The Security Principle: From Serenity to Regulation

Description

In The Security Principle, French philosopher Frederic Gros takes a historical approach to the concept of "security", looking at its evolution from the Stoics to the social network. With lucidity and rigour, Gros's approach is fourfold, looking at security as a mental state, as developed by the Greeks; as an objective situation and absence of all danger, as prevailed in the Middle Ages; as guaranteed by the nation state and its trio of judiciary, police and military; and finally "biosecurity", control, regulation and protection in the flux of contemporary society. In this deeply thought-provoking account, Gros's exploration of security shines a light both on its past meanings as well as its present uses, exposing the contemporary abuses of security and the pervasiveness of it in everyday life in the Global North.

Frederic Gros is a professor of philosophy at the University of Paris XII and the Institute of Political Studies, Paris. He was the editor of the last lectures of Michel Foucault at the College de France. He has written books on psychiatry, law and war as well as the best-selling A Philosophy of Walking. He lives in Paris.

Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: A passionate affirmation of the simple life, and joy in simple things. And it's beautifully written: clear, simple, precise. -- Carole Cadwalladr * Observer * Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: Poignant life-stories ... are interspersed with the author's own meditations on walking... In the way a landscape is gradually absorbed by the long-distance rambler they steadily build into an insistent exhortation: get up, get out and walk! -- James Attlee * Independent * Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: Life-affirming stuff. * National Geographic Traveler * Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: Impressive. -- Tom Payne * Daily Telegraph * Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: Philosopher Gros ponders walking, that most mundane mode of transportation or exercise, elevating it to its rightful place in inspiring creativity, evoking freedom, and quieting a troubled soul. * Booklist * Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: This elegant book inspires consideration of an oft-overlooked subject. * Publisher's Weekly * Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: An admirable little book which will delight even the most sedentary. * Le Monde * Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: An unclassifiable book in which ideas are illuminated by the bright light of the morning. * L'Express * Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: Resolving to take more walks in the new year might sound like promising to take more naps - choosing idleness over work. But a lot of clever people don't see it that way [...] Frederic Gros asks why so many of our most productive writers and philosophers - Rousseau, Kant, Rimbaud, Robert Louis Stevenson, Nietzsche, Jack Kerouac - have also been indefatigable walkers. -- Christopher Caldwell * Financial times * Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: This short, simple and profound book... will be read and re-read. -- Laurence Coupe * Times Higher Education * Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: Unpretentious and refreshing. -- Jonathon Sturgeon * Flavorwire * Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: A long walk, Gros suggests, allows us to commune with the sublime. -- Lauren Elkin * New York Times * Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: Celebrates the liberation of the mind that comes with walking, especially in natural areas: I hike, therefore, I am. -- Matt Jaffe Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: A Philosophy of Walking moved me to think in greater depth about my walks. The book, written with great clarity, conveys Gros' thoughts about walking, and a discussion of various thinkers (Thoreau, Kant, Rousseau) for whom walking was essentially a contemplative act. -- Leonard Quart Frederic Gros's genealogy of security is an outstanding study in political thought. Security Principle covers a lot of ground, from Ancient Greece to contemporary biopolitics, illuminating key transformations in the meaning of the concept of security. Written in a lucid and accessible way, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in how we have come to be so insecure about security. -- Sergei Prozorov, University of Jyvaskyla In this veritable tour de force, Gros offers an erudite and engaging journey in the history of Western philosophy. He shows how different meanings of security have been sedimented, layer by layer, across thinkers and traditions and the ways in which these meanings are reconfigured in our present. Ultimately, Gros alerts us to the silent siren of security that dangerously allures us while it muffles the promise of politics: the possibility and the hope of changing the world. -- Banu Bargu, University of California, Santa Cruz