Inscriptions: After Phenomenology and Structuralism

by Hugh J. Silverman, Kenneth Silverman

Positioning itself within the Continental tradition, Inscriptions is an interwoven set of investigations into the differences between phenomenology and structuralism, and a cohesive and thoroughgoing inquiry into the contemporary status of Continental philosophy.

In Inscriptions, Hugh J. Silverman investigates two divergent yet related philosophical phenomenology from the later Husserl through Sartre and Heidegger to Merleau-Ponty, and structuralism from de Saussure through Levi-Strauss and Lacan to Barthes. This reading of the tradition culminates in an assessment of Derrida and Foucault. From this foundation, Silverman moves beyond structuralism and phenomenology, and develops his own philosophical position in the context of semiotics, hermeneutics, and deconstruction. A new preface by the author updates this classic text.

416 pages, Paperback

First published October 14, 1987

Reviews

[David Markwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the essays in this collection are quite interesting and stimulating. Silverman has some nuanced interpretations of the seminal thinkers of phenomenology and structuralism, however there was too much focus on Sartre for my taste. Also this book is not for the faint of heart. Silverman really assumes you have an intimate knowledge of the thinkers he is writing about.