Jean-Luc Nancy
Key Contemporary Thinkers (Series Nr. 1)
1. Edition July 2012
224 Pages, Hardcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
Jean-Luc Nancy is one of the leading contemporary thinkers in
France today. Through an inventive reappropriation of the major
figures in the continental tradition, Nancy has developed an
original ontology that impacts the way we think about religion,
politics, community, embodiment, and art.
Drawing from a wide range of his writing, Marie-Eve Morin provides
the first comprehensive and systematic account of Nancy's
thinking, all the way up to his most recent work on the
deconstruction of Christianity. Without losing sight of the
heterogeneity of Nancy's work, Morin presents a concise
articulation of the organizing concepts, which structure
Nancy's body of work. The guiding thread is that of an
essential rift at the heart of any "self" by which this
self is exposed and relates to itself and other selves.
Nancy's ontology undercuts dichotomies between individual and
community, interior and exterior, matter and spirit, thing and
thought, not in the name of mere deconstruction, but in seeking to
open a thinking of the "limit" or the
"edge" as the locus of sense. While Nancy's work
has often been presented in relation to Heidegger or Derrida, Morin
demonstrates the originality of Nancy's work and argues that,
despite the variety of its preoccupations and topics, it possesses
its own rigorous internal logic.
This book will be of interest to students and scholars of
philosophy and related fields who seek a systematic and critical
understanding of one of the most original contemporary thinkers.
List of abbreviations
Introduction
1. Ontology
2. Christianity
3. Community
4. Politics
5. From Body to Art
Conclusion
Bibliography
research students."
Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
"Morin's lucid overview of Nancy's philosophy provides clear
definitions of his key terms, teases out the complexity of
his relationships to other thinkers, and demonstrates how his
ontology of singular plurality informs his diverse range of
concerns, from Christianity to politics, from embodiment
to aesthetics."
French Studies
"Prof. Morin has done an excellent job. She is clearly sympathetic
to this thinker and unfolds for us the complexities of his work,
making it accessible without ever allowing us to underestimate its
subtlety. Comprehensive and expertly done, this book stands to play
a key role in the reception of Nancy's opus."
Anne O'Byrne, Stony Brook University
"Morin gives a lucid and penetrating overview of Nancy's
philosophy, beginning with his highly original reworking of
ontology and ranging from questions of politics and community to
those of Christianity, embodiment, and art. Her indispensable
account demonstrates the unique importance of Nancy's thought for
contemporary debate, its transformative power, and future
potential."
Ian James, University of Cambridge
"In a systematic reading organized around key motifs in Jean-Luc
Nancy's thought -ontology, Christianity, community, politics, body,
and art - Marie-Eve Morin provides an expert and luminous
introduction to an important oeuvre, still to be discovered and
explored. For such a task, Marie-Eve Morin's fine book will prove
to be an invaluable resource."
François Raffoul, Louisiana State University
