The Impertinent Self

by Fr'uchtl, Josef

• ISBN13: 9780804757362
• ISBN10: 0804757364
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-09-18
• Publisher: Stanford Univ Pr

Summary

The Impertinent Selfprovides a philosophical and cultural theory of modernity by constructing a parallel between the philosophical self and the hero figure found in certain cinematic genres. Fruchtl argues that modernity is not unified and should be conceived as a phenomenon consisting of three strata: the classical, the agonist, and the hybrid. He demonstrates this by following a dual trajectory: the shift in the concept of the self from German idealism to Romanticism and so-called postmodernism, and the evolution of the hero figure in the Western and in crime and science fiction movies. Fruchtl takes a clear position within the ongoing discussion in the humanities and social sciences about modernity, a discussion that, in light of the work of Foucault, Lyotard, and Habermas, has too often neglected the importance of Romanticism. Similarly, he embraces the role of film and popular culture in modern society.

Author Biography

Josef Früchtl is Professor in the Philosophy of Art and Culture Research Group at the University of Amsterdam.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Introduction: Heroes Like Us	p. 1
Hegel, the Western, and Classical Modernity
The Myth and the Frontier	p. 17
The Hero in the Epochs of the Mythical and the Bourgeois	p. 35
The End of the Individual	p. 51
The End of the Subject	p. 87
Romanticism, Crime, and Agonal Modernity
The Return of Tragedy in Modernity	p. 103
Heroes of Coolness and the Ironist	p. 148
Nietzsche, Science Fiction, and Hybrid Modernity
Heroic Individualisms and Metaphysics	p. 175
Superhumans, Supermen, Cyborgs	p. 181
Heroes of the Future	p. 210
Notes	p. 231
Bibliography	p. 240
Index of Names	p. 249
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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