Category: Philosophy
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Friedrich Nietzsche’s Human, All Too Human: A Book for Free Spirits
Friedrich Nietzsche’s Human, All Too Human: A Book for Free Spirits presents a striking departure from his earlier, more romantic and metaphysical works, marking a pivotal moment in his intellectual evolution. This collection, which contains almost 1,400 aphorisms, was originally published in three installments between 1878 and 1880. It reflects Nietzsche’s shift from his previous…
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Friedrich Nietzsche’s The Dawn of Day
Friedrich Nietzsche’s The Dawn of Day (1881), translated by J. M. Kennedy, is a seminal work in the development of Nietzsche’s philosophical journey, bridging his earlier explorations and his later, more fully developed ideas. The book, a collection of aphorisms and prose poems, represents a profound moment in Nietzsche’s intellectual maturation. Written during a period…
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Nietzsche: Daybreak – Thoughts on the Prejudices of Morality
In Daybreak: Thoughts on the Prejudices of Morality, Nietzsche embarks on a bold critique of traditional morality that not only challenges its assumptions but also lays the groundwork for his larger philosophical project—a radical revaluation of values that would come to define his mature work. The book represents a significant turning point in Nietzsche’s intellectual…
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Nietzsche’s Enlightenment: The Free-Spirit Trilogy of the Middle Period
In Nietzsche’s Enlightenment: The Free-Spirit Trilogy of the Middle Period, Paul Franco offers a comprehensive and insightful presentation of Friedrich Nietzsche’s works from his so-called middle period, a phase often overlooked or misunderstood in the broader sweep of Nietzschean scholarship. This middle period consists of three central works—Human, All Too Human, Daybreak, and The Gay…
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Nietzsche’s Journey to Sorrento: Genesis of the Philosophy of the Free Spirit
Nietzsche’s Journey to Sorrento: Genesis of the Philosophy of the Free Spirit by Paolo D’Iorio, as translated by Sylvia Gorelick, offers an in-depth and revealing portrait of Friedrich Nietzsche during a pivotal moment in his life and philosophy. In this compelling narrative, D’Iorio goes into the deep transformation Nietzsche experienced while spending time in southern…
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Nietzsche’s Free Spirit Philosophy
In Nietzsche’s Free Spirit Philosophy, Rebecca Bamford brings together an eclectic and sophisticated array of essays that illuminate the largely under-explored yet foundational concept of the “free spirit” in Nietzsche’s philosophy. This concept, which emerges in Nietzsche’s middle period, is particularly prominent in works like Human, All Too Human, Dawn (or Daybreak), and The Gay…
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Nietzsche’s Free Spirit Works: A Dialectical Reading
Matthew Meyer’s Nietzsche’s Free Spirit Works: A Dialectical Reading offers a key interpretation of Nietzsche’s middle period works, which span from 1878 to 1882 and include Human, All Too Human, Assorted Opinions and Maxims, The Wanderer and His Shadow, Daybreak, and The Gay Science. These texts, often dismissed as mere collections of aphorisms, are, according…
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Slavoj Žižek’s address to the Oxford Union
In his address at the Oxford Union, Slavoj Žižek explores the evolution of modern political dynamics, focusing on what he terms “soft fascism” and the alarming rise of shamelessness in public life. Žižek describes soft fascism as a political phenomenon where capitalist development is maintained by a strong state apparatus, legitimized by traditional or ideological…
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Sigmund Freud Lecture by Slavoj Žižek: Theology, Negativity, and the Death-Drive
In his Sigmund Freud Lecture delivered in Vienna, Slavoj Žižek engages with themes at the intersection of psychoanalysis, theology, and the death drive. Žižek deconstructs common misconceptions about psychoanalysis, critiques contemporary ideologies, and explores existential voids inherent in the human condition. Žižek begins by challenging the notion that psychoanalysis seeks coherent self-knowledge or alleviation of…
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Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: A Propaedeutic
Thomas Sören Hoffmann’s Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: A Propaedeutic is a monumental intellectual biography that goes deeply into the dense philosophy of Hegel, the master philosopher of German idealism and the last great system builder of European philosophy. Hoffmann offers a comprehensive exploration of Hegel’s thought, working through all the major themes that define his…
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Picturing Hegel: An Illustrated Guide to Hegel’s Encyclopaedia Logic
Picturing Hegel: An Illustrated Guide to Hegel’s Encyclopaedia Logic by Julie E. Maybee is a groundbreaking work that breathes new life into G.W.F. Hegel’s notoriously dense and challenging Encyclopaedia Logic. Maybee created an ambitious project to demystify Hegel’s philosophical system by employing diagrams and illustrations, offering a novel approach that caters to both newcomers and…
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Hegel’s Shorter Logic: An Introduction and Commentary
Hegel’s Shorter Logic: An Introduction and Commentary by John Grier Hibben and Eric v.d. Luft is a monumental contribution to Hegelian scholarship, offering an in-depth exploration of Hegel’s Encyclopedia Logic. Since its original publication in 1902, Hibben’s work has been celebrated for its clarity and insightful interpretation of Hegel’s philosophical system. This revised edition, significantly…
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Hegel: Political Writings
Hegel: Political Writings, edited by Lawrence Dickey and H. B. Nisbet, is an indispensable volume that offers a presentation of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel’s political philosophy beyond his renowned Philosophy of Right. This collection gathers Hegel’s most significant political writings, providing readers with unparalleled access to both the practical and metaphysical dimensions of his thought.…
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Martin Heidegger: Basic Writings
Martin Heidegger: Basic Writings is an indispensable compendium that encapsulates the depth and breadth of one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. This anthology brings together Heidegger’s seminal works, offering readers an immersive journey into his groundbreaking exploration of the fundamental questions of existence, Being, and the human condition. The collection not…
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Heidegger: His Life and His Philosophy
Heidegger: His Life and His Philosophy by Alain Badiou and Barbara Cassin, translated by Susan Spitzer with an introduction by Kenneth Reinhard, is an analysis of one of the twentieth century’s most influential yet controversial philosophers, Martin Heidegger. This extensive work delves deep into the paradoxical existence of Heidegger—an ordinary Nazi and a dedicated member…
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Heidegger’s Topology: Being, Place, World
In Heidegger’s Topology: Being, Place, World, Jeff Malpas offers an analysis of Martin Heidegger’s philosophy through the lens of topology—an investigation into the concept of place that unveils its centrality to Heidegger’s entire philosophical corpus. Malpas challenges the conventional view of Heidegger as primarily the philosopher of time, presenting instead a compelling argument that Heidegger’s…
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Heidegger’s Way of Being
Richard Capobianco’s Heidegger’s Way of Being is an exposition of Martin Heidegger’s lifelong philosophical focus on the nature of Being. In this ambitious follow-up to Engaging Heidegger, Capobianco makes a compelling case for understanding Heidegger’s work as a unified endeavor to elucidate Being as the temporal and radiant emergence of all beings. By combining insights…
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Being-in-the-World: A Commentary on Heidegger’s Being and Time, Division I
Hubert L. Dreyfus’s Being-in-the-World: A Commentary on Heidegger’s Being and Time, Division I is an analysis of one of the most significant and challenging texts of 20th-century philosophy. Dreyfus not only engages with the core of Heidegger’s Being and Time, a work that transformed philosophical thought upon its publication in 1927, but also provides a…
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Western Marxism and the Soviet Union: A Survey of Critical Theories and Debates Since 1917
Marcel van der Linden’s Western Marxism and the Soviet Union is an exhaustive, rigorous examination of the theoretical responses within Western Marxism to the Soviet Union’s evolution from its inception through the Cold War and beyond. The “Russian Question”—the ideological, economic, and political nature of Soviet society—was central to the larger Marxist dialogue, compelling intellectuals…
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Karl Korsch: A Study in Western Marxism
Karl Korsch: A Study in Western Marxism by Patrick Goode provides an analysis of Karl Korsch’s intellectual journey, his engagement with revolutionary Marxism, and his unique contribution to Marxist theory within the context of 20th-century European politics. This study explores Korsch’s revolutionary praxis, particularly his belief that Marxism is not merely an interpretative framework for…
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The Breakdown of Capitalism: A History of the Idea in Western Marxism, 1883-1983
F.R. Hansen’s The Breakdown of Capitalism: A History of the Idea in Western Marxism, 1883-1983 offers a richly layered and deeply critical examination of the complex intellectual tradition surrounding the theories of capitalism’s breakdown within Western Marxist thought. Written in 1985, Hansen’s work situates itself as both a historical study and a philosophical investigation, tracing…
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‘Western Marxism’ by José Guilherme Merquior
In Western Marxism, José Guilherme Merquior presents a richly layered critique of a complex intellectual movement that sought to reimagine Marxism through a cultural and ideological lens, distinct from the economic determinism of Soviet Marxism. Merquior’s analysis begins by locating the origins of Western Marxism in early 20th-century critiques of orthodox Marxism, a divergence led…
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Dialectic of Defeat: Contours of Western Marxism
In Dialectic of Defeat: Contours of Western Marxism, Russell Jacoby undertakes a rigorous critique of mainstream, “conformist” Marxism, a tradition he views as deeply compromised by its adherence to the “cult of success” and the fetishization of scientific methodology. Jacoby’s work engages with an essential but sidelined trajectory within Marxist thought, a Western alternative that,…
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Leo Kofler’s Philosophy of Praxis: Western Marxism and Socialist Humanism
Leo Kofler’s Philosophy of Praxis, translated by Nathaniel Thomas, offers a monumental account of the life, philosophy, and critical thought of Leo Kofler (1907–1995), a figure dubbed an “unmutilated, living Marxist” by Oskar Negt. This book, rich in its philosophical excavation, explores the deep layers of Kofler’s work as it intersected with Western Marxist currents,…
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‘Understanding Brecht’ by Walter Benjamin
Understanding Brecht by Walter Benjamin is a seminal examination of the complex, dialectical relationship between art and political critique, presented through the lens of one of the most dynamic cultural partnerships of the 20th century—between Walter Benjamin, the philosopher and critic, and Bertolt Brecht, the playwright and poet. This volume brings together Benjamin’s essays on…
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Le idee migliorano. Origini e presupposti della Storia della filosofia di Hegel (1650-1827)
Roberto Bordoli’s Le idee migliorano. Origini e presupposti della Storia della filosofia di Hegel (1650-1827) is a compelling exploration of the development of the history of philosophy as an autonomous discipline and Hegel’s approach to it, steeped in a historical and ethical consciousness that reflects the intellectual evolution of modern Europe. Bordoli positions the history…
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Hegel in Nürnberg: Zeugnisse der Lehre und Zeichen der Liebe 1808 bis 1816
In Hegel in Nürnberg: Zeugnisse der Lehre und Zeichen der Liebe 1808 bis 1816, Rolf Gröschner and Wolfgang Mölkner make an intricate exploration of the unique period during which Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel served as rector at the Egidien-Gymnasium in Nuremberg. This work is neither a mere chronological recounting nor a simple historical narrative. Instead,…
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Hegel und die Freiheit der Modernen
Domenico Losurdo’s Hegel und die Freiheit der Modernen (Hegel and the Freedom of the Moderns) is an intellectually dense and methodically expansive work that scrutinizes and dismantles longstanding stereotypes surrounding Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, particularly the reductionist portrayal of him as merely a theorist of conservative restoration. Losurdo revisits Hegel’s philosophy through a historically grounded…
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Blind Spot: The Secret History of American Counterterrorism
Blind Spot: The Secret History of American Counterterrorism by Timothy Naftali is a presentation of the often tumultuous history of the United States’ efforts to combat terrorism from the aftermath of World War II up to the harrowing events of September 11, 2001. Naftali, a distinguished national security historian, goes deep into the clandestine world…
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The Blind Spot: Science and the Crisis of Uncertainty
The Blind Spot: Science and the Crisis of Uncertainty by William Byers is an exposition of the inherent limitations within the scientific endeavor and the epistemological crises that arise from them. Byers goes into the paradoxes and uncertainties that have emerged in modern science and mathematics, challenging the long-held belief that science offers an objective,…
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Blind Spot: The Global Rise of Unhappiness and How Leaders Missed It
Blind Spot: The Global Rise of Unhappiness and How Leaders Missed It by Jon Clifton is an analysis of a critical yet overlooked phenomenon shaping the contemporary world: the escalating unhappiness among global citizens and the consequential blind spot that has afflicted world leaders. Clifton, the CEO of Gallup and a visionary dedicated to amplifying…
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The Blind Spot: Why Science Cannot Ignore Human Experience
The Blind Spot: Why Science Cannot Ignore Human Experience is an exploration of the intrinsic relationship between human experience and the scientific endeavor. Authored by astrophysicist Adam Frank, theoretical physicist Marcelo Gleiser, and philosopher Evan Thompson, this work presents a compelling argument for the integration of the human perspective within science, asserting that human experience…
Simon Gros 