Radicalizing Levinas initiates a third wave of Levinas scholarship. If the first wave was aimed at commentary and exposition, and the second focused on situating Levinas with the context of poststructuralism and deconstruction, the third wave is an explicit attempt to situate and explore his work in the context of current social and political problems. A short list of these are: civil war in Iraq, ethnic cleansing in Sudan, ongoing fighting between Palestinians and Israelis, and suicide bombings. Alongside these evils we hear of school shootings, global warming, widespread famine, immeasurable animal suffering, environmental decay, and increasing social and personal disorganization. How can a Levinasian ethics help us make sense of this? Levinas scholars respond and help move from theory to practice by addressing such topics as global justice, feminism, environmentalism, animal liberation, postcolonialism, radical democracy, technology and cybernetics, and psychotherapy. This book is for anyone seeking to understand better how philosophy can inform contemporary life.

Zoographies challenges the anthropocentrism of the Continental philosophical tradition and advances the position that, while some distinctions are valid, humans and animals are best viewed as part of an ontological whole. Matthew Calarco draws on ethological and evolutionary evidence and the work of Heidegger, who called for a radicalized responsibility toward all forms of life. He also turns to Levinas, who raised questions about the nature and scope of ethics; Agamben, who held the "anthropological machine" responsible for the horrors of the twentieth century; and Derrida, who initiated a nonanthropocentric ethics. Calarco concludes with a call for the abolition of classical versions of the human-animal distinction and asks that we devise new ways of thinking about and living with animals.

Giorgio Agamben has come to be recognized in recent years as one of the most provocative and imaginative thinkers in contemporary philosophy and political theory. The essays gathered together in this volume shed light on his extensive body of writings and assess the significance of his work for debates across a wide range of fields, including philosophy, political theory, Jewish studies, and animal studies. The authors discuss material extending across the entire range of Agamben's writings, including such early works as Language and Death and more recent and widely acknowledged works such as Homo Sacer. Readers will find useful discussions of key concepts and theories in Agamben's work, such as sovereignty and bare life, along with more critical analyses of the political stakes and consequences of his theoretical and political interventions.

Emmanuel Levinas and Martin Buber -- considered by many the most important Jewish philosophers since the 12th century sage Maimonides -- knew each other as associates and friends. Yet although their dialogue was instructive at times, and demonstrated the esteem in which Levinas held Buber, in particular, their relationship just as often exhibited a failure to communicate. This volume of essays is intended to resume the important dialogue between the two. Thirteen essays by a wide range of scholars do not attempt to assimilate the two philosopher's respective views to each other. Rather, these discussions provide an occasion to examine their genuine differences -- difference that both Levinas and Buber agreed were required for genuine dialogue to begin.

Product Description: First published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company. (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)