From Alienation to Forms of Life: The Critical Theory of Rahel Jaeggi

by Amy Allen, Eduardo Mendieta (Editor)

The wide-ranging work of Rahel Jaeggi, a leading voice of the new generation of critical theorists, demonstrates how core concepts and methodological approaches in the tradition of the Frankfurt School can be updated, stripped of their dubious metaphysical baggage, and made fruitful for critical theory in the twenty-first century. In this thorough introduction to Jaeggi’s work for English-speaking audiences, scholars assess and critique her efforts to revitalize critical theory. Jaeggi’s innovative work reclaims key concepts of Hegelian-Marxist social philosophy and reads them through the lens of such thinkers as Adorno, Heidegger, and Dewey, while simultaneously putting them into dialogue with contemporary analytic philosophy. Structured for classroom use, this critical introduction to Rahel Jaeggi is an insightful and generative confrontation with the most recent transformation of Frankfurt School–inspired social and philosophical critical theory. This volume features an essay by Jaeggi on moral progress and social change, essays by leading scholars engaging with her conceptual analysis of alienation and the critique of forms of life, and a Q&A between Jaeggi and volume coeditor Amy Allen. For scholars and students wishing to engage in the debate with key contemporary thinkers over the past, present, and future(s) of critical theory, this volume will be transformative.

256 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 22, 2018

About the author

Amy Allen is a Liberal Arts Research Professor of Philosophy and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at The Pennsylvania State University, and she is also the current Department Head. Previously, she was the Parents Distinguished Research Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Philosophy and Gender and Women's Studies at Dartmouth College, and was Chair of the Department of Philosophy from 2006-2012. Her research takes a critical approach to feminist approaches of power, examines the relationship between power and autonomy in the constitution of the subject, and attempts to broaden traditional feminist understandings of power to apply to transnational issues.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Caleb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice collection of essays discussing various aspects of Jaeggi's critical theory, including an introductory essay by Jaeggi and a long response to the essays in the volume. Jaeggi's work centers upon a formal theory of progress, an account of how forms of life, ensembles of practices and institutions, can be understood to make progress, when and if they do make such progress. Her account links Hegel's idea of determinate negation, with MacIntyre's theory of traditions and epistemological crises, and Dewey's idea of practical learning processes. Very briefly, the core idea is that forms of life periodically encounter crises, problems defined on their own terms and for which solutions are not readily apparent (compare MacIntyre). But such crises are 'productive,' in a non-evaluative sense; they are productive because the crisis points toward a definite solution such that the pre- and post-crisis are not merely different but bear a determinate logical relationship (what Hegel's calls a determinate negation). Finally, such changes can be evaluated in terms of whether they are ad hoc and exclusionary, i.e., based upon efforts to limit anomalous factors, and whether they promote solutions that attempt to limit similar anomalous factors. Jaeggi offers a fascinating account of rationality and this book provide much to think about.