Diabolic marks, organs and relations: exiting symbolic misery

The globalized societies of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries are de-composing, according to Bernard Stiegler. This decay is expressed by breakdown in the compositional process between symbol and diabol as the dynamic circuit of interiorization and exteriorization, vital for individuation, has become subject to mass calculation, marketization, and hyper-synchronization. For Stiegler there is no way out of this impasse and the result is misery – a diabolic world. In Stiegler’s narration of symbolic misery, diabolic activities and aesthetic forms are not considered capable of conditioning social relations. This article develops the concept of the diabol through readings of Emily Dickinson’s poetry – her diabolic marks – and the diabolic organs and relations of feminist free improvisation. I demonstrate how diabolic inscriptions, which intensify singularity and diachrony, are social-aesthetic resources that can support individuation and trans-individuation and hold potential to open up a new epoch of diabolic sense.