Contemporary French Philosophy: Modernity and the Persistence of the Subject

by Caroline Williams

"Caroline Williams marks what is distinctive about 20th Century French philosophy's interrogation of the subject and demonstrates its historical continuity in a lucid, balanced and utterly convincing way."
David Wood, Vanderbilt University

French philosophy and cultural theory continue to hold a prestigious and influential position in European thought. One of the central themes of contemporary French philosophy is its concern with the theoretical and political status of the subject, a question which has been broached by structuralists and poststructuralists through an analysis of the construction of the subject in and by language, discourse, power and ideology.

Contemporary French Philosophy outlines the construction of the subject in modern philosophy, focusing in particular on the seminal work of Althusser, Lacan, Derrida and Foucault. The book interrogates some of the most influential perspectives on the question of the subject to contest those postmodern voices which announce its disappearance or death. It argues instead that the question of the subject persists, even in those perspectives which seek to abandon it altogether.

Providing a broad introduction to the field and an original analysis of some of the most influential theorists of the 20th century, the book will be of great interest to political and literary theorists, cultural historians, as well as to philosophers.

Genres: Philosophy

272 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2001

Reviews

[Jasper L · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book difficult to read. Literally often struggled to hold sentences in my head. I would get to the end of a sentence and none of it had sunk in. This was strange as it wasn’t overly dense or difficult. Maybe the writing style? Probably me.

It’s a useful survey of key thinkers who are often seen as being a part of this whole ‘death of the subject’ thing and Williams is correct to illustrate that this is a poor characterisation as in many ways the question of the subject persists for all these thinkers. This tension is said to be characteristic of modern philosophy and contemporary French philosophy (these are surely not the same thing?!) and ultimately questioning the subject’s status gives it some level of existence. As what? Depends on the question I guess

Realistically though, if you don’t believe that there’s been some ‘death of the subject’ achieved by structuralist or poststructuralist philosophy then this becomes a survey of key thinkers. Not not useful, but it is heavily referenced throughout and mainly interested in drawing a shared theoretical concern between thinkers by pointing to their texts for evidence. The scope is huge.

It did seem like Butler ended up doing most of the novel or creative work at the end of the last chapter on Foucault.

[Eduardo Goye · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are familiar with the Continental tradition of philosophy, you will benefit from the systematic outline this book has to offer. You won't find radical new information, but you'll revisit concepts and ideas that will spark renewed interest. Sadly, the author seems to rely heavily on secondary readings, so if you are familiar with (for example) Hegel, you will not see the author actually discussing Hegel, but merely Kojeve's interpretation of the Hegelian system. It seems like a missed opportunity, but at the same time, nobody can be an expert on every author. So read it with a pinch of salt, and enjoy the ride. This book does a good job at keeping you engaged with the main arguments of the philosophers in question, but is not designed to be a reliable source for getting the full grasp of the authors.

If you already know the concepts, you'll find it well written and very clear. At the same time, it might be a bit too technical for new readers.

[John Kieffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. The ideal reader would be someone with a prior extensive background in philosophical reading, rather than the general reader. The author tells us what one can learn about the concept of the subject in philosophy from the writings of Althusser, Lacan, Derrida, and Foucault. The book is so larded with philosophical terminology and jargon that it would have benefited from the inclusion of a glossary.