Bayo Akomolafe, a philosopher, psychologist, and poet, discusses the transformative power of love and the complexities of relational dynamics. He highlights the radical incompleteness of love and how it challenges binary categorizations. Reflecting on his personal journey, Bayo shares insights on memory, loss, and care. The conversation also explores the impact of the pandemic on family dynamics and the importance of self-awareness in recognizing disruptive patterns in our lives. Embracing life's messiness, they reveal new possibilities for connection.
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insights INSIGHT
Binaries as Organizing Principles
Binaries are helpful for organizing a complex world, offering care and legibility.
However, binaries oversimplify, obscuring the relational tensions within them, like "worlds in their becoming."
insights INSIGHT
The Ritournelle and Cracks in Structure
Cultures and categories offer structure and care but can become restrictive.
Cracks in these structures allow new possibilities to emerge, even within repetition.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Bayo's Search for His Father
Bayo tried to "save" his deceased father by understanding faith and building a "time machine."
This failed, leading him to realize that the "afterlife" is in the present, diffracted within the world.
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Ritournelle is a concept created by Gilles Deleuze & Felix Guattari for A Thousand Plateaus (1987.) It's the main subject of 11th plateau 1837: Of the refrain. In this episode of 'Love and Philosophy,' host Andrea Hiott engages in a deep and thought-provoking conversation with philosopher, psychologist, and poet Bayo Akomolafe. They discuss the transformative power of love, the complexities beyond binary categorizations, and the idea of life as a process filled with relational tensions and incompleteness. The discussion covers Bayo's personal journey, including reflections on his father and his book 'These Wilds Beyond Our Fences.' They explore themes of care, disruption, and the radical incompleteness of reality, providing listeners with insights into how we can embrace the multiplicities of being human. Host of this episode is philosopher Andrea Hiott.
00:00 Introduction to Categories and Relational Tensions 02:20 Welcome to Love and Philosophy 02:43 Introducing Bayo Akomolafe 03:19 Themes of the Podcast and Bayo's Background 05:36 Binaries and Relationality 09:11 Personal Reflections and Philosophical Insights 09:46 The Concept of Retournello and Repetition 10:56 Navigating Categories and Structures 12:22 The Story of Bayo's Daughter 14:17 Philosophical Reflections on Life and Death 23:05 The Role of Trauma and Healing 32:11 The Pandemic and Societal Reflections 36:42 Love as Radical Incompleteness 38:27 Conclusion and Farewell
Love & Philosophy 
