But if this technological utopia were possible, to restrict its use to the analysis of aesthetic form, governed by a philosophical tradition of aesthetics as establishing evaluative hierarchies through the strict differentiation of media and genres, is safe harbor from a much more disturbing event which has placed the Enlightenment conception of the subject at risk. Perhaps the most succinct and powerful effect of the figural is that it has abolished the criteria of unity and identity that are the product of Enlightenment philosophy. Transformations in communication, the media, and the management of multinational economies evidence that the figural era is already well-ensconced. Wealth belongs not to individuals but to corporations. One thing has not changed.
Communication still refers to the creation, distribution, and management of information and ideas.
Similarly, distinctions between subject and object are no longer clear-cut. This is well understood well by those who finance, govern, market, and manage. The philosopher, whose function should be to develop concepts and tools for critical understanding, is panting to catch-up. More important than the analysis of forms is the creation of concepts that enable critical reading. Describing the shape of the figural in space and time is less crucial than understanding the logic that produces it.