge and ison, or athe, 8 we sal seein the following section, on the teparation between practical life—whch does nor make this dsinton—andveoetcal fe, which main ‘Lecuslooa like more losely athe double epee thatthe notion of belehastoconain in separate compartment and sec how tock. ‘As soon athe ant-feishist has denounced nave el and reveled he work ofthe human aco, wor that mistakenly oes ent idols smadeof.tonesnd wood egoesonto denounce the are bei thatthe iniidual human actor thnks he ean atibote tos a actions Its nota nthe eps ofthe an-eishiss, to behave ike orlnary actors! you ty to dance to thelr tae, you are aap stating oon the wong, foot. Ifyou believe you ar elng manipulated by dls, they wll how ou tat you have created them wth your own hand; bai you proudly boast of our ability occa so fey, they wil how you that avisible foes are manipulating you and making you thei agent withot your Inowiedige. he eel tinker trumps tie ove the consumiate ‘iret of the ordinary ctr, seeing the invisible wock tha the ator ojectng onto he dvntes who manipulate him, bu also seeing he invisible eres tha vive the toy, who believes he manipelates eet (Ceca thinkers, fring ofthe alightenment,ceielealy manpa- late ins things chemsees, a we can se; the get ibeaton om stinstion produce endes namber of aliens) : ow do the Moderns go abou framing he actions of diary actors bymeansoftvo suc contactor densnations? They J this byasing ‘vo opectors instead of just one they lnvokefis-objets on the one band, and fc objets onthe other When hey denounce the nate bel? ofsctorsin fetishes, heya using human action hati fe nd focused ‘onthe tube. Bar when they denounce the mle bli of cosine ‘wm subecve freedom, the ecical thinkers arewsngobets—as they ae known bythe object seiences—tha they have established, and in whic they pace hes fl ast. They thus alerate been ay objects and fc objects, 0 theycan show off toning ae people Since the situation is key to besos complicate, pethaps a dite ram wil help guide us Let us sae with the ist rial denuneia - ‘nti cutee Fach God 8 ‘ion The aman stor shins hes determined bythe power of bes, ‘omer that lls hl bow to behave. ornately the cea thinker ‘watching out form, and denounces the arto’ double-dealing, which, “in eat” projec he pomerof his own ation ont an ine obec" ‘Ope ight beleve tha the wok of denunciation oer. Sbered up, feed, deleted, thesubjectakesbacthe energy shat edt belong ‘to hm an refer wo grant ls imaginary eonstrucons 25 autonomy ‘hat hey cn never agua recaprare. The Wok of denunciation doesnot sop here, however it sears up agai, but now in the other direction ‘he ee and avtonomous human subjee bouts, ie t00 Soa, that ‘eis the rma eause ofl his own projections an manipulations For ‘atl the rial thinker, who never sees, once gaia reels how