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Figures of the Thinkable
In this posthumous collection of writings, Cornelius Castoriadis (1922-1997) pursues his incisive analysis of modern society, the philosophical basis of our ability to change it, and the points of intersection between his many approaches to this theme. His main philosophical postulate, that the human subject and society are not predetermined, asserts the primacy of creation and the possibility of creative, autonomous activity in every domain. This argument is combined with penetrating political and social criticism, opening numerous avenues of critical thought and action. The book’s wide-ranging topics include the core worldview of ancient Athens, where the idea of self-creation and self-limitation made democracy possible; the wealth of poetic resources; a deconstruction of the so-called rationality of capitalism and of the current conception of democracy, along with a discussion of what a radical, revolutionary project means today; the role of what he calls the radical imagination in the creation of both societal institutions and history; the roots of hate; a psychoanalytic view of human development torn between heteronomy and autonomy; the role of education in forming autonomous individuals; and notions of chaos, space, and number.
- GenresPhilosophy
303 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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About the author
Cornelius Castoriadis
173 books170 followersCornelius Castoriadis (Greek: Κορνήλιος Καστοριάδης) was a Greek philosopher, social critic, economist, psychoanalyst, author of The Imaginary Institution of Society, and co-founder of the Socialisme ou Barbarie group.
Edgar Morin proposed that Castoriadis' work will be remembered for its remarkable continuity and coherence as well as for its extraordinary breadth which was "encyclopaedic" in the original Greek sense, for it offered us a "paideia," or education, that brought full circle our cycle of otherwise compartmentalized knowledge in the arts and sciences. Castoriadis wrote essays on mathematics, physics, biology, anthropology, psychoanalysis, linguistics, society, economics, politics, philosophy, and art.
One of Castoriadis' many important contributions to social theory was the idea that social change involves radical discontinuities that cannot be understood in terms of any determinate causes or presented as a sequence of events. Change emerges through the social imaginary without determinations, but in order to be socially recognized must be instituted as revolution. Any knowledge of society and social change “can exist only by referring to, or by positing, singular entities…which figure and presentify social imaginary significations.”
Castoriadis used traditional terms as much as possible, though consistently redefining them. Further, some of his terminology changed throughout the later part of his career, with the terms gaining greater consistency but breaking from their traditional meaning (neologisms). When reading Castoriadis, it is helpful to understand what he means by the terms he uses, since he does not redefine the terms in every piece where he employs them.
Castoriadis has influenced European (especially continental) thought in important ways. His interventions in sociological and political theory have resulted in some of the most well-known writing to emerge from the continent (especially in the figure of Jürgen Habermas, who often can be seen to be writing against Castoriadis). Hans Joas published a number of articles in American journals in order to highlight the importance of Castoriadis' work to a North American sociological audience, and the enduring importance of Johann P. Arnason, both for his critical engagement with Castoriadis' thought, but also for his sustained efforts to introduce Castoriadis' thought to the English speaking public (especially during his editorship of the journal Thesis Eleven) must also be noted. In the last few years, there has been growing interest in Castoriadis’s thought, including the publication of two monographs authored by Arnason's former students: Jeff Klooger's Castoriadis: Psyche, Society, Autonomy (Brill), and Suzi Adams's Castoriadis's Ontology: Being and Creation (Fordham University Press).
Edgar Morin proposed that Castoriadis' work will be remembered for its remarkable continuity and coherence as well as for its extraordinary breadth which was "encyclopaedic" in the original Greek sense, for it offered us a "paideia," or education, that brought full circle our cycle of otherwise compartmentalized knowledge in the arts and sciences. Castoriadis wrote essays on mathematics, physics, biology, anthropology, psychoanalysis, linguistics, society, economics, politics, philosophy, and art.
One of Castoriadis' many important contributions to social theory was the idea that social change involves radical discontinuities that cannot be understood in terms of any determinate causes or presented as a sequence of events. Change emerges through the social imaginary without determinations, but in order to be socially recognized must be instituted as revolution. Any knowledge of society and social change “can exist only by referring to, or by positing, singular entities…which figure and presentify social imaginary significations.”
Castoriadis used traditional terms as much as possible, though consistently redefining them. Further, some of his terminology changed throughout the later part of his career, with the terms gaining greater consistency but breaking from their traditional meaning (neologisms). When reading Castoriadis, it is helpful to understand what he means by the terms he uses, since he does not redefine the terms in every piece where he employs them.
Castoriadis has influenced European (especially continental) thought in important ways. His interventions in sociological and political theory have resulted in some of the most well-known writing to emerge from the continent (especially in the figure of Jürgen Habermas, who often can be seen to be writing against Castoriadis). Hans Joas published a number of articles in American journals in order to highlight the importance of Castoriadis' work to a North American sociological audience, and the enduring importance of Johann P. Arnason, both for his critical engagement with Castoriadis' thought, but also for his sustained efforts to introduce Castoriadis' thought to the English speaking public (especially during his editorship of the journal Thesis Eleven) must also be noted. In the last few years, there has been growing interest in Castoriadis’s thought, including the publication of two monographs authored by Arnason's former students: Jeff Klooger's Castoriadis: Psyche, Society, Autonomy (Brill), and Suzi Adams's Castoriadis's Ontology: Being and Creation (Fordham University Press).
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January 9, 2025O feito de como plantexa a relación cos textos e as relación connosco os mesmos e o que de momento máis me interesou. Tenho pegas, e a lectura faise algo pesada e engorrosa a ratos. Aínda así a súa vision sobre o mundo do texto, o discurso, a historia son moi estimulantes.
A gran pega que atopei agora mesmo nesta primeira lectura e a súa definición sobre ideoloxía e utopía. Veas como elementos contrarios e creo que non poderia estar mais desacertado. A utopía non é máis que a reivindicación dun mundo distinto, pero o teu sistema alterno construese en base a definicións negativas do presente polo que no propio momento de plantexalo necesitas da ideoloxía, esta é o que vertebra a utopía polo que non deixa de ser máis que o brazo imaxinativo da ideoloxía é inherente a el. Plantexalas dun xeito de dicotomía paréceme tramposo porque non ten ningún elemento dicotomico ou diverxente. Ademais que presentar os lados malos de ambas: a utopía como elemento patolóxico que roza o esquizofrénico fronte a ideoloxía que rozaria o ocultamento e a reivindicación da autoridade etc para acabar despois asimilando os dous elementos, como que poden colaborar de forma unida. Pero eu afirmo que non, é polo feito de que non son contrapostos, sempre estiveraron unidas. A utopía non é máis que o plantexamento de realidades alternas respecto ás presentes que a través de un sistema ideolóxico se vértebra. Sen a ideoloxía, a utopía non ten contido únicamente a negación do presente. Un modelo ideal necesita sempre dunha ideoloxía. O feito de que se de distopía por exemplo é a idea dun mundo peor ao presente que cada un rechea da ideoloxía que considera.
A gran pega que atopei agora mesmo nesta primeira lectura e a súa definición sobre ideoloxía e utopía. Veas como elementos contrarios e creo que non poderia estar mais desacertado. A utopía non é máis que a reivindicación dun mundo distinto, pero o teu sistema alterno construese en base a definicións negativas do presente polo que no propio momento de plantexalo necesitas da ideoloxía, esta é o que vertebra a utopía polo que non deixa de ser máis que o brazo imaxinativo da ideoloxía é inherente a el. Plantexalas dun xeito de dicotomía paréceme tramposo porque non ten ningún elemento dicotomico ou diverxente. Ademais que presentar os lados malos de ambas: a utopía como elemento patolóxico que roza o esquizofrénico fronte a ideoloxía que rozaria o ocultamento e a reivindicación da autoridade etc para acabar despois asimilando os dous elementos, como que poden colaborar de forma unida. Pero eu afirmo que non, é polo feito de que non son contrapostos, sempre estiveraron unidas. A utopía non é máis que o plantexamento de realidades alternas respecto ás presentes que a través de un sistema ideolóxico se vértebra. Sen a ideoloxía, a utopía non ten contido únicamente a negación do presente. Un modelo ideal necesita sempre dunha ideoloxía. O feito de que se de distopía por exemplo é a idea dun mundo peor ao presente que cada un rechea da ideoloxía que considera.
May 4, 2008
Latest Castoriadis text I've read. Some ultra-left friends don't read past the 'Socialisme ou Barbarie' texts, concerned that CC's radical edge was dulled. I don't agree. His writing remained radical, and always clear when discussing politics and democratic theory. But even the philosophical texts ... with section headings like Koinonia, Logos, Poeisis, Polis, Psyche--well a reader must be curious. Caution: like Adorno can get technical about music, Castoriadis may do that with mathematics, though don't know if CC's math skills compared with Adorno's music....
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