Distinguished Lecture: Prof. Dr. Thomas Lemke The Bomb Beneath the Table: Elements of an Analytics of Suspension

The lecture aims to explore mechanisms of suspension in contemporary societies. It seeks to empirically map different elements of what could be called a politics of suspension. I suggest distinguishing four distinct – yet often connected and interrelated – modes of suspension: ontological, temporal, epistemological, and affective.

The first involves ontological suspension achieved through technologies that utilise extreme cold to preserve organic material, keeping it in a liminal state between life and death. The second mode of suspension extends the present by deferring decisions and postponing choices. Temporal suspension operates through ongoing promises of recognition, persistent fears of loss, and the precarious and provisional nature of entitlements and benefits. Epistemological suspension systematically challenges scientific evidence and fosters confusion and mistrust, undermining social truth claims. The fourth and final mode of suspension focuses on exploiting a particular affective constellation. Disavowal offers an individual and collective response to the experience of traumatic facts and the numerous crises of contemporary societies by alleviating anxiety and suspending the responsibility to act.