Critics and Care: The Figure of the Parrhesiast as Reader and Writer of Knots

Abstract

Abstract. In this article I tie the function of criticism to the care of the self and others. To do this, I not only use well-known Foucauldian notions (criticism, self-care) but also Lacanian psychoanalysis, in particular the logic of knotting that I have been developing for a long time (sinthome, Borromean knot). I start from a diagnosis of the situation on neoliberalism and delimit some key vectors to elaborate a critical response accordingly. I appeal for an update of the figure of the parrhesiast as one who tells the truth and exposes himself to a concrete risk in doing so. Finally, I assume this enunciation in my own name, to show that the implication is necessary if you want to transform something in the exercise of criticism.