After Husserl, the study of phenomenology took off in different directions. The ambiguity inherent in phenomenology - between conscious experience and structural conditions - lent itself to a range of interpretations. Many existentialists developed phenomenology as conscious experience to analyse ethics and religion. Other phenomenologists developed notions of structural conditions to explore questions of science, mathematics, and conceptualization. "Phenomenology: Responses and Developments" covers all the major innovators in phenomenology - notably Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, and the later Heidegger - and the major schools and issues. The volume also shows how phenomenological thinking encounters a limit, a limit most apparent in the aesthetical and hermeneutical development of phenomenology. The volume closes with an examination of the furthering of the division between analytic and continental philosophy.

In Introduction to a Phenomenology of Life, renowned French philosopher Renaud Barbaras aims to construct the basis for a phenomenology of life. Called an introduction because it has to deal with philosophical limits and presuppositions, it is much more, as Barbaras investigates life in its phenomenological senses, approached through the duality of its intransitive and transitive senses. Originally published in French (Introduction a une phenomenologie de la vie) Introduction to a Phenomenology of Life first defines the problem of life phenomenologically, then studies the failures of the phenomenological movement to adequately think about life, and finally elaborates a new, original, and productive approach to the problem. Combining original interpretations and expert readings of philosophers such as Heidegger, Henry, Bergson, and Merleau-Ponty, Barbaras offers a powerful and important contribution to phenomenology and continental thought.

After Husserl, the study of phenomenology took off in different directions. The ambiguity inherent in phenomenology - between conscious experience and structural conditions - lent itself to a range of interpretations. Many existentialists developed phenomenology as conscious experience to analyse ethics and religion. Other phenomenologists developed notions of structural conditions to explore questions of science, mathematics, and conceptualization. "Phenomenology: Responses and Developments" covers all the major innovators in phenomenology - notably Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, and the later Heidegger - and the major schools and issues. The volume also shows how phenomenological thinking encounters a limit, a limit most apparent in the aesthetical and hermeneutical development of phenomenology. The volume closes with an examination of the furthering of the division between analytic and continental philosophy.

Drawing on a career-long exploration of 1960s French philosophy, Leonard Lawlor seeks a solution to 'the problem of the worst violence'. The worst violence is the reaction of total apocalypse without remainder; it is the reaction of complete negation and death; it is nihilism. Lawlor argues that it is not just transcendental violence that must be minimised: all violence must itself be reduced to its lowest level. He offers new ways of speaking to best achieve the least violence, which he creatively appropriates from Foucault, Derrida and Deleuze and Guattari as 'speaking-freely', 'speaking-distantly' and 'speaking-in-tongues'.

The Cambridge Foucault Lexicon is a reference tool that provides clear and incisive definitions and descriptions of all of Foucault's major terms and influences, including history, knowledge, language, philosophy, and power. It also includes entries on philosophers about whom Foucault wrote and who influenced Foucault's thinking, such as Deleuze, Heidegger, Nietzsche, and Canguilhem. The entries are written by scholars of Foucault from a variety of disciplines such as philosophy, gender studies, political science, and history. Together, they shed light on concepts key to Foucault and to ongoing discussions of his work today.

The Cambridge Foucault Lexicon is a reference tool that provides clear and incisive definitions and descriptions of all of Foucault's major terms and influences, including history, knowledge, language, philosophy and power. It also includes entries on philosophers about whom Foucault wrote and who influenced Foucault's thinking, such as Deleuze, Heidegger, Nietzsche and Canguilhem. The entries are written by scholars of Foucault from a variety of disciplines such as philosophy, gender studies, political science and history. Together, they shed light on concepts key to Foucault and to ongoing discussions of his work today.

The notion of "flesh", such as Merlau-Ponty elaborates it, is beginnig to occupy a central position in international philosophical debates. In recent years, some of the most famous contemporary thinkers have struggled with it. They were brought to the flesh by its intrinsic interest as well as by the contemporary reconception of our experience of the body and its relation to the world. The dense and original articles in which this volume consist attempt to return to the strictly philosophical coherence of the notion, as well to the tightly woven network of references to the flesh within Merlau-Ponty's thought, where it retains the eminent place that we know it possesses. In addition, with this fourth volume, Chiasmi International expands its field of investigation by devoting a special section to the thought of the great Czech phenomenologist Jan Patocka. Essays by Mauro Carbone, Renaud Barbaras, Pierre Rodrigo, Etienne Bimbenet, Luigi Tarantino, Leonard Lawlor, Jean-Noel Cueille, Claudio di Bitonto, Kym Maclaren, Fabrice Colonna, Alessia Mascellani, Valentina Flak, David Belot, Antonio Martone, Guy Deniau, Bruce Begout, Pierre Cassou-Nogues, Justin Tauber.

Brought together here are most of the presentations made at the Merleau-Ponty seminars which were held at the Husserl Archives, Paris, in 1998-99 and 1999-2000. Some of the essays in English come from the Twenty-second Annual International Meeting of the Merleau-Ponty Circle which was held at Seattle University from the 18th to the 20th of September, 1997. And finally, there are a certain number of important Italian contributions, among which is the "Introduction" that Enzo Paci - one of the great figures in Italian phenomenology - wrote in 1958 for the translation of In Praise of Philosophy. This collection allows us to understand better the genesis of Merleau-Ponty's ontology and, in particular, the importance of his reflections on Nature. Texts by: Renaud Barbaras, Etienne Bimbenet, Patrick Burke, Philippe Cabestan, Mauro Carbone, Pierre Cassou-Nogues, Jean-Noel Cueille, Francesco Colli, Francoise Dastur, Pascal Dupond, Fred Evans, Paolo Gambazzi, Nicoletta Grillo, Galen A. Johnson, Samuel J. Julian, Antje Kapust, Leonard Lawlor, Glen Mazis, Dorothea Olkowski, Guido D. Neri, Enzo Paci, Alessandro Prandoni, Franck Robert, Michael Sanders, Jenny Slatman, Ted Toadvine, Robert Vallier, Amedeo Vigorelli, Agata Zielinski.

Early Twentieth-Century Continental Philosophy elaborates the basic project of contemporary continental philosophy, which culminates in a movement toward the outside. Leonard Lawlor interprets key texts by major figures in the continental tradition, including Bergson, Foucault, Freud, Heidegger, Husserl, and Merleau-Ponty, to develop the broad sweep of the aims of continental philosophy. Lawlor discusses major theoretical trends in the work of these philosophers-immanence, difference, multiplicity, and the overcoming of metaphysics. His conception of continental philosophy as a unified project enables Lawlor to think beyond its European origins and envision a global sphere of philosophical inquiry that will revitalize the field. -- Indiana University Press

In Introduction to a Phenomenology of Life, renowned French philosopher Renaud Barbaras aims to construct the basis for a phenomenology of life. Called an introduction because it has to deal with philosophical limits and presuppositions, it is much more, as Barbaras investigates life in its phenomenological senses, approached through the duality of its intransitive and transitive senses. Originally published in French (Introduction a une phenomenologie de la vie) Introduction to a Phenomenology of Life first defines the problem of life phenomenologically, then studies the failures of the phenomenological movement to adequately think about life, and finally elaborates a new, original, and productive approach to the problem. Combining original interpretations and expert readings of philosophers such as Heidegger, Henry, Bergson, and Merleau-Ponty, Barbaras offers a powerful and important contribution to phenomenology and continental thought.

..". no other book undertakes to relate all these French philosophers to each other the way that Lawlor] does, brilliantly." Francois Raffoul

For many, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, and Gilles Deleuze represent one of the greatest movements in French philosophy. But these philosophers and their works did not materialize without a philosophical heritage. In Thinking through French Philosophy, Leonard Lawlor shows how the work of Maurice Merleau-Ponty formed an important current in sustaining the development of structuralism and post-structuralism. Seeking the "point of diffraction," or the specific ideas and concepts that link Derrida, Foucault, and Deleuze, Lawlor discovers differences and convergences in these thinkers who worked the same terrain. Major themes include metaphysics, archaeology, language and documentation, expression and interrogation, and the very experience of thinking. Lawlor s focus on the experience of the question brings out critical differences in immanence and transcendence. This illuminating and provocative book brings new vitality to debates on contemporary French philosophy."

The great influence of the work of Henri Bergson on contemporary philosophy is only now becoming clear. Part of this renaissance in Bergsonism is due to Gilles Deleuze and Emmanuel Levinas, both of whom have acknowledged Bergson as an inspiration for their philosophy. Bergson's key philosophical concept is "duration", which encompasses both memory and life. "The Challenge of Bergsonism" analyses this central but complex concept through a close reading of one of Bergson's key works, "Matter and Memory", setting it in the broader context of Bergson's writings. The text explores how Bergsonism questions our ways of thinking, particularly the concept of reality, and ultimately demands a return to ethics. It also includes an English translation of Jean Hyppolite's highly influential essay, "Various Aspects of Memory in Bergson".

The Challenge of Bergsonism explores how Bergsonism questions our ways of thinking, particularly the concept of reality, and ultimately demands a return to ethics. The book also includes the first English translation of Jean Hyppolite's highly influential essay, "Various Aspects of Memory in Bergson."

If the phrase "the philosophy of difference" defines French anti-Hegelianism, then we have to say that there would be no philosophy of difference without Logic and Existence. Derrida's notion of differance, Deleuze's logic of sense, and Foucault's reconception of history all stem from this book. This first English translation of the virtually unknown Logic and Existence is essential for the understanding of the development of French thought in this century.

Logic and Existence, which originally appeared in 1952, completes the project Hyppolite began with Genesis and Structure of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit. Taking up successively the role of language, reflection, and categories in Hegel's Science of Logic, Hyppolite illuminates Hegelianism's most obscure dialectical synthesis: the relation between the phenomenology and the logic.

His interpretation of the relation between the phenomenology and the logic has the result of marking a rupture in French thought. Not only does Logic and Existence effectively end the humanistic reading of Hegel popularized by Kojeve in France before World War II, but also it initiates the great anti-Hegelianism of French philosophy in the sixties. Hyppolite's work displays the originality of Hegel's thought in a new way, and sets up the means by which to escape from it.

From beginning to end, the philosophy of Michel Henry offers an original and profound reflection on life. Henry challenges the conventional understanding of life as a set of natural processes and a general classification of beings. Maintaining that our access to the meaning of life has been blocked by naturalism as well as by traditional philosophical assumptions, Henry carries out an enterprise that can rightfully be called "radical." His phenomenology leads back to the original dimension of life-to a reality that precedes and conditions the natural sciences and even objectivity as such. The Michel Henry Reader is an indispensable resource for those who are approaching Henry for the first time as well as for those who are already familiar with his work. It provides broad coverage of the major themes in his philosophy and new translations of Henry's most important essays. Sixteen chapters are divided into four parts, demonstrating the profound implications of Henry's philosophy of life for phenomenology; for subjectivity; for politics, art, and language; and for ethics and religion.

The first reader to offer a comprehensive view of Maurice Merleau-Ponty's (1908-1961) work, this selection collects in one volume the foundational essays necessary for understanding the core of this critical twentieth-century philosopher's thought. Arranged chronologically, the essays are grouped in three sections corresponding to the major periods of Merleau-Ponty's work: First, the years prior to his appointment to the Sorbonne in 1949, the early, existentialist period during which he wrote important works on the phenomenology of perception and the primacy of perception; second, the years of his work as professor of child psychology and pedagogy at the Sorbonne, period especially concerned with language; and finally, his years as chair of modern philosophy at the College de France, a time devoted to the articulation of a new ontology and philosophy of nature. The editors, who provide an interpretive introduction, also include previously unpublished working notes found in Merleau-Ponty's papers after his death. Translations of all selections have been updated and several appear here in English for the first time. By contextualizing Merleau-Ponty's writings on the philosophy of art and politics within the overall development of his thought, this volume allows readers to see both the breadth of his contribution to twentieth-century philosophy and the convergence of the various strands of his reflection.

Derrida wrote extensively on "the question of the animal." In particular, he challenged Heidegger's, Husserl's, and other philosophers' work on the subject, questioning their phenomenological criteria for distinguishing humans from animals. Examining a range of Derrida's writings, including his most recent "L'animal que donc je suis," as well as "Aporias," "Of Spirit," "Rams," and "Rogues," Leonard Lawlor reconstructs a portrait of Derrida's views on animality and their intimate connection to his thinking on ethics, names and singularity, sovereignty, and the notion of a common world.

Derrida believed that humans and animals cannot be substantially separated, yet neither do they form a continuous species. Instead, in his "staggered analogy," Derrida asserts that all living beings are weak and therefore capable of suffering. This controversial claim both refuted the notion that humans and animals possess autonomy and contradicted the assumption that they possess the trait of machinery. However, it does offer the foundation for an argument-which Lawlor brilliantly and passionately defines in his book-in which humans are able to will this weakness into a kind of unconditional hospitality. Humans are not strong enough to keep themselves separate from animals. In other words, we are too weak to keep animals from entering into our sphere. Lawlor's argument is a bold approach to remedying "the problem of the worst," or the complete extermination of life, which is fast becoming a reality.

Merleau-Ponty : Sciences, images, events **** dossiers // special sections : Merleau -Ponty et les sciences / MERLEAU-PONTY AND SCIENCES / Merleau-Ponty e le scienze La realitede l'imaginaire / Reality of the Imaginary / La realta dell'immaginario **** varia // diverse **** COMPTES RENDUS // REVIEWS // RECENSIONI Texts by: Josep Maria Bech, Etienne Bimbenet, Guillaume Carron, Daniela De Leo, Philippe Descola, RobertaDreon, Simone Frangi, MarcelloGhilardi, TimIngold, ChristopherLapierre, Mariana Larison, Kwok-ying Lau, Len Lawlor, Federico Leoni, Mara Meletti, David Morris, Marcos- JoseMuller Granzotto, Elena Pagni, Pierre Rodrigo, Stephane Roy-Desrosiers, Marcus Sacrini, EmmanueldeSaintAubert, DavideScarso, DominiqueSeglard, Luca Vanzago, Shiloh Whitney, Keith Withmoyer.

" A] magnificent work... that will definitely shape the discussion on Derrida for years to come." Rodolphe Gasche

What is the nature of the relationship of Jacques Derrida and deconstruction to Edmund Husserl and phenomenology? Is deconstruction a radical departure from phenomenology or does it trace its origins to the phenomenological project? In Derrida and Husserl, Leonard Lawlor illuminates Husserl s influence on the French philosophical tradition that inspired Derrida s thought. Beginning with Eugen Fink s pivotal essay on Husserl s philosophy, Lawlor carefully reconstructs the conceptual context in which Derrida developed his interpretation of Husserl. Lawlor s investigations of the work of Jean Cavailles, Tran-Duc-Thao, and Jean Hyppolite, as well as recent texts by Derrida, reveal the depth of Derrida s relationship to Husserl s phenomenology. Along the way, Lawlor revisits and sheds light on the origin of many important Derridean concepts, such as deconstruction, the metaphysics of presence, differance, intentionality, the trace, and spectrality."

The Implications of Immanence develops a philosophy of life in opposition to the notion of abio-power, a which reduces the human to the question of power over what Giorgio Agamben terms abare life, a mere biological existence. Breaking with all biologism or vitalism, Lawlor attends to the dispersion of death at the heart of life, in the aminuscule hiatusa that divides the living present, separating lived experience from the living body and, crucially for phenomenology, inserting a blind spot into a visual field.Lawlor charts here a post-phenomenological French philosophy. What lies beyond phenomenologyis alife-ism, a the positive working out of the effects of the aminuscule hiatusa in a thinking that takes place on a aplane of immanence, a whose implications cannot be predicted. Life-ism means thinking life and death together, thinking death as dispersed throughout life. In carefully argued and extensively documented chapters, Lawlor sets out the surpassing of phenomenology and the advent of life-ism in Merleau-Ponty, Derrida, and Foucault, with careful attention to the writings by Husserl and Heidegger to which these thinkers refer.A philosophy of life has direct implications for present-day political and medical issues. The book takes its point of departure from the current genocide in Darfur and provides conceptual tools for intervening in such issues as the AIDS epidemic and life-support for the infirm. Indeed, the investigations contained in The Implications of Immanence are designed to help us emerge once and for all out of the epoch of bio-power.aLawloras novel way of treating the concept of life is stimulating, original, and necessary for the social well being of our time.aaFredEvans, Duquesne UniversityaThe Implications of Immanence continues the most promising, rigorous, and fruitful ongoing research project among scholars of twentieth-century philosophy. . . .A wonderful new book.aaJohn Protevi, Louisiana State University

Published in 1967, when Derrida is 37 years old, Voice and Phenomenon appears at the same moment as Of Grammatology and Writing and Difference. All three books announce the new philosophical project called “deconstruction.” Although Derrida will later regret the fate of the term “deconstruction,” he will use it throughout his career to define his own thinking. While Writing and Difference collects essays written over a 10 year period on diverse figures and topics, and Of Grammatology aims its deconstruction at “the age of Rousseau,” Voice and Phenomenon shows deconstruction engaged with the most important philosophical movement of the last hundred years: phenomenology. Only in relation to phenomenology is it possible to measure the importance of deconstruction. Only in relation to Husserl’s philosophy is it possible to understand the novelty of Derrida’s thinking. Voice and Phenomenon therefore may be the best introduction to Derrida’s thought in general. To adapt Derrida’s comment on Husserl’s Logical Investigations, it contains “the germinal structure” of Derrida’s entire thought. Lawlor’s fresh translation of Voice and Phenomenon brings new life to Derrida’s most seminal work.

From beginning to end, the philosophy of Michel Henry offers an original and profound reflection on life. Henry challenges the conventional understanding of life as a set of natural processes and a general classification of beings. Maintaining that our access to the meaning of life has been blocked by naturalism as well as by traditional philosophical assumptions, Henry carries out an enterprise that can rightfully be called "radical." His phenomenology leads back to the original dimension of life-to a reality that precedes and conditions the natural sciences and even objectivity as such. The Michel Henry Reader is an indispensable resource for those who are approaching Henry for the first time as well as for those who are already familiar with his work. It provides broad coverage of the major themes in his philosophy and new translations of Henry's most important essays. Sixteen chapters are divided into four parts, demonstrating the profound implications of Henry's philosophy of life for phenomenology; for subjectivity; for politics, art, and language; and for ethics and religion.

Chiasmi International publishes for the first time two previously unpublished working notes from Merleau-Ponty that date from 1959 and the first chapter of a previously unpublished text that Simondon had written some years earlier: texts that testify to the intersecting reflections that Merleau-Ponty and Simondon were conducting on one of the most decisive themes for the philosophy of the 20th Century: individuation. Some authors, who are among the best known specialists in the question of individuation, make their contributions bear on the subject matter of these texts, and on the relations between the thought of Merleau-Ponty and that of Simondon. The theme of the second section is the topic of life, which runs across Merleau-Ponty's lectures on nature, and shows itself to be perfectly complementary of that of the first one. The contributions devoted to the second theme essentially come from the Merleau-Ponty Circle (University of Western Ontario, 2003). Texts by: Giuliano Antonello, Daniela Calabro, Mauro Carbone, Fabrice Colonna, Miguel De Beistegui, Emmanuel De Saint Aubert, Helen A. Fielding, Paolo Gambazzi, Jacques Garelli, Xavier Guchet, Mariana Larison, Leonard Lawlor, Kym Maclaren, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, David Morris, Mario Neve, Felix O Murchadha, Franck Robert, Davide Scarso, Gilbert Simondon, Jenny Slatman, Ted Toadvine, Robert Vallier, Veniero Venier.