Critical Theory to Structuralism: Philosophy, Politics and the Human Sciences (The History of Continental Philosophy)

Philosophy in the middle of the 20th Century, between 1920 and 1968, responded to the cataclysmic events of the time. Thinkers on the Right turned to authoritarian forms of nationalism in search of stable forms of collective identity, will, and purpose. Thinkers on the Left promoted egalitarian forms of humanism under the banner of international communism. Others saw these opposed tendencies as converging in the extinction of the individual and sought to retrieve the ideals of the Enlightenment in ways that critically acknowledged the contradictions of a liberal democracy racked by class, cultural, and racial conflict. Key figures and movements discussed in this volume include Schmitt, Adorno and the Frankfurt School, Arendt, Benjamin, Bataille, French Marxism, Black Existentialism, Saussure and Structuralism, Levi Strauss, Lacan and Late Pragmatism. These individuals and schools of thought responded to this 'modernity crisis' in different ways, but largely focused on what they perceived to be liberal democracy's betrayal of its own rationalist ideals of freedom, equality, and fraternity. Beginning with Kant and the earliest responses to his critical philosophy and ending with the latest developments in continental thinking across a range of disciplines, these volumes present the first coherent and comprehensive history of the continental tradition of philosophy. Divided, chronologically and thematically, into eight volumes, the "History of Continental Philosophy" is an indispensable resource for anyone conducting research or teaching in philosophy and related fields inthe humanities and social sciences where the influence of continental theory has been widespread. Alan Schrift has brought together an internationally renowned team of volume editors and contributors to provide an unrivalled analysis of the complex and interconnected history of continental philosophy that will become a reference point for all future work in the field. Vol. 1 Kant, Kantianism, and idealism: the origins of continental philosophy -- ed. by Thomas Nenon. Vol. 2 Nineteenth-century philosophy: revolutionary responses to the existing order -- ed. by Alan D. Schrift ... [et al.] Vol. 3 The new century: Bergsonism, phenomenology, and responses to modern science -- ed. by Keith Ansell-Pearson ... [et al.] Vol. 4 Phenomenology: responses and developments -- ed. by Leonard Lawlor. Vol. 5 Critical theory to structuralism: philosophy, politics, and the human sciences -- ed. by David Ingram. Vol. 6 Poststructuralism and critical theory's second generation -- ed. by Alan D. Schrift. Vol. 7 After poststructuralism: transitions and transformations -- ed. by Rosi Braidotti. Vol. 8 Emerging trends in continental philosophy -- ed. by Todd May. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Series Preface Contributors Introduction 1. Carl Schmitt and early Western Marxism 2. The origins and development of the model of early critical theory in the work of Max Horkheimer, Erich Fromm, and Herbert Marcuse 3. Theodor W. Adorno 4. Walter Benjamin 5. Hannah Arendt: rethinking the political 6. Georges Bataille 7. French Marxism in its heyday 8. Black existentialism 9. Ferdinand de Saussure and linguistic structuralism 10. Claude Lévi-Strauss 11. Jacques Lacan 12. Late pragmatism, logical positivism, and their aftermath Chronology Bibliography Index