1st Edition
Giorgio Agamben Legal, Political and Philosophical Perspectives
This book collects new contributions from an international group of leading scholars – including many who have worked closely with Agamben – to consider the impact of Agamben’s thought on research in the humanities and social sciences. Giorgio Agamben: Legal, Political and Philosophical Perspectives addresses the potential of Agamben’s thought by re-focusing attention away from his critiques of Western politics and towards his scheme for a political future. Part I of the book draws upon a wide range of issues such as legal oaths, legal reasoning and Christian conceptions of love in order to examine the potential for Agamben’s work to impact upon future legal scholarship. Part II focuses on political perspectives that include references to Marx, Rousseau and Agamben’s conception of the ‘messianic’. Theology, biology, and the thought of Gilles Deleuze, Walter Benjamin and Antonin Artaud are all drawn upon in Part III to explore philosophical perspectives in Agamben’s thought.
This book demonstrates the importance and originality of Giorgio Agamben, who has articulated a vision of politics that must be recognised as an influential contribution to modern philosophical and political thinking. It is a book that will be of considerable interest to many working across the humanities and social sciences.
Acknowledgments, Notes On Contributors, List Of Images, The Limit Of Thought Tom Frost, Part I: Before The Law 1. The Curse Of The Law And The Coming Politics: On Agamben, Paul And The Jewish Alternative Adam Kotsko, 2. A Particular Fet Ishism: Love, Law And The Image In Agamben Connal Parsley, 3. Agamben And The Possibilities Of Tradition Tom Frost, Part II: Politics: Or, On The Vocation Of Man 4. The Necessary Critique Of Divine Violence: Notes On Agamben, Benjamin And Sorel Frank Ruda & Jan Voelker, 5. The Ontological Surplus Of Sovereign Violence: Political Emancipation And The Emancipation Of The Political David Seymour, 6. Exemplary Subjects? Camps And The Politics Of Representation Anthony Downey, 7. ‘The King Reigns But He Doesn’t Govern’: Sovereignty And Government In Agamben, Foucault And Rousseau Jessica Whyte, 8. Paragraphs On Modern Cities David Kishik, Part III: Philosophy: Or, On The World To Come 9. Agamben’s Artaud Kevin Attell, 10. The Many Tasks Still To Come: Walter Benjamin And Giorgio Agamben On The Future Of Philosophy And Theology Colby Dickinson, 11. Blessed Life… Paolo Palladino, Bibliography, Index
Biography
Tom Frost is Lecturer in Legal Theory at the University of Sussex. His research interests include postcolonialism, critical theory and continental philosophy. He has published work on Agamben in the journals Oxford Journal of Legal Studies and Critical Horizons.
