Continental Philosophy: An Introduction

by David West

This book is a fully updated and expanded new edition of "An Introduction to Continental Philosophy," first published in 1996. It provides a clear, concise and readable introduction to philosophy in the continental tradition. It is a wide-ranging and reliable guide to the work of such major figures as Nietzsche, Habermas, Heidegger, Arendt, Sartre, Foucault, Derrida and Zižek. At the same time, it situates their thought within a coherent overall account of the development of continental philosophy since the Enlightenment.Individual chapters consider the character of modernity, the Enlightenment and its continental critics; the ideas of Marxism, the Frankfurt School and Habermas; hermeneutics and phenomenology; existentialism; structuralism, post-structuralism and postmodernism. In addition to the thinkers already mentioned, there is extended discussion of the ideas of Kant, Hegel, Dilthey, Husserl, Gadamer, Kierkegaard, de Beauvoir and Lyotard. The new edition includes an additional, full-length chapter on continental philosophy in the twenty-first century focusing on Giorgio Agamben, Alain Badiou and Slavoj Zižek.

"Continental Philosophy: An Introduction" is an invaluable introductory text for courses on continental philosophy as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences dealing with major figures or influential approaches within that tradition.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, History

376 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Librarian note: there is more than one author with this name.

Others:
David 2^ West: GR author, Humor & Comedy, Science Fiction, Fantasy
David 3^ West: Latin professor
David 4^ West: Children's books
David 5^ West: b. 1923
David 6^ West: b. 1948
David 7^ West: Philosophy
David 8^ West: b. 1959
David 9^ West: b. 1964, Adults Travel

Reviews

[Ryan Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

West summarises and renders accessible a massive area of thought, though as with any introduction to such a broad range of difficult ideas and their proponents, some concessions are invariably made. Perhaps being more comfortable in political theory, he more readily sinks his teeth into the political inclinations of the Frankfurt School and the so-called 'Postmodernists', giving a more thorough (if no less introductory) explication than he does of the density of Hegel or Heidegger. One positive that comes with the more politically focused second half of the book though is the improved narrative flow.

His biases begin to show through when it comes to the socio-political aspects of certain thinkers, in how bluntly he questions the legitimacy of some (Agamben), while sticking up for others (Habermas), after offering the mandatory critical gaze. To be fair, compared to the bluntness with which Bertrand Russell dealt with his subjects, this does not seem so much of a problem.

The absence of Deleuze, however, is inexcusable. He is a ghostly figure, who is mentioned only in passing (on three occasions), seemingly to tick his name off the list, without giving any information on him other than the fact that he was friends with Foucault.

[Jaclynn (JackieReadsAlot) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Why are we constantly tempted to relinquish our authentic existence and to abdicate our freedom? The reason is that authentic existence - an existence lived in the full awareness of our freedom to act, to realize our own projects rather than projects of the 'they' - is an extremely arduous state. Awareness of freedom is inseparable from anxiety. It is much easier simply to 'go with the flow' and to conform to the everyday."
-David West, re the work of Martin Heidegger

I appreciate that it is written in a linear way, focusing on the history of philosophical movements.

[Eugene Pustoshkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Одна из самых интересных книг, которые я читал за последнее время. Однако есть и минусы — создаётся впечатление, что не все разделы (не все философы) одинаково знакомы и симпатичны автору, что вполне нормально. Наименее убедительным оказался раздел по Фуко, зато по Канту, Гегелю, Хайдеггеру и ряду других философов очень хорошо. Разделы по постструктурализму, постмодернизму и заключительная глава оказались менее впечатляющими. Очень рекомендую эту книгу как введение в континентальную философию. Даётся список литературы для дальнейшего чтения. То есть можно просто начинать ветвиться и постепенно изучать всё.

[Kamil Muhammad · Rating 4 out of 5]

What this book does best is putting the Western philosophical cannon into a mostly-linear narration, which helps the reader understand the theoretical (and, at times, socio-political) condition that produced the philosophical thought that dominates each of the eras. West's ability to write succinctly is an effort much appreciated, given the oft-felt obscurantist nature of Continental Philosophy. What is remarkable, though, is the lack of any focus on Deleuze that personally feels quite like a 'gap' between the discussion of Foucault and Derrida. Nevertheless, this is a book I recommend to philosophy enthusiast.

[David Withun · Rating 4 out of 5]

-

[Selin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read 6/8 chapters as part of my supervised literature review for Continental 101. It was a useful companion alongside the original texts assigned and helped situate thinkers on a timeline and sketch out their thoughts in very broad strokes-- though also sometimes in detail too, which felt slightly inconsistent. Some of the more fine grained explorations were really helpful; I appreciate the Sartre and exitententialism section. Other sections were more enigmatic, like hermeneutics. It is definitely a book that is meant to accompany other material, otherwise most of what is written would fly over my head since it is so panoramic. With any concept introduced, one definitely needs to do further research. So it mostly functions as a guide book to navigate oneself towards the correct direction more than anything. I'll keep it around for reference. Also, I appreciate the further reading guide in the end of each chapter.

[Brian Barnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I met Hilary Putnam years ago as an undergraduate, he advised us young philosophers to read the continental thinkers, expressing his sentiment that the analytic folk have a lot to learn from them. Having already developed an analytic bent by that time, I was skeptical of this advice. This book simply further confirmed my skepticism. Still, this is probably about as good an overview of continental thought as could be presented in a single volume. Some parts could use more clarity--especially the section on Heidegger, though I'm not sure whether this is West's fault or Heidegger's (my guess would be the latter).

[Luke Echo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise summary of major themese of continental philosophy since Kant.