Continuum Philosophy News

A long overdue round-up of recent publications in ethics

First up, Scott Davison’s On the Intrinsic Value of Everything. Davison’s book functions as both an introduction to fundamental questions in ethics as well as an argument for the controversial view that everything that exists is intrinsically valuable to some degree. Davison asks: if only some things are intrinsically valuable, what about other things? Where and how do we draw the cutoff point? If only living creatures are intrinsically valuable, what does this imply for how we value the environment? If everything has intrinsic value, what practical implications does this have for how we live our lives? How does this view fit with the traditional theistic idea that God is the source of goodness and truth?

An early review:

“In this lovely little book Scott Davison defends the novel thesis that everything has intrinsic value to some degree. What fascinates me is that Davison presents his case in a highly accessible manner without compromising its depth and rigor. This book is an important contribution to discussions of intrinsic value within and beyond academic philosophy.” -- Yujin Nagasawa, Reader in Philosophy of Religion, University of Birmingham, UK

Next is Christopher Lutz’s excellent commentary and guide to Alasdair MacIntyre’s seminal After Virtue. Reading Alasdair MacIntyre’s After Virtue provides a commentary that is accessible to students, valuable to scholars, and useful to teachers. Students will find help to navigate the two main arguments of After Virtue, to understand its interpretation of history, and to engage its proposal for a form of ethics and politics that returns to the tradition of the virtues. Scholars will find the book useful as a general guide to MacIntyre’s ethics. Teachers will find a book that can help to direct their students’ reading and keep classroom discussions focused on the book’s central concerns.

We have been fortunate enough to have received an endorsement from Professor MacIntyre himself:

“In the thirty years since I wrote After Virtue I have become keenly aware that it is not always easy reading and that even attentive readers sometimes need help. Christopher Lutz has the gifts of a first-rate commentator and guide and his readers will be as indebted to him as I am.” --  Alasdair MacIntyre

Other notable early reviews:

"Only someone with a deep knowledge of Alasdair MacIntyre’s work could write a book like this. Christopher Lutz, who is extremely knowledgeable of MacIntyre’s corpus, has done us the great favor of contextualizing the arguments of After Virtue. [...] This is not only one of the best introductions we have of MacIntyre, it is a book that advances MacIntyre’s argument with modernity in a manner that suggests how we might go on. I highly recommend this book as a necessary companion to After Virtue." -- Stanley Hauerwas, Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics, Duke Divinity School, USA

"Reading Alasdair MacIntyre’s After Virtue is a thorough yet succinct, clear and accessible yet scholarly introductory overview and critical engagement with one of the most important works on ethics in the last 50 years. Exhaustively researched and exceptionally well-written by a leading MacIntyre scholar, it is sure to be the standard work on the subject for many years to come.  In a word, Christopher Lutz’s latest volume on MacIntyre hits the ball out of the park. You cannot want to understand  MacIntyre and not read this book." -- Bruce Ballard, Professor of Philosophy, Lincoln University, USA

 "Lutz’s commentary on Alasdair MacIntyre’s 1981 After Virtue illuminates both its context and its content. After Virtue was not a mere dissent within the framework of modern ethics but a rejection of the framework itself. MacIntyre both needed and deserved an interpreter with Lutz’s clarity of style and depth of understanding. Lutz ably traces the path MacIntyre took from his early Marxism to his incorporation of Aristotle. Lutz then defends MacIntyre’s critique of modern ethics as a disastrous fetishism of rules detached from community. This defense should spark a wider discussion among contemporary moralists of MacIntyre’s goal-based ethics." -- Milton Fisk, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Indiana University, USA

And, finally, Chad Meister’s Evil: A Guide for the Perplexed. Meister addresses a core issue in philosophy of religion, posed most succinctly perhaps by Epicurus: “Either God wants to abolish evil, and cannot; or he can, but does not want to. If he wants to, but cannot, he is impotent. If he can, but does not want to, he is wicked. If God can abolish evil, and God really wants to do it, why is there evil in the world?” Meister  shows how the problem of evil has taken a variety of forms over the centuries and that, in fact, there are numerous “problems” of evil—problems for theists but, perhaps surprisingly, problems for non-theists as well.  

Early reviews:

"…a brilliant, lucid, fair, concise guide to philosophical reflection on the nature of evil.” -- Charles Taliaferro, Professor of Philosophy, St. Olaf College, USA

" Chad Meister skillfully guides his audience through philosophical thickets with clarity, vigor, succinctness, and a trove of illuminating examples. […] In short-- a highly rewarding read!" -- David Shatz, Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Division of Humanities, Yeshiva University, USA

"… presents the most important recent developments in thinking about the problem of evil in a way that is accessible to anyone with an interest in the topic.  While many books claim to do this, Meister’s book actually delivers the goods and I highly recommend it." -- Stewart Goetz, Professor of Philosophy, Ursinus College, USA

"Meister has produced the most comprehensive and accessible monograph on evil currently available. […]  Written in Meister's characteristically clear style, this book will be an invaluable resource for people of all faiths and none." -- Rev. Dr. Harriet Harris, Chaplain to the University of Edinburgh, UK

Haaris Naqvi, Senior Commissioning Editor

April: THE month to be born or die in the world of philosophy

With all this talk about today being Shakespeare's birth and death day, I thought I'd see when the big names in philosophy were born and died. I found this handy little resource and, to my surprise, it seems that April is the month to be born or die in the world of philosophy.

 

So here's my pick of the big names who came into the world, who shuffled off this mortal coil, and the select few that - like Shakespeare - managed to do both in the month of April... in the form of shameless links to previews of our books by or about them!

 

Births

Starting with the cheery, a rousing happy birthday (belated and premature) to all of the following...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thomas Hobbes - b. 5th April 1588

Immanuel Kant - b. 22nd April 1724

Marcus Aurelias - b. 26th April 121

Georg Lukács - b. 13th April 1885

David Hume - b. 26th April 1711

 

Deaths

We lost some great thinkers in Aprils gone by, so spare a moment to consider the impact of these big names...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simone de Beauvoir - d. 14th April 1986

Jean-Paul Sartre - d. 15th April 1980

Dietrich Bonhoeffer - d. 9th April 1945

 

 

 

 

Special Mentions

Finally, a very special mention to these following two philosophers, who were born and then later died in the same month...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edmund Husserl - b. 8th April 1859 and d. 26th April 1938

Ludwig Wittgenstein - b. 26th April 1889 and d. 29th April 1951

 

So, in conclusion, a note to all budding philosophers out there: If you were born in April, you're probably on to a winner.

 

Charlotte Hoare

Marketing Executive

UK and Rest of World

Nothing like a pre-bank holiday weekend give away!

Nothing makes me more generous than the prospect of a four day weekend, let me tell you, and I just so happen to have had five copies of the Jacques Rancière translations Mallarmé, Althusser's Lesson, Politics of Aesthetics, Chronicles of Consensual Times and Dissensus sat on my desk for over a week now. So! Time for a spring clean!

 

The first five people to comment below with their name and email address (essential so I can get in touch for your postal address!) will win one of these fantastic books. It'll be pot luck, so enter at your own risk!*

 

Go!

 

Charlotte Hoare

Marketing Executive UK & Rest of World

Just landed on my desk: Morality and the Movies

I tweeted a while back saying how excited I was for this book, so I was thrilled this week when I came in to work to find an advanced copy of Dan Shaw's Morality and the Movies sitting on my desk.

 

This fantastic new book presents the ideal introduction to philosophical ethics for film lovers. Dan Shaw uses a series of sixteen popular films to illustrate all the major ethical theories and key contemporary moral issues. The book provides a brief summary and philosophical interpretation of each film, with reference throughout to primary philosophical sources. A unique pedagogical feature is that each chapter begins with a five-step summary of the theoretical position in question and a critical evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses through a specific film.

Topics covered include:

 

• divine authority
• the social contract
• moral relativism
• virtue ethics
• freedom and determinism
• euthanasia
• capital punishment
• war and terrorism
• abortion
• business ethics

 

Ideal for undergraduate students coming to philosophical ethics for the first time, this book utilises popular film to introduce a central topic in the study of philosophy.

 

If that's not enough to get you excited, take a look at some of the films covered:

 

 

Some absolute classics there!

 

There's also tips after each chapter for further films on the topic covered, for example in the chapter 'The Ethics of Business in Wall Street', Shaw also recommends Blue Collar, The Social Network and, of course, the sequel to the main film covered, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. (Personally though, I wouldn't recommend the last one. It's pretty terrible. Even Shia LaBeouf's face can't save it.) These handy extra features really do make Morality and the Movies an accessible and truly invaluable tool for students.

 

You don't have to just trust me though, Thomas Wartenberg from Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts had this to say:

 

"Shaw makes morality go down as easily as a bag of popcorn.No more will philosophy be dull.I can only wish that I had had a text like Morality and the Movies when I was a student just encountering ethics.This book is certain to engage students, as they discover they were already thinking about morality when they were watching movies."

 

So, be sure to take a look at the exclusive preview above and send for your inspection copy today. What other films do you think would fit with ethical analysis? Tweet me your ideas to @ContinuumPhilos or comment here, I'd love to hear them!

 

Finally, and because I just can't let it go unmentioned, how cool is the cover?! I love it - one of my favourites of the year so far. Definitely one to show off at the Film-Philosophy conference in September!

 

Charlotte Hoare

Marketing Executive UK and Rest of World

Happy birthday (for tomorrow...) Slavoj Žižek!

Dubbed 'the world's hippest philosopher' by The Telegraph, 'philosophy's answer to Bob Dylan' by The Guardian and an 'intellectual rock star' by The Times Literary Supplement, Slavoj Žižek turns 63 tomorrow (21st March) and so we felt it was only right to celebrate with some of our popular books by and about the man himself.

 

Whether you're just dipping your toe into his writing or are well-versed and looking for something new to read, we're guaranteed to have something to interest you.

 

 

Interrogating the Real and The Universal Exception

By Slavoj Žižek and edited by Rex Butler and Scott Stephens

These two volumes of Žižek's collected works offer a superb introduction to the work of this prolific, controversial and vastly entertaining cultural commentator.

Drawing upon the full range of his prolific output, the articles cover psychoanalysis, philosophy and popular culture, reflecting the remarkable breadth and depth of Žižek's interest in politics, culture and philosophy, and also showcasing his entertaining style. Covering topics as controversial as the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the American-led invasion of Iraq, his celebration of the revolutionary potential of Stalinism, and his critique of Third Way politics, these books allow a full and clear sense of Žižekian philosophy to emerge, derived from Hegelian dialectics, Marxist politics and Lacanian psychoanalysis. At the same time, Žižek’s witty and accessible approach to his subject and his choice of exemplars from pop culture ensure that this is a consistently fresh and surprising body of work.

The books include new prefaces by Žižek himself, as well as an introduction by the editors and a helpful glossary for those coming to Žižek’s work for the first time.

 

Mythology, Madness, and Laughter: Subjectivity in German Idealism

By Markus Gabriel and Slavoj Žižek

This hugely important book explores some long neglected but crucial themes in German idealism. Markus Gabriel, one of the most exciting young voices in contemporary philosophy, and Slavoj Žižek show how these themes impact on the problematic relations between being and appearance, reflection and the absolute, insight and ideology, contingency and necessity, subjectivity, truth, habit and freedom.

Engaging with three central figures of the German idealist movement, Hegel, Schelling and Fichte, Gabriel and Žižek, who here shows himself to be one of the most erudite and important scholars of German idealism, ask how it is possible for Being to appear in reflection without falling back into traditional metaphysics. By applying idealistic theories of reflection and concrete subjectivity, including the problem of madness and everydayness in Hegel, this crucial book aims to reinvigorate a philosophy of finitude and contingency, topics at the forefront of contemporary European philosophy.

 

Hegel's Rabble: An Investigation into Hegel's Philosophy of Right

By Frank Ruda, with a preface by Slavoj Žižek

In Hegel’s Rabble, Frank Ruda identifies and explores a crucial problem in the Hegelian philosophy of right that strikes at the heart of Hegel’s conception of the state. This singular problem, which Ruda argues is the problem of Hegelian political thought, appears in Hegel’s text only in a seemingly marginal form under the name of the “rabble”: a particular side-effect of the dialectical deduction of the necessity of the existence of state from the contradictory constitution of civil society. Working out from a thorough analysis of this problem and drawing on contemporary discussions in the work of such thinkers as Alain Badiou, Jean-Luc Nancy and Slavoj Žižek, the book proceeds to re-examine and reconstruct Hegel’s entire political project. Ruda goes on to argue that only by re-thinking this problem of ‘the rabble’ in Hegel’s thought – the only problem Hegel is able to neither resolve nor sublate – can the early Marxian conception of ‘the proletariat’ be properly understood.

 

Žižek: A Guide for the Perplexed

By Seán Sheehan

This is the most up-to-date guide available for readers struggling to master the ideas of this hugely influential thinker. Unpacking the philosophical references that fill Žižek’s writings, the book explores his influences, including Lacan, Kant, Hegel and Marx. From there, a chapter on 'Reading Žižek' guides the reader through the ways that he applies these core theoretical concepts in key texts like Tarrying With the Negative, The Ticklish Subject and The Parrallax View and in his books about popular culture like Looking Awry and Enjoy Your Symptom! Major secondary writings and films featuring Žižek are also covered.

 

 

So, a happy birthday to Žižek from all in the Continuum Philosophy team and be sure to watch this space, we have more to come in 2013...

 

(Header image sourced from Wikipedia.)

 

Charlotte Hoare

Marketing Executive UK and ROW

The New Intuitionism

I'm very excited to tell you about The New Intuitionism, edited by Jill Graper Hernandez and with an introduction by Robert Audi, in which some of the world’s leading scholars in metaethics, epistemology and moral psychology explore the latest insights into and challenges to Audi’s intuitionism.

Since the 2004 publication of his book The Good in the Right, Robert Audi has been at the forefront of the current resurgence of interest in intuitionism – the idea that human beings have an intuitive sense of right and wrong – in ethics. The New Intuitionism brings together some of the world’s most important contemporary writers from such diverse fields as metaethics, epistemology and moral psychology to explore the latest implications of, and challenges to, Audi’s work. The book also includes an opening chapter that surveys the development of contemporary intuitionism and a conclusion that lays the ground for future developments and debates, both written by Audi himself, making this an essential survey of this important school of ethical thought for anyone working in the field.

Something for your students: An A to Z of Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is becoming increasingly prominent as an academic discipline taught and examined in schools and universities, as well as a crucial skill for everyday life. To be a successful critical thinker it is vital to understand how the different concepts and terms are defined and used. The terminology often presents a stumbling block for the beginner, since much of it is used imprecisely in everyday language. And no doubt many first-year students, coming to these concepts for the first time, can feel a bit baffled.

Here is a solution! An A to Z of Critical Thinking, published in association with Cambridge Assessment, is our new definitive A to Z guide, providing precise definitions for over 130 terms and concepts used in critical thinking. Each entry presents a short definition followed by a more detailed explanation and authoritative clarification. Armed with the tools and knowledge provided in these pages, the reader will be able to distinguish an assertion from an argument, a flaw from a fallacy, a correlation from a cause and a fact from an opinion. The book is an invaluable resource for teachers and students of critical thinking, providing all the tools necessary to effectively analyse, evaluate, question and reason for yourself.

You are and your students might also be interested in Critical Thinking: An Introduction to Reasoning Well, a more comprehensive textbook published earlier this year that is designed specifically for effective classroom use in a complete course of study in Critical Thinking.

Call for proposals: Continuum Studies in Political Philosophy

We recently launched a new series, Continuum Studies in Political Philosophy, edited by Helen Frowe (University of Kent). The Editorial Board are issuing a call for proposals, so do please get in touch with Helen (H.Frowe@kent.ac.uk) if you have a project you think would be suitable.

The aim of the series is to publish rigorous, cutting-edge, analytic research monographs that will be of interest to those working in law, politics and philosophy. We will also consider edited collections, provided that the papers fit a clearly defined theme, and that each paper is an original piece of work warranting publication in its own right. The Board will consider proposals for both theoretical and more applied treatments of topics in political philosophy, such as:

• Rights • Poverty • Climate justice • Political violence (including war, genocide, revolution and terrorism) • Citizenship • Immigration and migration • Privacy • Issues in international law • Civil disobedience • Political authority • Crimes against humanity • Rights of secession • Humanitarian intervention

This list is not exhaustive: the Board are happy to consider interesting proposals on other relevant topics.

Submission guidelines for proposals can be found here: Download Continuum Studies in Political Philosophy_proposal form

How to Be an Existentialist - now available in paperback!

"The book evangelises eloquently for a slightly revised version of Sartrean existentialism, nicely explaining much-worried-about notions such as "authenticity" and "bad faith". Thus armed, one may face down absurdity and the inevitability of death in all those locations that irresistibly evoke them, such as airports, dentists' waiting rooms, gyms, dog kennels, and hot-air balloons." The Guardian

How to Be an Existentialist, one of our bestselling titles of the last few years, is now available in paperback for the first time. Philosopher and writer Gary Cox presents a genuine self-help book offering clear advice on how to live according to the principles of existentialism formulated by Nietzsche, Sartre, Camus and the other great existentialist philosophers.

An attack on contemporary excuse culture, the book urges us to face the hard existential truths of the human condition. It uncompromisingly counsels us to become tougher and more dignified, less grumbling and irresponsible, to stop chasing rainbows and making excuses and instead to get a grip and get real.
By revealing that we are all inescapably free and responsible – ‘condemned to be free’, as Sartre says - the book aims to empower the reader with a sharp sense that we are each the master of our own destiny. Cox makes fun of the reputation existentialism has for being gloomy and pessimistic, exposing it for what it really is - an honest, uplifting and potentially life changing philosophy!

Also look out for Gary's new book, The Existentialist's Guide to Death, the Universe and Nothingness, which publishes in November.

New Continuum Companions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a relatively quiet summer, our autumn publishing programme is kicking off with not one, but two new titles in our Continuum Companions series.

The Continuum Companion to Pragmatism, edited by Sami Pihlstrom, is a comprehensive one-volume reference guide to the latest developments in pragmatism, with chapters by leading scholars writing on a wide variety of topics. The Companion explores issues pertaining to aesthetics, economics, education, ethics, history, law, metaphysics, politics, race, religion, science and technology, language, and social theory. Featuring a series of indispensable research tools, including an A to Z of key terms and concepts, a chronology, a detailed list of resources and a fully annotated bibliography, this is the essential reference tool for anyone working in contemporary pragmatism or modern American philosophy more generally.

The Continuum Companion to Existentialism is jointly edited by Felicity Joseph, Jack Reynolds and Ashley Woodward and brings together a team of leading international scholars to present a one-volume reference guide to the latest research and future directions in existentialism. Specially commissioned essays explore existentialism’s relationship to philosophical method; ontology; politics; psychoanalysis; ethics; religion; literature; emotion; feminism and sexuality; cognitive science; authenticity and the self; its significance in Latin American culture; and its contribution to the development of Poststructuralism. In addition, five short chapters summarise the status of canonical figures Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre and de Beauvoir, delineating the historical approach to their work, while pointing to new directions such research is now taking. As with other volumes in the series, it also includes a series of indispensable research tools.

Both volumes are currently available at an introductory discounted price - order copies for your library today!

New Philosophies of Film

 I am delighted to announce the publication of a new book that critically explores analytic and Continental philosophies of film. New Philosophies of Film by Robert Sinnerbrink (Macquarie University, Australia) puts film-philosophy into practice with detailed discussions of three filmmakers: David Lynch, Lars von Trier, and Terrence Malick.

The relationship between film and philosophy has become a topic of intense intellectual interest. But how should we understand this relationship? Can philosophy renew our understanding of film? Can film challenge or even transform how we understand philosophy? New Philosophies of Film explores these questions in relation to both analytic and Continental philosophies of film, arguing that the best way to overcome their mutual antagonism is by constructing a more pluralist film-philosophy grounded in detailed engagement with particular films. Sinnerbrink not only provides lucid critical analyses of the exciting developments and contentious debates in the new philosophies of film, but also showcases how a pluralist film-philosophy works in the case of Lynch, von Trier, and Malick, three challenging contemporary filmmakers. New Philosophies of Film thus puts interdisciplinary film -philosophy into practice, and should be of great interest to students and researchers working across the disciplines of philosophy, film studies, and cultural studies.

New research in phenomenology and hermeneutics

 

Last month we published the second volume in a new series, Issues in Phenomenology and Hermeneutics, a collection of essays entitled Variations on Truth: Approaches in Contemporary Phenomenology. Edited by Pol Vandevelde (Marquette University) and Kevin Hermberg (Dominican College), the book presents a comprehensive survey of contemporary phenomenological research into the problem of truth. Twelve leading scholars from around the world explore and map a comprehensive and rigorous alternative to mainstream analytic discussions of truth, reality and understanding.

Also recently arrived on my desk are advance copies of Paul Fairfield's Philosophical Hermeneutics Reinterpreted, in which Fairfield (Queen's University, Canada) examines hermeneutics in relation to existentialism, pragmatism, critical theory and poststructuralism. The book brings hermeneutics into closer association with existentialism, pragmatism, critical theory, and postmodernism. Fairfield contends that there are important affinities and areas for critical exchange between hermeneutics and these four schools of thought which have, until now, remained under-appreciated. In so doing, he both clarifies some outstanding issues in hermeneutics and advances the subject beyond what Heidegger, Gadamer, and Ricoeur have given us.

Something for your students...

Looking ahead to the start of the new academic year, I'm delighted to announce the publication of Interpreting Nietzsche, a book that will help your students get to grips with the work of this compelling but often baffling thinker. Edited by Ashley Woodward (Melbourne School of Continental Philosophy) and with chapters by a host of leading scholars including Jon Roffe and Duncan Large, this introductory guide surveys the impact and continuing influence of the work of Freidrich Nietzsche on modern European thought. It explores how some of the most important thinkers of the 20th century, including Heidegger, Derrida, Deleuze, Irigaray and Vattimo, have responded to the legacy of Nietzsche's writings, encouraging students to take their studies further with annotated guides to further primary and secondary reading at the end of each chapter. The book is ideal for undergraduate students - have a closer look at the preview above and consider it for your course reading lists this year.

New research in Political Philosophy

We've recently published three new titles in the field of political philosophy that you might be interested in hearing more about. Firstly, two titles that have published in our Continuum Studies in Political Philosophy series:

Morality, Leadership, and Public Policy by Eric Thomas Weber (University of Mississippi) argues the practical benefits for public policy of a rigorous experimentalist approach to applying moral theory. Informed by the pragmatism of John Dewey, Weber begins moral inquiry by examining public problems and then makes use of the tools of philosophy and intelligent inquiry to alleviate them.

Rousseau and Revolution, which is edited by Holger Ross Lauritsen and Mikkel Thorup (both University of Aarhus, Denmark), is a collection of essays from an international team of scholars exploring Rousseau’s thinking on revolution, political violence and democracy. The book touches on such issues as citizenship, activism, terrorism and the State and in doing so reveals Rousseau to be an important source of insight into contemporary political problems.

Finally, Utilitarian Philosophy and Politics, which is by James E. Crimmins (University of Western Ontario) and published in our Continuum Studies in British Philosophy series, explores Jeremy Bentham’s political philosophy in its historical and intellectual context and in the light of his own later re-assessment of his philosophical project. By attempting to look again at the context in which Bentham was writing and his self-conscious concern with his own legacy, this book offers a new account of this major political thinker.

Previews of all three titles are available here:

The Guattari Effect

I am delighted to announce the publication of The Guattari Effect, edited by Eric Alliez and Andrew Goffey, which brings together renowned experts on the work of the French psychoanalyst, philosopher and political activist Félix Guattari with philosophers, psychoanalysts, sociologists and artists who have been influenced by Guattari's thought.

Best known for his collaborative work with Gilles Deleuze, Guattari's own writings are still a relatively unmined resource in Continental philosophy. Many of his books have not yet been translated into English. Yet his influence has been considerable and far-reaching - a fact that is justly celebrated in this publication. The book includes a previously untranslated essay by Guattari himself entitled 'The Schizo Chaosmosis' (1991) and two previously untranslated interviews conducted shortly before Guattari's death in 1992. Contributors include Raymond Mellour, Franco 'Bifo' Berardi, Gary Genosko, Antonio Negri, Anne Sauvagnargues, Isabelle Stengers, the composer Pascale Criton, anthropologist Barbara Glowczewski, psychiatrist Jean-Claude Polack, and sociologist Anne Querrien. The volume concludes with a photo-essay by artist Annie Ratti.

Two new Rancière titles

Earlier this month Charlotte declared July to be Rancière month and launched a fantastic competition to win a selection of our titles to celebrate. And of course the main reason we're celebrating is the recent publication of not one but two brand new translations of Rancière's work, Mallarmé and Althusser's Lesson. What with all the conferences and acquisitions around here lately, I've not had a chance to tell you more about them, so here goes.

Mallarmé, which was originally published in French in 1996 and is translated into English by Steven Corcoran, is Rancière's study of the 19th-century French poet and critic Stéphane Mallarmé. Rancière presents Mallarmé as neither an aesthete in need of rare essences and unheard-of words, nor the silent and nocturnal thinker of some poem too pure to be written. Mallarmé is the contemporary of a republic that is seeking out forms of civic worship to replace the pomp of religions and kings. If his writing is difficult, it is because it complies with a demanding and delicate poetics that is itself responding to an exceptional awareness of the complexity of an historical moment as well as the role that poetry ought to play in it.

Althusser's Lesson was Rancière's first ever book, originally published in 1974 and here translated by Emiliano Battista. It appeared just as the energies of May 68 were losing ground to the calls for a return to order. Rancière’s analysis of Althusserian Marxism unfolds against this background: what is the relationship between the return to order and the enthusiasm which greeted the publication of Althusser’s Reply to John Lewisin 1973? How to explain the rehabilitation of a philosophy that had been declared ‘dead and buried on the barricades of May 68’? What had changed? The answer to this question takes the form of a genealogy of Althusserianism that is, simultaneously, an account of the emergence of militant student movements in the ‘60s, of the arrival of Maoism in France, and of how May 68 rearranged all the pieces anew. 

July is Rancière month at Continuum!

This summer has seen the publication of two fantastic new translations of emminent modern day philosopher Jacques Rancière. It's been an exciting couple of months for continental philosophy fans and so, to celebrate, I've declared July Rancière month!

Make sure you follow us on Twitter (@ContinuumPhilos and if you haven't already then you're missing out!) because for the rest of this month I'm going to be posting exclusive extracts from the various translations we've published alongside further studies by top academics including Charles Bingham, Gert Biesta, Paul Bowman, Richard Stamp, Nick Hewlett and Joseph J. Tanke.

So let's get things off to an exciting start with a competition! How would you like to win all of these AND MORE:

That's a book package worth over £150! I'm so good to you.

To be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize, simply answer the following question:

In what year was Rancière's The Ignorant Schoolmaster published?

Email your answers to philosophy.uk@continuumbooks.com with 'COMPETITION' in the subject line. Correct entries will be entered into a hat and the winner will be picked at random. The winner will be announced on the blog and Twitter on Monday 1st August.

Best of luck!

 

Charlotte Hoare

Marketing Executive UK & Rest of World

New research titles - out now

Two new research monographs to tell you about today...

The first is Transcendental Ontology by Markus Gabriel (Chair in Epistemology and Modern and Contemporary Philosophy at the University of Bonn, Germany), in which the author re-assesses the contributions of Hegel and Schelling to post-Kantian metaphysics and the contributions of these great German Idealist thinkers to contemporary thought.The book shows how far we still have to go in mining the thought of Hegel and Schelling and how exciting, as a result, we can expect twenty-first century philosophy to be. 

The second new title is Subjectivity After Wittgenstein (preview available above) by Chantal Bax (Visiting Postdoc at John Hopkins University and the New School for Social Research, USA), which explores Wittgenstein's contribution to continental philosophical debates about the 'death of man' and constructs and defends a positive Wittgensteinian account of human being, and about which Simon Glendinning said the following:

'Wittgenstein is widely acknowledged to have mounted a sustained and, if successful, devastating challenge to the view of human subjectivity that belongs to the traditional discourse of European modernity: the broadly 'Cartesian' view of Man as a rational thinking subject. But at what cost? Can we make sense of concepts central to contemporary ethics and politics - concepts of rights, of autonomy, and of responsibility in particular - if we do not retain that conception. Rejecting it can seem tantamount to a rejection of those central concepts. In this important new study Chantal Bax offers a compelling account of why a Wittgensteinian understanding of the fundamental sociality of the human subject encourages rather than discourages us to engage with questions at the heart of our ethical and political lives.'

Both books are available now.

New Continuum Companions in Philosophy

The Continuum Companions series is fast developing into a flagship series for the list. The Companions are comprehensive reference guides to major topics in the Humanities. Each Companion features contributions from an international team of leading scholars in the field. Crucially each book offers an authoritative guide to the latest research, as well as a variety of research tools, such as a chronology, glossary, comprehensive bibliography and guidance on research methods and resources. In Philosophy, there are five new titles to tell you about - read on to find out more:

New translation: Heidegger's The Concept of Time

 Furthering still our long-standing series of Heidegger translations, we have recently published The Concept of Time, translated by Ingo Farin (University of Tasmania), which any Heideggerian will no doubt want to add to his or her collection. Available in English for the first time, this first draft of Heidegger's celebrated masterpiece, Being and Time, provides a unique insight into his phenomenology.

The text presents Heidegger’s so-called Dilthey review, in which he reveals his deep commitment to Wilhelm Dilthey and Count Yorck von Wartenburg. He agrees with them that historicity must be at the centre of the new philosophy to come. However, he also argues for an ontological approach to history. From this ontological turn he develops the so-called categories of Dasein.

This work demonstrates Heidegger’s indebtedness to Yorck and Dilthey and gives further evidence to the view that thought about history is the germ cell of Being and Time. However, it also shows that Heidegger’s commitment to Dilthey was not without reservations and that his analysis of Dasein actually employs Husserl’s phenomenology. The work reopens the question of history in a broader sense, as Heidegger struggles to thematize history without aligning it with world-historical events. The text also provides a concise and readable summary of the main themes of Being and Time and as such is an ideal companion to that text.