Blanchot: Extreme Contemporary (Warwick Studies in European Philosophy Series)

Blanchot provides a compelling insight into one of the key figures in the development of postmodern thought. Although Blanchot's work is characterised by a fragmentary and complex style, Leslie Hill introduces clearly and accessibly the key themes in his work. He shows how Blanchot questions the very existence of philosophy and literature and how we may distinguish between them, stresses the importance of his political writings and the relationship between writing and history that characterised Blanchot's later work; and considers the relationship between Blanchot and key figures such as Emmanuel Levinas and Georges Bataille and how this impacted on his work. Placing Blanchot at the centre stage of writing in the twentieth century, Blanchot also sheds new light on Blanchot's political activities before and after the Second World War. This accessible introduction to Blanchot's thought also includes one of the most comprehensive bibliographies of his writings of the last twenty years. 1. An Intellectual Itinerary -- Why Blanchot? -- An Ethics Of Discretion -- A Share Of Biography -- Pas De Recit? -- The Acts Of The Day (1) -- A Question Of Responsibility -- The Acts Of The Day (2) -- A Temptation? -- 2. The (im)possibility Of Literature -- Founding Fictions -- How Is Literature Possible? -- 'naming The Gods': From Heidegger To Holderlin -- The Limitlessness Of The Limit -- 3. Writing The Neuter -- From Work To Worklessness -- The Worklessness Of Being -- Outside -- Neutre -- July 1948: Writing, Dying; Dying, Writing -- 4. The Absence Of The Book -- Beyond Philosophy? -- Transcendence And The Other -- The Demand Of Writing -- An Uninterrupted Questioning -- The Unexpected Word -- 5. Extreme Contemporary. Leslie Hill. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 226-298) And Index. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 Acknowledgements......Page 10 Abbreviations......Page 12 An intellectual itinerary......Page 14 The (im)possibility of literature......Page 66 Writing the neuter......Page 116 The absence of the book......Page 171 Extreme contemporary......Page 235 Notes......Page 239 Texts by Blanchot......Page 287 Index......Page 312 Placing Blanchot at the centre stage of writing in the twentieth century, Maurice Extreme Contemporary sheds new light on Blanchot's political activities before and after the Second World War.

Placing Blanchot at the centre stage of writing in the twentieth century, Blanchot sheds new light on Blanchot's political activities before and after the Second World War.