Becoming Undone

Darwinian Reflections on Life, Politics, and Art

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Biological Sciences, Evolution, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Gender Studies, Women&
Cover of the book Becoming Undone by Elizabeth Grosz, Duke University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Elizabeth Grosz ISBN: 9780822394433
Publisher: Duke University Press Publication: September 12, 2011
Imprint: Duke University Press Books Language: English
Author: Elizabeth Grosz
ISBN: 9780822394433
Publisher: Duke University Press
Publication: September 12, 2011
Imprint: Duke University Press Books
Language: English

In Becoming Undone, Elizabeth Grosz addresses three related concepts—life, politics, and art—by exploring the implications of Charles Darwin’s account of the evolution of species. Challenging characterizations of Darwin’s work as a form of genetic determinism, Grosz shows that his writing reveals an insistence on the difference between natural selection and sexual selection, the principles that regulate survival and attractiveness, respectively. Sexual selection complicates natural selection by introducing aesthetic factors and the expression of individual will, desire, or pleasure. Grosz explores how Darwin’s theory of sexual selection transforms philosophy, our understanding of humanity in its male and female forms, our ideas of political relations, and our concepts of art. Connecting the naturalist’s work to the writings of Bergson, Deleuze, and Irigaray, she outlines a postmodern Darwinism that understands all of life as forms of competing and coordinating modes of openness. Although feminists have been suspicious of the concepts of nature and biology central to Darwin’s work, Grosz proposes that his writings are a rich resource for developing a more politicized, radical, and far-reaching feminist understanding of matter, nature, biology, time, and becoming.

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

In Becoming Undone, Elizabeth Grosz addresses three related concepts—life, politics, and art—by exploring the implications of Charles Darwin’s account of the evolution of species. Challenging characterizations of Darwin’s work as a form of genetic determinism, Grosz shows that his writing reveals an insistence on the difference between natural selection and sexual selection, the principles that regulate survival and attractiveness, respectively. Sexual selection complicates natural selection by introducing aesthetic factors and the expression of individual will, desire, or pleasure. Grosz explores how Darwin’s theory of sexual selection transforms philosophy, our understanding of humanity in its male and female forms, our ideas of political relations, and our concepts of art. Connecting the naturalist’s work to the writings of Bergson, Deleuze, and Irigaray, she outlines a postmodern Darwinism that understands all of life as forms of competing and coordinating modes of openness. Although feminists have been suspicious of the concepts of nature and biology central to Darwin’s work, Grosz proposes that his writings are a rich resource for developing a more politicized, radical, and far-reaching feminist understanding of matter, nature, biology, time, and becoming.

More books from Duke University Press

Cover of the book A Primer for Teaching Environmental History by Elizabeth Grosz
Cover of the book Hip Hop Desis by Elizabeth Grosz
Cover of the book Entre Nous by Elizabeth Grosz
Cover of the book Mothering through Precarity by Elizabeth Grosz
Cover of the book Criminal Man by Elizabeth Grosz
Cover of the book Becoming Imperial Citizens by Elizabeth Grosz
Cover of the book The Promise of the Foreign by Elizabeth Grosz
Cover of the book Jungle Laboratories by Elizabeth Grosz
Cover of the book Red Tape by Elizabeth Grosz
Cover of the book Extra/Ordinary by Elizabeth Grosz
Cover of the book Steel Chair to the Head by Elizabeth Grosz
Cover of the book Feminist Accused of Sexual Harassment by Elizabeth Grosz
Cover of the book Photography and the Optical Unconscious by Elizabeth Grosz
Cover of the book Sick Building Syndrome and the Problem of Uncertainty by Elizabeth Grosz
Cover of the book Willa Cather and Others by Elizabeth Grosz
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