Raymond Geuss Livres

Raymond Geuss's essays showcase his deep engagement with philosophy as a tool to explore contemporary political issues, blending insights from European languages, history, literature, art, and music. His work addresses the complexities of human experience alongside pressing global challenges such as war, environmental crises, and political apathy. The collection highlights Geuss's thoughtful and original approach, affirming his reputation as a significant philosopher in today's discourse.

Challenging conventional moral and political philosophy, this collection of essays by Raymond Geuss critiques the dominant Western focus on individual preferences, knowledge, and action restrictions. Geuss argues for a broader understanding of what matters in human life, incorporating elements like poetry, art, religion, and social criticism that defy traditional ethical categories. By exploring these overlooked areas, the work invites readers to reconsider the boundaries of ethics and the complexities of human experience beyond mainstream thought.

Many influential ethical views depend on the optimistic assumption that the human and natural world could be made to make sense to humanity. Geuss's essays challenge this assumption, exploring the genesis and historical development of this optimistic configuration in ethical thought and describing the ways in which it has shown itself to be unfounded and misguided. Discussions of Greco-Roman antiquity and of the philosophies of Socrates, Plato, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, and Adorno play a central role in many of these essays. Geuss also ranges over such topics as: the concepts of intelligibility, authority, democracy, and criticism; the role of lying in politics; architecture; the place of theology in ethics; tragedy and comedy; and the struggle between realism and our search for meaning. A World without Why raises fundamental questions about the viability not just of specific ethical concepts and theses, but of our most basic assumptions about what ethics could and must be. -- Adapted from dust jacket flaps

Challenging the conventional liberal distinction between public and private realms, this book critiques the limitations of current political thought. Through engaging examples from the ancient world, the author argues for a more nuanced understanding of how human actions can be categorized. By exposing the flaws in the prevailing views, it invites readers to reconsider the implications of this dichotomy on our understanding of human goods and the role of the state in addressing them.

For Raymond Geuss, philosophers' attempts to bypass normal ways of thinking-to point out that the question being asked is itself misguided-represents philosophy at its best. By provoking people to think differently, philosophers make clear that we are not fated to live within the stifling systems of thought we inherit. We can change the subject.

This collection delves into the intricate relationships between ethics, aesthetics, and the philosophy of history, offering thought-provoking insights and analyses. Each essay explores how moral considerations shape artistic expression and historical narratives, encouraging readers to reflect on the interconnectedness of these fields. The work invites a deeper understanding of the philosophical underpinnings that influence our perceptions of art and morality throughout time.

Philosophers-professionals and the armchair variety-are given to defending comprehensive world views. Raymond Geuss, one of the most celebrated thinkers of our time, dispenses with this ambition for intellectual unity. Ranging across the history of art and ideas, Geuss argues for flexibility, doubt, and the accommodation of unresolved complexity.

Raymond Geuss is a critic of liberalism, a politics so pervasive in the West that it goes unnoticed. His attention sharpened by his own unorthodox intellectual journey, Geuss locates what we fail to see in the status quo: its shallowness and futility. Rejecting both authoritarian horror and liberal complacency, Geuss looks to genuinely new ideas.

Raymond Geuss offers a critical examination of key themes in Western political thought, delving into the ideas and philosophies that have shaped political discourse. His analysis challenges conventional perspectives, inviting readers to reconsider foundational concepts and their implications for contemporary politics. Through a nuanced exploration of various thinkers and ideologies, the work encourages a deeper understanding of the complexities and dynamics within political philosophy.

The purpose of this series is to help make contemporary European philosophy intelligible to a wider audience in the English-speaking world, and to suggest its interest and importance in particular to those trained in analytical philosophy.