"What Is an Apparatus?" and Other Essays

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Political
Cover of the book "What Is an Apparatus?" and Other Essays by Giorgio Agamben, Stanford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Giorgio Agamben ISBN: 9781503600041
Publisher: Stanford University Press Publication: May 1, 2009
Imprint: Stanford University Press Language: English
Author: Giorgio Agamben
ISBN: 9781503600041
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Publication: May 1, 2009
Imprint: Stanford University Press
Language: English

The three essays collected in this book offer a succinct introduction to Agamben's recent work through an investigation of Foucault's notion of the apparatus, a meditation on the intimate link of philosophy to friendship, and a reflection on contemporariness, or the singular relation one may have to one's own time.

"Apparatus" (dispositif in French) is at once a most ubiquitous and nebulous concept in Foucault's later thought. In a text bearing the same name ("What is a dispositif?") Deleuze managed to contribute its mystification, but Agamben's leading essay illuminates the notion: "I will call an apparatus," he writes, "literally anything that has in some way the capacity to capture, orient, determine, intercept, model, control, or secure the gestures, behaviors, opinions, or discourses of living beings." Seen from this perspective, Agamben's work, like Foucault's, may be described as the identification and investigation of apparatuses, together with incessant attempts to find new ways to dismantle them.

Though philosophy contains the notion of philos, or friend, in its very name, philosophers tend to be very skeptical about friendship. In his second essay, Agamben tries to dispel this skepticism by showing that at the heart of friendship and philosophy, but also at the core of politics, lies the same experience: the shared sensation of being.

Guided by the question, "What does it mean to be contemporary?" Agamben begins the third essay with a reading of Nietzsche's philosophy and Mandelstam's poetry, proceeding from these to an exploration of such diverse fields as fashion, neurophysiology, messianism and astrophysics.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The three essays collected in this book offer a succinct introduction to Agamben's recent work through an investigation of Foucault's notion of the apparatus, a meditation on the intimate link of philosophy to friendship, and a reflection on contemporariness, or the singular relation one may have to one's own time.

"Apparatus" (dispositif in French) is at once a most ubiquitous and nebulous concept in Foucault's later thought. In a text bearing the same name ("What is a dispositif?") Deleuze managed to contribute its mystification, but Agamben's leading essay illuminates the notion: "I will call an apparatus," he writes, "literally anything that has in some way the capacity to capture, orient, determine, intercept, model, control, or secure the gestures, behaviors, opinions, or discourses of living beings." Seen from this perspective, Agamben's work, like Foucault's, may be described as the identification and investigation of apparatuses, together with incessant attempts to find new ways to dismantle them.

Though philosophy contains the notion of philos, or friend, in its very name, philosophers tend to be very skeptical about friendship. In his second essay, Agamben tries to dispel this skepticism by showing that at the heart of friendship and philosophy, but also at the core of politics, lies the same experience: the shared sensation of being.

Guided by the question, "What does it mean to be contemporary?" Agamben begins the third essay with a reading of Nietzsche's philosophy and Mandelstam's poetry, proceeding from these to an exploration of such diverse fields as fashion, neurophysiology, messianism and astrophysics.

More books from Stanford University Press

Cover of the book Law and the Stranger by Giorgio Agamben
Cover of the book Navigating Austerity by Giorgio Agamben
Cover of the book Power in Uncertain Times by Giorgio Agamben
Cover of the book Voting Together by Giorgio Agamben
Cover of the book Romantic Nationalism in Eastern Europe by Giorgio Agamben
Cover of the book Global Responses to Maritime Violence by Giorgio Agamben
Cover of the book Haunting History by Giorgio Agamben
Cover of the book Introductory Econometrics by Giorgio Agamben
Cover of the book Desert Borderland by Giorgio Agamben
Cover of the book Gruesome Spectacles by Giorgio Agamben
Cover of the book The Poetics of Appropriation by Giorgio Agamben
Cover of the book Consuming Desires by Giorgio Agamben
Cover of the book Dreaming of Dry Land by Giorgio Agamben
Cover of the book The Fire and the Tale by Giorgio Agamben
Cover of the book Philip Selznick by Giorgio Agamben
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy