Post-Rationalism

Tom Eyers is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Duquesne University. He is the author of Lacan and the Concept of the Real (2012).

Eyers's rubric of 'post-rationalism' clears the ground for a new, more nuanced conception of structuralist thought - a structuralism rigorously observant of the cross-currents between such ostensible oppositions as subject and structure, concept and object... Eyers has restored, with remarkable clarity and comprehensiveness, the crucial details of a bigger picture - one whose continuing reconstruction will further accentuate its political resonance, past and present. Radical Philosophy In its range of material and its interpretative daring, Eyers's book is one of an ambition rarely seen today. As focus inevitably turns towards more contemporary trends, it will surely prove to be a singular resource and a potent rejoinder to those stressing the novelty of a 'scientific turn' in recent French thought. -- Paul Earlie, Queen's College, Oxford French Studies In this exceptionally clear and well-argued book, Eyers shows us forgotten roots of French structuralism in the earlier rationalism of Bachelard, Canguilhem and Althusser. He thereby gives us new and important insights into the works of Lacan, Badiou and their circles. -- James Williams, University of Dundee, UK This is an outstanding study of an exciting and much-neglected period in postwar French philosophy, and Eyers successfully puts to rest many false presuppositions about the nature of continental philosophy itself. -- Ed Pluth, Professor, Department Chair of Philosophy, California State University, Chico, USA This is an illuminating reconstruction of an influential but long-neglected moment in contemporary philosophy. Tom Eyers draws on his expert knowledge of French psychoanalysis and philosophy to propose a valuable new characterisation of structuralist epistemology in general, and of essential works by and around Althusser and Lacan in particular. -- Peter Hallward, Professor of Modern European Philosophy, Kingston University London, UK In its many readings and appropriations the incredibly productive current of French Post-War theory has been often watered down and its edges blunted beyond recognition. Tom Eyers' book cuts straight to the core of the ground-breaking issues that animated it at the outset. With an admirable, almost surgical precision, Eyers is able to render us the surprisingly vivid elements that formed and informed that tradition. Far from a simple historical study, the result is an amazing work packed with stunning relevance for the most burning discussions that are taking place today in philosophy and critical theory. -- Alenka Zupancic, Researcher, Institute of Philosophy of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and Visiting Professor at the European Graduate School The flash appearance of Cahiers pour l'Analyse, a journal published by a group of students at the Ecole normale superieure in 1966-69, inspired by Althusser, Lacan and the epistemological tradition of Canguilhem and Bachelard, marks one of the great starry moments of the twentieth century thought. Tom Eyers' book brings it to life with verve, erudition and engagement, tracing both the genealogy of this explosive laboratory of concepts and its aftermath stretching to the most pressing issues of the present moment of theory. An indispensible book mapping out an indispensible trajectory. -- Mladen Dolar, Professor, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia ... in its range of material and its interpretative daring, Eyers's book is one of an ambition rarely seen today. As focus inevitably turns towards more contemporary trends, it will surely prove to be a singular resource and a potent rejoinder to those stressing the novelty of a 'scientific turn' in recent French thought. -- Paul Earlie, The Queen's College, Oxford, UK French Studies

• Acknowledgements \ Introduction \ 1. Psychoanalytic Structuralism in the Cahiers pour l'Analyse \ 2. Bachelard, Lacan and the Impurity of Formalization \ 3. Science, 'Suture' and the Signifier \ 4. Discourse and Ideology in Post-Rationalism: Althusser, Badiou, Lacan, Milner \ 5. Canguilhem, Deleuze and the Problem of Life \ Conclusion \ Bibliography \ Index