| The Responsibility of the Philosopher Contributor(s): Vattimo, Gianni (Author), D'Agostini, Franca (Editor), McCuaig, William (Translator) |
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ISBN: 0231152426 ISBN-13: 9780231152426 Publisher: Columbia University Press OUR PRICE: $74.25 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: August 2010 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Philosophy | History & Surveys - General - Philosophy | Movements - Deconstruction - Philosophy | Political |
| Dewey: 190 |
| LCCN: 2010003075 |
| Physical Information: 0.73" H x 6.58" W x 7.36" (0.66 lbs) 168 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Over the course of his career, Gianni Vattimo has assumed a number of public and private identities and has pursued multiple intellectual paths. He seems to embody several contradictions, at once defending and questioning religion and critiquing and serving the state. Yet the diversity of his life and thought form the very essence of, as he sees it, the vocation and responsibility of the philosopher. In a world that desires quantifiable results and ideological expediency, the philosopher becomes the vital interpreter of the endlessly complex. As he outlines his ideas about the philosopher's role, Vattimo builds an important companion to his life's work. He confronts questions of science, religion, logic, literature, and truth, and passionately defends the power of hermeneutics to engage with life's conundrums. Vattimo conjures a clear vision of philosophy as something separate from the sciences and the humanities but also intimately connected to their processes, and he explicates a conception of truth that emphasizes fidelity and participation through dialogue. |
Contributor Bio(s): Vattimo, Gianni: - Gianni Vattimo (PhD, Philosophy, Turin) is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Turin. He is the author of a large number of books, most of which have been translated into English, including Of Reality (Columbia, 2016), A farewell to Truth (Columbia, 2011), and The Responsibility of the Philosopher (Columbia, 2010). He is also known for his political activism in support of gay rights and has served as a member of the European Parliament. As a philosopher he is known for his espousal of nihilism, his rejection of truth in favor of interpretation (hermeneutics), his adoption of weak thought as a withdrawal from metaphysics, and his situational Marxism. |