States of shock : stupidity and knowledge in the twenty-first century / Bernard Stiegler ; translated by Daniel Ross.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stiegler, Bernard, author.

Standardized Title:

Etats de choc. English

Language:

English

French

Subjects (All):

Poststructuralism.

Education and globalization.

Knowledge, Sociology of--History--21st century.

Knowledge, Sociology of.

History.

Physical Description:

280 pages ; 24 cm

Edition:

English edition.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; Malden, MA : Polity Press, [2015]

Summary:

In 1944 Horkheimer and Adorno warned that industrial society turns reason into rationalization, and Polanyi warned of the dangers of the self-regulating market, but today, argues Stiegler, this regression of reason has led to societies dominated by unreason, stupidity and madness. However, philosophy in the second half of the twentieth century abandoned the critique of political economy, and poststructuralism left its heirs helpless and disarmed in the face of the reign of stupidity and an economic crisis of global proportions. New theories and concepts are required today to think through these issues. The thinkers of poststructuralism - Lyotard, Deleuze, Derrida - must be re-read, as must the sources of thier thought, Hegel and Marx. But we must also take account of Naomi Klein's critique of Milton Friedman and the Chicago School and her account of the 'shock Doctrine'. In fact, argues Stiegler, a permanent 'state of shock' has prevailed since the beginning of the industrial revolution, intensified by the creative destruction brought about by the consumerist model. The result has been a capitalism that destroys desire and reason and in which every institution is undermined, above all those institutions that are the products par excellence of the Enlightenment - the education system and universities. Through a powerful critique of thinkers from Marx to Derrida, Stiegler develops new conceptual weapons to fight this destruction. He argues that schools and universities must themselves be transformed: new educational institutions must be developed both to take account of the dangers of digitalization and the internet and to enable us to take advantage of the new opportunities they make available. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I Pharmacology of Stupidity: Introduction to the Poststructuralist Epoch 13

1 Unreason 15

2 Doing and Saying Stupid Things in the Twentieth Century 42

3 Différance and Repetition: Thinking Différance as Individuation 62

4 Après Coup, the Differend 86

5 Reading and Re-Reading Hegel After Poststructuralism 105

6 Re-Reading the Grundrisse: Beyond Two Marxist and Poststructuralist Misunderstandings 122

Part II The University With Conditions 149

7 The New Responsibilities of the University: In the Global Economic War 151

8 Internation and Interscience 173

9 Interscience, Intergeneration and University Autonomy 203.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780745664934

0745664938

9780745664941

0745664946

OCLC:

907665959

Publisher Number:

40024730121