Western philosophy from c 1800 Books

Book SynopsisTrade Review"While the topic can get swamped in jargon, Michael Ruse, a professor of philosophy at Florida State University, is anything but a dry writer. In On Purpose, he revels in the arguments that philosophers, scientists and religious saints have had over ‘the big picture’ for the past 2,000 years. . . . Taking his cue from his own Quaker upbringing, [Ruse] argues that three things remain deeply satisfying in life, even if philosophically one ends up on the side of Epicurus and his denial of design: family; a life of service to others; and, not surprisingly for a philosopher, the life of the mind. For many people, there is indeed purpose in each of these, and perhaps, Mr. Ruse suggests, that is enough."---John Farrell, Wall Street Journal"Philosopher and perennial defender of evolution Ruse takes readers on a historical and constructive tour through one of the most importunate issues in basic metaphysics: is there any purpose behind the things--the universe, humans, nature, et al.--that are, and, if so, what is its nature and where does it come from? . . . As always, Ruse defends evolutionary science while valuing the beauty and expressiveness of human culture." * Library Journal *"A deeply intelligent book that treats key thinkers in philosophy, religion and the sciences fairly, humorously and with a virtuosity reflecting more than half a century in the field."---Paul Biegler, Cosmos"On Purpose is a book that represents Ruse at his most wide-ranging and engaging. . . . [He] is akin to the most enthusiastic and entertaining tour guide one could have through an already compelling exhibit at a museum."---Mark E. Borrello, Quarterly Review of Biology"On Purpose works both as an introductory text as well as a philosophical testament. . . . A book where one learns about the history of philosophy and the history of science, but not neutrally so, since one is looking through the eyes of one of the most active participants in recent debates."---Hugh Desmond, Science & Education

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A deeply intelligent book that treats key thinkers in philosophy, religion and the sciences fairly, humorously and with a virtuosity reflecting more than half a century in the field."—Paul Biegler, Cosmos"[Ruse] revels in the arguments that philosophers, scientists and religious saints have had over 'the big picture' for the past 2,000 years."—John Farrell, Wall Street Journal"Ruse takes readers on a historical and constructive tour through one of the most importunate issues in basic metaphysics: is there any purpose behind the things—the universe, humans, nature, et al.—that are, and, if so, what is its nature and where does it come from?"—Library Journal"On Purpose is a book that represents Ruse at his most wide-ranging and engaging. . . . [He] is akin to the most enthusiastic and entertaining tour guide one could have through an already compelling exhibit at a museum."—Mark E. Borrello, Quarterly Review of Biology

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year"

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Book SynopsisKarl Popper is a philosopher of knowledge and politics, rationality and freedom. His ideas have won acceptance and provoked controversy among an academic as well as a more general audience. This book aims to broaden our understanding of Poppera s philosophy.Trade Review'In this masterful study, Geoffrey Stokes provides a comprehensive analysis of the interweaving of political commitments, epistemology and scientific method in the whole range of Popper's writings. By this means he offers us a careful account of the evolving structure of Popper's complex "system of ideas". In addition, Stokes points out the many reformulations as well as latent disjunctions in Popper's heroic efforts to integrate a philosophy of freedom and scientific enquiry. Another benefit of Stokes's book is a long-overdue examination of the differences and similarities in Popper's methodologies of social and natural science. At the same time, the study contains a useful overview of the clash between Popper's critical rationalism and Habermasian "critical theory".' Professor Toby E. Huff, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth 'One of the few books to cover the debate between Popper and the Frankfurt School.' The Times Higher Education Supplement 'Geoffrey Stokes has written a thought-provoking book...it is a valuable contribution to the literature on Popper's philosophy.' Jeffrey Ketland, University of Nottingham, British Journal of Philosophy 'The reader is given a lucid account of Popper's evolving system of ideas, succinctly situating each development in its historical and intellectual context, and concluding each section with an appraisal of Popper's contribution ... [Stokes's] book is a fine contribution to that wider goal, and a lucid and balanced assessment of Popper's philosophical achievements.' Thesis ElevenTable of ContentsAbbreviations. Preface. 1. Introduction: Politics, Epistemology and Methodology. 2. Popper's Project: Problem and Method. 3. Methodological Falsificationism and its Critics. 4. The Politics of Critical Rationalism. 5. Philosophy and Methodology of Social Science. 6. Metaphysics and Freedom. 7. Evolutionary Epistemology. 8. Critical Rationalism and Critical Theory. Conclusion. Notes. References. Index.

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Book SynopsisA social and philosophical analysis of the nature of modernity which explores its vulnerability in terms of the challenges to the political, economic and moral institutions in the late 20th century. The papers presented in this volume aim to provide a statement of the author's position.Table of ContentsHermaneutics of social sciences; can everyday life be endangered?; death of the subject; do we live in a world of emotional impoverishment?; what is, and what is not, practical reason; the concept of the political; freedom and happiness in Kant's political philosophy; rights, modernity and democracy; Moses, Hsuan-Tsung and history.

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Book SynopsisFocuses on the work of Umberto Eco - one of Europe's best-known writers and intellectuals. This title covers the range of Eco's work, from his theoretical writings on semiotics to his best-selling novels. It assesses the influence of Eco's work on contemporary culture.Trade Review"It is a full, clear and authoritative account of Eco's work, with an emphasis on his development as a theorist and in particular his semiotic theory. But it includes a lively discussion of Eco's novels, which teases out their links with the theory most effectively. It shows the remarkable range and coherence of Eco as a writer, and is notably interesting on the ways in which his ideas have evolved in response to a changing cultural environment. Rich in details, cool, well-paced and incisive, it provides an excellent introduction to, as well as a sympathetic critique of, Eco the thinker." David Robey, Department of Italian Studies, Reading University "This wonderfully lucid and thorough exposition of Eco's major works will be indispensable to scholars and students alike. Michael Caesar explores the interconnectedness of the 'theoretical' and 'narrative' writings with analytical rigour, balancing appreciation with careful criticism. Caesar makes brilliant use of his own reading of the works to discuss the 'role of the reader', showing the limits as well as the possibilities in Eco's approach to texts." Robert Lumley, Director of the Centre for Italian Studies, University College, LondonTable of ContentsAcknowledgement ix Note on References x Introduction 1 1 Form, Interpretation and the Open Work 6 On form and interpretation: from Croce to Pareyson 6 Art and rationality 10 The appearance of Opera aperta 15 The poetics of the open work 18 Beyond ‘openness’ 23 2 A Critical View of Culture: Mass Communications, Politics and the Avant-garde 28 The role of the avant-garde 29 Mass communications and theories of mass culture 37 Television and semiotic guerrilla war 43 Openness and structure 47 3 Introducing the Study of Signs 54 Signals and sense 55 Ambiguity, self-reflexivity and the aesthetic message 64 The critique of iconism 67 Some provisional conclusions on the aesthetic message 69 4 A Theory of Semiotics 76 From La struttura assente to A Theory of Semiotics 76 Communication, code and signification 81 Sign and sign-function 83 Sign production, iconism and the aesthetic message (again) 90 5 Semiotics Bounded and Unbound 100 The boundaries of semiotics 102 The dynamics of semiosis 111 6 Theory and Fiction 120 Readers and worlds Texts 120 7 Secrets, Paranoia and Critical Reading 145 8 Kant, the Platypus and the Horizon 162 Notes 171 Select Bibliography 184 Index 193

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Book SynopsisThe works of Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) are widely acclaimed as being among the most original and provocative writings of twentieth-century critical thought, and have become required reading for scholars and students in a range of academic disciplines. This book provides a lucid introduction to Benjamin''s oeuvre through a close and sensitive reading not only of his major studies, but also of some of his less familiar essays and fragments. Gilloch offers an original interpretation of, and fresh insights into, the continuities between Benjamin''s always demanding and seemingly disparate texts. Gilloch''s book will be of particular interest to students and scholars in social theory, literary theory, cultural and media studies and urban studies who are seeking a sophisticated yet readable overview of Benjamin''s work. It will also prove rewarding reading for those already well-versed in Benjaminian thought.Trade Review"This is an excellent introduction to Benjamin's thought, written with great clarity and richly located within his biography. Gilloch's focus upon Benjamin's reconstruction of the 'afterlife' of things enables him to reveal new interconnections and interpretive trajectories within Benjamin's themes and texts, whether they be his writings on language, literature, the city, the new media or the Arcades Project. A most welcome addition to Polity's series on contemporary thinkers." David Frisby, University of Glasgow "A fine text to accompany a firsthand reading of Benjamin, such reading is necessary to understand the thinker critiqued here." Library Journal "The book highlights some major motifs of Benjamin's work and will probably be of interest, above all, to students of media and related aspects of social history or theory" Brendan Moran, Philosophy in ReviewTable of ContentsAcknowledgements viii Abbreviations x Introduction: Benjamin as a Key Contemporary Thinker 1 1 Immanent Criticism and Exemplary Critique 27 2 Allegory and Melancholy 57 3 From Cityscape to Dreamworld 88 4 Paris and the Arcades 113 5 Culture and Critique in Crisis 140 6 Benjamin On-Air, Benjamin on Aura 163 7 Love at Last Sight 198 Conclusion: Towards a Contemporary Constellation 234 Notes 249 Bibliography 289 Index 298

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Book SynopsisIn this important new study, Pieter Duvenage shows that Habermas's work on aesthetics, far from being marginal to his core concerns, is central to understanding and evaluating Habermas''s entire theoretical enterprise. This important new study shows that Habermas''s work on aesthetics is central to understanding and evaluating his entire theoretical enterprise. Duvenage demonstrates that, in the first phase of his intellectual career, Habermas emphasizes the communicative and societal relevance of art; in the second phase, the idea of a communicative aesthetics is worked out in terms of a theory of rationality. Reveals that Habermas's later work offers a third, albeit undeveloped, alternative that suggests a convergence of the two. Offers a critical perspective on the role of aesthetics in Habermas''s work and proposes possible alternatives. Table of ContentsPreface. Acknowledgements. Introduction. Part I: Habermas And Aesthetics: The First Phase:. 1. Initial Influences And Themes In Habermas's Work. 2. The Public Sphere And The Role Of Art. 3. The Decline Of The Public Sphere. 4. Towards A Normative And Rational Public Sphere. 5. An Aesthetics Of Redemption: Habermas's Benjamin Essay. 6. Habermas's Early Reflections On Aesthetics. Part II: Habermas And The Legacy Of Aesthetics In Critical Theory:. 7. The Initial Research Programme Of Critical Theory. 8. Society As The Result Of Instrumental Reason. 9. Adorno: Instrumental Reason And Aesthetics. 10. The Outer Circle And The Benjaminian Alternative. 11. Summary. Part III: Habermas And Aesthetics: The Second Phase:. 12. The Theory Of Communicative Action And Rationality. 13. The Theory Of Societal Rationalization. 14. The Aesthetic Implications Of Communicative Reason. 15. Three Case Studies: Schiller, Hegel And Heine. 16. Recapitulation: Habermas And The Fate Of Aesthetics. Part IV: The Second Phase Continues:The Postmodern Challenge:. 17. Nietzsche’s Aesthetic Anti-Discourse Of Modernity. 18. Art And Ontology: Heidegger. 19. On Philosophy And Literature: Derrida. 20. Postmodernity And Genealogy: Bataille And Foucault. 21. A Postmodern Critique Of Habermas’s Aesthetics. 22. Summary. Part V: Critical Perspectives On Habermas's Aesthetics:. 23. The Role Of Aesthetics In Communicative Reason. 24. Habermas And The De-Linguistification Of (Inner) Nature. 25. The Role Of Aesthetics In Social Rationalization. 26. Reading Adorno After Habermas. 27. Critical Summary. Part VI: The Reciprocity Of World Disclosure And Discursive Language:. 28. Truth As Aesthetic World Disclosure: Heidegger. 29. Truth As Rational Discursiveness: Habermas. 30. The Road Beyond: Art As Communicative Experience. 31. The Political And Moral Implications Of World Disclosure. Notes. Bibliography. Index

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Book SynopsisJohn McDowell has set the philosophical world alight with a revolutionary approach to the subject, illuminating old problems with dazzling particularity. In this welcome introduction to his work, Maximilian de Gaynesford puts writing within comfortable reach of non--specialists.Trade Review‘McDowell is a particularly demanding philosopher to read, partly because of his somewhat abstruse writing style, but also because his work often addresses such a diverse range of philosophical topics. De Gaynesford has done a really excellent job of gathering together the central strands of McDowell’s work, and presenting them in a unified and accessible form.’ Darragh Byrne, University of Birmingham ‘This elegant and rigorous book provides students and scholars with an accessible, sympathetic and yet critical overview of McDowell’s unusually demanding but highly influential body of work. It will surely prove pivotal to future discussions, not only of this author, but also of the central philosophical themes with which he has been preoccupied.’ Stephen Mulhall, University of Oxford '...certainly a helpful introduction. The force and direction of McDowell's thinking is best appreciated cumulatively - his work is holistic not atomistic - and de Gaynesford provides a comprehensive and informed means of situating it's various stands.' Philosophical Papers 'This book is a wonderful introduction to a very complex philosopher. Gaynesford succeeds in both making McDowell accessible while at the same time providing intersting suggestions for future discussions. Suggested reading sorted according to topic is provided at the end.' Adonis Vidu, Emmanuel University, Oradea, Romania Table of ContentsAcknowledgements. Preface. Part I: Overview. Challenge. Response. Implications. Part II: A Naturalism of Second Nature. Naturalism. Reasons. Nature Revised. Part III: An Internationality of Second Nature. Experience. Conceptualism. Judgement. Openness. World Dependency. Part IV: The Exercise of Second Nature. Knowledge. Value. Conclusion. Notes. Select Further Reading. References. Index.

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Book Synopsis''Baudrillard and the Media'' is the first in-depth critical study of Jean Baudrillard''s media theory. Rejecting the common positioning of Baudrillard within the discipline as a postmodernist it argues instead for the necessity of a fuller reading of his ideas and critical project. Merrin offers an overview and evaluation of his key arguments and themes, focusing especially upon the organising principle of his work: his theory of symbolic exchange and critique of the semiotic and of simulation. Upon this basis the book also resituates Baudrillard within media theory, developing an original, critical re-reading of his relationship with McLuhanism and arguing for the significance instead of hitherto neglected influences such as Boorstin. Emphasizing his critical value and contemporary relevance, ''Baudrillard and the Media'' also provides the most detailed exploration yet of Baudrillard''s theory of the non-event, considering its applicability throTrade Review‘Finally we have a book-length study of Baudrillard’s writing from the vantage point of media studies. Merrin is an excellent guide to what is arguably the central thread in the work of the theorist of simulations.’ – Mark Poster, University of California, Irvine ‘William Merrin has written a significant and original book that will transform conventional understandings of Jean Baudrillard’s alleged "postmodern" media theory. His radical Durkheimian interpretation, critique and conclusions will be seriously debated in media and communications studies and deserved so. Baudrillard and the Media is essential reading for anyone interested in Baudrillard or contemporary theories of media and simulation, symbolic exchange and semiotics.’ –John Armitage, Northumbria UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction: 'There is No Theory of the Media': Baudrillard and Media Studies 1. Television is Killing the Art of Symbolic Exchange: Baudrillard's Theory of Communication 2. To Play With Phantoms: The Evil Demon of the Simulacrum 3. Are Friends Electric?: Baudrillard's Critique of McLuhan 4. The Delirious Spectacle of the Non-Event 5. Shreds of War Rotting in the Desert 6. 'Total Screen': 9/11 and The Gulf War: Reloaded 7. 'The Matrix Has You': Virtuality and Social Control 8. 'The Saving Power': The 'Reflex Miracle' of Photography Conclusion: 'Speculation to the Death': Baudrillard's Theoretical Violence Notes References Index

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Book Synopsis* Roberto Esposito is one of leading figures in a new generation of Italian philosophers. * This book criticizes the notion of the person and develops an original account of the concept of the impersonal - what he calls the third person.Trade Review"In this slim and powerful volume, Roberto Esposito not only diagnoses how this dispositif undermines attempts to secure human rights, but he also provides humankind a means of moving forward, past the person, into the life-validating realm of the impersonal."Marx and Philosophy "Is there a term that dominates thought today more than person? From biotechnology and social networking to corporations, person increasingly appears as the dark heart of contemporary life. In this compelling and at times troubling reflection, Roberto Esposito measures the biopolitical costs of our obsession with everything personal in a failed project of the common. In place of the person, Esposito counsels the impersonal perspective of the 'third person.' Part genealogy, part philosophical guide-book, this book is a bold reflection on life and politics that continues in unexpected ways Esposito's previous readings of biopolitics."Timothy Campbell, Cornell University "Beyond the horizon of Western subjectivity, behind the sacralization of the person, lies Esposito's impersonal life. Deconstructing the 'human' and its juridical-biological constitution, Third Person casts incisive light on the perilous region which silently encircles it - the event, its anonymity and uncanniness."Andrea Rossi, Lancaster UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction i. The double life (The machine of the human sciences) ii. Person, man, thing iii. Third person 1. Non-person 2. The animal 3. The Other (Autrui) 4. He/She 5. The neuter 6. The outside 7. The event

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Book SynopsisRawls: An Introduction is a uniquely comprehensive introduction to the work of the American philosopher John Rawls (1921-2002), who transformed contemporary political philosophy. In the 1950s and 1960s, political philosophy seemed to have reached a dead end characterized by a loose predominance of utilitarian theses. Rawls's conception of liberalism placed civil liberties and social justice at its core, and his extraordinary influence has only been confirmed by the extent of the criticism he has provoked. The book is divided into three parts which correspond to Rawls's three major books. The first concentrates on A Theory of Justice (1971) and examines the way in which Rawls's general vision of social justice is presented. Maffettone also includes here a discussion of some of the most important critiques of Rawls. The second part of the book highlights Political Liberalism (1993-6), with a chapter dedicated to the passage from Theory of JusticTrade Review"Extremely useful for graduate students and faculty in political philosophy and political sceince looking for an in-depth and wide-ranging discussion of Rawls's views and debates about Rawls's work. Highly recommended." Choice "This introduction to Rawls is the product of good, old-fashioned, and dedicated scholarship, combined with careful didactic talent. Maffettone succeeds in offering an encompassing and coherent picture of Rawls's political philosophy. [But] this work is much more than a mere introduction. Students in political philosophy will find it deserves to be read together with the original and vice versa." Ethical Perspectives "A meticulous, comprehensive overview of the entirety of Rawls' corpus, that presents an important reading of Rawls which provides a response to many critiques." Political Studies Review "An excellent survey of the features and evolution of Rawls’s conception of justice as fairness." Review of Politics "An educational read that presents it all well and leaves readers with what they need to know to pursue deeper learning. Rawls is an excellent addition to any community and college library collection." Library Bookwatch "Achieving a graceful balance of accessibility and rigor, Maffettone's insightful and substantial study expounds Rawls's thought as unified by the priority of the right over the good and offers a sober critical appraisal of it and its intellectual opponents." Thomas W. Pogge, Yale University "John Rawls was the leading political philosopher of the past century. In this illuminating book, Sebastiano Maffettone gives us a complete, coherent, and compelling picture of Rawls's leading ideas: his liberal-egalitarian theory of justice, his ideas about legitimacy in a pluralistic democracy, and his account of the moral basis of global politics. Maffettone understands that the focus of Rawls's work shifted, but he sees the deeper continuities in Rawls's emphasis on the priority of the right and his distinction between the justice of a society and its capacity to elicit the willing support of its members. The book casts a powerful light on Rawls's work, both clarifying his ideas and explaining their plausibility." Joshua Cohen, Stanford University "This is for its size the best introduction to all of Rawls's major works available. It is also a significant work of scholarship in its own right, with an especially strong emphasis on the continuity of Rawls's thought. Maffettone's acumen, expertise and dedication to his subject are in evidence on every page." Leif Wenar, King's College London "A rich and insightful work, which will make a substantial contribution to the secondary literature on Rawls. The author is able to draw upon both his own extensive knowledge of the Rawls corpus and his personal interaction with Rawls himself in order to present a systematic overview of his political theory." Daniel Butt, University of BristolTable of ContentsPreface vii List of Abbreviations xi 1. Introduction 1 2. The Theory 25 3. The First Principle of Justice 52 4. The Second Principle of Justice 70 5. The Original Position 100 6. Reflective Equilibrium 139 7. Main Critisms of Rawls 158 8. From A Theory of Justice to Political Liberalism 189 9. Introducing Political Liberalism 210 10. The State of the Problem 229 11. Overlapping Consensus and Public Reason 260 12. The Law of Peoples 293 Notes 320 References 363 Index 379

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Book SynopsisRawls: An Introduction is a uniquely comprehensive introduction to the work of the American philosopher John Rawls (1921-2002), who transformed contemporary political philosophy. In the 1950s and 1960s, political philosophy seemed to have reached a dead end characterized by a loose predominance of utilitarian theses.Trade Review"Extremely useful for graduate students and faculty in political philosophy and political sceince looking for an in-depth and wide-ranging discussion of Rawls's views and debates about Rawls's work. Highly recommended." Choice "This introduction to Rawls is the product of good, old-fashioned, and dedicated scholarship, combined with careful didactic talent. Maffettone succeeds in offering an encompassing and coherent picture of Rawls's political philosophy. [But] this work is much more than a mere introduction. Students in political philosophy will find it deserves to be read together with the original and vice versa." Ethical Perspectives "A meticulous, comprehensive overview of the entirety of Rawls' corpus, that presents an important reading of Rawls which provides a response to many critiques." Political Studies Review "An excellent survey of the features and evolution of Rawls’s conception of justice as fairness." Review of Politics "An educational read that presents it all well and leaves readers with what they need to know to pursue deeper learning. Rawls is an excellent addition to any community and college library collection." Library Bookwatch "Achieving a graceful balance of accessibility and rigor, Maffettone's insightful and substantial study expounds Rawls's thought as unified by the priority of the right over the good and offers a sober critical appraisal of it and its intellectual opponents." Thomas W. Pogge, Yale University "John Rawls was the leading political philosopher of the past century. In this illuminating book, Sebastiano Maffettone gives us a complete, coherent, and compelling picture of Rawls's leading ideas: his liberal-egalitarian theory of justice, his ideas about legitimacy in a pluralistic democracy, and his account of the moral basis of global politics. Maffettone understands that the focus of Rawls's work shifted, but he sees the deeper continuities in Rawls's emphasis on the priority of the right and his distinction between the justice of a society and its capacity to elicit the willing support of its members. The book casts a powerful light on Rawls's work, both clarifying his ideas and explaining their plausibility." Joshua Cohen, Stanford University "This is for its size the best introduction to all of Rawls's major works available. It is also a significant work of scholarship in its own right, with an especially strong emphasis on the continuity of Rawls's thought. Maffettone's acumen, expertise and dedication to his subject are in evidence on every page." Leif Wenar, King's College London "A rich and insightful work, which will make a substantial contribution to the secondary literature on Rawls. The author is able to draw upon both his own extensive knowledge of the Rawls corpus and his personal interaction with Rawls himself in order to present a systematic overview of his political theory." Daniel Butt, University of BristolTable of ContentsPreface vii List of Abbreviations xi 1. Introduction 1 2. The Theory 25 3. The First Principle of Justice 52 4. The Second Principle of Justice 70 5. The Original Position 100 6. Reflective Equilibrium 139 7. Main Critisms of Rawls 158 8. From A Theory of Justice to Political Liberalism 189 9. Introducing Political Liberalism 210 10. The State of the Problem 229 11. Overlapping Consensus and Public Reason 260 12. The Law of Peoples 293 Notes 320 References 363 Index 379

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Book SynopsisThis book by Roberto Esposito - a leading Italian political philosopher - is a highly original exploration of the relationship between human bodies and societies. The original function of law, even before it was codified, was to preserve peaceful cohabitation between people who were exposed to the risk of destructive conflict. Just as the human body's immune system protects the organism from deadly incursions by viruses and other threats, law also ensures the survival of the community in a life-threatening situation. It protects and prolongs life. But the function of law as a form of immunization points to a more disturbing consideration. Like the individual body, the collective body can be immunized from the perceived danger only by allowing a little of what threatens it to enter its protective boundaries. This means that in order to escape the clutches of death, life is forced to incorporate within itself the lethal principle. Starting from this reflection on the nature of immuTrade Review"A theoretically innovative book, useful for those interested in the future of life and death in the biopolitical age"Political Studies Review"After Communitas and Bios, here, at last, in Zakiya Hanafi's wonderful translation is the centerpiece of Roberto Esposito's biopolitical trilogy, Immunitas. In this work, Esposito offers the reader a stunning genealogy of the category of immunization, one no longer thought merely through the medical sciences, but across a series of disciplines, including law, political theology, philosophical anthropology, and biopolitics, all culminating in the the model of the transplant for imagining an immunization that might lead to 'the immune common.' The result is a book whose innovation is matched only by its fearlessness. An absolute must read for anyone interested in thinking the future of life and politics in a biopolitical age."Timothy C. Campbell, Cornell UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction I. Appropriation 1. Ius proprium 2. Violence against violence 3. Double blood 4. Legal immunization II. The katéchon 1. Sacer and sanctus 2. The restrainer 3. Political theology 4. Theodicy III. Compensatio 1. Immunitary anthropology 2. The productivity of the negative 3. The risk of community 4. The power of the void IV. Biopolitics 1. Incorporations 2. The phármakon 3. Zellenstaat 4. The governance of life V. The implant 1. Biophilosophies of immunity 2. War games 3. The defeated 4. Common immunity

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Book Synopsis* Cixous is generally regarded as one of the leading, if not the leading French feminist writer. * All of her books tend to be written as philosophical novels, combining elements of autobiography and fiction with reflection of a more philosophical and psychoanalytic kind.Trade Review"Suggests the mysteriousness of parents and the inacccessible internal lives barely imaginable to their children." Times Higher Education "Eve Escapes is all at once a poetic meditation on aging, a performative novel on the powers of writing, and a passionate description of a literary family. This book, published in a beautiful translation, is a high point in Cixous's narrative oeuvre, whose singularity and magic are simply inextinguishable." Laurent Dubreuil, Cornell University "Cixous's ongoing saga of farewell to her mother offers an unprecedented exploration of what it means to live old age. Moving between Freud and Montaigne, between broccoli and Balzac, the writer has created a poignant yet joyful celebration of her nonagenerian mother's determination to live life to the full." Mairéad Hanrahan, University College LondonTable of ContentsDay of SufferanceThe Prisoner's DreamFreud Dreams No MoreThe ShrinkingTales and Days of ReadingThe Cane and the ParasolOn Board the MagnoliaI Become a Cemetery CitizenTranslator's Notes

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Book Synopsis* Jurgen Habermas is among the most influential and important social theorists in the world today. * This volume represents the first sustained engagement with Habermas's recent turn to religion as a focus of philosophical inquiry.Trade Review"Essential reading for philosophers and sociologists of religion and generally for anyone concerned with religion and politics." LSE Review of Books "This groundbreaking book contains a number of penetrating and insightful essays on Habermas's recent work, and on the meaning of the secular and of postsecularism. It will undoubtedly take the debate on all these issues to a much more rigorous and fruitful level. A stellar collection, with papers of a very high quality." Charles Taylor, Professor Emeritus, McGill University "In 2001, shortly after 9/11, Jürgen Habermas's address 'Faith and Religion' attracted a great deal of attention. Until that time the topic of religion had not been a major concern in Habermas’s extensive oeuvre but he now began to speak of a postsecular age in which religion becomes a major topic in rethinking modernity and in meeting the challenge of religion in public life. This collection includes many of his most sophisticated interpreters and critics and Habermas, in his characteristic dialogical spirit, replies to each of his critics. Anyone seriously interested in the current state of the discussion about religion and public life will find this collection essential reading." Richard J. Bernstein, New School for Social Research "Jürgen Habermas has sometimes been called the pope of European secularism, but in recent years he has written frequently and appreciatively about religion without giving up his own position. This volume collects a number of very lively responses to these writings, many of them challenging Habermas in fairly sharp ways, and coming from those close to him, like Thomas McCarthy, and far from him, like John Milbank. The book ends with Habermas’s generous but firm response to his critics: altogether a most readable and thought-provoking book." Robert Bellah, Professor Emeritus, University of California, BerkeleyTable of ContentsList of Abbreviations vii Editors’ Introduction 1 Part I Rationalization, Secularisms, and Modernities 1 Exploring the Postsecular: Three Meanings of “the Secular” and Their Possible Transcendence 27 José Casanova 2 The Anxiety of Contingency: Religion in a Secular Age 49 María Herrera Líma 3 Is the Postsecular a Return to Political Theology? 72 María Pía Lara 4 An Engagement with Jurgen Habermas on Postmetaphysical Philosophy, Religion, and Political Dialogue 92 Nicholas Wolterstorff Part II The Critique of Reason and the Unfinished Project of Enlightenment 5 The Burdens of Modernized Faith and Postmetaphysical Reason in Habermas’s “Unfinished Project of Enlightenment” 115 Thomas McCarthy 6 Having One’s Cake and Eating It Too: Habermas’s Genealogy of Postsecular Reason 132 Amy Allen 7 Forgetting Isaac: Faith and the Philosophical Impossibility of a Postsecular Society 154 J. M. Bernstein Part III World Society, Global Public Sphere, and Democratic Deliberation 8 A Postsecular Global Order? The Pluralism of Forms of Life and Communicative Freedom 179 James Bohman 9 Global Religion and the Postsecular Challenge 203 Hent de Vries 10 Religion and the Public Sphere: What are the Deliberative Obligations of Democratic Citizenship? 230 Cristina Lafont 11 Violating Neutrality? Religious Validity Claims and Democratic Legitimacy 249 Maeve Cooke Part IV Translating Religion, Communicative Freedom, and Solidarity 12 Sources of Morality in Habermas’s Recent Work on Religion and Freedom 277 Matthias Fritsch 13 Solidarity with the Past and the Work of Translation: Reflections on Memory Politics and the Postsecular 301 Max Pensky 14 What Lacks is Feeling: Hume versus Kant and Habermas 322 John Milbank Reply to My Critics 347 Jürgen Habermas (Translated by Ciaran Cronin) Appendix: Religion in Habermas’s Work 391 Eduardo Mendieta Notes and References 408 Bibliography of Works by Jürgen Habermas 465 Index 471

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Book SynopsisIsn''t it particularly difficult to ''speak'' of your work? Frédéric-Yves Jeannet asks Hélène Cixous in this fascinating book of interviews. [I]t''s only in writing, on paper, that I reach the most unknown, the strangest, the most advanced part of me for me. I feel closer to my own mystery in the aura of writing it, Cixous responds. These conversations, which took place over three years and cover the creative process behind Cixous's fictional writing, illuminate the genesis and particular genius of one of France's most original writers. Cixous muses on her coming to writing, from her first publications to her recent acclaim for a series of fictional texts that spring, as, she insists all true writing does, from her life: the loss of her father when she was a child, and her relationship with her mother, now in her tenth decade, as well as with such friends as Jacques Derrida and Jacques Lacan. The conversations delve into Cixous's career as an academic in Paris and abroad, her sumTrade Review“This wonderfully sympathetic conversation about writing is like a magic animal in a fairytale. Follow, and it will take you through the diverse joys, dangers, surprises and landscapes of Cixous's writing life, towards the intransigent questions that animate everybody who lives.” Sarah Wood, The University of Kent “These interviews, which take Cixous back over her writing history, are fascinating encounters as much between the author and her (past) self as with Frédéric-Yves Jeannet. Encounters is essential reading for anyone interested in Cixous.” Mairéad Hanrahan, University College LondonTable of ContentsGodAnd the WhaleAlready everything was thereDwellingWithSpew into the seaOff age's shorePeruviaOf maps & of printsLazarusExpireWrite in TonguesFaustesClearseeUnfinish the Story & HistoryJust before the paperThe forgetreadOther addressesThe fear of namesDragonfliesSlight uneasiness the masculinePreteritionsBut the Earth goes round, not too badlyOur centuriesThe ShelvesWallsThe body writesMeasuresTempoThe grace the gallopingGod's Returns

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Book SynopsisIsn''t it particularly difficult to ''speak'' of your work? Frédéric-Yves Jeannet asks Hélène Cixous in this fascinating book of interviews. [I]t''s only in writing, on paper, that I reach the most unknown, the strangest, the most advanced part of me for me. I feel closer to my own mystery in the aura of writing it, Cixous responds. These conversations, which took place over three years and cover the creative process behind Cixous's fictional writing, illuminate the genesis and particular genius of one of France's most original writers. Cixous muses on her coming to writing, from her first publications to her recent acclaim for a series of fictional texts that spring, as, she insists all true writing does, from her life: the loss of her father when she was a child, and her relationship with her mother, now in her tenth decade, as well as with such friends as Jacques Derrida and Jacques Lacan. The conversations delve into Cixous's career as an academic in Paris and abroad, her sumTrade Review“This wonderfully sympathetic conversation about writing is like a magic animal in a fairytale. Follow, and it will take you through the diverse joys, dangers, surprises and landscapes of Cixous's writing life, towards the intransigent questions that animate everybody who lives.” Sarah Wood, The University of Kent “These interviews, which take Cixous back over her writing history, are fascinating encounters as much between the author and her (past) self as with Frédéric-Yves Jeannet. Encounters is essential reading for anyone interested in Cixous.” Mairéad Hanrahan, University College LondonTable of ContentsGodAnd the WhaleAlready everything was thereDwellingWithSpew into the seaOff age's shorePeruviaOf maps & of printsLazarusExpireWrite in TonguesFaustesClearseeUnfinish the Story & HistoryJust before the paperThe forgetreadOther addressesThe fear of namesDragonfliesSlight uneasiness the masculinePreteritionsBut the Earth goes round, not too badlyOur centuriesThe ShelvesWallsThe body writesMeasuresTempoThe grace the gallopingGod's Returns

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Book SynopsisThis biography of Jacques Derrida (19302004) tells the story of a Jewish boy from Algiers, excluded from school at the age of twelve, who went on to become the most widely translated French philosopher in the world a vulnerable, tormented man who, throughout his life, continued to see himself as unwelcome in the French university system. We are plunged into the different worlds in which Derrida lived and worked: pre-independence Algeria, the microcosm of the École Normale Supérieure, the cluster of structuralist thinkers, and the turbulent events of 1968 and after. We meet the remarkable series of leading writers and philosophers with whom Derrida struck up a friendship: Louis Althusser, Emmanuel Levinas, Jean Genet, and Hélène Cixous, among others. We also witness an equally long series of often brutal polemics fought over crucial issues with thinkers such as Michel Foucault, Jacques Lacan, John R. Searle, and Jürgen Habermas, as well as several controversies that went far beyond Trade ReviewWinner of the Choice award for Outstanding Academic Title 'Exhaustive and exhilarating.' The Scotsman 'Lucid, intelligent and richly informative.' Times Literary Supplement 'Peeters has ransacked the voluminous Derrida archives and interviewed scores of his friends and colleagues. The result is a marvellously compelling account, lucidly translated by Andrew Brown. The man who emerges from this portrait is an agonised soul with sudden outbreaks of gaiety, an astonishingly original thinker with more than a dash of vanity who nevertheless made himself fully available to the humblest student.' Terry Eagleton, The Guardian "Peeters' biography is unique in shaping Jacques Derrida's legacy in a way that a new generation would benefit from knowing." The Tablet 'Peeters is not a Derridean, but his book has qualities Derrida might have appreciated, above all a supreme patience with intellectual difficulty and abstention from moral judgement. He has done a heroic amount of research, interviewing more than a hundred of Derrida's friends and associates. He also had the co-operation of Derrida's widow, Marguerite. But his principal source of information is Derrida's own writing ... Derrida saved everything he wrote: he regarded every scrap as a 'trace', an almost sacred emblem of survival - and all writing, from poetry to post-its, had philosophical implications. Peeters puts Derrida's professional writing and these traces on an equal footing, using the one to illuminate the other. We see his many sides: a loyal friend and irrepressible seducer; a critic of dogma who couldn't bring himself to admit his own errors; a man who loathed tribalism but was so thin-skinned and so in need of adoration that he ended up leading his own academic tribe.' London Review of Books 'Peeters has cut through a lot of the myth and mystique surrounding Derrida. There is probably more illuminating information here - and correspondence - than has ever been made public before ... Peeters's Derrida is vulnerable, sensitive, prone to bouts of melancholia, neurotic, hypochondriac, and verging on suicidal. He is as tormented and torn as his prose. This is Derrida the poetic soul.' Literary Review 'Peeters' poignant Derrida: A Biograghy is - evidently - not an autobiography, yet it is a piece of writing that draws upon Derrida's own auto-biographies; on a life of work that depicts the life as work, as a work in progress, of a life in writing as writing (not to mention Peeters' unprecedented access to Derrida's personal letters and other writings) ... Indeed, the complex relationship between literature and philosophy, for Derrida, is a recurrent theme in the biography, and the struggle between the two, in Derrida's adolescence (which, as he states, "lasted until I was thirty-two"), makes for fascinating reading.' Review 31 ‘In addressing a philosopher of the importance of Jacques Derrida, whose massive output – about 60 volumes, not including his as yet unpublished seminars – has been translated and debated the world over, Benoît Peeters has quite rightly chosen not the origins or content of the work itself, but the life of the man behind it. In short, he has written an excellent biography entirely in keeping with Anglo-Saxon traditions.’ Elisabeth Roudinesco, The Guardian 'Peeters’ biography humanizes the philosopher in a way that opens up his work in a new way, and most importantly, makes it accessible.' Philosophy After Dark '[Peeters] excels at evoking the huge energy and application of the world's most travelled philosopher. If you've ever given up on Derrida, this portrait of him as a lovable, thin-skinned and narcissistic outside in France who shot to fame in the United States should make you reconsider.' New Statesman 'A real tour de force. Assimilating a vast amount of material – Derrida’s own voluminous publications, unpublished documents and correspondence, and conversations with a host of acquaintances – Benoît Peeters has produced a compelling narrative that sheds light on all aspects of Derrida’s remarkable career.' Jonathan Culler, Cornell UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgements vii Introduction 1 PART I JACKIE 1930–1962 1 The Negus 1930–1942 9 2 Under the Sun of Algiers 1942–1949 19 3 The Walls of Louis-le-Grand 1949–1952 35 4 The École Normale Supérieure 1952–1956 59 5 A Year in America 1956–1957 80 6 The Soldier of Koléa 1957–1959 92 7 Melancholia in Le Mans 1959–1960 108 8 Towards Independence 1960–1962 113 PART II DERRIDA 1963–1983 1 From Husserl to Artaud 1963–1964 127 2 In the Shadow of Althusser 1963–1966 144 3 Writing Itself 1965–1966 155 4 A Lucky Year 1967 170 5 A Period of Withdrawal 1968 186 6 Uncomfortable Positions 1969–1971 207 7 Severed Ties 1972–1973 230 8 Glas 1973–1975 256 9 In Support of Philosophy 1973–1976 267 10 Another Life 1976–1977 288 11 From the Nouveaux Philosophes to the Estates General 1977–1979 298 12 Postcards and Proofs 1979–1981 308 13 Night in Prague 1981–1982 332 14 A New Hand of Cards 1982–1983 342 PART III JACQUES DERRIDA 1984–2004 1 The Territories of Deconstruction 1984–1986 355 2 From the Heidegger Aff air to the de Man Aff air 1987–1988 379 3 Living Memory 1988–1990 402 4 Portrait of the Philosopher at Sixty 417 5 At the Frontiers of the Institution 1991–1992 440 6 Of Deconstruction in America 451 7 Specters of Marx 1993–1995 462 8 The Derrida International 1996–1999 478 9 The Time of Dialogue 2000–2002 495 10 In Life and in Death 2003–2004 518 Notes 543 Sources 593 Bibliography 596 Index 605

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Book Synopsis* Paul Ricoeur (1913-2005) is one of the most important French philosophers of the second half of the 20th century. * This volume makes available some of his key writings on the theory of interpretation, or hermeneutics, written between 1972 and 2006.Trade Review"Precisely what teachers need to bring Ricoeur's thought into their courses. Due to its accessibility and breadth, I can easily see this becoming the go-to volume for courses that include Ricoeur."Notre Dame Philosophical ReviewsTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsIntroductionThe Problem of Hermeneutics1. Hermeneutics and Symbolism2. Hermeneutics and the World of the Text3. The Semantics of Action and of the Agent4. Ethical Implications of the Theory of ActionMetaphor and the Central Problem of Hermeneutics“Hermeneutic Logic”?Hermeneutics of the Idea of RevelationSalvation Myths and Contemporary ReasonOrigin of the TextsIndex

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Book SynopsisMichel Foucault is recognized as one of the twentieth century's most influential thinkers, however the authors in this volume contend that more use can be made of Foucault than has yet been done and that some of the uses to which Foucault has so far been put run the risk of and occasionally simply amount to misuse.Trade Review"No thinker of the last generation helped shape understandings of the world more powerfully than Foucault. This splendid and up-to-date anthology shows that his work, through its various phases, retains its analytic power today."—Simon During, University of Queensland "Now is an appropriate time to reassess Foucault's work, to reflect upon its significance, relevance, and impact. These wide-ranging and challenging essays by leading figures in the field demonstrate the extraordinary breadth and depth of Foucault's contribution to the social sciences and humanities."—Barry Smart, University of Portsmouth "Foucault Now shows that 'Foucault then' is as relevant today as ever he was. The essays collected here traverse the full range of Foucault's work. In situating his concerns and methods within the politics of his times, they also connect them to the politics of the present with a compelling urgency. Foucault's originality still astonishes, and he remains simply indispensable."—Tony Bennett, University of Western SydneyTable of ContentsAcknowledgements vii Contributors viii Abbreviations xiii Introduction: The Use of Foucault 1 James D. Faubion Part I: Object Lessons 1 The Undefined Work of Freedom: Foucault’s Genealogy and the Anthropology of Ethics 23 James Laidlaw 2 Déraison 38 Ian Hacking 3 Foucault’s Evil Genius 52 Lynne Huffer 4 Toward an Ethics of Subjectivation: French Resistances to Psychoanalysis in the 1970s 71 Didier Eribon 5 Michel Foucault’s Critical Empiricism Today: Concepts and Analytics in the Critique of Biopower and Infopower 88 Colin Koopman 6 Foucault’s Face: The Personal is the Theoretical 112 John Forrester Part II: Cases in Point 7 Biopower, Sexual Democracy, and the Racialization of Sex 131 Eric Fassin 8 “A New Schema of Politicization”: Thinking Humans, Animals, and Biopolitics with Foucault 152 Cary Wolfe 9 Parrhesia and Therapeusis: Foucault on and in the World of Contemporary Neoliberalism 168 Laurence McFalls and Mariella Pandolfi 10 Foucault, Marx, Neoliberalism: Unveiling Undercover Boss 188 Toby Miller 11 Assembling Untimeliness: Permanently and Restively 203 Paul Rabinow 12 Constantine Cavafy: A Parrhesiast for the Cynic of the Future 225 James D. Faubion References 243 Index 264

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Book SynopsisThis is the first English-language introduction to Peter Sloterdijk, the distinguished German philosopher and controversial public intellectual.Trade Review"Jean-Pierre Couture's long-awaited essay on Peter Sloterdijk is the first attempt to assess his entire work and it is something of a tour-de-force. Peter Sloterdijk is one of the most inventive, provocative and controversial contemporary philosopher. A disciple of Nietzsche and Heidegger in rupture with the tradition of the School of Frankfurt, he is the most French of German philosophers. He was already something of a miracle when he emerged in the late 80s, and he has consistently remained a game changer. Jean-Pierre Couture's study will definitely fulfill the readers's expectations." Sylvere Lotringer, Columbia University "An excellent, intriguing and perceptive study of Peter Sloterdijk�s extraordinary work. This is no small task - Sloterdijk is a prolific writer, who covers a wide range of topics, and who is allusive, provocative and often unsystematic. A model of how to write about a thinker whose thought is still in process."Stuart Elden, University of Warwick � Sloterdijk�s eventful life, colourful style, intellectual ambition, provocative diagnoses, and even more controversial prescriptions are endlessly fascinating.�Church TimesTable of Contents Contents List of Abbreviations Acknowledgements Psychopolitics Anthropotechnics Spherology Controversy Therapy Conclusion Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisIn this important new book, the leading philosopher Francois Laruelle examines the role of intellectuals in our societies today, specifically with regards to criminal justice.Table of ContentsTranslator?s Preface Interviewer?s Preface Prologue The Name-of-Man or the Identity of the Real Portrait of the Dominant Intellectual The Victim and the Understanding of Crime The Practice of the Determined Intellectual Criminal History and the Demand for Justice

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Book SynopsisIn this important new book, the leading philosopher Francois Laruelle examines the role of intellectuals in our societies today, specifically with regards to criminal justice.Table of ContentsTranslator’s Preface Interviewer’s Preface Prologue The Name-of-Man or the Identity of the Real Portrait of the Dominant Intellectual The Victim and the Understanding of Crime The Practice of the Determined Intellectual Criminal History and the Demand for Justice

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Book SynopsisAlain Badiou was born in 1937 in Rabat and Jean-Claude Milner in 1941 in Paris. They were both involved in the Red Years at the end of the Sixties and both were Maoists, but while Badiou was focusing all his attention on China, Milner was already taking his distance from it.Trade Review"Badiou has established himself as both one of the last great master thinkers of the twentieth-century, and as the author of a powerfully new ontology capable of opening twenty-first century thought beyond the anthropomorphism of phenomenology and the social sciences. This volume, which is a genuine dialogue, profoundly enriches our understanding of Badiou's thought. The work of Jean-Claude Milner is perhaps the best possible foil and counter-thrust to the mastery of Badiou's philosophy. The topics here range from the most abstract to the most acutely political, and provoke thought even for those not interested in the minutiae of contemporary French thought."Claire Colbrook, Penn State University"What a refreshing change from the regurgitated consensual discussions that pass for political discourse in our media and intellectual life."Morning Star "The book is a brilliant demonstration of philosophical rigour over the usual 'philosophy as blood-sport.'" Political Studies ReviewTable of ContentsForeword: “Unreconciled” by Philippe Petit1 An original dispute2 Considerations on the revolution, law, and mathematics3 The infinite, the universal, and the name “Jew”4 The right, the left, and France in generalPostscriptNotesBibliographyIndex of Names

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Book SynopsisAlain Badiou was born in 1937 in Rabat and Jean-Claude Milner in 1941 in Paris. They were both involved in the Red Years at the end of the Sixties and both were Maoists, but while Badiou was focusing all his attention on China, Milner was already taking his distance from it. Over the years, that original dispute over the destiny of gauchisme was fueled by deep, new differences between them concerning the role of philosophy and politics. In this wide-ranging and compelling dialogue, these two great thinkers explore the role of politics in today''s world and consider the need for a formal theory of communist political organization. Whether they are addressing the era of revolutions, and in particular the Paris Commune and the Chinese Cultural Revolution, or discussing the infinite, the universal, the name Jew, violence, capitalism, the left, or Europe, Jean-Claude Milner''s dyed-in-the-wool skepticism constantly runs up against Alain Badiou''s doctrinal passion.ThTrade Review"Badiou has established himself as both one of the last great master thinkers of the twentieth-century, and as the author of a powerfully new ontology capable of opening twenty-first century thought beyond the anthropomorphism of phenomenology and the social sciences. This volume, which is a genuine dialogue, profoundly enriches our understanding of Badiou's thought. The work of Jean-Claude Milner is perhaps the best possible foil and counter-thrust to the mastery of Badiou's philosophy. The topics here range from the most abstract to the most acutely political, and provoke thought even for those not interested in the minutiae of contemporary French thought."Claire Colbrook, Penn State University"What a refreshing change from the regurgitated consensual discussions that pass for political discourse in our media and intellectual life."Morning Star "The book is a brilliant demonstration of philosophical rigour over the usual 'philosophy as blood-sport.'" Political Studies ReviewTable of ContentsForeword: “Unreconciled” by Philippe Petit1 An original dispute2 Considerations on the revolution, law, and mathematics3 The infinite, the universal, and the name “Jew”4 The right, the left, and France in generalPostscriptNotesBibliographyIndex of Names

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Book SynopsisIs contemporary continental philosophy making a break with Kant? The structures of knowledge, taken for granted since Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, are now being called into question: the finitude of the subject, the phenomenal given, a priori synthesis.Table of ContentsTranslator's Preface: Epigenesis of Her Texts Foreword Introduction Chapter 1: Paragraph 27 of the Critique of Pure Reason Chapter 2: Caught Between Skeptical Readings Chapter 3: The Difference Between Genesis and Epigenesis Chapter 4: Kant's "Minimal Preformationism" Chapter 5: Germs, Races, Seeds Chapter 6: The "Neo-Skeptical" Thesis and its Evolution Chapter 7: From Epigenesis to Epigenetics Chapter 8: From Code to Book Chapter 9: Irreducible Foucault Chapter 10: Time in Question Chapter 11: No Agreement Chapter 12: The Dead-End Chapter 13: Towards an Epigenetic Paradigm of Rationality Chapter 14: Can We Relinquish the Transcendental? Conclusion Notes Bibliography

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Book SynopsisAn interdisciplinary collection that examines zoos from historical, philosophical, social, and cultural perspectives.Trade Review"This is one of the first attempts to propose ideas and perspectives for a distinct field of zoo studies. There is a clear editorial voice here and a sense of issues being rethought and reworked. The contributors take the reader into the zoo in interesting ways, and beyond the zoo to explore issues such as conservation and cultural politics." Garry Marvin, University of Roehampton, London and co-editor of the Routledge Handbook of Human-Animal Studies

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Book SynopsisEnlightenment - both the phenomenon specific to the eighteenth century and the continuing trend in Western thought - is an attempt to dispel ignorance, achieve mastery of a potentially hostile environment, and contain fear of the unknown by promoting science and rationality. Enlightenment is often accompanied and challenged by countercultures such as German Romanticism, which explored the nature of fear and deployed it as a corrective to the excesses of rationalism. The Aesthetics of Fear in German Romanticism uncovers the formative role this movement played in the development of dark or negative aesthetics. Recovering a missing chapter in the history of the aesthetics of fear, Paola Mayer illustrates that Romanticism was a crucial transitional phase between the eighteenth-century sublime and the early twentieth-century uncanny. Mayer puts literature and philosophy in dialogue, examining how German Romantic literature employed narratives of fear to radicalize and then subvert the statuTrade Review"Mayer's attention to music and its treatment in theoretical texts frame discussions of tales, and the inclusion of stories such as Tieck's Der getreue Eckart oder der Tannenhäuser and Hoffmann's Der Kampf der Sänger is a particularly strong feature of her study. The Aesthetics of Fear in German Romanticism is a pleasure to read." Dennis F. Mahoney, University of Vermont"An overview here of Mayer's conclusions cannot do justice to her rigorous analyses and attention to nuance and contradiction. She does not shy away from complicating aesthetic history at the same time that she manages to resolve its paradoxes. Given such intricacy she takes pains at every juncture to label and number her insights, making The Aesthetics of Fear orderly and unfussy despite its length and intricacy." The Germanic Review: Literature, Culture, Theory"What is interesting about Mayer's approach is that, rather than applying twentieth or twenty-first-century concepts to early nineteenth-century works, she looks at how terms related to fear, such as "Schauer," were used in the Romantic era, in prose fiction, philosophy, and literary and music criticism. This careful examination of Romantic philosophical language and concepts, prose fiction, and critical writings allows her to argue convincingly for the centrality of the concept of fear to Romantic aesthetics and creative expression. Aficionados of German literature, of philosophy, and of Romanticism, will find erudition and enjoyment in Paola Mayer's The Aesthetics of Fear in German Romanticism." European Romantic Review

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Book Synopsis"Real" knowing always involves a political dimension, Linda Martín Alcoff suggests. But this does not mean we need to give up realism or the possibility of truth. Recent work in continental philosophy insists on the influence that power and desire...Trade ReviewA truly impressive scholarly achievement. For those who are interested in seeing how Gadamer and Foucault connect with Davidson and Putnam, Real Knowing is a rewarding and illuminating read. -- Matthias Steup * Philosophy and Phenomenological Research *This is a timely contribution to a fast-growing body of research in 'social epistemology,' a field drawing the attention of philosophers, sociologists of knowledge, social constructionists, and others. -- James Wong * Hypatia *

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Book SynopsisCharles Mills makes visible in the world of mainstream philosophy some of the crucial issues of the black experience.Trade ReviewA collection of eight engagingly written, erudite essays.... There are two major themes here: the first concerns the philosophical professoriate, which is predominately—and, the author contends, dominatingly—white; the second is whether or not race moderates philosophical consciousness. These are deep questions, and in dealing with them, Mills address a broad spectrum of issues: black-Jewish relations, gender (the progress of women vs. blacks), white supremacy, racism, genocide, jurisprudence, and much more. The thought of philosophers and others from ancient times to the present is given incisive analyses, as are epistemological, metaphysical, ethical, political, sociological, and literary considerations. The subject of this book is long overdue for airing. Highly recommended for a variety of pertinent academic and larger public library collections. * Library Journal *According to Mills... racism is not an aberration of an otherwise nearly ideal American democratic political system but is part of the political fabric, inherited from European imperialists. Mills examines emergent critical race theory and its movement beyond the political and sociological arena to the venerable territory of philosophy. Copiously researched and footnoted, it is an outstanding work that addresses one of the many racial issues of our times. * Booklist *The effort to make the reality of racism and black life visible is achieved— with a great deal of thought-provoking ideas. * Ethics *Table of ContentsPrefaceChapter 1. Non-Cartesian Sums: Philosophy and the African-American ExperienceChapter 2. Alternative EpistemologiesChapter 3. "But What Are You Really?' The Metaphysics of RaceChapter 4. Dark Ontologies: Blacks, Jews, and White SupremacyChapter 5. Revisionist Ontologies: Theorizing White SupremacyChapter 6. The Racial PolityChapter 7. White Right: The Idea of a Herrenvolk EthicsChapter 8. Whose Fourth of July? Frederick Douglass and "Original Intent"Notes Index

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Book SynopsisMost Cartesian scholars focus on the metaphysical and epistemological aspects of the philosopher's texts. In this long awaited volume, John Marshall invites us to reconsider René Descartes as an ethicist. Through an unconventional study of his...Trade ReviewDescartes's Moral Theory is clearly written and well structured. Marshall makes his arguments easy to follow and uses illustrative examples. He considers and amply cites the relevant Cartesian texts, and is so fair to the opposing point of view in cases of textual ambiguity that one can mount strong counterarguments simply on the basis of evidence Marshall himself provides in his notes. -- Sarah Donahue * The Review of Metaphysics *Rene Descartes is an important but neglected moral philosopher. John Marshall's book is designed 'to introduce Descartes's moral thought to an anglophone audience' and he succeeds. * Ethics *

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Book SynopsisLudwig Wittgenstein established a "cool" stance for philosophy, contemplating the world without meddling in it. D. Z. Phillips explores this position, focusing on its implications for philosophical authorship and the philosophical investigation of the...Trade ReviewPhillips is right to point out that it is increasingly difficult to maintain the integrity of pure, theoretical activity 'in a technological culture that emphasizes finding answers and solutions'. Moreover, it is well worth the noting that some thinkers that explicitly endorse a position of endorsing no position in fact fail to do as they prescribe;... Hypocrisy is as rife among the devotees of mere conversations as it once was among the truth seekers. * Times Literary Supplement *My admiration of D. Z. Phillips's philosophy of religion has always been considerable, though tempered by virtually diametrical disagreement. But I find this essay, which treats of more general philosophical questions, among the most interesting and perceptive of his publications. * The Heythrop Journal *

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Book SynopsisIngram provides an introduction to Habermas's complex thought as it has evolved from 1953 to the present, spanning philosophy, religion, political science, social science, and law.Trade ReviewDavid Ingram has provided us with what is unquestionably the most comprehensive introduction to one of the most demanding systems of thought, without sacrificing critical distance.... The book not only explains Habermas but places him on the map of modern philosophy. The book is a versatile toolbox, which will make it a must for anyone aiming to teach Habermas or the transformations of Critical Theory in the last decades. Above all, however, it is also a substantive contribution to the tradition to which Habermas belongs, for it is a critique of reason by way of an immanent critique of communicative rationality itself. -- Eduardo Mendieta * Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *Table of Contents1: A Public Intellectual Committed to Reason Habermas's Life From the Critique of Ideology to the Dialectic of Enlightenment Outline of Chapters2: Habermas's Defense of Psychoanalytic Social Science The Positivism Debate in German Social Science Modern Nihilism: The Crisis of Science and the Theory/ Practice Problem Knowledge and Human Interests A Critique of Knowledge and Human Interests3: The Linguistic Turn TCA and the Dialectic of Enlightenment Situating Habermas's Philosophy of Language Transcendental Philosophy of Language as Rational Reconstruction Universal Pragmatics and Formal Semantics Formal Pragmatics and Speech Act Theory Discourse Communicative and Strategic Speech Acts A Critique of Universal Pragmatics4: Knowledge and Truth Revisited Subject-Object Paradigms of Knowledge Internal Realism Reference and Meaning Knowledge and Evolution Moral Realism Is Formal Pragmatism a Defensible Alternative to Realism and Contextualism?5: Discourse Ethics Practical Reason: Delimiting the Domain of the Moral The Priority of the Right over the Good Modernity and Moral Development Deontological Moral Theory and Universalizability: Kant and Rawls Moral Cognitivism versus Moral Skepticism Moral Argumentation as Discourse Neo-Aristotelian Objections and the Abortion Controversy Justification and Application Discourse Ethics Applied: Genetic Testing and the Future of Human Nature Problems and Paradoxes Habermas's Ideal of Argumentation: A Final Assessment6: Law and Democracy: Part I: The Foundational Rights Modern Law and Morality: A Paradoxical Wedding of Facts and Norms Situating Habermas's Theory of Law and Democracy: Some Contemporary Debates The Sociological Genesis of Modern Law The System of Rights Negative and Positive Rights (Duties) Constitutional Foundations Human Rights: Subsistence as a Test Case for a Juridical Conception of Rights Final Thoughts on the Procedural Ideal of Deliberative Democracy7: Law and Democracy: Part II: Power and the Clash of Paradigms Democracy and the Powers of Government The Separation of Powers The Transmission of Communicative Power: From Public Sphere to Government Administration Discourse and Adjudication The Proceduralist Paradigm of Law and Democracy A Concluding Assessment8: Law and Democracy: Part III: Applying the Proceduralist Paradigm Separation of Church and State: The Public/ Private Distinction Gender Difference and the Law Multiculturalism Immigration9: Law and Democracy: Part IV: Social Complexity and a Critical Assessment Questioning the Proceduralist Paradigm Substantive Economic Justice and Workplace Democracy The Technological Dimension of Democracy Revolution and Democracy10: Crisis and Pathology: The Future of Democracy in a Global Age Capitalism and the Crisis of Democracy Social Pathologies and the Colonization of the Lifeworld Globalization: The New Challenge Cosmopolitan Democracy and Global Politics as a Response to Global Crisis Politics and the Rule of Law in International Relations The Constitutionalization of International Relations The Limits of Democratization: A Critical Assessment11: Postsecular Postscript: Modernity and Its Discontents Marx on the Evolution of Modern Society Weber on Modernization and the Problem of Meaning Secularization and the Rationalization of the Lifeworld Between Past and Future: Art, Religion, and the Dialectic of Enlightenment RevisitedAppendix A: Explaining Action Appendix B: Understanding Action Appendix C: Habermas and Brandom Appendix D: Developmental Psychology Appendix E: Rational Choice Theory Appendix F: Systems TheoryIndex

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Book SynopsisBrings together in one volume translations, commentaries, and essays that illuminate the background of Giambattista Vico's major work.Trade Review"This is a fine and comprehensive summary of a controversial and many-faceted thinker. It draws upon Vico's lesser known writings in his long and complex pilgrimage from humanist philology through jurisprudence and Homeric poetry to philosophy. This includes not only the crucial published work on universal law but also a manuscript fragment relating to it, Vico's reply to the early review of his 'new science,' additions to the second edition of work, his late conception of the classical muses, his 'tree of knowledge,' and his critique of Descartes, Spinoza, and Locke. All of these, not always available in the existing English translations, come with important and valuable interpretation, commentary, and a review of Vico's metaphysics. A complete bibliography of English-language translations of Vico's writings is appended. Vico's work is seldom, if ever, seen historically and as a whole. This work is much more significant than the numerous speculative interpretations that place him in fanciful contexts, and it is essential to a correct and comprehensive view of the scholar who was at once one of the last of the humanists and one of the first practitioners and theoreticians of the modern human sciences." -- Donald R. Kelley, James Westfall Thompson Professor of History Emeritus, Rutgers University, and former Executive Editor, Journal of the History of IdeasTable of ContentsIntroduction: Interpreting the New Science Part 1: Background of the New Science in the Universal Law (1720–2722) Synopsis of Universal Law The True and the Certain: From On the One Principle and One End of Universal Law A New Science Is Essayed: From On the Constancy of the Jurisprudent On Homer and His Two Poems: From the Dissertations Vico's Address to His Readers from a Lost Manuscript on JurisprudencePart 2: Reception of the First New Science (1725) Vico’s Reply to the False Book Notice: The Vici VindiciaePart 3: Additions to the Second New Science (1730/1744) Vico’s "IGNOTA LATEBAT": On the Impresa and the Dipintura Vico’s Addition to the Tree of the Poetic Sciences and His Use of the Muses Vico’s Reprehension of the Metaphysics of René Descartes, Benedict Spinoza, and John Locke

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Book Synopsis"Real" knowing always involves a political dimension, Linda Martín Alcoff suggests. But this does not mean we need to give up realism or the possibility of truth. Recent work in continental philosophy insists on the influence that power and desire...Trade ReviewA truly impressive scholarly achievement. For those who are interested in seeing how Gadamer and Foucault connect with Davidson and Putnam, Real Knowing is a rewarding and illuminating read. -- Matthias Steup * Philosophy and Phenomenological Research *This is a timely contribution to a fast-growing body of research in 'social epistemology,' a field drawing the attention of philosophers, sociologists of knowledge, social constructionists, and others. -- James Wong * Hypatia *

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Book SynopsisIn Kant''s Rational Theology, Allen W. Wood explores Kant''s views on the concept of God and on the attempt to demonstrate God''s existence. We cannot have a full or balanced understanding of Kant''s thought on religious subjects, he writes, as long as we fail to take account of his reflections, often exceedingly abstract, obscure, and subtle, concerning the rational origin, content, and status of our concept of a supreme being.The importance of this aspect of Kantian thought, according to Wood, lies in its originality, in its historical influence, and in the insights it affords into the tradition of rational theology in medieval and modern philosophy. He believes that it also provides a means of understanding Kant''s work as a whole and of achieving a proper appreciation of the contents of Kant''s moral faith.The author focuses on Kant''s chapter on the ideal or pure reason from the Critique of Pure Reason and also discusses other Kantian writings (especially the LTrade ReviewThis splendid little book has two main sections. The first traces the origins of Kant's account of God, the ens realissimum, in the first Critique, and analyzes the very obscure introductory passage which precedes Kant's criticism of the three proofs of God's existence. The second examine that criticism in detail. Wood's prose is simple and concise, and he perfectly combines sound historical exegesis with discussion of the general philosophical issues involved. * Mind *Wood's scholarship possesses both historical insight (helping him to situate Kant in the tradition of Descartes, Leibniz, and Wolff) and analytic subtlety (enriching his discussion of such issues as modality and predication). The result is a book that is both an original contribution to Kant studies and an inquiry into the possibility of theology as a 'rational' enterprise. * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *

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Book SynopsisThe term "modernism" is central to any discussion of twentieth-century literature and critical theory. Astradur Eysteinsson here maintains that the concept of modernism does not emerge directly from the literature it subsumes, but is in fact a product...Trade ReviewAn exemplary study of the idea of 'modernism.'... Eysteinsson moves with remarkable ease from readings and discussions of the definitions and uses of the concept of modernism within literary criticism to the placement of the concept of modernism within literary history and to intelligent and illuminating readings of particular modernist literary text and authors. * World Literature Today *Brave and admirable. Eysteinsson's exploration of modernism considers the reverberations and relations of modernism to other paradigms such as realism, literary history, postmodernism, and the avant-garde. His work, which also reveals a strong awareness of how modernism was and is understood outside the Anglo-American realm, is indispensable. * Virginia Quarterly Review *

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Book Synopsis"This work is a model of what a philosophical text should be."—Reinhard Lauth "Breazeale's translation is fluent, precise, and perhaps most important of all . . . it is readable. . . . This is an excellent translation by the ranking Fichte scholar...Trade ReviewThe publishing of this volume in English... provides us with a wealth of new material, not just about Fichte's development, but about the essentially Cartesian project that first gave rise to phenomenology in our own century. * International Philosophical Quarterly *Breazeale's translation is fluent, precise, and perhaps most important of all... it is readable.... This is an excellent translation by the ranking Fichte scholar working in English at present, accompanied by a full, useful scholarly apparatus, likely to be of interest to Fichte scholars and all those concerned with the development of German idealism. * Review of Metaphysics *

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Book SynopsisIs it possible to apply a theoretical approach to ethics? The French philosopher Catherine Chalier addresses this question with an unusual combination of traditional ethics and continental philosophy. In a powerful argument for the necessity of moral...Trade ReviewChalier's accounts of Levinas's views draw on extensive knowledge of his works as a whole and are often exciting in scope and detail.... If you have wondered whether Levinas is a Kantian, you will find Chalier's knowledgeable book helpful for reflection on the question. -- Deborah Achtenberg, University of Nevada Reno * Review of Metaphysics *Chalier's reflection on a possible dialogue between these figures in illuminating for moral philosophy in general, and for an understanding of Levinasian ethics in particular. -- Brigitt Sassen, McMaster University * Philosophy in Review *

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