Social and political philosophy Books

Book SynopsisSex used to rule. Now gender identity is on the throne. Sex survives as a cheap imitation of its former self: assigned at birth, on a spectrum, socially constructed, and definitely not binary. Apparently quite a few of us fall outside the categories ‘male’ and ‘female’. But gender identity is said to be universal – we all have one. Humanity used to be cleaved into two sexes, whereas now the crucial division depends on whether our gender identity aligns with our body. If it does, we are cisgender; if it does not, we are transgender. The dethroning of sex has meant the threat of execution for formerly noble words such as ‘woman’ and ‘man’. In this provocative, bold, and humane book, the philosopher Alex Byrne pushes back against the new gender revolution. Drawing on evidence from biology, psychology, anthropology and sexology, Byrne exposes the flaws in the revolutionary manifesto. The book applies the tools of philosophy, accessibly and with flair, to gender, sex, transsexuality, patriarchy, our many identities, and our true or authentic selves. The topics of Trouble with Gender are relevant to us all. This is a book for anyone who has wondered ‘Is sex binary?’, ‘Why are men and women different?’, ‘What is a woman?’ or, simply, ‘Where can I go to know more about these controversies?’ Revolutions devour their own children, and the gender revolution is no exception. Trouble with Gender joins the forefront of the counter-revolution, restoring sex to its rightful place, at the centre of what it means to be human.Trade Review"Alex Byrne masterfully does what philosophers are supposed to do: clarify words and concepts, identify which ideas follows from which other ones, and distinguish what is from what ought to be. And despite the now incendiary subject matter, he accomplishes all this with a light touch and an appealing voice."Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of Rationality"A refreshingly clarifying and forthright take on the philosophy of gender activism, cutting through the noise with incisiveness and wit. Anyone interested in the gender wars needs to read it."Kathleen Stock, author of Material Girls"Alex Byrne's Trouble with Gender is an admirably clear and rigorous book that outlines the major parameters of what is often an off-kilter discussion. Combining philosophy and science with an eye for how issues of sex and gender are discussed in the media, Byrne gives the reader a lesson not only in how to think about these specific issues, but also in how to think at all."Nina Power, author of One Dimensional Woman and What Do Men Want? "Current academic discussions of sex and gender are dominated by advocates, dogmatists, poseurs, and obscurantists. Trouble with Gender offers a lucid, rigorous and judicious guide to the perplexed. It’s an antidote to irrationality and also a pleasure to read."Christina Hoff Sommers, author of Who Stole Feminism?"Everyone with opinions, or questions, about matters of sex and gender should read this book. It carefully and incisively unravels the tangled mass of ideas that cluster under the umbrella of gender. It does not engage in politics, or question the extent of human variability, or deny the reality of anyone’s experience, but it does claim that there is no escape from the concept of sex as binary, and that the prevailing orthodoxy, which treats sex as socially constructed and an infinitely malleable continuum, is ‘tragically wrong’. I challenge anyone who accepts that orthodoxy to explain in detail where the arguments presented here go wrong."Janet Radcliffe Richards, author of The Sceptical Feminist“excellent… Byrne succeeds wildly.”Jesse Singal, SubstackTable of ContentsPreface Introduction Chapter 1: Gender, Double Toil and Trouble Chapter 2: ‘Gender’ TroubleChapter 3: Clownfish and Chromosomes Chapter 4: I am WomanChapter 5: The Rise of Gender Identity Chapter 6: Born in the Wrong Body Chapter 7: Is Biology Destiny? Chapter 8: True Selves and Identity Crises CodaAcknowledgementsBibliography NotesIndex

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Book SynopsisIn this book, renowned anthropologist Michael Jackson draws on philosophy, biography, ethnography, and literature to explore the meanings and affordances of friendship—a relationship just as significant as, yet somehow different from, kinship and love. Beginning with Aristotle’s accounts of friendship as a political virtue and Montaigne’s famous essay on friendship as a form of love, Jackson examines the tension between the political and personal resonances of friendship in the philosophy of Hannah Arendt, the biography of the Indian historian Brijen Gupta, and the oral narratives of a Kuranko storyteller, Keti Ferenke Koroma. He offers reflections on childhood friends, imaginary friends, lifelong friendships, and friendships with animals. He ruminates particularly on the complications of friendship in the context of anthropological fieldwork, exploring the contradiction between the egalitarian spirit of friendship on the one hand and, on the other, the power imbalance between ethnographers and their interlocutors. Through these stories, Jackson explores the unpredictable interplay of mutability and mutuality in intimate human relationships, and the critical importance of choice in forming friendship—what it means to be loyal to friends through good times and bad, and even in the face of danger. Through a blend of memoir, theory, ethnography, and fiction, Jackson shows us how the elective affinities of friendship transcend culture, gender, and age, and offer us perennial means of taking stock of our lives and getting a measure of our own self-worth.Trade Review"A compelling exploration of friendship, rich with insights and astute anthropological and philosophical reflections. Friendship offers a highly original treatment of an important topic in clear and incisive terms. I know of no other work that examines the many diverse aspects of friendship in people’s lives in such rich and informed ways." * Robert Desjarlais, Sarah Lawrence College *

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Book SynopsisAn influential thinker distills years of work on the philosophy of movement into one accessible account Why are city dwellers worldwide walking on average ten percent faster than they were a decade ago? Why are newcomer immigrant groups so often maligned when migration has always constituted civilization? To analyze and understand the depth of the reasons, Thomas Nail suggests that it serves us well to turn to a philosophy of movement. Synthesizing and extending many years of his influential work, The Philosophy of Movement is a comprehensive argument for how motion is the primary force in human and natural history. Nail critiques the bias toward stasis at the core of Western thought, asking: what would a philosophy that began with the primacy of movement look like? Interrogating the consequences of movement throughout history and in daily life in the twenty-first century, he draws connections and traces patterns between scales of rea

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Book SynopsisHistory and Philosophy of Sport and Physical Activity, Second Edition With HKPropel Access, seamlessly blends the historical and philosophical dimensions of the study of human movement. The text follows a chronology of human movement from our origins as hunter-gatherers to the present, offering philosophical and ethical analyses alongside explorations of cultural shifts that have emerged from different ethnic, racial, gender, and national traditions.The second edition of History and Philosophy of Sport and Physical Activity is ideal for instructors who teach history and philosophy in a single course. Each chapter provides a historical scaffolding that leads into philosophical discussions about the issues raised. The text eschews dense blocks of text in favor of accessible writing and an interactive student experience.Updates to the latest edition include expanded coverage of diversity, equity, and inclusion topics; a deeper exploration of epistemology; a discussion of alternate forms of physical activity; and new material about the ethics of research. Contemporary topics of discussion such as the Exercise Is Medicine (EIM) movement, athlete biodata collection, and transgender and nonbinary athletes in sport are thoroughly explored.Discussion questions and study questions at the end of each chapter challenge students to reflect on the course material and share their ideas. Historical profile sidebars throughout the chapters allow students to gain greater insight into historical figures and events. Throughout the text, students are prompted to access related online activities in HKPropel. These short exercises connect philosophical inquiry to historical events and modern-day issues and serve as important tools for improving students’ reasoning skills. Instructors are supported with a comprehensive instructor guide that includes sample responses to the downloadable student exercises, section references for the downloadable study questions, and sample discussion and assignment prompts related to the discussion questions. The instructor guide also includes ideas and instructions for semester-long student projects.History and Philosophy of Sport and Physical Activity, Second Edition, presents a thorough integration of philosophy and history, capitalizing on the strengths of both disciplines.Note: A code for accessing HKPropel is included with all new print books.Table of ContentsIntroduction: History, Philosophy, and Kinesiology The Evolution of Kinesiology The Humanities and the Sciences The Nature of History and Philosophy The Subject Matter of KinesiologyChapter 1. Bodies, Brains, and Cultures Making Sense of Our Story Developing a Brief Chronology of Our Story Great Leaps Forward Patterns of Culture in Hunter-Forager Societies The Origins of Sport The Complexities of Work and Play in Hunting and Foraging SocietiesChapter 2. The Transition From Super Endurance Predators to Farmers A Revolution in How We Lived The Impact of the Neolithic Revolution on Human Vigor and Health Physical Activity as a Tool and as a Jewel The Difficulties of Interpreting Ancient Sporting Cultures A Model of Traditional SportChapter 3. Ancient Greece and the Shape of Modern Sport and Physical Education The Foundation of Western Civilization Myth, Religion, and the Origins of Greek Physical Culture The Birth of Philosophy The Ancient Sporting Festivals The Olympic Games Greek Sporting Culture Sources of Evidence for Ancient Greek Sport Greek Recreation and Physical EducationChapter 4. Continuity and Change in Physical Cultures Monuments to Sporting Spectacles Comparing Mesoamerican and Roman Spectacles of Blood Opposition to Gladiatorial Contests The Ethics of Brutality in Sport Contrast and Continuity The Enduring Martial Traditions Religious and Intellectual Opposition to Martial Sports Similarities and Differences Between Eastern and Western Sport Global Continuities and ContrastsChapter 5. The Expansion of the West and the Birth of the Modern World The Birth of the “Modern World” The Renaissance, Neoclassical Revivals of Sport, and the “Nature of Man” The Emergence of “Modern” Debates on Human Nature The Protestant Reformation and Sport, Physical Education, and the Body The Scientific Revolution and Modern Attitudes Toward Sport, Physical Education, and the BodyChapter 6. Great Britain and the Birth of Modern Sport Sport as a Critical Modern Institution The Rationalization of Ethics Under Utilitarianism Rationalization and Gambling Games for the Common Folk The Rationalization of Fair PlayChapter 7. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity The Emergence of Modern Sport Liberty, Equality, and Morality The Role of Fraternity in Modern Sport Fraternity, Partisanship, and Spectatorship Fraternity, Partisanship, and CommercialismChapter 8. Games and Empires The Paradoxical Power of Sport Conquest, Colonialism, and the Spread of Western Sport Sport in Its Best Light The Subaltern Dilemma Sport as a Revolutionary Force Sport, Colonialism, and American ImperialismChapter 9. The Rise of International Sportsworlds Reviving the Olympic Games Olympic Growing Pains Social Exclusion and Other Harsh Realities of the Early Olympics The Globalization of Modern Sport Sport in Black and White and Technicolor The Ethics of CommercialismChapter 10. The West and the Rest Traditional and Indigenous Sport in an Age of Modernity Western Appropriations of Eastern Muses The Effectiveness of Folk Psychology and Folk Medicine Encounters With the “Other” Holistic Kinesiology The Emergence of Countercultural Movement PracticesChapter 11. The Golden Age of Modern Sport Phenomenology Cold War Sport Modern Science and Sport The Ethics of Performance Enhancement Breaking Gender Barriers Beyond the Gender Binary The Cold War and the Politics of Race in American Sport The Global Dimensions of Race and Sport Sport in Living ColorChapter 12. Snapshots From Our Times Do Global Connections Create Global Identities? Global Consumer Culture The Emergence of New Global Forms

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"This pithy, provocative little book brings Marxist humanism to bear on urban problems as pressing today as they were nearly half-a-century ago. Upsizing cities spell downsizing work, the coming of urban society announces the financialization of space, a crisis of industrial production begets a politics of urban reproduction—all with daunting threats as well as immanent possibilities. Dead for twenty-five years, old man Lefebvre lives on as our most visionary twenty-first-century urban thinker."—Andy Merrifield, author of Metromarxism, Magical Marxism, and The New Urban Question"Lefebvre’s work remains of enduring importance."—Stuart Elden, from the Foreword"Stimulating and resonant, suggesting new ways of attending to some classics of urban theory... My high praise goes to Elden and, especially, Bononno for producing this lovely book, which I am glad to have read."—Antipode"The text reads like a well-crafted set of research notes, constituting a preliminary step toward the concrete elaboration of ‘the urban’ as a historical mode of production. This volume would be useful both to those who labor in the Marxist tradition as well as to those generally interested in what Edward Soja calls the ‘spatial turn’ in critical social theory."—Marx & PhilosophyTable of ContentsContentsForewordStuart EldenIntroductory NoteHenri LefebvreMarxist Thought and the City1. The Situation of the Working Class in England2. The City and the Division of Labor3. Critique of Political Economy4. Engels and Utopia5. Capital and Land OwnershipConclusionNotes

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A Foreign Affairs Best of Books""Bartels, a leading analyst of electoral democracy and public opinion in the United States, turns here to a central question in European politics: Do right-wing populist parties pose a threat to democracy, moderate politics, and multilateral cooperation? His point in this important book is simple yet powerful."---Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs"Eye-opening."---Jan-Werner Mueller, Project Syndicate

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Book SynopsisFeatures the central principles of what is broadly known as political liberalism.Trade ReviewMacpherson provides for his readers a tightly written, meaty, and often invigorating critical assessment of Locke's argument. In it one finds some of the best of Macpherson's now famous criticism of liberal-democratic government. --Gregory E. Pyrcz in Canadian Philosophical Review

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Book SynopsisRené Girard (1923–2015) was one of the leading thinkers of our era - a provocative sage who bypassed prevailing orthodoxies to offer a bold, sweeping vision of human nature, human history, and human destiny. His oeuvre, offering a “mimetic theory” of cultural origins and human behavior, inspired such writers as Milan Kundera and J. M. Coetzee, and earned him a place among the forty “immortals” of the Académie Française.Too often, however, his work is considered only within various academic specializations. This first-ever biographical study takes a wider view. Cynthia L. Haven traces the evolution of Girard’s thought in parallel with his life and times. She recounts his formative years in France and his arrival in a country torn by racial division, and reveals his insights into the collective delusions of our technological world and the changing nature of warfare.Drawing on interviews with Girard and his colleagues, Evolution of Desire: A Life of René Girard provides an essential introduction to one of the twentieth century’s most controversial and original minds.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"It’s relentlessly fascinating, profoundly important and beautifully written. It should be required reading for everyone who reads books other than computer manuals." * Fortean Times *"The Superhumanities marks a turn in Jeffrey Kripal’s oeuvre from the exploratory and theoretical to envisioning the future possibilities and implications of his work for the academy . . . [This book] is written for an academic audience and is probably best suited for faculty and/or graduate students hoping to become faculty in the humanities." * Choice *“The Superhumanities marks a turn in Kripal’s oeuvre from the exploratory and theoretical to envisioning the future possibilities and implications of his work for the academy. This text serves as both a summation of this prolific scholar’s past contributions and a transition to his upcoming historical trilogy on the paranormal and science in America, suggestively and collectively named the Super Story Trilogy.” * Nova Religio *"Kripal has written a brave, exciting book that rewards thoughtful discussion, reflection, and engagement. The Superhumanities is a book that changes minds, a book that changes lives." * Reading Religion *"[Kripal proposes] de-colonising reality itself and enlarging our understanding of human identity, and hence of meaning and purpose. This is a major and indeed essential cultural enterprise, and this book is an extraordinary tour de force to this end." * Paradigm Explorer *“An electrifying, glorious, loving, and almost deranged romp through humanity’s greatest recurrent ideas and experiences, The Superhumanities is for anyone who senses that the transformative power of books, ideas, and spiritual experiences are intertwined and too often estranged.” -- Jonathan Haidt, author of 'The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion'“One of the foremost historians of religion and a consummate storyteller, Kripal makes a compelling case for restoring the anomalous and inexplicable to the heart of inquiry in the humanities. A must-read for anyone interested in the future of education, society, and indeed reality and for all who have experienced or would like to experience amazement.” -- Priscilla Wald, author of 'Contagious: Cultures, Carriers, and the Outbreak Narrative'“In this magical mystery tour of the superhumanities, Kripal takes us inside and out of the pantheistic, the paranormal, the metaphysical, the extrasensory, the anomalous, the weird, the wonderful, the awe inspiring. Reading the book is an experience—a mind-opening guide to the superhuman and soulful, as you feel where it leads you.” -- Richard A. Shweder, author of 'Why Do Men Barbecue? Recipes for Cultural Psychology'“Kripal’s recent foray into the troubled waters of the nature of reality and the human may be his greatest work yet. Kripal does not make categorical claims; the end is uncertain, but he does hold space for the hopeful possibility that the superhumanities might help us envision and create a new and more egalitarian world.” -- Stephen C. Finley, author of 'In and Out of This World: Material and Extraterrestrial Bodies in the Nation of Islam'"A fascinating read." * Reader's Labryinth, on Youtube *Table of ContentsPrologue. Teaching the Superman Introduction. How the Book Came to Be 1. Legitimate Science Fiction: From the History of Religions to the Superhumanities 2. “The Truth Must Be Depressing”: Immunological Responses of the Intellectual Body 3. The Human as Two: Toward an Apophatic Anthropology 4. Theory as Two: Rewriting the Real Conclusion. The Solid Rock Was Once Flowing Epilogue. Phoenix Reborn Acknowledgments and the Sigil Notes Index

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Book SynopsisRaymond Geuss is a critic of liberalism, a politics so pervasive in the West that it goes unnoticed. His attention sharpened by his own unorthodox intellectual journey, Geuss locates what we fail to see in the status quo: its shallowness and futility. Rejecting both authoritarian horror and liberal complacency, Geuss looks to genuinely new ideas.Trade ReviewBy intertwining autobiography and conceptual critique, Geuss underlines the idea that in order to gain a critical perspective on liberalism, it is necessary to become almost bilingual: able to speak the language of liberalism while also becoming fluent in the vocabulary of its critique. -- George Hoare * Times Literary Supplement *Thought-provoking…Though he doesn’t propose an alternative to liberalism, Geuss lucidly analyzes its shortcomings and sheds valuable light on how the critical mind is formed. This probing intellectual memoir will appeal to those who believe philosophy can change the world. * Publishers Weekly *Fascinating…Not Thinking like a Liberal deserves to be a classic. It is at once relatable and profound, humane and auspicious. In his best moments, Geuss offers his own life as a challenge to readers to think differently and more imaginatively. -- Matt McManus * Jacobin *Geuss’s bleak philosophical anthropology, or his broad, skeptical account of human powers and interests that is aimed at challenging the hubris of abstract theorizers, is compelling. His account of the unusual formation of his own intellectual and political sensibility is both moving and illuminating. -- Richard Eldridge * Los Angeles Review of Books *Over the past few decades, Raymond Guess has cultivated a reputation as one of the left’s most iconoclastic and individual thinkers. As a result, Not Thinking like a Liberal provides a timely autobiographical account of Guess’ intellectual development, sketching out his discomfort with the idea of liberalism and how his history and his thinking have converged…It is the ideal introduction to Geuss’ thought. -- Theo Stone * Marx & Philosophy Review of Books *There are many who regard themselves as liberal when it comes to opposition to the usual dogmatic authorities but who can’t identify with the liberalism of either contemporary Western capitalism or a dominant trend in recent political philosophy. Raymond Geuss’s remarkable book will be a clarificatory opportunity. It’s no straightforward polemic against liberalism but rather a typically insightful and persuasive guide to the philosophical resources that have guided Geuss himself toward his very distinctive position. -- Brian O’Connor, University College DublinOver the past few years, Raymond Geuss has attained striking mastery in positioning himself within current political philosophy by reviewing autobiographically the stations of his own intellectual development. In this new book, the talent this sort of writing needs undoubtedly hits its peak: by recollecting his upbringing in a small Catholic boarding school and his encounters with a few ingenious philosophers, Geuss eloquently and pointedly sums up the canon of aversions he has developed over the years to prevent him from becoming a liberal and persevering instead with the viewpoint of an estranged participant. There is more to learn about ethics, politics, and philosophy from this acute, expertly paced and plotted book than from dozens of scholarly studies on the same themes. -- Axel Honneth, Columbia UniversityRaymond Geuss’s philosophical memoir is an instant classic—a profound and iconoclastic story of how his fascinating formation evades any form of liberalism or authoritarianism! Geuss is the last great figure of the second golden age of American philosophy, yet his Hungarian Catholic beginnings and his Adorno- and Celan-influenced philosophy put him in a class of his own. This book is an intellectual feast and an existential feat! -- Cornel West, Union Theological Seminary, New York City

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsIntroduction, by Rosalind C. Morris Part 1 Text "Can the Subaltern Speak?" revised edition, from the "History" chapter of Critique of Postcolonial Reason, by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak Part 2 Contexts and Trajectories Reflections on "Can the Subaltern Speak?" Subaltern Studies after Spivak, by Partha Chatterjee Postcolonial Studies: Now That's History, by Ritu Birla The Ethnical Affirmation of Human Rights: Gayatri Spivak's Intervention, by Drucilla Cornell Part 3 Speaking of (Not) Hearing: Death and the Subaltern Death and the Subaltern, by Rajeswawri Sunder Rajan Between Speaking and Dying: Some Imperatives in the Emergence of the Subaltern in the Context of U.S. Slavery, by Abdul JanMohamed Subalterns at War, by Michele Barrett Part 4 Contemporaneities and Possible Futures: (Not) Speaking and Hearing Biopower and the New International Division of Reproductive Labor, by Pheng Cheah Moving from Subalternity: Indigenous Women in Guatemala and Mexico, by Jean Franco Part 5 In Response In Response: Looking Back, Looking Forward, by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak Appendix Can the Subaltern Speak? Bibliography Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisIt is tempting to believe that dehumanization is an excess of rhetoric—that no one thinks his foe is truly monstrous. David Livingstone Smith argues otherwise, showing that when we dehumanize our enemies, we consider them both human and not. Dehumanization is a genuine psychological response to political manipulation, with harrowing consequences.Trade ReviewNo one is doing better work on the psychology of dehumanization than David Livingstone Smith, and he brings to bear an impressive depth and breadth of knowledge in psychology, philosophy, history, and anthropology. Making Monsters is a landmark achievement which will frame all future work on the psychology of dehumanization. -- Eric Schwitzgebel, author of A Theory of Jerks and Other Philosophical MisadventuresA fascinating and rich book that combines philosophical and historical sophistication. Even—indeed especially—those who disagree markedly with Smith’s views about dehumanization, like me, will benefit from wrestling with his lucid, important arguments. -- Kate Manne, author of Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts WomenMaking Monsters is a wonderful book in so many ways. It is thoughtful, scholarly, and accessible, comprehensive and compelling—a tremendous accomplishment that will enrich our understanding of some of the darker part of our human condition. -- Lori Gruen, author of Entangled EmpathyMaking Monsters is a historically informed and theoretically rich exploration of how and why we dehumanize one another. Scientifically sophisticated and interdisciplinary in scope, Smith’s vivid use of examples transforms his book from a valuable scholarly treatise into an urgent and timely manifesto. -- Charlotte Witt, author of The Metaphysics of GenderIf you’ve ever wondered “How could they?” David Livingstone Smith’s brilliant Making Monsters will help you understand the callous brutality of race crimes and the psychology of dehumanization. With a steady hand, Smith leads us through a wide swath of the worst of human crimes and distills into his own insightful account the research explaining the social and psychological mechanisms that enable ordinary people to do monstrous deeds. This illuminating book is a major contribution to the urgent project of understanding the psychology of dehumanization in the hope of preventing future atrocities. -- Lynne Tirrell, University of ConnecticutIlluminating…It is cutting insights…along with thoughtful speculations on how dehumanization is nurtured—through racism, ideology, and the power of hierarchical structures—that makes this such an invaluable study, particularly at this time. -- Bill Marx * Arts Fuse *In this book, David Livingstone Smith’s concern is how human beings can come to conceive of other human beings ‘as subhuman creatures’—a phenomenon that is not limited to a single culture or a specific, isolated historical period…A very worthwhile read. -- Linda Roland Danil * Human Rights Quarterly *

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Book SynopsisSimultaneously an introduction to Hegel and a fundamental reimagining of Hegel’s project, this book presents a radical Hegel for the twenty-first century. Todd McGowan contends that the revolutionary core of Hegel’s thought is contradiction.Trade ReviewThis is the book we were waiting for after long years of being bombarded by Hegel as a closet liberal whose last word is recognition. With Todd McGowan, the revolutionary Hegel is back—however, it is not the old Marxist Hegel but the Hegel AFTER Marx, the Hegel who makes us aware that revolution is an open and risked process which necessarily entails catastrophic failures. Hegel’s problem—how to save the legacy of the French revolution after its breakdown—is our problem today: how to save the project of radical emancipation after the catastrophe of Stalinism. In a truly democratic country, Emancipation After Hegel would be reprinted in hundreds of thousands of copies and distributed for free to all students. Read this book… or ignore it at your own risk! -- Slavoj Žižek, author of Less Than Nothing and Absolute RecoilTodd McGowan's Emancipation After Hegel could not come at a more appropriate time: the time when we truly need to carefully (re)think and reestablish the idea of emancipation. The book does this in a brilliant and compelling way, taking contradiction—as understood by Hegel—as the key to the understanding of emancipation and its relationship to freedom. -- Alenka Zupančič, author of What Is Sex?In Emancipation After Hegel, Todd McGowan forges an unprecedented type of left Hegelianism. From Marx and Engels onward, leftist defenders of Hegel either downplay or repudiate Hegel's accounts of Christianity and the state. McGowan's distinctive achievement is to prove that Hegelian freedom would not exist without both the Christian legacy and the modern state. McGowan opens up new horizons precisely by venturing where traditional left Hegelianisms have feared to go. -- Adrian Johnston, author of A New German Idealism: Hegel, Žižek, and Dialectical MaterialismThe ten chapters canvass a wide range of topics—logic, reason, history, love, freedom, politics, experience, universality. In each case, McGowan shows with devastating clarity how the received view of Hegel has been founded on serious misreadings, then unfolds a fresh interpretation as deeply insightful as it is far-reaching. The result is an absolute tour de force. In McGowan's book, Hegel rises from the dead and assumes the status of an indispensable resource for the next chapter of Western intellectual history. -- Richard Boothby, author of Freud as Philosopher: Metapsychology After LacanSparklingly articulate. * Marx and Philosophy Review of Books *If Todd McGowan’s book on Hegel didn’t exist, we would have to invent it. McGowan is the giant of Vermont, the Bernie Sanders of the academy, the Larry David of Lacanian theory. * Continental Thought and Theory *This book is particularly helpful for someone trying to better understand Slavoj Žižek’s thought. Žižek resonates with McGowan’s emphasis on the necessity of embracing contradiction for understanding anything. * European Legacy *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Divided He Falls1. The Path to Contradiction: Redefining Emancipation2. Hegel After Freud3. What Hegel Means When He Says Vernunft4. The Insubstantiality of Substance: Restoring Hegel’s Lost Limbs5. Love and Logic6. How to Avoid Experience7. Learning to Love the End of History: Freedom Through Logic8. Resisting Resistance, Or Freedom Is a Positive Thing9. Absolute or Bust10. Emancipation Without SolutionsConclusion: Replanting Hegel’s TreeNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisThe maverick philosopher returns to explore today''s idealogical, political and economic battles, and asks whether radical change is possibleIn these troubled times, even the most pessimistic diagnosis of our future ends with an uplifting hint that things might not be as bad as all that, that there is light at the end of the tunnel.Yet, argues Slavoj Žižek, it is only when we have admit to ourselves that our situation is completely hopeless - that the light at the end of the tunnel is in fact the headlight of a train approaching us from the opposite direction - that fundamental change can be brought about. Surveying the various challenges in the world today, from mass migration and geopolitical tensions to terrorism, the explosion of rightist populism and the emergence of new radical politics - all of which, in their own way, express the impasses of global capitalism - Žižek explores whether there still remains the possibility for genuine change. Today, he proposes, the only true question is,or should be, this: do we endorse the predominant acceptance of capitalism as fact of human nature, or does today''s capitalism contain strong enough antagonisms to prevent its infinite reproduction? Can we, he asks, move beyond the failure of socialism, and beyond the current wave of populist rage, and initiate radical change before the train hits? ''Žižek is a thinker who regards nothing as outside his field: the result is deeply interesting and provocative'' - Guardian ''Žižek leaves no social or cultural phenomenon untheorized, and is master of the counterintuitive observation'' -New YorkerTrade ReviewŽižek is a thinker who regards nothing as outside his field: the result is deeply interesting and provocative * Guardian *Žižek leaves no social or cultural phenomenon untheorized, and is master of the counterintuitive observation * New Yorker *

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Book SynopsisThrough its account of influential socio-political processes – such as the resurgence of fascism and white supremacy, the crafting of new technologies of governance, and the operation of digital media and algorithms – Revolutionary Routines rethinks not only how change works, but also what counts as change.Trade Review"There is very much to commend the book to a readership, but for me, the most important aspect is the way it adds to the literature that explores the 'minor politics' of the event. By recasting social change in a minor key, other actors, environments and practices come into focus. Pedwell's book demonstrates, with great acuity, the importance of the transformation of habitual relations to a project of social change. This minor politics is essential not simply in and of itself, but also because it runs through (perhaps even constitutes) the event of constituent power. In this way, Revolutionary Routines provides fresh resources for anyone who seeks to explore the question of constituent power, protest and social movement. It is well worth a read." Critical Legal Thinking“Revolutionary Routines is a quintessentially philosophical text, which offers possibilities for rethinking our understanding of the habitual nature of social oppression in its various guises. [Pedwell’s] exploration of how popular culture, media, government techniques and digital ecologies are reshaping the mind, bodies and environment in ways that affect the conditions of political possibility remains an important endeavour.” LSE Review of Books“Revolutionary Routines: The Habits of Social Transformation will be useful reading for scholars, practitioners and activists working on social change and transformation, particularly as they engage with the continuing negotiations and ambivalence of social change. To fully engage with the potential of Carolyn Pedwell’s book, however, it is crucial to actively consider the nature and influence of institutionalised and contextualised power, especially its ability to stall progressive politics and transformation.” The Sociological Review“This is a valuable project, and Pedwell’s processual thinking is a fruitful ground for her inquiries. She reminds us that Dewey argued that successful revolutions require cultivating the needed ‘habits of thought.’” Theory & Event“Revolutionary Routines: The Habits of Social Transformation is ultimately and necessarily a call for speculative intervention, politics, and modes of praxis – an invitation to continue affecting, practising, and theorizing a world otherwise. As such, Pedwell’s book offers a substantial contribution to what the author identifies as the “emergent critical return to habit” and to the transdisciplinary field of affect studies.” University of Toronto Quarterly

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the Stowe Prize, Harriet Beecher Stowe Center""Longlisted for the Porchlight Business Book Awards, Personal Development & Human Behavior Category""A NationSwell Book of the Year""Finalist for the C. Wright Mills Award, Society for the Study of Social Problems""Shortlisted for the getAbstract International Book Award 2023, Business Impact Category""This is an openhearted, multilayered work that vibrates with ideas on ways to make a new world out of the interlocking crises of COVID-19 and racial capitalism. Progress may be a 'tear-soaked mirage,' as Benjamin writes, yet her book is far from devoid of a sense of humor or hope, full of ways to 'live poetically' while remaking the systems that have failed us."---Rhoda Feng, New York Magazine"Heartbreaking, inspiring, and hopeful. . . . Benjamin’s approach is undoubtedly radical."---James M. Jones, Science"There’s no one better to light the way out and guide us in building a just future than Ruha Benjamin."---Karla J. Strand, Ms. Magazine"Benjamin’s choice to weave personal stories of childhood and motherhood with action and theory made it easier to see how I fit into the narrative she was crafting. . . . In the spirit of activists and writers like Octavia Butler, Benjamin encourages us to dream up a new, more equitable world."---A. Rochaun Meadows-Fernandez, YES! Magazine"A powerful, urgent plea for individual responsibility in an unjust world." * Kirkus Reviews, starred review *"An emotional and thought-provoking wake-up shout to put an end to systemic discrimination. . . . A rich and engaging space for collective healing." * Library Journal *"Compelling . . . . The final pages of Benjamin’s Viral Justice are a testament to human resilience, to finding meaning in little acts, imbuing beauty in the mundane, and growing a garden from a seed."---Mehr Tarar, Stanford Social Innovation Review"I encourage educators across all subject matters to incorporate Benjamin’s Viral Justice framework in the classroom. These lessons ultimately provide students with a toolkit to reimagine justice and redistribute power in their own communities little by little."---Amber Joy Powell, Sociology of Race and Ethnicity"A unique and inspiring intervention, that comes at just the right moment."---Ros Williams, Ethnic and Racial Studies"Benjamin’s work is foundational for understanding society and social change. . . . Viral Justice offers real experiences coupled with theory and practicality to engender change."---Kenya Massey, Symbolic Interaction"[A] brilliant and impassioned book." * Paradigm Explorer *"A salve and a powerful revisiting of movement history. . . . I see Viral Justice as a refreshing reminder of how much we can learn from the analysis and perspective of a brilliant thinker outside our field . . . The book is lyrical and searing in its analysis."---Michelle Morse, The Lancet

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Book SynopsisCrowds and Party channels the energies of the riotous crowds who took to the streets in the past five years into an argument for the political party. Rejecting the emphasis on individuals and multitudes, Jodi Dean argues that we need to rethink the collective subject of politics. When crowds appear in spaces unauthorized by capital and the state-such as in the Occupy movement in New York, London and across the world-they create a gap of possibility. But too many on the Left remain stuck in this beautiful moment of promise-they argue for more of the same, further fragmenting issues and identities, rehearsing the last thirty years of left-wing defeat. In Crowds and Party, Dean argues that previous discussions of the party have missed its affective dimensions, the way it operates as a knot of unconscious processes and binds people together. Dean shows how we can see the party as an organization that can reinvigorate political practice.Trade ReviewIn this enthralling and exhilarating book, Jodi Dean shows that, contrary to neo-anarchist cliche, the party form and class struggle are very far from being outmoded. The revival of the party has produced a surge of enthusiasm in contemporary left politics-an enthusiasm that Crowds and Party both explains and stokes up. -- Mark Fisher, author of Capitalist RealismJodi Dean's new book isn't just a timely reminder that to change our thoroughly and deliberately atomized society demands collective action and militant organization; it is also a passionate analysis of the fractured passion of shared political commitment, linking the enthusiasm of group experience with the sustained and steady discipline of popular empowerment. -- Peter Hallward, author of Damming the FloodWritten clearly, forcefully, and passionately, Dean gives us-the Left-not just a diagnosis of our defeat but, more importantly, a way out: the communist Party. -- Derek R. Ford * The Hampton Institute *Dean has a powerful point to make: political movements have to move beyond immediate expression-the crowd-and embrace long-term organization-the party. -- Matt Ray * Open Letters Monthly *Jodi Dean's book rejects those who invest positively in the individual or the multiple per se and instead asks for a new and more subversive collective subject of politics. From real crowds like the Occupy Movement to the theoretical conceptions of crowds and mobs, Dean's book interrogates the role of the crowd and the party in an attempt to provide a way forward politically. -- Alfie Bown * Hong Kong Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisThe philosophy of medicine has become a vibrant and complex intellectual landscape, and Care and Cure is the first extended attempt to map it. In pursuing the interdependent aims of caring and curing, medicine relies on concepts, theories, inferences, and policies that are often complicated and controversial. Bringing much-needed clarity to the interplay of these diverse problems, Jacob Stegenga describes the core philosophical controversies underlying medicine in this unrivaled introduction to the field. The fourteen chapters in Care and Cure present and discuss conceptual, metaphysical, epistemological, and political questions that arise in medicine, buttressed with lively illustrative examples ranging from debates over the true nature of disease to the effectiveness of medical interventions and homeopathy. Poised to be the standard sourcebook for anyone seeking a comprehensive overview of the canonical concepts, current state, and cutting edge of this vital field, this concise int

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Book SynopsisA collection of writings from one of the anti-Apartheid struggle's major revolutionary public intellectualsTrade Review'A treasure chest for all opponents of racism and capitalism, introducing key writings of the late South African revolutionary Neville Alexander on the workings of racial capitalism in his country. More than that, it shows us Alexander the grassroots organizer for liberation. Throughout these pages, we encounter a great radical thinker profoundly committed to changing the world. This is a vital resource in the struggle for global justice.' -- David McNally, Director of the Project on Race and Capitalism, University of Houston'Amidst all this talk of racial capitalism and abolition, there is one thinker we should all be reading: Neville Alexander. He is a revolutionary intellectual for our times and for our planet. For anyone committed to abolishing, not just studying, racial capitalism, this is the book to read.' -- Robin D. G. Kelley, author of 'Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination''Understanding and dismantling racial capitalism is one of the foremost challenges of our time. Not too often seen by international audiences is the brilliant work of South African revolutionary, anti-Apartheid activist, intellectual, and 10-year political prisoner, Neville Alexander. This amazing collection remedies that.' -- Steven J. Klees, Professor of International Education Policy, University of Maryland'Both profound and provocative. Grounded in history, engaged with revolutionary theory, and informed by a lifetime of practice, Neville’s intellectual acuity and passion for freedom shine through in every page. Read, learn, and join the growing global struggle 'Against Racial Capitalism', and for the just future that Alexander dreamed of and fought for.' -- Barbara Ransby, historian, writer, longtime activist, author of 'Making All Black Lives Matter''Much of the contemporary debate around racial capitalism owes an acknowledged debt to Neville Alexander’s path-breaking interventions in the midst of the South African anti-apartheid struggle. This new collection of writings, superbly curated by Salim Vally and Enver Motala, reveals the extraordinary relevance of Neville’s thought for activists and scholars today.' -- Adam Hanieh, Professor of Political Economy and Global Development, University of Exeter'By reading writings like these, we Palestinians can learn from the South African condition in recognizing apartheid as both a system of institutionalized racial discrimination and a system of racial capitalism. A must-read for all those believing in a future vision of a secular-democratic state in Palestine that is based on a critical understanding of the limits and pitfalls of transformation in post-apartheid South Africa.' -- Professor Haidar Eid, al-Aqsa University, Gaza, Occupied Palestine'Thoughtfully honours the writing and legacy of Neville Alexander and, in doing so, powerfully offers us coordinates for making a just society. In compiling this book, Salim Vally and Enver Motala inspire us all to continue Alexander’s profound work for racial justice.' -- Arathi Sriprakash, author of 'Learning Whiteness: education and the settler colonial state''Thanks to the tireless work of his comrades Salim Vally and Enver Motala, Neville Alexander’s moment is upon us. These careful selections from a half century of speeches and writings, many available here for the first time, are a crucial resource for activists mobilizing against racial capitalism today. This volume is destined to become a classic.' -- Professor Zachary Levenson, University of Texas at Austin, author of 'Delivery as Dispossession: Land Occupation and Eviction in the Postapartheid City''In our times of rising global fascism and predatory capitalism, Neville Alexander’s writings provide us with insightful ways of thinking through and beyond the present, and a must read for all of us who share his commitment to 'non-dogmatic Marxism and internationalism'.' -- Mario Novelli, Professor in the Political Economy of Education, University of Sussex'Powerfully reignites the contributions of Neville Alexander and left organisations including the Black consciousness movement in South Africa, at precisely the moment when we most need its inspiration. Scholars, students, and activists committed to liberation struggles have much to learn from the writings of one of the most significant revolutionary intellectuals of the last century.' -- Antonia Darder, Professor Emerita, Loyola Marymount University'This must-read, expertly curated by Salim Vally and Enver Motala, offers a genealogy of Alexander’s political thought, insightful scholarship, and engaged praxis vis-à-vis issues of racial capitalism, multilingualism, education and more.Timely and relevant for scholars and activists concerned with advancing justice around the globe.' -- Monisha Bajaj, Professor of International & Multicultural Education, University of San Francisco'Neville Alexander’s imaginative work remains profoundly relevant, both to comprehend the pervasive crises of our times and to produce new revolutionary politics and praxes.' -- Professor Noor Nieftagodien, Head of History Workshop, Wits University'Situates Neville Alexander where he belongs, among the great revolutionaries of the 20th century. In Alexander’s political teachings, we discover strategies for the necessary work of challenging the oppressive racial capitalist order and, through his life of struggle, we inherit a model of radical intellectualism, which refuses the false boundaries between theory and praxis. An essential guide for all who are struggling toward liberated futures.' -- Krystal Strong, assistant professor of Black Studies, Rutgers University'Whether the topic is education, race, housing, employment, displacement, violence, Neville Alexander’s beautiful writing patiently connects theory and method with purpose. Conceived in the volatile conjunctures of South Africa’s long struggle for self-determination, 'Against Racial Capitalism' is absolutely necessary for all who struggle to understand and change 21st century conditions.' -- Ruth Wilson Gilmore, author 'Abolition Geography: Essays Towards Liberation''The lucid writings of Neville Alexander - socialist, pan Africanist, internationalist, revolutionary – are charted against the history of the unfolding liberation struggle in South Africa. Essential reading.' -- Pam Christie, Emeritus Professor at the University of Cape Town'Neville Alexander blazed a path among scholars and activists in understanding the entanglements of class and race. This rich collection traces his incisive commentaries as he insisted that theory as well as political action be rooted in the struggle to transform society in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa.' -- Joel Samoff, Center for African Studies, Stanford University'Essential' -- 'Boston Review'Table of ContentsPreface by Karen Press Timeline: Key events in the life and times of Neville Alexander Introduction by Salim Vally and Enver Motala Part I: Prison Writings: ‘The University of Robben Island’ 1964-1974 Part II: Reaping the Whirlwind: the 1980s Part III: The Transition to Democracy: 1990 to 1994 Part IV: Post-1994 essays, talks and articles Bibliography

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Book SynopsisA new and radical reexamination of today''s neoliberalist “new economy” through the political lens of the debtor/creditor relation."The debtor-creditor relation, which is at the heart of this book, sharpens mechanisms of exploitation and domination indiscriminately, since, in it, there is no distinction between workers and the unemployed, consumers and producers, working and non-working populations, between retirees and welfare recipients. They are all ''debtors,'' guilty and responsible in the eyes of capital, which has become the Great, the Universal, Creditor."—from The Making of the Indebted ManDebt—both public debt and private debt—has become a major concern of economic and political leaders. In The Making of the Indebted Man, Maurizio Lazzarato shows that, far from being a threat to the capitalist economy, debt lies at the very core of the neoliberal project. Through a reading of Karl Marx''s lesser-known youthful writings on John Mill, and a rereading of writings by Friedrich Nietzsche, Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari, and Michel Foucault, Lazzarato demonstrates that debt is above all a political construction, and that the creditor/debtor relation is the fundamental social relation of Western societies.Debt cannot be reduced to a simple economic mechanism, for it is also a technique of “public safety” through which individual and collective subjectivities are governed and controlled. Its aim is to minimize the uncertainty of the time and behavior of the governed. We are forever sinking further into debt to the State, to private insurance, and, on a more general level, to corporations. To insure that we honor our debts, we are at once encouraged and compelled to become the “entrepreneurs” of our lives, of our “human capital.” In this way, our entire material, psychological, and affective horizon is upended and reconfigured.How do we extricate ourselves from this impossible situation? How do we escape the neoliberal condition of the indebted man? Lazzarato argues that we will have to recognize that there is no simple technical, economic, or financial solution. We must instead radically challenge the fundamental social relation structuring capitalism: the system of debt.

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Book SynopsisReissue of the second printing published in 1968, with a foreword and postscript by the author.Table of Contents*Frontmatter, pg. i*FOREWORD. CONSERVATISM: NEW AND OLD, pg. vii*PREFACE, pg. xxiii*CONTENTS, pg. xxv*INTRODUCTION, pg. 1*CHAPTER I. TOWARD A DEFINITION OF CONSERVATISM, pg. 17*CHAPTER II. THE GENESIS OF THE DILEMMA, pg. 33*CHAPTER III. THE REVIVAL OF GERMAN CONSERVATISM IN THE YOUTH MOVEMENT AND DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR, pg. 43*I. THE REVOLUTION OF 1918-1919 AND ITS CONSERVATIVE ASPECTS, pg. 71*CHAPTER II. THE FORMATIVE YEARS OF THE REPUBLIC, pg. 92*CHAPTER III. THE LATER YEARS OF THE REPUBLIC, pg. 117*CHAPTER IV. NATIONAL BOLSHEVISM AND THE NEO-CONSERVATIVES, pg. 139*CHAPTER I. THE THIRD REICH OF MOELLER VAN DEN BRUCK, pg. 153*CHAPTER II. THE PESSIMISM OF OSWALD SPENGLER, pg. 170*CHAPTER III. THE NIHILISM OF THE EARLY ERNST JUNGER, pg. 180*CHAPTER I. THE FAILURE OF THE FINAL TEST: THE CONVERGING OF THE TWO MOVEMENTS, pg. 191*CHAPTER II. THE "GOD THAT FAILED", pg. 202*CONCLUSION, pg. 220*POSTSCRIPT, 1968, pg. 227*BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY, pg. 232*INDEX, pg. 249

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Book SynopsisThe sheer volume and complexity of Deleuze and Guattari''s A Thousand Plateaus can be daunting. What is an assemblage? What is a rhizome? What is a war machine? What is a body without organs? What is becoming-animal? Brent Adkins demonstrates that all the questions raised by A Thousand Plateaus are in service to Deleuze and Guattari''s radical reconstruction of the methods and aims of philosophy itself.To achieve this he argues that the crucial term for understanding A Thousand Plateaus is ''assemblage.'' An assemblage is Deleuze and Guattari''s answer to the perennial philosophical question, What is a thing? and they assert that assemblages are always found on a continuum between stasis and change. Each plateau is therefore concerned with a particular type of assemblage (e.g. social, political, linguistic) and its tendencies toward both stasis and change.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments; Introduction: A Perceptual Semiotics; 1. Rhizome; 2. 1914: One or Several Wolves?; 3. 10,000BC: The Geology of Morals; 4. November 20, 1923: Postulates of Linguistics; 5. 587BC - AD 70: On Several Regimes of Signs; 6. November 28, 1947: How Do You Make Yourself a Body Without Organs?; 7. Year Zero: Faciality; 8. 1874: Three Novellas, or 'What Happened?'; 9. 1933: Micropolitics and Segmentarity; 10. 1730: Becoming Intense, Becoming Animal, Becoming Imperceptible...; 11. 1837: Of the Refrain; 12. 1227: Treatise on Nomadology - The War Machine; 13. 7000BC: Apparatus of Capture; 14. 1440: The Smooth and the Striated; Conclusion: The Ethics of Becoming; Suggestions for Further Reading; Bibliography.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"One of Blackwell’s Best of Non-Fiction 2017"

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Book SynopsisWhen first published in 1970, The Uses of Disorder, was a call to arms against the deadening hand of modernist urban planning upon the thriving chaotic city. Written in the aftermath of the 1968 student uprising in the US and Europe, it demands a reimagination of the city and how class, city life and identity combine. Too often, this leads to divisions, such as the middle class flight to the suburbs, leaving the inner cities in desperate straits. In response, Sennett offers an alternative image of a "dense, disorderly, overwhelming cities" that allow for change and the development of community. Fifty years later this book is as essential as it was when it first came out, and remains an inspiration to architects, planners and urban thinkers everywhere.Trade ReviewHis argument remains powerful and relevant, an inspiration to a new generation of urbanists. -- P D Smith * Guardian *The best available contemporary defence of anarchism . . . The issues [he] raises are fundamental and profound. His book is utopian in the best sense?it tries to define a radically different future and to show that it could be constructed from the materials at hand * New York Times *Richard Sennett's journey through urban chaos feels as fresh as when it was published in 1970. It argues that the city's vitality is bound up in its unpredictability. -- Gabriella Bennett * The Times *

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Book SynopsisWriters and intellectuals in modern Japan have long forged dialogues across the boundaries separating the spheres of literature and thought. This book explores some of their most provocative connections in the volatile years of the 1920s to 1950s, revealing unexpected intersections of literature, ideas, and politics in a global transwar context.

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Book SynopsisSince his death, the writings of Carl Schmitt (18881985) have been debated, cited, and adopted by political and legal thinkers on both the left and right with increasing frequency, though not without controversy given Schmitt''s unwavering support for National Socialism before and during World War II. In Perilous Futures, Peter Uwe Hohendahl calls for critical scrutiny of Schmitt''s later writings, the work in which Schmitt wrestles with concerns that retain present-day relevance: globalization, asymmetrical warfare, and the shifting international order. Hohendahl argues that Schmitt''s work seems to offer solutions to these present-day issues, although the ambiguity of his beliefs means that Schmitt''s later work is a problematic guide.Focusing on works Schmitt published after the warincluding The Nomos of the Earth, Theory of the Partisan and Political Theology IIas well as his posthumously published diaries, Hohendahl reads these works crTrade ReviewIt is on the whole a careful discussion of these works that neither ignores Schmitt's shortcomings and his close connection to the Nazis, nor treats his works as motivated merely by self-justification. For those who seek to understand Schmitt's postwar writings this is a useful companion. * Choice *"Is There a Usable Schmitt?"—the subtitle of Peter Hohendahl's conclusion encapsulates the thematic thrust of Perilous Futures. It is also one of the most pressing and contentious questions in political and legal theory around the globe. * The Germanic Review *An important book. * Monatshefte *Hohendahl expresses a refreshing skepticism towards the enthusiastic appropriation of Schmittian ideas by many scholars on the left in the Anglophone world, especially in the field of international relations.... The volume is organized around insightful readings of key texts from Schmitt's career... Partisans and foes of Schmitt alike will benefit from his scrupulous exploration and fair-minded judgment of the work. * American Historical Review *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction 1. The Outlaw: Carl Schmitt's Postwar Notebooks and Small Essays 2. Transition: The Concept of Großraum and Global Politics 3. The Fate of European Colonialism and Carl Schmitt's New World Order 4. Revolutionary War and Absolute Enemy: Rereading Theory of the Partisan 5. The Return of Political Theology 6. Final Reflections: Is There a Usable Schmitt? Notes Index

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Book SynopsisPolitical Writings offers an abundance of newly translated essays by Simone de Beauvoir that demonstrate a heretofore unknown side of her political philosophy. The writings in this volume range from Beauvoir''s surprising 1952 defense of the misogynistic eighteenth-century pornographer, the Marquis de Sade, to a co-written 1974 documentary film, transcribed here for the first time, which draws on Beauvoir''s analysis of how socioeconomic privilege shapes the biological reality of aging. The volume traces nearly three decades of Beauvoir''s leftist political engagement, from exposés of conditions in fascist Spain and Portugal in 1945 and hard-hitting attacks on right-wing French intellectuals in the 1950s, to the 1962 defense of an Algerian freedom fighter, Djamila Boupacha, and a 1975 article arguing for what is now called the 'two-state solution' in Israel.Together these texts prefigure Beauvoir''s later feminist activism and provide a new interpretive context Trade Review"Rich and illuminating. . . . A fascinating chart of a brilliant mind struggling to bridge the divide between rarified abstract thinking and concrete social engagement."--Publishers Weekly"Political Writings likely will shed new light on aspects of de Beauvoir's political thought for those who are familiar with her only through The Second Sex. . . . Recommended."--Choice "This remarkable collection will be most surprising and provocative for thinkers yearning for a political philosophy to accompany Beauvoir's feminist and ethical philosophies. These essays, many of them appearing for the first time in English, make clear Beauvoir's turn away from the abstract philosophical thought and toward political engagement."--Kelly Oliver, author of Animal Lessons: How They Teach Us to Be Human"This remarkable volume demonstrates how Simone de Beauvoir, through her writings, made compelling contributions to the ongoing struggle against ignorance, deception and injustice."--H-France Review"An accessible and worldly series of papers . . . . for readers of Beauvoir, this compilation provides ample opportunity to find ties to her other work, to illustrate parts of her philosophical writing that are overly abstract or opaque, and to reflect on how thinking is, necessarily, and importantly, situated."--Philosophy in Review"This unique contribution to Beauvoir scholarship displays the range and depth of her political activism and thought on behalf of women and the oppressed worldwide. This fantastic volume took my breath away and left me more than ever in awe of Beauvoir."--Claudia Card, author of Confronting Evils: Terrorism, Torture, Genocide"Political Writings is a carefully selected and newly translated compilation of some of Beauvoir's essays that reflect the eclectic nature of the writer's thoughts, the depth of her analysis and the sheer literary and aesthetic force of her language. . . . Not only are the introductions a pleasure in themselves to read, they also provide the politico-historical context in which the essays were written, allowing the reader to appreciate them all the more."--Marx & Philosophy Review of Books

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Book SynopsisA pivotal work in the history of feminism and a groundbreaking intervention into film theory, Sexuality in the Field of Vision is a brilliantly original exploration of the interface between feminism, psychoanalysis, semiotics and film theoryTrade ReviewFormidably intelligent, eloquent, and knowledgeable. * City Limits *Jacqueline Rose has no peer among critics of her generation. The brilliance of her literary insight, the lucidity of her prose, and the subtlety of her analyses are simply breathtaking. -- Edward Said

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Book SynopsisFrom her position at Harvard University''s Department of Government for over thirty-five years, Judith Shklar (1928-92) taught a long list of prominent political theorists and published prolifically in the domains of modern and American political thought. She was a highly original theorist of liberalism, possessing a broad and deep knowledge of intellectual history, which informed her writing in interesting and unusual ways. Her work emerged between the end of ideology discussions of the 1950s and the end of history debate of the early 1990s. Shklar contributed significantly to social and political thought by arguing for a new, more skeptical version of liberalism that brought political theory into close contact with real-life experience.The essays collected in Between Utopia and Realism reflect on and refract Shklar''s major preoccupations throughout a lifetime of thinking and demonstrate the ways in which her work illuminates contemporary debates across political theo

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Richard Bourke is a formidably talented political historian. . . . Hegel’s World Revolutions displays a knowledge of its protagonist’s thought which may well be unequalled in Britain. Its mountain of secondary sources is just as impressive."---Terry Eagleton, London Review of Books"Few, if any, have got the gist of the Geist. Until now, that is. In Hegel’s World Revolutions, Richard Bourke offers a major re-evaluation of not only Hegel’s philosophy of history but also the history of his philosophy. . . .To understand Hegel, you must read Bourke."---Daniel Johnson, The Critic"[A] breathtaking intellectual tour de force. . . .A book of such unrelenting intellectual calibre and breadth."---Jeremy Jennings, Engelsberg Ideas"A masterclass in scholarship."---Max Skjönsberg, Law & Liberty"Hegel’s World Revolutions represents arguably the most original contribution to Hegel scholarship in some time. . . .A comprehensive yet succinct and elegant exposition of Hegel’s thought that attests to his great importance as a leading philosopher of modernity."---Adam Coleman, Oxford Political Review ​​​​​​​"Bourke’s defence of the German philosopher against a motley crew of post-war cynics and political idealists is historically thorough and philosophically compelling, every sentence of it delivered with a clarity that will make the layman rejoice and the specialist grunt with envy"---Harrison Pitt, The European Conservative"This study helps readers to appreciate the diagnostic function of the history of political thought and to consider its implications for our own time." * Paradigm Explorer *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"[A] wide-ranging history of modern European political thought." * Choice *

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Book SynopsisThis is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license. It is offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations.Exploitation is a globally pervasive phenomenon. Slavery, serfdom, and the patriarchy are part of its lineage. Temporary and sex workers, commercial surrogacy, precarious labour contracts, sweatshops, and markets in blood, vaccines or human organs, are some contemporary manifestations of exploitation. What makes these exploitative transactions unjust? And is capitalism inherently exploitative? This book offers answers to these two questions. Nicholas Vrousalis argues that exploitation is a form of domination, self-enrichment through the domination of others. On the domination view, exploitation complaints are not, fundamentally, about harm, coercion or unfairness. Rather, they are about who serves whom and why. Exploitation, in a word, is a dividend of servitude: the dividend the powerful extract from the servitude of the vulnerable. Vrousalis claims that this servitude is inherent to capitalist relations between consenting adults whereby capital is monetary control over the labour capacity of others. It follows that capitalism, the mode of production where capital predominates, is an inherently unjust social structure.Trade ReviewIt is to the great credit of this book, and its author, that they focus attention on such questions, and provide a clear rationale for their pursuit. * Callum Zavos MacRae, The Philosophy Department, The Graduate Center, NY, United States *In Exploitation as Domination, Nicholas Vrousalis brings philosophical discussions of exploitation full circle back to capitalism. * Lillian Cicerchia, University of Amsterdam *The book makes a powerful case for the major conceptual connections that it proposes, and it will most likely serve in the years to come as both an instructive example of the rigor and breadth with which novel research in the philosophy of socialism can be conducted. * Callum Zavos MacRae, Res Publica *Vrousalis' book brings us to the brink of [...] a revived critique of political economy, rather than a new theory of distributive justice. * Lillian Cicerchia, Economics & Philosophy *It is to the great credit of this book, and its author, that they focus attention on such questions, and provide a clear rationale for their pursuit. * Callum Zavos MacRae, Res Publica *This book explores the conceptual interrelationships between human "exploitation" and "domination." ...This book is extremely well written and well organized. * Choice *Table of ContentsTable of Contents List of Figures and Tables Introduction Background 1: Theories of Exploitation Theory 2: Domination at Work 3: How Exploiters Dominate 4: Structural Domination in the Market Applications 5: Capitalist Exploitation: Its Forms, Origin, and Fate 6: Exploitation and International Relations Alternatives 7: The Emancipated Economy References

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Book SynopsisWhat does the head of the Kremlin think about? What are his hopes and aims for the lands bordering Russia, for Europe, and even the world? In January 2014, the Kremlin sent its senior civil servants, governors and party bigwigs a special New Year’s present: philosophy books, by 19th and 20th century Russian thinkers. This reading list is not optional: the president himself has cited these authors in landmark speeches, and they need to understand what he means. The most persistent of the bunch will find these great works strangely familiar, full of the national leader's role in an 'authentic' democracy, the importance of being conservative, the urgency of rooting morality in religion, and the historic struggle of the Russian people against the timeless hostility of the West. President Putin is the man who manages and manipulates these existential anxieties. And since the annexation of Crimea, the need to decrypt his vision for the nation—propelled by the Kremlin’s Eurasian neo-imperialists and prophets of `Russian-way’ conservatism—has become more pressing than ever. In this revealing and engrossing book, Michel Eltchaninoff invites us inside the psyche of the Russian president for a better understanding of his doctrine and geopolitical vision. He offers answers to an urgent question for our 21st century world: what is Vladimir Putin thinking?Trade Review'Riveting … This book unveils a fascinating reality. It seems that Putin has read, chewed over and fed into his discourse a number of conservative Russian intellectuals and philosophers. This reading … has played a major role in what Eltchaninoff calls Putin’s `conservative turn’ … The rigor of his extremely well-informed research is rare. … his book is an absolute must-read for those wanting to understand the ideological roots of this man, disturbing and fascinating in equal measure.' - Le Figaro; ; '[In his] enthralling foray `inside the mind’ of the Russian president, … [Eltchaninoff] has decrypted his writings, speeches and encounters to unearth the intellectual roots of the `new Russia’.' - Philosophie magazine; ; 'In this book, as probing as brain surgery, philosopher Michel Eltchaninoff reveals what lies `inside the mind’ of Vladimir Putin.' - Sylvain Tesson, Le Point; ; 'This highly original approach to illuminating Putin's troubling personality shows just how far literature and philosophy can influence the exercise of power.' - Jean-Marie Durand, Les Inrockuptibles; ; 'On the plane to Moscow, François Hollande buried himself in a fascinating little new book: Inside the Mind of Vladimir Putin. Michel Eltchaninoff, a great connoisseur of Russian history and literature, traces the spiritual and political journey of the `master of Moscow’, who forces his oligarchs to read 19th century thought.' — Midi Libre; ; 'The fundamental question addressed by Michel Eltchaninoff in his excellent book [is this]: what is the Kremlin chief thinking? And will the 21st century be the Putin century, as the 20th century belonged to Lenin and Stalin?' - Les Echos; ; `Eltchaninoff’s book could not be more timely, stripping us of our scornful generalizations and ignorant clichés. A highly enjoyable read.' - La Vie;

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Book SynopsisTrade Review "Accessibly written, lucidly argued, and capacious in its ambit, there is so much in this book to savor, to be inspired by, and to provoke."—Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, author of Stone: An Ecology of the Inhuman "In addition to the descriptions and analyses of imaginative activism, strange agencies of non-human entities, and the politics of place, Alaimo develops compelling theories of self, action, and being human along the way."—Jack Halberstam, University of Southern California "Despite the gravity of her subject matter, Alaimo’s examples and writing are often playful. This not only echoes the complexity and occasional contradictions of environmental politics but also makes Exposed a very enjoyable read. This book is much more than a theoretical exploration; it calls on us to rethink what it means to be human and act accordingly."—New Books Network "A must read for members of the American Rock Garden Society, as well as those living in similar areas worldwide."—Natural Areas JournalTable of ContentsContents Introduction: Dwelling in the Dissolve Part I: Posthuman Pleasures 1. This Is about Pleasure: An Ethics of Inhabiting 2. Eluding Capture: The Science, Culture, and Pleasure of “Queer” Animals Part II. Insurgent Exposure 3. The Naked Word: Spelling, Stripping, Lusting as Environmental Protest 4. Climate Systems, Carbon-Heavy Masculinity, and Feminist Exposure Part III. Strange Agencies in Anthropocene Seas 5. Oceanic Origins, Plastic Activism, and New Materialism at Sea 6. Your Shell on Acid: Material Immersion, Anthropocene Dissolves Conclusion: Thinking as the Stuff of the World Acknowledgments Notes Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Nuggets of wisdom for the budding leader . . . glimmer through an anthology that sometimes feels like a mashup of Polonius’s TED talk to Laertes and the epistolary musings of an aging historian."---Jonathan W. Jordan, Wall Street Journal"[How to Be a Leader is] one of the best leadership books I've read in a very long time—and not surprisingly, it was written a very long time ago. There's a reason Plutarch has been a favorite of thinkers and doers since the days of Ancient Rome. He's insightful. He's funny. He's a great story teller. He wasn't just a writer either, but like the best historians and philosophers, a practitioner of what he talked about. Highly recommend."---Ryan Holiday, Ryan Holiday Reading List Newsletter"In How to Be a Leader, Beneker provides fresh translations of Plutarch’s three most important political essays . . . Beneker’s book delivers on its promises. With regard to its aim—making the practical wisdom of the ancient world accessible for modern life—the book is a success."---Thierry V. Oppeneer, Bryn Mawr Classical Review"It is refreshing to see such public-facing editions undertaken by noted scholars."---Kristine M. Trego, Classical Review"Jeffrey Beneker's is a fresh, clear and accurate translation. . . . we cannot help but saying that the excellent material and graphical conditions of its printing make this book a definite “keeper” in any bibliophile's library."---Stefan Teodor, Classica et Christiana

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Book SynopsisRepresentative Democracy explains why the definitive institutional features of representative democracy are attractive relative to salient alternatives (including direct democracy, lottery-based systems, and meritocratic alternatives).

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Book SynopsisBrought to you by Penguin.The long-awaited sequel to 12 RULES FOR LIFE, which has sold over 5 million copies around the worldIn 12 Rules for Life, acclaimed public thinker and clinical psychologist Jordan B. Peterson offered an antidote to the chaos in our lives: eternal truths applied to modern anxieties. His insights have helped millions of readers and resonated powerfully around the world.Now in this much-anticipated sequel, Peterson goes further, showing that part of life''s meaning comes from reaching out into the domain beyond what we know, and adapting to an ever-transforming world. While an excess of chaos threatens us with uncertainty, an excess of order leads to a lack of curiosity and creative vitality. Beyond Order therefore calls on us to balance the two fundamental principles of reality - order and chaos - and reveals the profound meaning that can be found on the path that divides them.In times of instability Trade ReviewThe advice in Beyond Order reflects some new and painful awareness of mortality. But it was always Peterson's intimate, self-revealing style that made his life advice so powerful, so energising, and so hard to reduce to politics * Telegraph *A sui generis kind of personal trainer for the soul.... It's a good thing that there's space on the self-help shelves for a book as bracingly pessimistic as this one... Peterson offers an invaluable reminder that we're finite and inherently imperfect -- Oliver Burkeman * Guardian (Book of the Week) *Life-changingly inspirational * The Times *Full of sensible, humane advice, and shows he is still very much on top... The book is a validation of his own role; as he observes, being able to articulate what many people instinctively feel but can't articulate is a valuable role for a public intellectual -- Melanie McDonagh * Evening Standard *In telling us that life is suffering (as all major religions do) and that the goal is to find meaning rather than happiness, he does have something to say. ... wisdom combined with good advice. Peterson is at his best when telling stories of his clinical practice - he comes across as an empathetic non-judgmental listener -- Suzanne Moore * Telegraph *More trenchant life advice from the bestselling author of 12 Rules for Life... bound to be a bestseller * The Times *Reliably thought-provoking, often engrossing ... Peterson has a sharp eye for the vagaries of human nature, and he can be a compelling storyteller, especially when narrating his own experiences and those he has observed from life. There is a fair amount of wisdom in Beyond Order, of the kind that used to be called common sense -- Jenny McCartney * UnHerd *Part quest, part adventure, part lecture and part polemic... There's masses of passion, masses of wisdom and a deep, deep yearning for us all to seek the beauty, truth and meaning Peterson has sometimes glimpsed and is desperate for us to find. He has had tens of thousands of letters from people who say he has helped them to find it. How many writers can say they have done that? -- Christina Patterson * Sunday Times *[Peterson is] enlightening as a clinical psychologist... Peterson's rules are an attempt to locate people within society, to acknowledge the systems and structures that have long existed and, instead of seeking to tear them down, encourage his readers to find their most functional position within them -- Andrew Anthony * Observer *Beyond Order showcases Peterson's extraordinary gift for storytelling, as well as for extrapolating complex psychological themes and deriving lessons and meaning from them in ways lay readers can understand... A delight to read... Peterson is a world class communicator... Beyond Order is a compelling and ultimately life-affirming read for anyone willing to challenge their own ideas and face up to the untapped potential in their lives -- Greg Jameson * Entertainment Focus *Gratitude, he says, is "something in which you can discover part of the antidote to the abyss and the darkness". As I read this last line, I found myself saying "amen". And I realised what Jordan Peterson really is. He has suffered more than most of us. He has seen the abyss. And he has emerged from it not a top public intellectual but a highly driven, intelligent, complex and deservedly successful preacher -- Lucy Kellaway * Financial Times *[Beyond Order] has psychological value and if you want homespun common sense that is mixed with the wisdom of the ages then this is the book for you. The 12 new rules are clearly laid out with a mix of literature, mythology, philosophy, religion and psychology used to support the significance of each... It's worth reading to equip you to live a more purposeful and a more meaningful life -- Stella O’Malley * Irish Independent *'With Beyond Order, Jordan Peterson has given us an astonishingly illuminating look at the human condition. Rule by rule, he digs into the cornerstones of our psyche and culture as he seeks to explain why we behave the way we do' -- Hannah Gal * Quillette *Peterson is a deep thinker with tremendous powers of articulation and a captivating sense of wonder. A master storyteller, he draws on a multitude of sources, including his personal life, clinical practice and long marriage to enlighten readers about the fundamentals of human behavior and our civilization. Beyond Order is a call for action and self-improvement. It is a mind-blowing journey where the lessons learnt are lessons for life * The Jerusalem Post *

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