Impossible Objects

by Critchley, Simon; Cederströ; m, Carl; Kesselman, Todd

• ISBN13: 9780745653211
• ISBN10: 0745653219
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-12-12
• Publisher: Polity

Summary

Impossible objects are those about which the philosopher, narrowly conceived, can hardly speak: poetry, film, music, humour. 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, humour and music. Moving effortlessly from military neo-liberalism to the poetry of Wallace Stevens, from the left's 'motivational deficit' to Greek Tragedy, and from political and religious disappointment to humour, the book provides a penetrating insight into the work of this philosopher. 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 those seeking to explore the relationship between the 'impossible objects' which give life meaning and the philosophical world, this book will be of great interest to artists, academics and general readers alike.

Author Biography

Simon Critchley is Hans Jonas Professor at the New School for Social Research in New York and part-time Professor of Philosophy at Tilburg University. Carl Cederstrm is Lecturer in Human Resource Management at Cardiff University. Todd Kesselman is a PhD Candidate at The New School for Social Research.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
Early Bedfellows	p. 5
Levinas, Derrida, and the Ethics of Deconstruction
Keep Your Mind in Hell and Despair Not	p. 30
Nietzsche and the Question of Nihilism
The State is a Limitation on Human Existence	p. 47
Gramsci and Hegemony
Infinitely Demanding Anarchism	p. 58
Marxism and the Political
Action in a World of Recuperation	p. 80
Cynicism and the Slovenian Hamlet
Language and Murder	p. 93
Blanchot, Stevens, and the Literary
Confessions of a Punk Rocker	p. 111
Can, Rhythm, and Transient Joy
Art and Ethics	p. 127
Transgression, Visibility, and Collective Resistance
Tragedy and Modernity	p. 139
The Logic of Affect
List of Works	p. 164
Index	p. 166
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