Kairós

<p><b>Shedding new light on the fundamental philosophical problem of time leading Italian philosopher Giacomo Marramao offers a solution to today's 24/7 culture. </b> <p/> If we were asked to name the social syndrome of our age under capitalism it would no doubt be rush. Intentional animals as we are we experience the meaningless acceleration of time which devours instants and misses its target just like its opposite undue hesitation. For Marramao rush and slowness or rashness and hesitation are two mirror forms of <i>untimeliness</i>: two unsuitable ways of seizing time. <p/>Through engagement with sources including Heidegger Bergson Saint Paul the Apostle Newtonian physics and postmodern theory Marramao calls for a change to how we perceive time. Delving into the Greek and Roman concepts of <i>tempus chronos </i>and<i> aión </i>he argues that there should be no opposition between the scientific-objective time and the existential-subjective one. As such he introduces his own theory of <i>kairós</i><i> </i>or due time as the notion of fertile and decisive <i>timeliness</i>. A timely decision Marramao advances is generated by the productive tension between opposites: a tension created equally by swiftness and caution promptness and conformity with the action's purpose. <p/>Originally published in 1992 this updated edition of <i>Kairós: In Defence of Due Time'' </i>includes a new preface speaking to today's social and political climate as well as an introduction by Marramao himself in which he reflects on his long engagement with temporality from <i>Power and Secularization </i>up until today.</p>