Reflections of Equality (Cultural Memory in the Present) - Hardcover

Book 91 of 213: Cultural Memory in the Present

Menke, Christoph

 
9780804744737: Reflections of Equality (Cultural Memory in the Present)
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0804744734 ISBN 13: 9780804744737
Publisher: Stanford University Press, 2006

Synopsis

The book argues that the center of political modernity is determined by a conflictive relation between the liberal core concept of political equality and the idea of individuality.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

Christoph Menke is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Potsdam, Germany. He is the author of four books in German. The Sovereignty of Art: Aesthetic Negativity in Adorno and Derrida (1999) was his first book translated into English.

From the Back Cover

This book brings a new perspective--mainly out of German intellectual discussions rooted in Hegel--to bear on the problems of equality as discussed in Anglo-American conceptions of liberalism. Menke argues that the idea of equality is at the heart of political modernity. At the same time, political modernity is characterized by an attitude of critical reflection on the notion of equality in view of its consequences for the lives of individuals. This book explores the sources and legitimacy as well as the limitations and problems of this attitude toward equality in the work of such thinkers as Adorno, Habermas, Derrida, Hegel, Luhmann, Nietzsche, Rawls, and Schmitt. Looking at key texts in modern political philosophy, the author develops the claim that there is a basic and irreconcilable conflict in justice: between general demands of equality and attention to the individual. In a debate with contemporary Anglo-American liberal philosophy's concepts of rights, the political process is thereby understood as an interminable strife and negotation between equality and individuality.

From the Inside Flap

This book brings a new perspective--mainly out of German intellectual discussions rooted in Hegel--to bear on the problems of equality as discussed in Anglo-American conceptions of liberalism. Menke argues that the idea of equality is at the heart of political modernity. At the same time, political modernity is characterized by an attitude of critical reflection on the notion of equality in view of its consequences for the lives of individuals. This book explores the sources and legitimacy as well as the limitations and problems of this attitude toward equality in the work of such thinkers as Adorno, Habermas, Derrida, Hegel, Luhmann, Nietzsche, Rawls, and Schmitt. Looking at key texts in modern political philosophy, the author develops the claim that there is a basic and irreconcilable conflict in justice: between general demands of equality and attention to the individual. In a debate with contemporary Anglo-American liberal philosophy's concepts of rights, the political process is thereby understood as an interminable strife and negotation between equality and individuality.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Stanford University Press
Publication date
2006
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0804744734
ISBN 13 
9780804744737
Binding
Hardcover
Number of pages
248

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780804744744: Reflections of Equality (Cultural Memory in the Present)

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  0804744742 ISBN 13:  9780804744744
Publisher: Stanford University Press, 2006
Softcover