| Action and Reaction: The Life and Adventures of a Couple Contributor(s): Starobinski, Jean (Author), Hawkes, Sophie (Translator), Fort, Jeff (Translator) |
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ISBN: 189095120X ISBN-13: 9781890951207 Publisher: Zone Books OUR PRICE: $39.55 Product Type: Hardcover Published: March 2003 Annotation: What do biologists mean when they say that to live is to react? Why was the term abreaction invented and later abandoned by the first generation of psychoanalysts? What is meant by reactionary politics? These are but a few of the questions the internationally renowned scholar Jean Starobinski answers in his conceptual history of the word pair, action and reaction. Not simply a history of ideas, "Action and Reaction" is also a semantic and philological history, a literary history, a history of medicine, and a history of the biological sciences. By concentrating on the moment when scientific language and ordinary language diverge, Starobinski uncovers a genealogy of the human and natural sciences through their usage of action and reaction as metaphors. Newton's law -- to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction -- becomes a point of departure for an exploration of the lexical and metaphorical traces left in its wake. Starobinski analyzes the scientific, literary, and political effects of the use of the terms action and reaction to describe and explain the material universe, the living body, historical events, and psychological behavior. In what he calls a "polyphonic score" -- a kind of mosaic -- he uses his subject to offer new insights into the work of philosophers (Aristotle, Leibniz, Kant, Nietzsche, Jaspers), scientists (Newton, Bichat, Bernard, Bernheim, Freud), and writers (Diderot, Constant, Balzac, Poe, Valry). Ultimately, the book explores the power and danger of metaphorical language and questions the convergence and collapse of scientific and moral explanations of the universe. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Language Arts & Disciplines | Linguistics - Semantics - Philosophy | History & Surveys - Modern - History |
| Dewey: 194 |
| LCCN: 2002071388 |
| Series: Zone Books |
| Physical Information: 1.7" H x 6.2" W x 9.1" (2.00 lbs) 480 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: What is meant by reactionary politics? What do biologists mean when they speak of the interaction between life and its surroundings? Why was the term "abreaction" invented and later abandoned by the first generation of psychoanalysts? These are but a few of the questions the internationally renowned scholar Jean Starobinski answers in his latest work on the conceptual history of the words "action" and "reaction." Not just a history of ideas, Action and Reaction is also a semantic and philological history, a literary history, a history of medicine, and a history of the biological sciences. Concentrating especially on the moment when scientific language and ordinary language diverge, the author offers a genealogy of the human and natural sciences through their usage of the metaphors action and reaction. Newton's theorem "to every action an equal action is always opposed," stands as a point of departure for Starobinski's exploration of the lexical and metaphorical traces this proposition left in its wake. With stunning clarity, the author analyzes the scientific, literary, and political effects of the terms action / reaction in describing and explaining the material universe, the living body, the events of history, and psychological behavior. Ultimately, the book explores the power and danger of metaphorical language and questions the convergence and collapse of scientific and moral explanations of the universe. |
Contributor Bio(s): Starobinski, Jean: - Jean Starobinski is Professor of the History of Ideas and French Literature at the University of Geneva. His books in English include Blessings in Disguise: Or, the Morality of Evil; The Invention of Liberty, 1700-1789; Montaigne in Motion; Revolution in Fashion: European Clothing, 1715-1815; Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Transparency and Obstruction; A History of Medicine; and The Living Eye. |