Agonist
In The Gift Paradigm (Alain Caille) he refers to The Gift by Marcel Mauss, and his Triple Obligation: giving, receiving, and giving back.
Where Mauss is evoking “an ‘agonistic’ gift—in which it is a question of ‘flattening one’s rival,’ of putting him in the ‘shadow of his name’—that is to say, a challenge of generosity, which is a form of war (through the gift). But a way that has a the special and precious characteristic of allowing peace to be made. The exchange of murders, beatings, insults, and wounds is substituted by the assault of generosity, by the exchange of words, precious goods…. The type of gift … (these ellipses hold a key phrase: non agonistic ‘total performances’ that I don’t understand yet)… is an agonistic exchange that transforms enemies into allies.”
Later, Caille contextualizes this ‘triad of giving’ as only making sense “if it is qualified by a fourth moment, that of demand.” That is, “the cycle of giving is therefore organized in four stages — asking, giving, receiving, and giving back.” [For its opposite: ignoring, taking, refusing, keeping.]
what happens in the space before
asking
?
what happens in the space before
giving
?
what happens in the space before
receiving
?
and
what happens in the space before
giving back
?
If we include the ‘opposite’ this matrix of consideration becomes impossible for me to think through (ignoring, taking, refusing, keeping)
Definitions of ‘agonist’ in different contexts.
biochemistry: a substance which initiates a physiological response when combined with a receptor.
zoology (animal behavior): associated with conflict
anatomy (muscles): relating to an agonist (= a muscle that is pulled in the opposite direction by another muscle):
argumentative: striving for effect, strained
fighting: relating to fighting or aggression (= spoken or physical behavior that is threatening or involves harm to someone or something):
games: relating to athletic contests in Ancient Greece.
From agon (Greek, contest) -> agonistes (Greek, contestant) -> agonist (late Latin, competitor in games, 17th c.)
[while I don’t wish to present a ‘drug’ version of this diagram of how different ingredients in a cells ‘report’ a kind of ‘representation’ and resulting ‘action/inaction’, I’m leaving it bc its a good diagram, because a former cell biologist I am very fond of any evidence of any mechanism (and drugs are a very clever way to assert the ‘truth’ of the biological mechanism), and because, our society is synthesizing all kinds of human levers forcing all kinds of biological, geological and theoretical levers, questioning the very idea of ‘natural’, all the time.]
