Objective Fictions: Philosophy, Psychoanalysis, Marxism - Softcover

Johnston, Adrian; Boštjan Nedoh; Alenka Zupančič

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1474489338 ISBN 13: 9781474489331

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press, 2023

Synopsis

Rethinks objectivity and fiction in contemporary philosophy, psychoanalysis and Marxism beyond the realism nominalism divide Rethinks the concept of objectivity through its relation to fiction beyond their mere opposition Conceptualises 'objective fictions' Highlights a shared background underpinning realist and nominalist approaches to the relation between subjectivity and objectivity Revitalises modern/contemporary philosophical currents, psychoanalytic theory and the Marxist critique of political economy beyond the realism-nominalism divide Includes contributions from a mix of renowned thinkers and from the new generation, including Slavoj i ek, Mladen Dolar, Frank Ruda and Samo Tom i? Relying on contemporary continental philosophy, psychoanalytic theory and the Marxist tradition, this volume moves beyond the deadlock between nominalism and realism. It rethinks the relationship between objectivity and fiction through engaging with a series of 'objective fictions', including fetishes, semblances, lies, rumours, sophistry, fantasies, and conspiracy theories, among other phenomena. What all these phenomena exhibit are paradoxical entanglements of subjectivity with objectivity and of fiction with truth. When it comes to questions of objectivity in current philosophical debates and public discourse, we are witnessing the re-emergence and growing importance of two classical, opposed approaches: nominalism and (metaphysical) realism. Today's nominalist stances, by absolutizing intersubjectivity, are moving towards the abandonment of the very notion of truth and objective reality. By contrast, today's realist positions, including those bound up with scientific discourse, insist on the category of the object-in-itself as irreducible to any kind of subjective mediation. However, despite their seeming mutual exclusivity, both approaches share fundamental presuppositions, namely, those of neat separations between the spheres of subjectivity and objectivity as well as between the realms of fiction and truth.

About this title

About the Author

Adrian Johnston is Distinguished Professor and Chair at the Department of Philosophy, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA. He is the author of Time Driven (2005), i ek's Ontology (2008), Badiou, i ek, and Political Transformations (2009), and Prolegomena to Any Future Materialism, Volume One (2013), all published by Northwestern University Press. He is the co-author, with Catherine Malabou, of Self and Emotional Life (Columbia University Press, 2013).Bo tjan Nedoh is a Research Fellow at the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute of Philosophy, Ljubljana, Slovenia. He has published extensively on Lacanian psychoanalysis, Italian biopolitical theory and contemporary French philosophy.Alenka Zupan?i? is a Research Advisor at the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute of Philosophy, Ljubljana, Slovenia, and Professor at the European Graduate School, Saas-Fee, Switzerland.

From the Back Cover

Rethinking objectivity and fiction in contemporary philosophy and psychoanalysis - beyond the realism-nominalism divide When it comes to the question of objectivity in current philosophical debates, there is a growing prominence of two opposite approaches: nominalism and realism. By absolutising intersubjectivity, the nominalist approach is moving towards the abandonment of the very notion of truth and objective reality. For its part, the realist approach insists on the category of the object-in-itself as irreducible to any kind of subjective mediation. Despite their seeming mutual exclusiveness, both approaches share a fundamental presupposition, namely, that of a neat separation between the spheres of subjectivity and objectivity as well as between fiction and truth. This collection offers a rethinking of the relationship between objectivity and fiction through engaging with a series of 'objective fictions', including such topics as fetishes, semblances, lies, rumours, sophistry, fantasies and conspiracy theories. It does so through engagement with modern and contemporary philosophical traditions and psychoanalytic theory, with all of these orientations being irreducible to either nominalist or realist approaches. Adrian Johnston is Distinguished Professor and Chair at the Department of Philosophy, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA. Bostjan Nedoh is a Research Fellow at the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute of Philosophy, Ljubljana, Slovenia. Alenka Zupančič is a Research Advisor at the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute of Philosophy, Ljubljana, Slovenia, and Professor at the European Graduate School, Saas-Fee, Switzerland.

Edition details

• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1474489338
• ISBN 13: 9781474489331
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272
• Editor: Johnston Adrian, Boštjan Nedoh, Alenka Zupančič