Impossible objects : interviews / Simon Critchley ; edited by Carl Cederström and Todd Kesselman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Critchley, Simon, 1960-

Contributor:

Cederström, Carl, 1980-

Kesselman, Todd.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Arts--Philosophy.

Arts.

Arts and morals.

Physical Description:

168 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Polity, 2012.

Summary:

Impossible objects are those about which the philosopher, narrowly conceived, can hardly speak: poetry, film, music, humor. Such "objects" do not rely on philosophy for interpretation and understanding; they are already independent practices and sites of sensuous meaning production. As Elvis Costello has said, "writing about music is like dancing about architecture." We don't need literary theory in order to be riveted by the poem, nor a critic's analysis to enjoy a film. How then can philosophy speak about anything outside of itself, namely all of those things which actually matter to us in this world?

In Impossible Objects, Simon Critchley - one of the most influential and insightful philosophers writing today - extends his philosophical investigation into non-philosophical territories, including discussions on tragedy, poetry, humor, and music. In a series of engaging and enlightening conversations, Critchley reflects on his early work on the ethics of deconstruction; the recurring themes of mortality and nihilism; his defense of neo-anarchism; and his recent investigation into secular faith, or "a faith of the faithless." Essential reading for artists, academics, and general readers alike, this book explores the relationship between the philosophical world and those complex and fascinating "impossible objects" which give life meaning. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Early Bedfellows Levinas, Derrida, and the Ethics of Deconstruction 5

2 Keep Your Mind in Hell and Despair Not Nietzsche and the Question of Nihilism 30

3 The State is a Limitation on Human Existence Gramsci and Hegemony 47

4 Infinitely Demanding Anarchism Marxism and the Political 58

5 Action in a World of Recuperation Cynicism and the Slovenian Hamlet 80

6 Language and Murder Blanchot, Stevens, and the Literary 93

7 Confessions of a Punk Rocker Can, Rhythm, and Transient Joy 111

8 Art and Ethics Transgression, Visibility, and Collective Resistance 127

9 Tragedy and Modernity The Logic of Affect 139.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780745653211

0745653219

9780745653204

0745653200

OCLC:

768300562