The New French Philosophy

by Ian James

This book gives a critical assessment of key developments in contemporary French philosophy, highlighting the diverse ways in which recent French thought has moved beyond the philosophical positions and arguments which have been widely associated with the terms 'post-structuralism' and 'postmodernism'. These developments are assessed through a close comparative reading of the work of seven contemporary thinkers: Jean-Luc Marion, Jean-Luc Nancy, Bernard Stiegler, Catherine Malabou, Jacques Ranciere, Alain Badiou and Francois Laruelle.The book situates the writing of each philosopher in relation to earlier traditions of French thought. In differing ways, these philosophers decisively distance themselves from the linguistic paradigm which dominated so much twentieth-century thought in order to rethink philosophical conceptions of materiality, worldliness, shared embodied existence and human agency or subjectivity. They thereby open the way for a radical renewal of the claims, possibilities and transformative power of philosophical thinking itself.

This book will be an indispensable text for students of philosophy and for anyone interested in current developments in philosophy and social thought.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, France

220 pages, Paperback

First published May 14, 2012

Reviews

[Kamakana · Rating 4 out of 5]

140205: o man, if you ever need an object case of how very different French philosophy can be from ordinary thought, from usual philosophy particularly of the analytic style, from the very beginning, from an introductory level- this is the book for you. on the other, i do not mean to suggest these are meaningless jargon-laden texts, because i do want to read on, i am intrigued, i am inspired... but for the moment will concentrate on understanding some of the original phenomenologists, the simple ones, like Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Merleau-Ponty (joke, i know they are far from simple)... there are some great ones new to me here, some names have seen only on other books in the philosophy section of the u bookstore... someday...

there is purpose in reading afield, in challenging thoughts, even if it is mostly a case of thinking, yes, someday i will read about this... this book covers seven of the relatively new or contemporary French thinkers, who have risen in prominence since the heyday of Structuralists, Post-Structuralists, Postmodernists- thinkers i have never much read like Foucault- and the titles and ambitions of their texts sound great- Being and Event, Plasticity at the dusk of writing, Being Given, Technics and Time 1, 2, 3, In Excess, Nietzsche contra Heidegger... i hope my brain does not explode when i get around to reading Laruelle's Principles of Non-Philosophy...

there is some pattern here, something that unites these disparate thinkers, which is too often that they will presuppose that their readers know more than basic about previous work, about major currents in european thought. this book is aimed at analytic or unfamiliar students. i do not know if some will follow it, as sentences and thoughts expressed are often long and complex and difficult. this is all fun stuff. only a four because i have nothing to compare it to, nothing to know, only personal desire to read some of these...

[Johan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good and clear introduction to the individual philosophers discussed. Recommended!