Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Babelian Cosmopolitanism Or Tuning In To “Sublime Frequencies”, Puspa Damai

English Faculty Research

Jacques Attali, in his critically acclaimed book, Noise: The Political Economy of Music, cites one of Leibniz’s little known but “extraordinary” texts, “Drôle de pensée touchant nouvelle sorte de représentation,” in which the philosopher describes the “Palace of Marvels.” The Palace of Marvels is Leibniz’s idealization of a perfect political organization, which is built in such a way that the master of the house is able to hear and see everything that is being said and done in the premises without himself being perceived by his subjects. Leibniz’s vision of disciplinary society not only predates Bentham’s or Foucault’s subsequent versions …