Description:
Étienne Balibar, one of the foremost living French philosophers, builds on his landmark work 'Spinoza and Politics' with this exploration of Spinoza's ontology. Balibar situates Spinoza in relation to the major figures of Marx and Freud as a precursor to the more recent French thinker Gilbert Simondon's concept of the transindividual. Presenting a crucial development in his thought, Balibar takes the concept of transindividuality beyond Spinoza to show it at work at both the individual and the collective level.
Brief description: Étienne Balibar is one of the foremost living French philosophers. He holds positions as Anniversary Chair in Modern European Philosophy at Kingston University, Visiting Professor of French and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of French and Italian and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine, and Emeritus Professor at the University of Paris, Nanterre. He initially rose to prominence as the student-collaborator of Louis Althusser, co-editing with him the collection Reading Capital, a global landmark in Marxist philosophy. Since then, he has written dozens of books and hundreds of articles, being particularly known for his writings on race, Europe, Spinoza, and political thought more generally, including his well-regarded books on Marx and Locke.
Review Quotes: This collection is a rich, fascinating and important one ... [It] marks an important new direction in Spinoza studies and puts the problem of individuality and relationality squarely before us. Well translated, it will be of service to scholars of Balibar and of Spinoza for many years to come.--Dan Taylor, Open University "Marx and Philosophy Review of Books"