Routledge History of Philosophy Volume VIII

Continental philosophy as it has emerged in the twentieth century is less a seamless fabric than a patchquilt of diverse strands. Phenomenology hermeneutics existentialism structuralism critical theory deconstruction - these are some of the salient movements which have developed in continental Europe between 1900 and the 1990's though their influence is by no means confined to geographic location. Continental thought has proved highly exportable circulating far beyond the frontiers of Europe to provoke strong responses in the intellectual world at large. The fifteen articles in this volume outline and assess some of the issues and experiments of continental philosophy. The first five span the twin movements of phenomenology and existentialism running from Husserl and Heidegger to Sartre Merleau-Ponty and Levinas. Subsequent essays deal with specific currents of continental thought in such areas as science Marxism linguistics politics aesthetics feminism and hermeneutics. A final chapter on postmodernism highlights the manner in which so many concerns of continental thought culminate in a radical anti-foundationalism. This volume provides a broad scholarly introduction to this period for students of philosophy and related disciplines as well as some original interpretations of these authors. It includes a glossary of technical terms and a chronological tube of philosophical scientific and other cultural events.