Freedom after the critique of foundations
Subtitle: Marx, liberalism, Castoriadis, and agonistic autonomy
By: Alexandros Kioupkiolis
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Houndmills, Basingstoke, England; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 276
ISBN-13: 9780230279124
Subjects: Freedom; Marxist Philosophy
Description: Freedom After the Critique of Foundations engages with the work of the Greek-French thinker Cornelius Castoriadis, a founding member of the Socialisme ou Barbarie group whose ideas inspired the French May '68, in order to formulate an account of agonistic autonomy for individuals and societies. This is a critical conception of freedom which informs a broad spectrum of contemporary political thought and practice, ranging from theories of agonistic democracy and Foucault's ethic of 'care for the self' to the liberal pluralism of Joseph Raz, post-anarchist thought and contemporary movements for global justice and 'real democracy'. The discussion shows how agonistic autonomy brings together imagination, radical reflection, self-creation, pluralism and an ongoing struggle against closed identities in order to challenge and enhance Marxian and liberal ideas of freedom. The book tackles the problem of relativism and addresses a wider range of ontological, ethical and political questions raised by an agonistic outlook which dismisses objective foundations in science, history and morality.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p.         ).
Table of contents: title: Marx on a tightrope. the essence of freedom and the movement of becoming; title: Kantian transcendence and beyond; title: Knowledge and practice in trouble. a reasonable way out of ontological traps; title: Liberal detours and their mishaps: negative liberty, I. Berlin, and J.S. Mill; title: Agonic subjectivity and the stirrings of the new; title: The social, the imaginary, and the real; title: Freedom, agonism, and creative praxis; title: Post-critical liberalism and agonistic freedom; title: Post-foundational reason and sustainable affirmation; title: Conclusion: past agonies and present openings of freedom.