In Walter Benjamin. Presence of Mind, Failure to Comprehend Stephane Symons offers an innovative reading of the work of German philosopher, essayist and literary critic Walter Benjamin (1892-1940). Oftentimes interpreted as being either of a theological (Jewish-Messianic) or a materialist (neo-Marxist) nature, Benjamin's writings are here characterized as "neither a-theological, nor immediately theological." Starting from Benjamin's philosophy of history, his interpretation of the work of Franz Kafka, his study on the German Baroque and his critique of modernity, Walter Benjamin....

Aesthetic Capitalism debates the social aesthetics of contemporary economic processes. The book connects modern cultural dynamics with the workings of contemporary capitalism. It explores art and the new spirit of capitalism; visual culture and the experience economy; aesthetics and organisations; the art of fiscal management; capitalism without myth; and architecture in the age of aesthetic capitalism. Contributors include: Peter Murphy, Eduardo de la Fuente, Antonio Strati, Ken Friedman, Dominique Bouchet, Anders Michelsen, David Roberts, Carlo Tognato

Cornelius Castoriadis and the Project of Radical Autonomy analyses the philosophy of Greek-born French philosopher Cornelius Castoriadis. A leading member of the influential revolutionary group, Socialism or Barbarism in France, Castoriadis analysed contemporary political subjectivity and culture in terms of the collective and individual attempt to gain autonomy. His philosophy frames a multi-dimensional analysis of modern capitalist societies, based on a systematic critique of orthodox Marxism, Heideggerian ontology and Lacanian psychology. The present volume consists of two...

Recognition and Freedom brings together leading international scholars to discuss the political thought of the social philosopher Axel Honneth. In addition to providing an introduction to Honneth's political thought, the book examines topics such as education, solidarity, multiculturalism, agonism, neo-liberalism and the ways in which these issues challenge core aspects of liberal democracies. The book includes an interview with Axel Honneth in the light of his most recent work, Freedom's Right, as well as an essay by him previously unpublished in English.

Camus, Philosophe: To Return to our Beginnings is the first book on Camus to read Camus in light of, and critical dialogue with, subsequent French and European philosophy. It argues that, while not an academic philosopher, Albert Camus was a philosophe in more profound senses looking back to classical precedents, and the engaged French lumieres of the 18th century. Aiming his essays and literary writings at the wider reading public, Camus' criticism of the forms of 'political theology' enshrined in fascist and Stalinist regimes singles him out markedly from more recent...

Camus, Philosophe: To Return to Our Beginnings is the first book on Camus to read Camus in light of, and critical dialogue with, subsequent French and European philosophy. It argues that, while not an academic philosopher, Albert Camus was a philosophe in more profound senses looking back to classical precedents, and the engaged French lumieres of the 18th century. Aiming his essays and literary writings at the wider reading public, Camus' criticism of the forms of 'political theology' enshrined in fascist and Stalinist regimes singles him out markedly from more recent...

In Friendship, Francesco Alberoni offers a wide-ranging analysis of intimacy. Traversing disciplines, he untangles the meanings of friendship from family and friendly relations, from love and passion and the everyday experiences of coupledom. Friendship is the just relationship. Rather than based on exchange, it is an encounter between two intimates that repudiates the logics of the market, the depersonalizing norms of modern bureaucracy and the objectives of collectivities whether they be couples or social movements. Intimate and just, friendship partakes of the world while resisting...

In Jefferson's Political Philosophy and the Metaphysics of Utopia, M. Andrew Holowchak traces the development of Jeffersonian republicanism as a political philosophy, though it is today seldom seen as a political philosophy, by examining the documents he wrote (e.g., Declaration, First Inaugural Address, and significant letters) and key literature he read. That political philosophy, fundamentally progressive and people-first, was driven by a vision of an "empire of liberty"--a global confederation of republican nations in moral and political partnership and peaceful coexistence--and...