Books in the Essex Studies in Contemporary Critical Theory series

Nobody should really have to point out that political philosophy is political. Yet in this highly original and provocative book Lorna Finlayson argues that in fact it is necessary to do so. Offering a critique of mainstream liberal political philosophy through close, critical engagement with a series of specific debates and arguments, Finlayson analyzes the way in which apparently neutral methodological devices such as ';charitable interpretation' and ';constructive criticism' function so as to protect against challenges to the status quo. At each stage, Finlayson demonstrates that political philosophy is suffering from a complex process of ';de-politicization.' Even in cases where it appears that the dominant framework of liberal political philosophy is being strongly challengedas, for example, in the case of the ';realist' critique of ';ideal theory'this book argues that the debate is set up in such a way as to impose strict limits on the kind of dissent that is possible. Only by dragging these hidden presuppositions into the foreground can we arrive at a clear-eyed appreciation of such debates, and perhaps look beyond the artificially constricted landscape in which they seek to confine us.

This is the first English-language translation of an important book that contributes to contemporary debates about social suffering in sociology, social psychology, political theory and philosophy. Renault provides a systematic account of the ways in which social suffering could be conceptualised.

Offering an alternative outlook on contemporary (practical) philosophy, this highly original book provides a conceptual history of responsibility within philosophy, including a critical analysis of the relation between philosophy and its social and political contexts.

This book provides an overview of recent debates about critical theory from Pierre Bourdieu via Luc Boltanski to the Frankfurt School. Robin Celikates investigates the relevance of the self-understanding of ordinary agents and of their practices of critique for the theoretical and emancipatory project of critical theory.

Engagements with Axel Honneth. Bringing together leading scholars in contemporary social and political philosophy, this volume takes up the central themes of Axel Honneths work as a starting point for debating the present and future of critical theory, as a form of socially grounded philosophy for analyzing and critiquing society today.