Brian O'Connor – författare

Critical social theory has long been marked by a deep, creative, and productive relationship with psychoanalysis. Whereas Freud and Fromm were important cornerstones for the early Frankfurt School, recent thinkers have drawn on the object-relations school of psychoanalysis. Transitional Subjects is the first book-length collection devoted to the engagement of critical theory with the work of Melanie Klein, Donald Winnicott, and other members of this school. Featuring contributions from some of the leading figures working in both of these fields, including Axel Honneth, Joel Whitebook, Noëlle McAfee, Sara Beardsworth, and C. Fred Alford, it provides a synoptic overview of current research at the intersection of these two theoretical traditions while also opening up space for further innovations.Transitional Subjects offers a range of perspectives on the critical potential of object-relations psychoanalysis, including feminist and Marxist views, to offer valuable insight into such fraught social issues as aggression, narcissism, “progress,” and torture. The productive dialogue that emerges augments our understanding of the self as intersubjectively and socially constituted and of contemporary “social pathologies.” Transitional Subjects shows how critical theory and object-relations psychoanalysis, considered together, have not only enriched critical theory but also invigorated psychoanalysis.

Critical social theory has long been marked by a deep, creative, and productive relationship with psychoanalysis. Whereas Freud and Fromm were important cornerstones for the early Frankfurt School, recent thinkers have drawn on the object-relations school of psychoanalysis. Transitional Subjects is the first book-length collection devoted to the engagement of critical theory with the work of Melanie Klein, Donald Winnicott, and other members of this school. Featuring contributions from some of the leading figures working in both of these fields, including Axel Honneth, Joel Whitebook, Noëlle McAfee, Sara Beardsworth, and C. Fred Alford, it provides a synoptic overview of current research at the intersection of these two theoretical traditions while also opening up space for further innovations.Transitional Subjects offers a range of perspectives on the critical potential of object-relations psychoanalysis, including feminist and Marxist views, to offer valuable insight into such fraught social issues as aggression, narcissism, “progress,” and torture. The productive dialogue that emerges augments our understanding of the self as intersubjectively and socially constituted and of contemporary “social pathologies.” Transitional Subjects shows how critical theory and object-relations psychoanalysis, considered together, have not only enriched critical theory but also invigorated psychoanalysis.

Theodor W. Adorno (1903-69) was one of the foremost philosophers and social theorists of the post-war period. Crucial to the development of Critical Theory, his highly original and distinctive but often difficult writings not only advance questions of fundamental philosophical significance, but provide deep-reaching analyses of literature, art, music sociology and political theory. In this comprehensive introduction, Brian O’Connor explains Adorno’s philosophy for those coming to his work for the first time, through original new lines of interpretation. Beginning with an overview of Adorno’s life and key philosophical views and influences, which contextualizes the intellectual environment in which he worked, O’Connor assesses the central elements of Adorno’s philosophy.He carefully examines Adorno’s distinctive style of analysis and shows how much of his work is a critical response to the various forms of identity thinking that have underpinned the destructive forces of modernity. He goes on to discuss the main areas of Adorno’s philosophy: social theory, the philosophy of experience, metaphysics, morality and aesthetics; setting out detailed accounts of Adorno’s notions of the dialectic of Enlightenment, reification, totality, mediation, identity, nonidentity, experience, negative dialectics, immanence, freedom, autonomy, imitation and autonomy in art. The final chapter considers Adorno’s philosophical legacy and importance today.Including a chronology, glossary, chapter summaries, and suggestions for further reading, Adorno is an ideal introduction to this demanding but important thinker, and essential reading for students of philosophy, literature, sociology and cultural studies.

Theodor W. Adorno (1903-69) was one of the foremost philosophers and social theorists of the post-war period. Crucial to the development of Critical Theory, his highly original and distinctive but often difficult writings not only advance questions of fundamental philosophical significance, but provide deep-reaching analyses of literature, art, music sociology and political theory. In this comprehensive introduction, Brian O’Connor explains Adorno’s philosophy for those coming to his work for the first time, through original new lines of interpretation. Beginning with an overview of Adorno’s life and key philosophical views and influences, which contextualizes the intellectual environment in which he worked, O’Connor assesses the central elements of Adorno’s philosophy.He carefully examines Adorno’s distinctive style of analysis and shows how much of his work is a critical response to the various forms of identity thinking that have underpinned the destructive forces of modernity. He goes on to discuss the main areas of Adorno’s philosophy: social theory, the philosophy of experience, metaphysics, morality and aesthetics; setting out detailed accounts of Adorno’s notions of the dialectic of Enlightenment, reification, totality, mediation, identity, nonidentity, experience, negative dialectics, immanence, freedom, autonomy, imitation and autonomy in art. The final chapter considers Adorno’s philosophical legacy and importance today.Including a chronology, glossary, chapter summaries, and suggestions for further reading, Adorno is an ideal introduction to this demanding but important thinker, and essential reading for students of philosophy, literature, sociology and cultural studies.

In the workplace, dyslexia can be the root cause of under-performance that manifests itself in ways other than those typically associated with child dyslexics. Adult Dyslexia gives practical advice about identifying and helping adult dyslexics in ways that are relevant to the workplace and suitable for adults, rather than being adaptations of methods used with children. * Written by an experienced occupational psychologist * Includes a practical question/answer section and screening tools * Emphasises that dyslexics have strengths as well as weaknesses * An invaluable tool for managers to help develop dyslexic employees

In the workplace, dyslexia can be the root cause of under-performance that manifests itself in ways other than those typically associated with child dyslexics. Adult Dyslexia gives practical advice about identifying and helping adult dyslexics in ways that are relevant to the workplace and suitable for adults, rather than being adaptations of methods used with children. * Written by an experienced occupational psychologist * Includes a practical question/answer section and screening tools * Emphasises that dyslexics have strengths as well as weaknesses * An invaluable tool for managers to help develop dyslexic employees

This superb volume brings together for the first time the essential readings selections from Adorno's multidisciplinary work. It will be valuable to readers at various levels as it makes available Adorno material which previously was either difficult to access or was presented in a form which was intimidating.

The first book to challenge modern philosophy’s case against idleness, revealing why the idle state is one of true freedomFor millennia, idleness and laziness have been regarded as vices. We're all expected to work to survive and get ahead, and devoting energy to anything but labor and self-improvement can seem like a luxury or a moral failure. Far from questioning this conventional wisdom, modern philosophers have worked hard to develop new reasons to denigrate idleness. In Idleness, the first book to challenge modern philosophy's portrayal of inactivity, Brian O'Connor argues that the case against an indifference to work and effort is flawed--and that idle aimlessness may instead allow for the highest form of freedom.Idleness explores how some of the most influential modern philosophers drew a direct connection between making the most of our humanity and avoiding laziness. Idleness was dismissed as contrary to the need people have to become autonomous and make whole, integrated beings of themselves (Kant); to be useful (Kant and Hegel); to accept communal norms (Hegel); to contribute to the social good by working (Marx); and to avoid boredom (Schopenhauer and de Beauvoir).O'Connor throws doubt on all these arguments, presenting a sympathetic vision of the inactive and unserious that draws on more productive ideas about idleness, from ancient Greece through Robert Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy, Schiller and Marcuse's thoughts about the importance of play, and recent critiques of the cult of work. A thought-provoking reconsideration of productivity for the twenty-first century, Idleness shows that, from now on, no theory of what it means to have a free mind can exclude idleness from the conversation.

The case for idleness as freedom from usefulness, performance, and the opinion of othersFor millennia, idleness and laziness have been seen as vices. We're all expected to work to survive and get ahead, and devoting energy to anything but labor and self-improvement can seem like a luxury or a moral failure. Far from questioning this conventional wisdom, modern philosophers have entrenched it, viewing idleness as an obstacle to the ethical need people have to be autonomous, to be useful, to contribute to the social good, or simply to avoid boredom. In Idleness, the first book to challenge modern philosophy's portrayal of inactivity, Brian O'Connor argues that the case against an indifference to work and effort is flawed—and that idle aimlessness may instead allow for the highest form of freedom.

Wagner as revolutionary philosopher: a new reading of a trilogy of texts written by the composer in the aftermath of the failed Dresden UprisingForced into exile to avoid arrest after taking part in the failed Dresden Uprising in 1849, Richard Wagner turned to philosophical writing, producing in rapid succession three theoretical works. In this compelling study, Brian O’Connor traces Wagner’s emergence in these texts as a radical political thinker with a distinctive revolutionary vision. O’Connor describes Wagner’s transformation from publicly engaged commentator to active insurrectionist, showing how revolution’s failure redirected Wagner’s energies toward systematic philosophical reflection. For a crucial period, this theoretical work took precedence over musical composition.At the heart of O’Connor’s account is Wagner’s philosophical imagination. He explores Wagner’s conception of aesthetic spontaneity as a model of individual freedom and his belief in collective artistic creation as the foundation of a liberated society. By situating Wagner’s philosophy within the turbulent political and intellectual context of the time, O’Connor challenges its marginalization in previous accounts, restoring it to its proper place in nineteenth-century political thought. He shows how Wagner reworked ideas drawn from the German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach into an original and provocative form of aesthetic materialism, and examines the interplay between these ideas and Wagner’s dramatic works. O’Connor also offers a straightforward treatment of the unavoidable subject of Wagner’s antisemitism, as expressed in an essay from 1850 about “Jewishness” in music.O’Connor argues that Wagner’s philosophical writing is not only significant in its own right, but it also offers unique and invaluable insights into his music dramas—particularly the composer’s most celebrated work, the Ring Cycle—illuminating their themes, characters, and revolutionary affinities.

This book brings together and introduces selections from the main philosophical writings of the German Idealists: Kant, Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel. As well as being the most comprehensive anthology of this period of the history of philosophy it also provides scholarly guides to all of the selected material. Each of the selected texts comes with an editorial introduction to help the reader through the specific problems dealt with in the text as well as explaining its historical context. In addition there is an introductory essay which sets out the many challenges faced in any interpretation of the German Idealist period of philosophy. The material is arranged thematically into the following sections, Self and Knowledge, Freedom and Morality, Law and State, Art and Beauty, History and Reason, Nature and Science, God and Religion. This arrangement enables the reader to appreciate the differing positions of Kant, Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel on the central questions of philosophy. This book is indispensable for those who want to understand the unique character, problems, and questions of German Idealism, and will also be useful to those who want to explore new areas of this influential and original epoch of philosophy.Features*Essential texts combined with a thorough guide to German Idealism *Concentrates on the four major figures of German Idealism - Kant, Fichte, Schelling and Hegel *Thematic sections maximise the book's use for teaching purposes *Makes available material which is difficult to find