A World Without Why (ebook)

Argumento de A World Without Why (ebook)

"Geuss is a unique voice in contemporary philosophy, and this book is ideal for anyone interested in intellectual history."--David Gordon, Library Journal

"Raymond Geuss exhibits in this unique collection an intellectual courage, rare today, in radically undermining current beliefs and preoccupations so that a new, surprising view is disclosed. By doing this with respect to some of the most demanding political questions of our times, Geuss contributes more to the unfinished project of critical theory than most of its self-acclaimed followers."--Axel Honneth, Columbia University

"The impressively bleak view of the world presented so elegantly in these essays puts in question some widely shared agreements--about politics, ethics, clarity and truthfulness, the tragic. The artfulness of these essays is that the style of Geuss's questioning is as subversive as the subject matter."--Alasdair MacIntyre, author of After Virtue

"A World without Why is a fascinating collection of essays by one of the most original, witty, profound, passionate, and erudite philosophers alive today."--Wendy Brown, author of Walled States, Waning Sovereignty

"These essays are, as always with Geuss, engagingly written, challenging, and extremely interesting."--Daniel Brudney, author of Marx's Attempt to Leave Philosophy

"In A World Without Why, Raymond Geuss brings his caustic intelligence to many of themes and figures that have occupied his career."--Alex Sager, Marx & Philosophy

"In these 13 essays, well-known critical philosopher Geuss ranges over a very wide field of topics--politics, ethics, cultural formations, history, ancient literary and philosophical works, and criticism itself. . . . [S]tudents can read some of these essays with profit, such as the discussion of when obscurity of speech might be best."--Choice0Preface ix
1. Goals, Origins, Disciplines 1
2. Vix intellegitur 22
3. Marxism and the Ethos of the Twentieth Century 45
4. Must Criticism Be Constructive? 68
5. The Loss of Meaning on the Left 91
6. Authority: Some Fables 112
7. A Note on Lying 135
8. Politics and Architecture 144
9. The Future of Theological Ethics 163
10. Did Williams Do Ethics? 175
11. The Wisdom of Oedipus and the Idea of a Moral Cosmos 195
12. Who Was the First Philosopher? 223
13. A World without Why 231
Notes 237
Index 257