Modern movements in European philosophy: Phenomenology, critical theory, structuralism

by Richard Kearney

In this now classic textbook, Richard Kearney surveys the work of nineteen of this century’s most influential European thinkers, and acts as an introduction to three major movements: phenomenology, critical theory and structuralism.

This edition includes a chapter devoted to Julia Kristeva, whose work in the fields of semiotics and psychoanalytic theory has made a significant contribution to recent continental thought.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

367 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Richard Kearney is the Charles Seelig professor of philosophy at Boston College and has taught at many universities including University College Dublin, the Sorbonne, and the University of Nice.

He studied at Glenstal Abbey under the Benedictines until 1972, and was a 1st Class Honours graduate in Philosophy in the Bachelor of Arts graduate class of 1975 in UCD. He completed an M.A. at McGill University with Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor, and a PhD with Paul Ricœur at University of Paris X: Nanterre. He corresponded with Jean-Paul Sartre, Jacques Derrida and other French philosophers of the era. He was also active in the Irish, British, and French media as a host for various television and radio programs on literary and philosophical themes. His work focuses on the philosophy of the narrative imagination, hermeneutics and phenomenology.

Reviews

[sologdin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is probably a good starting point for someone who doesn't know anything yet beyond the 19th century--knowledge of which is kinda assumed. (if you haven't read Marx, Hegel, Kant, et al., why mess with this stuff?)

It's organized around three schools of thought. It could be organized differently--Derrida is in the phenomenology section but is often thought of for his interaction with structuralism, just as Foucault is presented as part of structuralism but came out of phenomenology. Marcuse is a heideggerian, whereas Lukacs and Gramsci have little association with critical theory stricto sensu, which seems more directly associated with Frankfurt. These are but quibbles, however--the text reads easily and gives some perspective. Very much a text for students.

[Don Dealga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good primer. Kearney writes in an accessible style providing good summary overviews on the thought and impact of some key modern Euro thinkers