Struggle and Utopia at the End Times of Philosophy

by François Laruelle, Drew S. Burk (Translation)

Very few thinkers have traveled the heretical path that François Laruelle walks between philosophy and non-philosophy. For Laruelle, the future of philosophy is problematic, but a mutation of its functions is possible. Up until now, philosophy has merely been a utopia concerned with the past and only provided the services of its conservation. We must introduce a rigorous and nonimaginary practice of a utopia in action, a philo-fiction—a close relative to science fiction. From here we can see the double meaning of the watchword, a tabula rasa of the future. This new destination is imposed by a specifically human messianism, an eschatology within the limits of the Man-in-person as antihumanist ultimatum addressed to the History of Philosophy. This book elucidates some of the fundamental problems of non-philosophy and takes on its detractors.

Genres: Philosophy

220 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

François Laruelle was a French philosopher, of the Collège international de philosophie and the University of Paris X: Nanterre. Laruelle began publishing in the early 1970s and had around twenty book-length titles to his name. Alumnus of the École normale supérieure, Laruelle was notable for developing a science of philosophy that he calls non-philosophy. Until his death, he directed an international organisation dedicated to furthering the cause of non-philosophy, the Organisation Non-Philosophique Internationale.

Reviews

[Zack2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

S+U starts off with a careful retreading of non-philosophy, reminiscent of Principles of Non-Philosophy. This is followed by a very nice implicit response to Badiou, small responses to Deleuze and Michel Henry, and an extended response to Laruelle's student, Gilles Grelet. I haven't read Grelet yet, but Lareuelle's critique is still very interesting, responding to an overly cutting and zealous reading of non-philosophy as anti-philosophy. This final section also does some very intriguing weaving of political and religious materials.

(This book is also notable for the founding of the Organisation Non-Philosophique Internationale. fun stuff)

[Tom · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have no idea what Laruelle is trying to say. I once had a job copy-editing reviews of specialized publications in mathematics. I never understood of word of that, either, but for some reason I found it enjoyable. Laruelle's book, however, isn't--possibly because I can make sense of individual sentences, but never the ideas that bind them.