From Hegel to the present, the humanities and social sciences have revealed the volatile power of third agency. Systems of thought and practice are often disturbed by the presence of a figure that exceeds traditional binary oppositions. The articles in this volume trace the role of these triadic figures across a broad range of discourses in social theory, philosophy and science studies. Modernity emerges as a mode of system-formation, perpetuation and self-reflection that is deeply rooted in the dynamics of dialectic and paradox.
The volume offers an approach which is both systematic and...