Six definitions of PARASITE
(according to Michel Serres)
"[...] Serres's primary argument is that the relationship between a parasite and its host serves as a useful model for all forms of social, cultural and technological mediation. Instead of conceptualizing social relations according to the model of exchange, for example, Serres argues that all acts of exchange are actually based on exploitation. Serres explains this idea by replacing Marx's concept of "exchange value" with the term "abuse value," which he defines as "complete, irrevocable consummation" that only works in "one direction". Abuse value "precedes use and exchange-value," according to Serres, because "exchange is always weighed, measured, calculated, taking into account a relation without exchange, an abusive relation". The French word "parasite" also signifies noise or static, which enables Serres to extend his argument to communication systems as well. Instead of seeing communication as a two-way process, for example, he argues that every channel also contains an element of interference, which constantly threatens to disrupt the signal. Serres adds, however, that such disruptions are potentially productive, as they result in the formation of a "new system". Serres even extends this metaphor to biological systems by arguing that evolution similarly depends on "mutations" within a system. The value of the parasite as a concept, therefore, is that it encompasses such a wide range of fields, including anthropology, biology and communications." (Anthony Enns)
