The Seduction of Unreason : The Intellectual Romance with Fascism from Nietzsche to Postmodernism, Second Edition / Richard Wolin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wolin, Richard, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Fascism.

Ideology.

Political science--Philosophy.

Political science.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Edition:

2nd ed.

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2019]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Ever since the shocking revelations of the fascist ties of Martin Heidegger and Paul de Man, postmodernism has been haunted by the specter of a compromised past. In this intellectual genealogy of the postmodern spirit, Richard Wolin shows that postmodernism's infatuation with fascism has been extensive and widespread. He questions postmodernism's claim to have inherited the mantle of the Left, suggesting instead that it has long been enamored with the opposite end of the political spectrum. Wolin reveals how, during in the 1930s, C. G. Jung, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Georges Bataille, and Maurice Blanchot were seduced by fascism's promise of political regeneration and how this misapprehension affected the intellectual core of their work. The result is a compelling and unsettling reinterpretation of the history of modern thought. In a new preface, Wolin revisits this illiberal intellectual lineage in light of the contemporary resurgence of political authoritarianism.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface to the Second Edition

Preface

Acknowledgments

A Note on Giorgio de Chirico's "Song of Love"

Introduction: Answer to the Question: What Is Counter-Enlightenment?

PART I. The German Ideology Revisited

1. Zarathustra Goes to Hollywood: On the Postmodern Reception of Nietzsche

2. Prometheus Unhinged: C. G. Jung and the Temptations of Aryan Religion

3. Fascism and Hermeneutics: Gadamer and the Ambiguities of "Inner Emigration"

POLITICAL EXCURSUSI. Incertitudes Allemandes: Reflections on the German New Right

PART II. French Lessons

4. Left Fascism: Georges Bataille and the German Ideology

5. Maurice Blanchot: The Use and Abuse of Silence

6. Down by Law: Deconstruction and the Problem of Justice

POLITICAL EXCURSUS II. Designer Fascism: On the Ideology of the French New Right

Conclusion: "Site of Catastrophe": The Image of America in Modern Thought

Notes

Index

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Mai 2019)

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9780691192109

0691192103

OCLC:

1102799394