Why is it that the modern conception of literature begins with one of the worst writers of the philosophical tradition? Such is the paradoxical question that lies at the heart of Jean-Luc Nancy's highly original and now-classic study of the role of language in the critical philosophy of Kant. While Kant did not turn his attention very often to the philosophy of language, Nancy demonstrates to what extent he was anything but oblivious to it. He shows, in fact, that the question of "philosophical style," of how to write critical philosophy, goes to the core of Kant's attempt to articulate the limits, once and for all, that would establish human reason in its autonomy and freedom. He also shows how this properly philosophical program, the very pinnacle of the Enlightenment, leads Kant to posit literature as its other by way of what is here called the "syncope," and how this other of philosophy, entirely its product, cannot be said to exist outside of metaphysics in its accomplishment. This subtle, unprecedented reading of Kant demonstrates the continued importance of reflection on the relation between philosophy and literature, indeed, why any commitment to Enlightenment must consider and confront this partition anew.

Why is it that the modern conception of literature begins with one of the worst writers of the philosophical tradition? Such is the paradoxical question that lies at the heart of Jean-Luc Nancy's highly original and now-classic study of the role of language in the critical philosophy of Kant. While Kant did not turn his attention very often to the philosophy of language, Nancy demonstrates to what extent he was anything but oblivious to it. He shows, in fact, that the question of "philosophical style," of how to write critical philosophy, goes to the core of Kant's attempt to articulate the limits, once and for all, that would establish human reason in its autonomy and freedom. He also shows how this properly philosophical program, the very pinnacle of the Enlightenment, leads Kant to posit literature as its other by way of what is here called the "syncope," and how this other of philosophy, entirely its product, cannot be said to exist outside of metaphysics in its accomplishment. This subtle, unprecedented reading of Kant demonstrates the continued importance of reflection on the relation between philosophy and literature, indeed, why any commitment to Enlightenment must consider and confront this partition anew.

"12 February 1972--I had slept badly. I decided to go out for breakfast, but when I got down to the street, there was no one there, and I thought, Andy, you must be still dreaming. It was like New York at eight in the morning on New Year's Day. Completely deserted. Everything shut. It's my favorite time to be out, actually. I decided to go to my favorite diner, the Star Palace, on 37th and Madison. And there, sitting alone at the window was, believe it or not, Robert Smithson, who I've met a few times They all think he's a genius. But I still can't get through the stuff he writes in "Artforum." I get a headache almost right away."
Saul Anton, an Editor-at-Large at "Cabinet" magazine who has written for "Salon" and "Artforum," among other publications, describes an imaginary encounter between Robert Smithson and Andy Warhol, drifting together for a day through an empty New York City, talking about entropy, glamour, science fiction, cinema and the art of their times. Published in conjunction with les Presses du reel, this highly informative and witty essay on both artists' works in the form of a fiction could be considered a contemporary Platonic "Symposium,"