Description
Book SynopsisImagination and Postmodernity addresses the role of the imagination in philosophy today. By focusing on philosophy at the boundary of reason with constant reference to Kant's view of the boundary-limit, it is possible to advance a viable alternative to deconstructing the imagination. Patrick L. Bourgeois puts forth the claim that by refocusing the imagination in the postmodern conversation, a far-reaching contemporary position can be reached that reestablishes the position of the humanities as central against the anti-humanism of deconstruction. This work addresses some of the challenges and problems that emerge in conflicting positions within contemporary philosophy, including a concentration on the role of the imagination in the work of Paul Ricoeur in contrast and in opposition to its role in such postmodern thinkers as Derrida and Lyotard. This treatment requires going back to the role of the imagination in the period of Kant and his immediate followers in order to clarify the vari
Trade ReviewBourgeois proposes a trenchant rethinking of the postmodern imagination, guided by Ricoeur but also passing through a diverse post-Kantian landscape of German idealism, pragmatism, phenomenology, and deconstructionism. The result is an ambitious new philosophy of the imagination at the boundary-limits of reason and an opening to the possibility of an invigorated postmodern humanism. -- John Wall, Rutgers University
Table of ContentsPreface Chapter 1: The Imagination: Its Challenge to Philosophy Today Chapter 2: The Transcendental Productive Imagination Chapter 3: The Imagination at the Boundary: Phenomenological Variations and Pragmatism Chapter 4: Imagination and Postmodernity Chapter 5: Imagination and Postmodernity II: Narrative Bibliography
