In this episode of Pythian School of Futures, Denis Maksimov presents critical ideography, a method with emancipatory potential to build languages within languages. Analyzing the impact of linguistics and semiotics on subjective thinking, Maksimov disavows taking established meanings of the words and images for granted. As a form of insurgency against a predetermined future built by what is deemed fixed or given, he proposes to employ language as a hacking tool to subvert our collective mindset. The episode is a call to coin new words, generate alternative meanings, and modify existing ones to liberate languages and therefore ourselves.

Ideography is a graphic symbol that represents an idea or concept, independent of any particular language, and specific words or phrases. McGee uses the term in his seminal article “The ‘Ideograph’: A Link Between Rhetoric and Ideology” which appeared in the Quarterly Journal of Speech in 1980. McGee explains ideography as “political language which manifests ideology seems characterized by slogans, a vocabulary of ‘ideographs’ easily mistaken for the technical terminology of political philosophy.” An ideograph or rhetoric is a word frequently used in political discourse that uses an abstract concept to develop support for political positions. An ideograph in rhetoric often exists as a building block or simply one term or short phrase that summarizes the orientation or attitude of an ideology. Such examples notably include liberty, freedom, democracy, justice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideograph_(rhetoric)

Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. Aristotle defines rhetoric as "the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion." From Ancient Greece to the late 19th century, rhetoric played a central role in Western education in training orators, lawyers, counselors, historians, statesmen, and poets. Rhetoric is also used in the construction of true arguments, or in identifying what is relevant, the crux of the matter, in a selection of true but otherwise trivial statements. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetoric

Michael Calvin McGee was the first rhetorical theorist to propose the concept of ideograph, which he described as, "an ordinary-language term found in political discourse. McGee had many major contributions in the realm of rhetoric and in cultural studies. He published three major works: Rhetoric in Postmodern America, The Ideograph: A Link between Rhetoric and Ideology, and Text, Context, and the Fragmentation of Contemporary Culture. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Calvin_McGee

Donald John Trump is an American media personality and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. He entered the 2016 presidential race as a Republican and was elected in a close victory over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton while losing the popular vote. He was the first U.S. president without prior military or government service. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump

The new episode of Pythian School of Futures focuses on our shared obsession with anticipation. The host of the series, Denis Maksimov reflects on the urge to calculate the consequences of any action or event to take place in the future. It unpacks emotions involving pleasure or anxiety while awaiting or considering outcomes of an expected occurrence. What kind of feelings arise while potentiality becomes actuality? Why is anticipation such an essential part of every decision-making process? How does anticipation differ from forecasting or prediction? Maksimov invites listeners to contemplate whether we have any space left for spontaneity in our lives.

Episode Notes:

The word dynamo (from the Greek word dynamis, meaning force or power) was originally another name for an electrical generator and still has some regional usage as a replacement for the word generator. Dynamos were the first electrical generators capable of delivering power for industry, and the foundation upon which many other later electric-power conversion devices were based, including the electric motor, the alternating-current alternator, and the rotary converter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamo

"Actuality" comes from Latin its meaning is "anything which is currently happening". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potentiality_and_actuality#Actuality

Potentiality and potency are translations of the Ancient Greek word dunamis as it is used by Aristotle as a concept contrasting with actuality. Its Latin translation is "potentia", the root of the English word potential,. Dunamis is an ordinary Greek word for possibility or capability. Depending on context, it could be translated "potency", "potential", "capacity", "ability", "power", "capability", "strength", "possibility", "force" and is the root of modern English words "dynamic", "dynamite", and "dynamo". In early modern philosophy, English authors like Hobbes and Locke used the English word "power" as their translation of Latin potentia. The concept of potentiality refers to any "possibility" that a thing can be said to have. Aristotle did not consider all possibilities the same and emphasized the importance of those that become real of their own accord when conditions are right and nothing stops them. Actuality, in contrast to potentiality, is the motion, change, or activity that represents an exercise or fulfillment of a possibility, when a possibility becomes real in the fullest sense. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potentiality_and_actuality

The concept of an archetype appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis. An archetype can be a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that other statements, patterns of behavior, and objects copy, emulate, or "merge" into. Informal synonyms frequently used for this definition include "standard example," "basic example," and the longer-form "archetypal example;" mathematical archetypes often appear as "canonical examples." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archetype

Produced by Lara Huz | 

Sound Production by Barış Tan | 

Music by Arsan Sağlar

This episode of Pythian School of Futures sets off to envision a form of state which neither occupies land nor holds borders. The title of the episode refers to a project done by the Avenir Institute in which artists aim to bypass the bureaucratic convention of naturalization. The symbolic protocol to obtain citizenship does not require any paperwork but paying a visit to the website of the state: www.stateofnoland.info

The host of the podcast, Denis Maksimov puts the concept of state under scrutiny to discover how the outdated notion of statehood could be redefined according to the needs of the new world that is to come. He dives into speculative future scenarios to pose questions about how states could be useful rather than forceful.

Episode Notes:

The first article within the statement of principles describes the state of noland as a state of mind not aligned with any geopolitical entity and a state-after-state, a constellation of practices that replace political monopolies. The statement of principles are available at: https://www.stateofnoland.info/statement-of-principles

The nation-state is an ideal in which cultural boundaries match up with political boundaries. According to one definition, "a nation-state is a sovereign state of which most of its subjects are united also by factors which define a nation such as a language or common descent." It is a more precise concept than "country" since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation_state

The process in which a notionally non-European subject (be it a culture, a language, a city, or a nation) adopts several European features (often related to Westernization). Europeanisation in political science has been referred to very generally as 'becoming more European like'. More specifically than this, it has been defined in several ways. One of the earliest conceptualizations of the term is by Ladrech (1994, 69), who defines Europeanisation simply as ‘an incremental process of re-orienting the direction and shape of politics to the extent that EC political and economic dynamics become part of the organizational logic of national politics and policymaking.’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europeanisation

Leviathan, is a book written by Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) and published in 1651. Written during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Its name derives from the biblical Leviathan. The work concerns the structure of society and legitimate government and is regarded as one of the earliest and most influential examples of social contract theory. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviathan_(Hobbes_book)

Rhizome as a philosophical concept was developed by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari in their Capitalism and Schizophrenia (1972–1980) project. It is what Deleuze calls an "image of thought", based on the botanical rhizome, that apprehends multiplicities. Deleuze and Guattari use the terms "rhizome" and "rhizomatic" to describe theory and research that allows for multiple, non-hierarchical entry and exit points in data representation and interpretation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhizome_(philosophy)

In this episode of the Pythian School of Futures, Denis Maksimov unpacks the term supranormality as a method of breaking down heteronormativity to render its unabiding authority on life powerless. Supernormality or supranormal refers to the abolishment of any established conception of normality. As notions such as normal or natural are instruments to demonize and cast out uncompromising forms of the other from the whole. Today the women and the LGBTIQ+ struggle are both playing a leading role to undo constitutions that underpin speciesism, racism, and sexism. Generating subjectivities driven by otherness, queerness, strangeness, and weirdness.

Inspired by the historical figures that manifested peculiarities with pride and confidence, this episode delves into the negative effects of normativity on language, culture, identity, and overall life. As the supranormal exorcist of Avenir Institute, Denis Maksimov invites listeners to imagine intelligent and cunning ways to purge the demons of the old world to begin building something queer anew today.

Episode Notes:

Supernormality or supranormality is being so extraordinary or peculiar as to suggest powers that break the laws of nature or normality. It referred to otherness, strangeness, bizarreness, and queerness. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/supernormal

Queer is an umbrella term for sexual and gender minorities who are not heterosexual or are not cisgender. Queer theory is a critical discourse developed in the 1990s in order to deconstruct (or ‘to queer’) sexuality and gender in the wake of gay identity politics. Queer theorists expand sexuality as a discursive social construction, fluid, plural, and continually negotiated rather than a natural, fixed, core identity.

‘The representation of gender is its construction,’ declares the Italian-American feminist theorist Teresa de Lauretis, who coined the term ‘queer theory’ in 1990. Queer theorists foreground those who do not neatly fit into conventional categories, such as bisexuals, transvestites, transgendered people, and transsexuals. Queer theory has itself been a significant influence on cultural and literary theory, postcolonialism, and sociology, and ‘queering’ is now applied also to the ‘boundaries’ of academic disciplines. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queer_theory

Gay marriage also known as same-sex marriage is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender, entered into in a civil or religious ceremony. There are records of same-sex marriage dating back to the first century. In the modern era, marriage equality was first granted to same-sex couples in the Netherlands on 1 April 2001. As of January 2021, same-sex marriage was legally performed and recognized in 29 countries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage

A nuclear family, elementary family or conjugal family is a family group consisting of two parents and their children (one or more). It is in contrast to a single-parent family, the larger extended family, or a family with more than two parents. Nuclear families typically center on a married couple which may have any number of children .https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_family 

Produced by Lara Huz |

Sound Production by Barış Tan |

Music by Arsan Sağlar

This episode refers to a work titled Power Cards by Avenir Institute that employs gamification of critique within the context of power. The primary goal of this game is to make players question the essence of power. Taking this inquiry as a point of departure, Denis Maksimov formulates questions such as: How do authoritarian leaders gain and accumulate power? How come political and economic unions, nation-states, and corporations compete against one another and consolidate each other's power at the same time? How is power manifested within domestic environments or workplaces? Mapping out entities that throttle our world, Denis Maksimov probes through various temporalities and horizons to reveal the infrastructure that generates and distributes the power that rules over life on earth.

Episode Notes:

In Latin and Ancient Greek, aura means wind, breeze, or breath. According to spiritual beliefs, aura or human energy field is a colored emanation that encloses a human body or any animal or object. In some esoteric teachings, the aura is described as a subtle body. Psychics, holistic medicine practitioners, and oracles often claim to have the ability to see the size, color, and type of vibration of an aura. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aura_(paranormal)

Capitol Hill houses the United States Capitol, the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Supreme Court. In addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, it is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington District. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitol_Hill

Founded in 1993, The European Union is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. As a sui generis political entity (without precedent or comparison), it consists of an internal singular market established through a standardized system of laws that apply in all member states in matters where members have agreed to act as one.

The European Parliament is one of the three legislative branches of the European Union among its seven institutions. It represents the second-largest democratic electorate in the world (after the Parliament of India) and the largest trans-national democratic electorate in the world. Since 1979, the parliament has been directly elected every five years by the citizens. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Parliament

The European Commission is the executive branch of the European Union, responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding treaties, and managing day-to-day affairs. It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members that constitute the Commission. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Commission

Westminster Abbey is a large, mainly Gothic abbey church in London. It is one of the United Kingdom's most notable religious buildings and the traditional place of coronation. It is also a burial site for English and British monarchs. The Westminster system or the Westminster model is a type of parliamentary system of government operating in England. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_Abbey

Produced by Lara Huz | 

Sound Production by Barış Tan |

Music by Arsan Sağlar

This episode delves into the history of the future from an anthropological point of view, to scrutinize our contemporary condition. Denis Maksimov refers to it as the everlasting present that could be described as being trapped in a constant state of stasis which obstructs us from dreaming for a better world and to devise viable plans towards this cause.

Starting from the fall of the temple of Apollo, Denis Maksimov travels through time. Searching for critical actors and events that paralyzed our present moment, he crash-lands in the cold war and its institutional heritage. On the way, he encounters foreseers of a different nature: fortune tellers, prophets, foreseers, scryers, priests, imams, augurs, politicians, and finally tech companies dealing with big data, to constitute an inconsistent lineage of future producers.

Episode Notes:

A think tank or policy institute is a research agency that surveys and advocates for issues such as social policy, political strategy, economy, military, technology, and culture. Think tanks range from those associated with high academic or scholarly activities to those that are overtly ideological and pushing for a particular policy, with widely differing quality of research among them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_tank

The Delphic Oracle known as the Pythia was the high priestess of the temple of Apollo and she was the most authoritative oracle among male-dominated Ancient Greece and the most powerful woman of the classical world. Pythia’s counsel was most in demand to forecast the outcome of projected wars or political actions.

Pythia gave extensive prophecies to citizens, foreigners, kings, and philosophers on subjects of different nature. Inquiries were ranging from a variety of topics such as economics, culture, military tactics, and war, duty, crime, family, laws even personal matters. Her utterances were not directly recorded by the inquirer; instead, they were interpreted and ambiguously written down by her priests.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythia

The origin of the term Magog referred to Lydia, in what is now Turkey. Its use in the Book of Ezekiel, Chapter 38 mentions "Gog of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal" has led to it being associated with apocalyptic traditions. This was the second of the seven sons of Japheth mentioned in the Table of Nations in Genesis 10. Various ancient and medieval traditions have built on biblical references and added details to them. The legend of Gog and Magog and the gates were also interpolated into the Alexander romances. In one version, "Goth and Magothy" are kings of the Unclean Nations, driven beyond a mountain pass by Alexander, and blocked from returning by his new wall. Gog and Magog are said to engage in human cannibalism in romances and derived literature. They have also been depicted on Medieval cosmological maps. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magog_(Bible)

Produced by Lara Huz |

Sound Production Barış Tan |

Music by Arsan Sağlar

The new episode of “Pythian School of Futures” compares ancient oracular practices with forecast methodologies devised by modern institutions, i.e. think tanks. Denis Maksimov examines the foresight of oracles who were believed to be gifted with the ability to provide intelligent and insightful advice or prophetic prescience. He sees their anticipatory speculations as paragons of calculated predictions, to be employed by data scientists and financial analysts in the contemporary world, and poses questions about how the future is produced

Episode Notes:

Delphi is located at the foot of Mount Parnassus in Greece and civilization is considered the center of the world as Delphi. This area, formerly known as "Pytho" was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphi

The name of Pythia originates from the Iliad and the Odyssey legend, which is considered as the holy book of Greek mythology. Pythia was the godmother of Apollo, the god of beauty. She was the high priestess of the temple of Apollo and is often referred to as the Delphic Oracle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythia

The Delphic oracle had substantial influence in Ancient Greece because her delirious comments were thought of as prophecies that  had decisive effects on worldly matters. People in Greek civilization were visiting Delphi to seek guidance about their problems. They submitted to Pythia as her institution was believed to be able to direct the future. Delphic Oracles were able to give elaborate predictions about politics, economics, culture, and military tactics as well as through insights about history at a hefty price.

McKinsey & Company is an American global management consulting company, founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey that advises on strategic management to corporations, governments, and other organizations. He conceived the idea after witnessing inefficiencies in military suppliers while working for the U.S. Army Ordnance Department. The company advises on using accounting principles as a management tool. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKinsey_%26_Company https://www.mckinsey.com/about-us/overview

RAND Corporation is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. The establishment is financed by the U.S. government and private endowment, corporations, universities and private individuals. The company researches and develops solutions for other governments, international organizations, private companies and foundations with a host of defense and non-defense issues, including healthcare. https://www.rand.org/about.html

Produced by Lara Huz |

Sound Production by Barış Tan |

Music by Arsan Sağlar

What is avenir? How is it different from the future? In this episode, Denis Maksimov of Avenir Institute sets out to present their idiosyncratic terminology dedicated to examining the phenomenon of the future. He formulates a dizzying array of questions around politics, economy, culture, and literature that source from the institute's practice-based pursuit to think differently about the future and act accordingly in the 21st century.

Episode Notes:

AVENIR INSTITUTE is an artistic think tank focused on the critical analysis of aesthetics and futures of power. It seeks to develop multiple thinking modes that are subversive, emancipatory and plural about the future. https://avenirinstitute.infoAvenir (“to come” in French) is used by Avenir Institute for construction of the concept of futures in language through various words related to the future in other languages. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/avenir

Avenir (“to come” in French) is used by Avenir Institute for construction of the concept of futures in language through various words related to the future in other languages. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/avenir

Castle in the sky is a metaphor that Denis uses to describe a setting similar to the Cinderella Castle (referred to as the Disney Castle) which is among the foremost icons of an idealized “ideal” (therefore best desirable “normal”) way of life championed by the state and imposed on society. A metaphor developed that the future is perceptually shaped by elements of political rhetoric, ideographs, that are intentionally abstract. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella_Castle

Avenirology is a paradigm for approaching the unknown in a prospective and neutral, rather than current introspective and negative way. It is challenging the orthodox thinking about unexplored from the conservative perspective of unconditional defence of stability, status quo as well as risk aversion. In the centre of the avenirologic approach is the agency of anticipation. Avenirological approach to future values the resilience to the emergencies that are surrounding our environment. The resilient approach to the emergency is the approach that allows us to open up a fork of opportunities in front of us from a very restricted line of possibilities within our future. https://avenirinstitute.info/avenirology

Supranormality is a term coined by Denis Maksimov. It’s a way of calling otherness, weirdness, queerness (some of which over time got “colonised” by normalisation themselves). These expressions help as a roadmap to transcend normality. So to surpass normality, some of the tools that we can use already exist within a culture. These tools were approached by the philosophers and were dealt with by politicians for a long time already in history. The queer theory particularly and the theory of otherness is very important to understand why do we see those alternative ways of dealing with institutions or relationships. The LGBTQI+ community and women are now playing a leading role in breaking down this normality.

The extended version of the episode notes is at AVTO Blog: http://www.avtoonline.org/#/blog/introduction-of-avenirology-against-the-future

Produced by Lara Huz |

Sound Production by Arsan Sağlar