Kristeva "New Forms of Revolt"

Caleb Parsons

Unveiling the new means of revolt in the 21st century, Julia Kristen returns to the European tradition of questioning and self-analysis. Rather than settle into complacency, the contemporary subject must engage in what Kristeva calls an "infinitesimal emancipation." These microcosms of revolution that occur within the subject reflect a change in the collective whole. Kristen asserts that by engaging in a "radical inner experience" the subject radically transforms the modes of interaction they take part in, thereby altering the social body. What enables these revolts to take place is active self-analysis. The active self-analysis leads to what Pascal refers to as "perpetual motion." Our sense of self is always in motion, moving from one form to another, only to be radically changed every moment of our lives. While this does not demand that we never believe in anything, or make decisions, the process of "radical inner experience" calls the subject to disregard totalitarian ideality and unwavering commitment to universals.
Similar to the processes of evaluation in Kristeva's "infinitesimal emancipation," Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis leads toward dissolution and suppression of the unity found in being and law. Since the self is "always already dependent not the Other and the other," it becomes possible to unravel the threads that form our inner-consciousness. Engaging in this search, just as we did in the previous method, the psychoanalyst returns the analysand to their repressed memories. The intended achievement of this practice is to conduct the patient to a "rebirth" or "psychical restructuring." Instead of ensuring a false form of happiness through technology, psychoanalysis introduces a reflective practice that forces the subject to re-evaluate the self, which shapes the relations between other subjects, therefor the social body.
*When Kristen talks about the "negative" in Regaining the Sense of the Negative, what does she mean by this term? Is the absence of something, or its contradiction?