Routledge Library Editions: Continental Philosophy – serie

This 11-volume set reissues a host of classic titles on Continental Philosophy. Written by leading scholars in the field, they form an essential reference resource that tackles philosophers and subjects such as Deleuze, Derrida, hermeneutics and phenomenology.

Hermeneutics can loosely be defined as the theory or philosophy of the interpretation of menaing. It is a central topic in the philosophy of the social sciences, the philosophy of art and language and in literary criticism. This book, first published in 1980, gives a detailed overview and analysis of the main strands of contemporary hermeneutical thought. It includes a number of readings in order to give the reader a first-hand acquaintance with the subjects and the debates within it.

This book, first published in 1975, is an examination of the theoretical foundation of the sociology of art and literature and an in-depth study in the sociology of knowledge. In discussing and clarifying some of the important philosophical issues in this field, the constant underlying reference is to the creative and artistic-expressive areas of knowledge – so that the better understanding of the social nature and genesis of all knowledge may point the way towards a similar comprehension of art and society.

This book, first published in 1990, addresses the broad cultural phenomenon that is postmodernism. The first part of the book raises some general theoretical questions about postmodernism – its language and its politics, for example. The second section attends to particular ‘sites’, namely the various arts themselves and the philosophical understanding of them. Here one finds specific readings of architecture, painting, literature, theatre, photography, film, television, dance and fashion.

This collection, first published in 1994, contains thirteen critical essays by established scholars from the fields of philosophy, literary criticism, feminist theory, politics, and sociology, and a new essay by Deleuze himself. That the contributors are from a variety of fields indicates the extent to which Deleuze’s work can and will impact theory far beyond the discipline of philosophy.

Hermeneutics can loosely be defined as the theory or philosophy of the interpretation of menaing. It is a central topic in the philosophy of the social sciences, the philosophy of art and language and in literary criticism. This book, first published in 1980, gives a detailed overview and analysis of the main strands of contemporary hermeneutical thought. It includes a number of readings in order to give the reader a first-hand acquaintance with the subjects and the debates within it.

This collection, first published in 1994, contains thirteen critical essays by established scholars from the fields of philosophy, literary criticism, feminist theory, politics, and sociology, and a new essay by Deleuze himself. That the contributors are from a variety of fields indicates the extent to which Deleuze’s work can and will impact theory far beyond the discipline of philosophy.

This book, first published in 1975, is an examination of the theoretical foundation of the sociology of art and literature and an in-depth study in the sociology of knowledge. In discussing and clarifying some of the important philosophical issues in this field, the constant underlying reference is to the creative and artistic-expressive areas of knowledge – so that the better understanding of the social nature and genesis of all knowledge may point the way towards a similar comprehension of art and society.

This book, first published in 1990, addresses the broad cultural phenomenon that is postmodernism. The first part of the book raises some general theoretical questions about postmodernism – its language and its politics, for example. The second section attends to particular ‘sites’, namely the various arts themselves and the philosophical understanding of them. Here one finds specific readings of architecture, painting, literature, theatre, photography, film, television, dance and fashion.

This collection of essays on Jacques Derrida, first published in 2004, spans nearly thirty years of critical thinking about Derrida's work. The articles selected here have never previously been collected, yet they are significant contributions that illuminate difficult and important aspects of Derrida's writings. While not seeking to be comprehensive, the volume ranges over the entirety of Derrida's published output and addresses a number of crucial topics, including literature, iterability, the signature, time, alterity, Judaism, metaphor and death. Reprinted here in chronological order of first publication, the essays are complemented by an introduction by Ian MacIachlan which discusses the significance of Derrida's work for our critical thinking.

This collection of essays on Jacques Derrida, first published in 2004, spans nearly thirty years of critical thinking about Derrida's work. The articles selected here have never previously been collected, yet they are significant contributions that illuminate difficult and important aspects of Derrida's writings. While not seeking to be comprehensive, the volume ranges over the entirety of Derrida's published output and addresses a number of crucial topics, including literature, iterability, the signature, time, alterity, Judaism, metaphor and death. Reprinted here in chronological order of first publication, the essays are complemented by an introduction by Ian MacIachlan which discusses the significance of Derrida's work for our critical thinking.

This study, first published in 1998, makes a lively and welcome contribution to the critical analysis of Nietzsche’s seminal classic This Spoke Zarathustra. Through a close textual reading of the neglected and ill-understood part four of the text, the author seeks to show that Nietzsche’s project of self-overcoming is a failure. Offering herself as a philosopher-priestess of the wisdom of pessimism, Francesca Cauchi invokes a complex of responses in the reader, providing a necessary challenge to any and all advocates of life.

This study, first published in 1998, makes a lively and welcome contribution to the critical analysis of Nietzsche’s seminal classic This Spoke Zarathustra. Through a close textual reading of the neglected and ill-understood part four of the text, the author seeks to show that Nietzsche’s project of self-overcoming is a failure. Offering herself as a philosopher-priestess of the wisdom of pessimism, Francesca Cauchi invokes a complex of responses in the reader, providing a necessary challenge to any and all advocates of life.

This book, first published in 2005, explores the historical contextualization of Nietzsche’s thought, focusing on his controversial Thus Spoke Zarathustra. The fourth part of Nietzsche’s Zarathustra consists of Zarathustra’s encounter with eight ‘higher men’ whom Zarathustra meets in succession on his path. The prophet then invites each individual to his cave for the evening festivities, culminating in a blasphemous festival in which his guests worship an ass as God. Revealing each guest’s specific characteristics and distinct roles, the author attempts to discern ‘who’ these guests are or represent (historically) through glimpsing the characteristics specific to each guest.

This book, first published in 2005, explores the historical contextualization of Nietzsche’s thought, focusing on his controversial Thus Spoke Zarathustra. The fourth part of Nietzsche’s Zarathustra consists of Zarathustra’s encounter with eight ‘higher men’ whom Zarathustra meets in succession on his path. The prophet then invites each individual to his cave for the evening festivities, culminating in a blasphemous festival in which his guests worship an ass as God. Revealing each guest’s specific characteristics and distinct roles, the author attempts to discern ‘who’ these guests are or represent (historically) through glimpsing the characteristics specific to each guest.

This title was first published in 2000.  Contemporary continental philosophy is a widely-used, but in many ways a highly problematic, term and its exact frame of reference is not always clear. In its more recent French manifestations in particular, it continues to arouse considerable controversy and create bitter divisions, with particularly hostile reactions to the work of Derrida and others. Much work in the recent continental tradition can be fitted into a longer-running philosophical tradition of scepticism, and scepticism has always had the power to provoke and unsettle the philosophical establishment. Presenting an overview of the philosophical landscape of the continental tradition since the 1940s, this book traces the establishment of the new, super-scepticism as an intellectual paradigm with the power to threaten and disorientate existing world-views and more traditional styles of philosophical discourse - marking the continental divide. Exploring how contemporary continental philosophy from existentialism to postmodernism can be characterised as this new, more resistant form of scepticism, Sim identifies a clutch of key themes - including "difference", "the subject", "antifoundationalism", "dialectics" - which have been obsessively worked over by key thinkers in the Existentialist-Postmodernist period and demonstrates how these have contributed to the development of a super-sceptical outlook. Presenting a new theme-led approach to provide an entry into current debates in continental philosophy, Stuart Sim reintegrates the work of Sartre into the more recent continental tradition, and suggests that something qualitatively different is now occurring in French philosophy.

This title was first published in 2000.  Contemporary continental philosophy is a widely-used, but in many ways a highly problematic, term and its exact frame of reference is not always clear. In its more recent French manifestations in particular, it continues to arouse considerable controversy and create bitter divisions, with particularly hostile reactions to the work of Derrida and others. Much work in the recent continental tradition can be fitted into a longer-running philosophical tradition of scepticism, and scepticism has always had the power to provoke and unsettle the philosophical establishment. Presenting an overview of the philosophical landscape of the continental tradition since the 1940s, this book traces the establishment of the new, super-scepticism as an intellectual paradigm with the power to threaten and disorientate existing world-views and more traditional styles of philosophical discourse - marking the continental divide. Exploring how contemporary continental philosophy from existentialism to postmodernism can be characterised as this new, more resistant form of scepticism, Sim identifies a clutch of key themes - including "difference", "the subject", "antifoundationalism", "dialectics" - which have been obsessively worked over by key thinkers in the Existentialist-Postmodernist period and demonstrates how these have contributed to the development of a super-sceptical outlook. Presenting a new theme-led approach to provide an entry into current debates in continental philosophy, Stuart Sim reintegrates the work of Sartre into the more recent continental tradition, and suggests that something qualitatively different is now occurring in French philosophy.

This title was first published in 2001. This collection of new essays on phenomenological themes reviews aspects of the philosophical movement which began with the publication in 1900-01 of Edmund Husserl's path-breaking Logical Investigations. A broad survey of phenomenology is particularly timely given that this philosophical movement is reaching a hundred years of its existence. The thirteen contributions represent a wide range of approaches and interests within the phenomenological framework. Some present approaches to Husserl, while others explore aspects of the fundamental texts of phenomenology and provide critical discussions of later thinkers such as Heidegger, Sartre, and Derrida whose relation to Husserl receives particular attention. The final section relates phenomenology to other disciplines and to broader issues in social thought and cultural studies. This book will enable students and professional philosophers alike to explore the various strands of this widely influential school of thought.

This title was first published in 2001. This collection of new essays on phenomenological themes reviews aspects of the philosophical movement which began with the publication in 1900-01 of Edmund Husserl's path-breaking Logical Investigations. A broad survey of phenomenology is particularly timely given that this philosophical movement is reaching a hundred years of its existence. The thirteen contributions represent a wide range of approaches and interests within the phenomenological framework. Some present approaches to Husserl, while others explore aspects of the fundamental texts of phenomenology and provide critical discussions of later thinkers such as Heidegger, Sartre, and Derrida whose relation to Husserl receives particular attention. The final section relates phenomenology to other disciplines and to broader issues in social thought and cultural studies. This book will enable students and professional philosophers alike to explore the various strands of this widely influential school of thought.

This title was first published in 2002. Challenging the accepted orthodoxy on Nietzsche's views on art, this book seeks both to challenge and to establish a new set of concerns as far as discourses on Nietzsche's thoughts on aesthetics are concerned, whilst at the same time using such insights to illuminate more central concerns of Nietzsche scholarship, such as the will to power, the illusion/truth question, the eternal return, the death of God, tragedy, Wagner. Following the development of Nietzsche's thoughts on art from his earliest writings to his last, Pothen counters traditionally accepted interpretations by suggesting a need to recognize the deep suspicion and at times hostility that Nietzsche displays towards art and the artist throughout his text by emphasising the philosophical arguments underlying this deep suspicion, and by viewing this tendency as something deeply connected to the other areas of his thought. Readers with interests in Nietzsche studies, aesthetics, German philosophy, and the philosophy of music, will find this a particularly invaluable and distinctive contribution to Nietzsche scholarship.

This title was first published in 2002. Challenging the accepted orthodoxy on Nietzsche's views on art, this book seeks both to challenge and to establish a new set of concerns as far as discourses on Nietzsche's thoughts on aesthetics are concerned, whilst at the same time using such insights to illuminate more central concerns of Nietzsche scholarship, such as the will to power, the illusion/truth question, the eternal return, the death of God, tragedy, Wagner. Following the development of Nietzsche's thoughts on art from his earliest writings to his last, Pothen counters traditionally accepted interpretations by suggesting a need to recognize the deep suspicion and at times hostility that Nietzsche displays towards art and the artist throughout his text by emphasising the philosophical arguments underlying this deep suspicion, and by viewing this tendency as something deeply connected to the other areas of his thought. Readers with interests in Nietzsche studies, aesthetics, German philosophy, and the philosophy of music, will find this a particularly invaluable and distinctive contribution to Nietzsche scholarship.

This title was first published in 2001. Derrida's work testifies to the problematic state of contemporary thought. Questioning Derrida offers new explorations into Derrida's contribution to philosophy. Presenting contributions from prominent philosophers worldwide, this book explores many aspects of Derrida's philosophical perspective. With contributors commenting on a particular topic or defending alternative viewpoints, this book examines the work of Plato, Hegel, Aristotle, Heidegger and also the philosophy of science. Focusing on 'problematology' - a conception of philosophy as questioning - the contributors explore this new way of 'doing' philosophy. Including a concluding chapter from Derrida himself, this book presents Derrida in question and Derrida and his answers and opens new debate for readers across the fields of philosophy and literature, particularly those exploring the work of Derrida, issues in continental philosophy, and the theory of questioning. Michel Meyer is Director of the Revue Internationale de Philosophie journal and based at Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. He is also the series editor of Ashgate's Philosophy in Question series which is published in association with Revue Internationale de Philosophie from which the volumes in the series evolve.