Description
Book SynopsisFor liberals, the question “Do others live rightly?” seems to demand a follow-up question: “Who am I to judge?” Peaceful coexistence, in this view, is predicated on restraint from morally evaluating our peers. But Rahel Jaeggi argues that criticizing is not only valid but also useful. Moral judgment is no error—the error lies in how we go about it.
Trade ReviewJaeggi combines…phenomenological attention to lived experience and an eye for social detail… She binds that together with a shrewd grasp of critical theory and the philosophical landscape of the present. Her footnotes alone would make a good book. -- Terry Pinkard * European Journal of Philosophy *
Jaeggi’s most impressive undertaking to date…Represents part of Jaeggi’s recent work in critical theory that has led to her recognition as one of the more interesting and innovative critical theorists working in Germany. -- Kevin W. Gray * Marx and Philosophy Review of Books *
Jaeggi offers an interesting new attempt to fulfill the task Habermas has set for critical theory. She recommends accepting the plurality of life forms… Nevertheless we can still uphold a general ideal of emancipation and judge the different contributions of different life forms to a more rational world, if we consider the abilities of life forms to learn from crises and to transform themselves accordingly. -- Andreas Niederberger and Tobias Weihrauch * Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *
Jaeggi has already earned a firm place in German philosophy. This book reinforces the impression that she has established an important philosophical voice that addresses society and its problems and that we will hear from in the future, even beyond the academy. -- Eva Weber-Guskar * Süddeutsche Zeitung *
Critique of Forms of Life is a comprehensive work that convincingly sets out the philosophical kernel of Hegel’s view, reconstructing and updating it in such a way that it becomes a ‘live’ philosophical option for contemporary audiences. Jaeggi is a rare instance of a philosopher who is immersed in both Continental and Anglo-American philosophical traditions and skillfully unites them in one dialogue. -- Fred Neuhouser, Barnard College, Columbia University
