Giorgio Agamben’s Homo Sacer Series: A Critical Introduction and Guide (Giorgio Agamben’s Homo Sacer)

This short book delivers an overview of the most significant concepts and histories as presented in the Italian thinker Giorgio Agamben’s magnum opus, the nine-volume Homo Sacer series. In this celebrated work, Agamben provides a delicate and complex interweaving of his views on sovereignty, the state of exception, the Aristotelean distinction between potentiality and actuality, Pauline messianism, the boundary between the human and the animal, the task of inoperativity, the impossibility of stating the existence of language in words, the role of the oath in public and religious life, glory and liturgy, the form-of-life lived beyond all forms of law and a modal ontology of demand that reconceives of western philosophy entirely, among other themes. Helping alert readers to the importance of the series while also pointing toward the major implications which Agamben’s philosophy entails for politics, theology, economics, history, law and global philosophical trends, these accessible and introductory essays provide a guide for those looking to understand why this series is one of the most significant philosophical texts of the past century. Introduces the most significant concepts and histories in Giorgio Agamben’s central workThe first introductory text to Giorgio Agamben’s 9-volume magnum opus, the Homo Sacer seriesUnpacks Agamben's central concepts, introducing them to new readers of the series and adding nuance for readers more versed in Agamben's philosophyRequiring no prior knowledge of the series, Colby Dickinson explains why Agamben’s Homer Sacer is one of the most significant philosophical texts of the past century. He explores key concepts including sovereignty, potentiality, form-of-life, the state of exception, inoperativity, glory and the messianic as they appear and reappear throughout the series.In Homo Sacer, Agamben provides a delicate and complex interweaving of his views on a wide range of themes including sovereignty, and the state of exception, the Aristotelean distinction between potentiality and actuality, through to the impossibility of stating the existence of language in words and the form-of-life lived beyond all forms of law. Introduction : A brief outline of the Homo Sacer series -- Religious and political implications of the Homo Sacer project -- On Aristotle, actuality and potentiality -- Glory and the significance of political theology -- Economy and its inoperativity -- The border between the human and the animal -- Paul and the messianic division of division -- A form-of-life beyond the law -- Conclusion Requiring no prior knowledge of the series, Colby Dickinson provides a guide to understanding why Agamben’s Homer Sacer series is one of the most significant philosophical texts of the past century. He explores key concepts including sovereignty, potentiality, form-of-life, the state of exception, inoperativity, glory and the messianic as they appear and reappear throughout the series. "Requiring no prior knowledge of the series, Colby Dickinson explains why Agamben's Homer Sacer is one of the most significant philosophical texts of the past century. He explores key concepts including sovereignty, potentiality, form-of-life, the state of exception, inoperativity, glory and the messianic as they appear and reappear throughout the series"-- Provided by publisher Requiring no prior knowledge of the series, Colby Dickinson explains why Agamben's Homer Sacer series is one of the most significant philosophical texts of the past century. He unpacks key concepts including sovereignty, potentiality, form-of-life, the state of exception, inoperativity, glory and the messianic as they appear and reappear.