Description
Book SynopsisThe essays in this volume consider figures in the history of philosophy such as Plato, Plotinus, Spinoza, and Hegel; and 20th-century thought, most notably Walter Benjamin, but also Heidegger, Derrida, Deleuze, the historian Aby Warburg, and the linguist J.-C. Milner.
Trade Review"Agamben has been attracting attention recently in the English-speaking world, thanks to the increasing availability of his work in translation. This volume is indicative of Agamben's broad range of interests. . . . Despite this range of interests, however, a sustained commitment to certain theoretical issues—particularly language and history—lends the volume a coherence. . . . Daniel Heller-Roazen's introduction does a nice job of outlining the philosophical program that motivates these essays, and his translation in general is to be commended for its elegance. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and researchers."—
ChoiceTable of ContentsEditor's note Editor's introduction Part I. Language: 1. The thing itself 2. The idea of language 3. Language and history: linguistic and historical categories in Benjamin's thought 4. Philosophy and linguistics 5. Kommerell, or on gesture Part II. History: 6. Aby Warburg and the nameless science 7. Tradition of the immemorial 8. *Se: Hegel's absolute and Heidegger's Ereignis 9. Walter Benjamin and the demonic: happiness and historical redemption 10. The messiah and the sovereign: the problem of law in Walter Benjamin Part III. Potentiality: 11. On potentiality 12. The passion of facticity 13. Pardes: the writing of potentiality 14. Absolute immanence Part IV. Contingency: 15. Bartleby, or on contingency Notes Index of names.
