Thinking the Event

The author of The Origins of Responsibility presents “a major contribution to philosophical scholarship on . . . the very idea of the event” (Edward S. Casey, author of The World on Edge ). In Thinking the Event , continental philosopher François Raffoul explores the question of what constitutes an event as an event: not what happens or why it happens, but what “happening” means. If it’s true that nothing happens without a reason, as Leibniz famously posited, then does this principle of reason have a reason? Bringing together philosophical insights from Martin Heidegger, Jacques Derrida, Jean-Luc Nancy, and Jean-Luc Marion, Raffoul shows how the event, in its disruptive unpredictability, always exceeds causality, subjectivity, and reason. He then goes on to examine the inappropriability of this “pure event” and how this inappropriability may inform ethical and political considerations. In the wake of the exhaustion of traditional metaphysics, the notion of the event comes to the fore, with key implications for philosophy, ontology, ethics, and theories of selfhood. Raffoul’s Thinking the Event is essential reading on this fascinating topic. "What happens when something happens? In Thinking the Event, senior continental philosophy scholar François Raffoul undertakes a philosophical inquiry into what constitutes an event as event, its very eventfulness: not what happens or why it happens, but that it happens, and what "happening" means. If, as Leibniz posited, it is true that nothing happens without a reason, does this principle of reason have a reason? For Raffoul, the event always breaks the demands of rational thought. Bringing together philosophical insights from Heidegger, Derrida, Nancy, and Marion, Raffoul shows how the event, in its disruptive unpredictability, always exceeds causality, subjectivity, and reason. It is that "pure event," each time happening outside or without reason, which remains to be thought, and which is the focus of this work. In the final movement of the book, Raffoul takes on questions about the inappropriability of the event and the implications this carries for ethical and political considerations when thinking the event. In the wake of the exhaustion of traditional metaphysics, the notion of the event comes to the fore in an unprecedented way, with key implications for philosophy, ontology, ethics, and theories of selfhood"-- Provided by publisher 1. This book explores the philosophical idea of the event, a topic which has been received growing attention in recent years. 2. This book is written by a senior scholar in philosophy and has implications for researchers in philosophy, ontology, ethics, and theories of human subjectivity. 3. This book bridges Heidegger's work with that of other major twentieth century thinkers in the French tradition: Derrida, Nancy, and Marion. It presents powerful readings of leading figures of twentieth century philosophy and poses original questions about how we grasp physical things, historical happenings, Being, world, and democracy