The Price of Truth: Gift, Money, and Philosophy (Cultural Memory in the Present)

Can exchange bring us together? Are there any physical or intangible goods that escape the logic of the marketplace? Is there a relationship between truth―the very purpose of philosophy―and money? Does truth have a price? Contrary to the Sophists, who demanded payment in return for their expertise, Socrates spoke for free. He had to do so, according to Aristotle, because knowledge cannot be measured―though he could accept gifts in return. Today, we expect artists and intellectuals to be compensated for their labors. But is giving merely a form of exchange that was replaced by commerce? Anthropological investigation shows that the issue lies elsewhere: to give is __to recognize in order to be recognized__. It is to seal an alliance, to give __oneself__ in what is given. Gifting raises further questions regarding the nature of sacrifice and the extent to which this last involves debt or grace. In __The Price of Truth__, Hénaff addresses these topics in turn, arguing that the relationship established by the gift lies at the core of the social bond. What emerges is a theory of culture and community formation that accounts for the structural patterns of traditional, political, and market-dominated societies. Crucial here is the idea that gifting and marketplace exchange are incommensurable. The latter, which involves money and contracts, has its own economic, political, and ethical necessity. The gift, though, always raises the ethical question of reciprocal recognition, a radical imperative to respect and be respected. Money has the power to threaten this requirement and break the bond that unites us. Why? To answer is to understand how the―priceless―price of truth is inseparable from that of dignity. Plato And The Sophists' Money -- The Figure Of The Merchant In Western Tradition -- The Scandal Of Profit And The Prohibition On Appropriating Time -- The Enigma Of Ceremonial Gifts Exchange -- The Age Of Sacrifice -- The Logic Of Debt -- The Paradoxes Of Grace -- Ceremonial Money And Commercial Money -- Money : Equivalence, Justice, And Liberty -- Legitimate Figures Of Commercial Exchange. Marcel Hénaff ; Translated By Jean-louis Morhange With The Collaboration Of Anne-marie Feenberg-dibon. Originally Published In French As Le Prix De La Vérité. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. The author offers an anthropological approach to the topic of the gift, focusing on its effects on social bonds and community. The central idea of this volume is that gifting and marketplace exchange are incommensurable; that the latter, which involves money and contracts, has its own economic, political, and ethical necessity. The gift, the author proposes, always raises the ethical question of reciprocal recognition, an imperative to respect and be respected and inequalities of wealth have the power to threaten this requirement and break the bond that unites communities