Postscript on Insignificance: Dialogues with Cornelius Castoriadis

Description

Cornelius Castoriadis (1922-1997) was a philosopher, social critic, political activist, practicing psychoanalyst and professional economist. His work is widely recognized as one of the most singular and important contributions to twentieth-century thought. In this collection of interviews, Castoriadis discusses some of his most important ideas with leading figures in the disciplines that play such a crucial part in his philosophical work: poetry, psychoanalysis, biology and mathematics. Available in English for the first time, these interviews provide a concise and accessible introduction to his work as a whole, allowing him to draw on the astounding breadth of his knowledge (ranging from political theory and sociology to ontology and the philosophy of science). They also render Castoriadis' cutting, polemical and entertaining style while displaying the originality and clarity of his primary concepts. Intellectually provoking, this timely collection shows how Castoriadis' polemics are sharp and riveting, his conceptual manoeuvres rigorous and original, and his passion inspiring. This is an excellent introduction to one of Europe's most important intellectuals.

Cornelius Castoriadis (1922-1997) was a Greek-French philosopher, economist and psychoanalyst. He taught at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris and is best known for The Imaginary Institution of Society (trans. Kathleen Blamey, MIT Press, 1998). He is widely recognized as one of the foremost European thinkers of the twentieth century. Gabriel Rockhill is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Villanova University, USA. He also teaches at the Centre Parisien d'Etudes Critiques and the College International de Philosophie, France. He is the author of Logique de l'histoire: Pour une analytique des pratiques philosophiques (Editions Hermann, 2010) and Pour un historicisme radical: Entre esthetique et politique avec Ranciere (Editions du Sandre, forthcoming).

Reviewed in Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture Vol. 8/ No. 2/ Summer 2011.