Doing
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- $18.99
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
In Doing, Jean-Luc Nancy, one of the most prominent and lucid articulators of contemporary French theory and philosophy, examines the precarious but urgent relationship between being and doing. His book is not so much a call to action as a summons to more vigorous thinking, the examination and reflection that must precede any effective action. The first section of the book considers this matter tersely: Jean-Luc Nancy’s quickness of language and grace of humor lead the reader carefully past the dangers of oversimplification, toward a general awareness of meaningful being. In the last section, Nancy examines the realities of terrorist actions—specifically those that shocked Paris a few years ago, and more generally the frightening world of politics without conscience, where conscience is the root of all thinking.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
French philosopher Nancy (Portrait), observing mass unemployment, income inequality, war, terrorism, and corrupt politics, urges readers to "do something" in this timely if dense collection of essays. The concept of the "state" is "dated, outdated, or expired," Nancy writes, and has been replaced by a combination of global economics and technological power. Nancy touches on the populist movement, (those abandoned by the new economic state), leftist politics (which Nancy argues facilitated the transfer of traditional politics to economic and technological hegemony), and religion, which he calls "fervour led astray." As Nancy zeroes in on the question of "What to do?" his language becomes difficult to parse, leaving the question wrapped in abstractions and its answer unfortunately opaque. Nancy's message, if not wholly optimistic, is at least hopeful, as he closes with a prediction that "a wind is rising," which, aided by the "human spirit," may lead to a better future. Patient, philosophically minded readers are sure to find food for thought.
