Cinq-Mars  

A Sloterdijk sphere, of sorts, is cited by Bachelard in the story of a character in a de Vigny novel reading Descartes’ Meditations: “Sometimes he would take up a sphere set near him, and after turning it between his fingers for a long time, would sink into the most profound daydreams of science.” The child’s marble here becomes a source of knowledge, even if it is daydream knowledge. Sloterdijk’s sphere program has irritated many of his readers, perhaps because he needs to have fun, to play with the idea and the text: “When one doesn’t want to know anything about the formation of spheres, one obviously stays clear of dramatic- love affairs; and, those who cross to the other side of the street when encountering Eros exclude all efforts to elucidate the vital shape.” --[1] [Jul 2006]