Antonio Calcagno
Reading Continental Philosophy and the History of Thought (co-edited with Christian Lotz)
This book frames the mission of the Continental Philosophy and History of Thought series at Lexington Books. International leading scholars contribute essays that explore and redefine the relationship between received arguments in contemporary Continental philosophy and various influential figures and arguments in the history of thought. By bringing Continental philosophy and the histories of thought into dialogue, editors Christian Lotz and Antonio Calcagno broaden the standard canon of what is considered Continental philosophy by including important yet understudied figures and arguments in the tradition; the chapters also deepen and contextualize significant movements and debate in the field by showing their rich historical underpinnings, thereby establishing new viewpoints in specific constituent subfields of philosophy. Reading Continental Philosophy and the History of Thought shows the growing richness of Continental philosophy via unexplored rethinking of the history of thought. The contributors expand Continental philosophy with and through the recovery of important historical developments, figures, and lines of thought. 2023, Rowman & Littlefield.
Rethinking Interiority: Phenomenological Approaches
A philosophical exploration of the concept of interiority, Rethinking Interiority presents readers with its unmined aspects and senses, including ideas of an inner world and life, personal identity, auto-affection, and its social and political dimensions as well as its ethical possibilities. Internationally recognized scholars and philosophers investigate figures in the history of phenomenology as well as recent developments in psychology and the neurosciences to uncover not only the depths of interiority but also how it comes to connect with and structure external reality. Western and Eastern philosophical positions are addressed, creating a fruitful dialogue in which readers are invited to participate. 2023, SUNY Press.
On Political Impasse: Power, Resistance, and New Forms of Selfhood
Power is classically understood as the playing out of relations between the ruler and the ruled. Political impasse is often viewed as a moment in which no clear-cut delineation of power exists, resulting in an overwhelming sense of frustration or feeling stuck in a no-win situation. The new globalised world has produced a real shift in how power works: not only has power been concentrated in the hands of very few while many millions become more oppressed by radical shortages and growing costs, but we also have a new category of political subjectivity in which many find themselves neither rulers nor radically oppressed. Those who live the neither/nor of contemporary power live the new global impasse.
For those of us who are stuck and compelled to wait for dominant power to break, this book uncovers possibilities in thought, imagination, and self-appropriation through oikeiosis, that is, making oneself at home in oneself, and constancy. 2022, Bloomsbury.
Roberto Esposito: New Directions in Biophilosophy
This collection invites readers to reposition Esposito’s thought and explore the interdisciplinarity and unique methodology of his whole corpus. It addresses Esposito’s long-standing engagement with early modern philosophy, philosophy of biology, biopolitics, and the impolitical and the impersonal, together with his significant dialogues with contemporary philosophers like Gilles Deleuze, Jacques Derrida, Simone Weil, Jean-Luc Nancy and Maurice Blanchot. A new essay by Esposito himself reveals the importance of philosophical sources and ideas that condition his thinking, especially outside and beyond the dominant biopolitical interpretative framework that has come to mark his reception in the English-speaking world. 2021, Edinburgh University Press.
Edith Stein’s Investigation Concerning the State: Sociality, Nationhood, Ethics (editor)
This book explores Edith Stein's phenomenology of the state. It features chapters on the application of Stein’s political philosophy to real issues and questions affecting nations today. The contributors also situate Stein’s political theory within her larger philosophical corpus.
The collection examines An Investigation Concerning the State from various angles. Scholars first consider some of the direct claims Stein makes about social and political ontology. They mine her work for its implications for and applications to contemporary debates. Then, the contributors position her work in relation to other figures in phenomenology, including Edmund Husserl and Max Scheler. Finally, Stein’s views are brought to bear on other disciplines, including feminism, theology, and literature. The contributors also use her theory of the state to address various contemporary issues, including bioethics and rights, globalization, as well as social and political inequality.
The view of the state that emerges has implications for how we do politics and make ethical decisions. Moreover, Stein's work has an impact on our views of sociality (as opposed to the sociality of contractarian views of the state), pedagogy, women, theories of justice and law, as well as social psychology and religion. This volume helps readers better understand this vital voice in political philosophy and appeals to students, professors, and researchers working in the field. 2020, Springer.
Roberto Esposito: Biopolitics and Philosophy (editor)
One of Europe’s leading philosophers, Roberto Esposito has produced a considerable body of work that continues to have a significant impact on political science, sociology, literature, and philosophy. This volume offers both a comprehensive introduction to and critical explanation of Esposito’s political thought and key concepts from his oeuvre. The contributors address aspects of his growing corpus such as the impolitical, community, immunity, the impersonal, affirmative biopolitics, justice, life, the third person, and the body. In addition, they highlight Esposito’s reading and interpretation of classical political thinkers, including Hobbes, Machiavelli, Vico, Arendt, and Kant. The book explores applications of Esposito’s philosophy to issues in international relations, post-colonialism, literature, science, technology, and philosophical and artistic practice, bringing Esposito into dialogue with important social-political concerns. 2018, SUNY Press.
Breached Horizons: The Philosophy of Jean-Luc Marion (editor)
This volume offers a comprehensive guide to the extensive corpus of Jean-Luc Marion’s ideas, including a discussion of contemporary French phenomenology and critical appraisal of Marion’s ideas by leading scholars in the field. The contributors apply Marion’s thought to various fields of study, including theology, art, literature and psychology. 2018, Rowman and Littlefield International.
Edith Stein: Women, Social-Political Philosophy, Theology, Metaphysics and Public History: New Approaches and Applications (editor)
This volume explores the work and thought of Edith Stein (1891–1942). It discusses in detail, and from new perspectives, the traditional areas of her thinking, including her ideas about women/feminism, and theology and metaphysics. In addition, it introduces readers to fresh or underdeveloped areas of her thought, including her thoughts on history, and her social and political philosophy. The guiding thread that collects all the essays in this book is the emphasis on new approaches and novel applications of her thought. The contributions both extend the implications of Stein’s thought for our contemporary world and apply her philosophy to questions of theatre, public history and biographical representation, education, politics, autism, theological debates, feminism, sexuality studies and literature. The volume brings together for the first time leading scholars in five language-groups: English, German, Italian, French and Spanish, reflecting an international and cosmopolitan approach. Each of these linguistic traditions has a diverse take on Stein and sees her work within their own linguistic and cultural contexts. In addition, the volume takes an interdisciplinary approach because Stein’s thought touched upon many domains, including philosophy, politics, social thought, theology, spirituality, literature, feminism, education, mediaeval studies and psychology. The volume explores how these diverse disciplines converge and diverge in Stein’s thinking as a whole. 2015, Springer.
Badiou and Hegel: Infinity, Dialectics, Subjectivity
Badiou and Hegel: Infinity, Dialectics, Subjectivity offers critical appraisals of two of the dominant figures of the Continental tradition of philosophy, Alain Badiou and G.W.F. Hegel. Jim Vernon and Antonio Calcagno bring together established and emerging authors in Continental philosophy to discuss the relationship between the thinkers, creating a multifarious collection of essays by Hegelians, Badiouans, and those sympathetic to both. The text privileges neither thinker, nor any particular topic shared between them; rather, this book lays a broad and sound foundation for future scholarship on arguably two of the greatest thinkers of infinity, universality, subjectivity, and the enduring value of philosophy in the modern Western canon. Assuredly overdue, this volume will attract Hegel and Badiou scholars, as well as those interested in post-structuralism, political philosophy, cultural studies, ontology, philosophy of mathematics, and psychoanalysis. 2015, Lexington Books.
Thinking About Love: Essays in Contemporary Continental Philosophy (editor)
Does love command an ineffability that remains inaccessible to the philosopher?
The essays collected in Thinking About Love take up the nature and experience of love with reference to some of our best-known Continental philosophers. The writings here focus on the contradictions and limits of love, manifested in such phenomena as trust, abuse, grief, death, violence, politics, and desire.
Thinking About Love does not offer prescriptive claims about authentic love. Rather, the book explores how one might think about love philosophically—with recourse to the writings of Hannah Arendt, Simone de Beauvoir, Jacques Derrida, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and others—without attempting to resolve or alleviate its ambiguities, paradoxes, and limitations.
New forms of social organization, rapid developments in the field of psychology, and novel variations on relationships demand a new approach to thinking about love. This book fills a lacuna in the philosophy of a richly complicated topic.
Along with the editors, the contributors are Sophie Bourgault, John Caruana, Christina M. Gschwandtner, Marguerite La Caze, Alphonso Lingis, Christian Lotz, Todd May, Dawne McCance, Dorothea Olkowski, Felix Ó Murchadha, Fiona Utley, and Mélanie Walton. 2015, Penn State University Press.
Contemporary Italian Philosophy (editor)
Italy has a rich philosophical legacy, and recent developments and movements in its political philosophy have produced a significant body of thought by internationally renowned philosophers working on questions and themes such as the critique of neoliberalism, statehood, politics and culture, feminism, community, the stranger, and the relationship between politics and action. This volume brings this conversation to English-language readers, considering well-known Italian philosophers such as Vattimo, Agamben, Esposito, and Negri, as well as philosophers with whom English-language readers are less acquainted, such as Luce Fabbri, Adriana Cavarero, and Lea Melandri. In addition, the essays extend the conversation beyond the realm of Italian philosophy, bringing its thinkers into dialogue with philosophical figures including Badiou, Marx, Merleau-Ponty, Deleuze and Guattari, Adorno, Arendt, Foucault, Wittgenstein, and the Peruvian historian and sociologist Anibal Quijano. 2015, SUNY Press.
Lived Experience from the Inside Out: Social and Political Philosophy in Edith Stein
While most works devoted to Edith Stein’s philosophical legacy focus on her later, more explicitly Christian works, including Finite and Eternal Being, this comprehensive account offers readers a look into the early social and political philosophy of Stein before her conversion to Catholicism. During this period, Stein produced a significant body of philosophical work drawing on advancements in phenomenology, psychology, philosophy of mind, and sociology. As Antonio Calcagno demonstrates, this leads to a rich account of society, community, and the state through Stein’s analysis of certain states of mind, psychology, and a defense of a law-centered state community.
Lived Experience from the Inside Out: Social and Political Philosophy in Edith Stein examines, in particular, three significant works written while Stein was working with Edmund Husserl as both a student and collaborator: The Problem of Empathy, Philosophy of Psychology and the Humanities, and An Investigation Concerning the State. These texts provide rich sources of social and political insight, with Stein’s particular focus on individual consciousness as the entry point: how we understand and live, always from our own interiorities, the phenomenal experiences of self, others, the masses, society, community, and the state.
While we can never completely transcend our own egos to experience others’ realities, Stein asserts that we share with others a common essence in that we are all human persons. Taking our lived experience from our interior lives to the outside world, then, confirms this shared essence as we exist in social relations, and those relations can be explored from overarching perspectives, including sociology, psychology, geography, economics, and the like. But Stein also notes that these relations can be explored from the perspective of our own lived experience, how we live and experience such phenomena. These social and political realities must have meaning for us, in our own interior lives. As Calcagno makes clear, it is at this level of sense that Stein’s unique contribution is most profound. 2014, Duquesne University Press.
Intensities and Lines of Flight: Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari and the Arts (editor)
The writings of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari offer the most enduring and controversial contributions to the theory and practice of art in post-war Continental thought. However, these writings are both so wide-ranging and so challenging that much of the synoptic work on Deleuzo-Guattarian aesthetics has taken the form of sympathetic exegesis, rather than critical appraisal.This rich and original collection of essays, authored by both major Deleuzian scholars and practicing artists and curators, offers an important critique of Deleuze and Guattari's legacy in relation to a multitude of art forms, including painting, cinema, television, music, architecture, literature, drawing, and installation art. Inspired by the implications of Deleuze and Guattari's work on difference and multiplicity and with a focus on the intersection of theory and practice, the book represents a major interdisciplinary contribution to Deleuze-Guattarian aesthetics. 2014, Rowman and Littlefield.
Badiou and Derrida: Politics, Events and Their Time
This exciting new book makes a major contribution to Continental philosophy, bringing together for the first time the crucial work on politics by two giants of contemporary French philosophy, Jacques Derrida and Alain Badiou. Derrida has long been recognised as one of the most influential and indeed controversial thinkers in contemporary philosophy and Badiou is fast emerging as a central figure in French thought, as well as in Anglo-American philosophy - his magnum opus, Being and Event, and its long-awaited sequel, Logics of Worlds, have confirmed his position as one of the most significant thinkers working in philosophy today. Both philosophers have devoted a substantial amount of their oeuvre to politics and the question of the nature of the political. Here Antonio Calcagno shows how the political views of these two major thinkers diverge and converge, thus providing a comprehensive exposition of their respective political systems. Both Badiou and Derrida give the event a central role in structuring politics and political thinking and Calcagno advances a theory about the relationship between political events and time that can account for both political undecidability and decidability. This book navigates some very intriguing developments in Continental thought and offers a clear and fascinating account of the political theories of two major contemporary thinkers. 2007, Bloomsbury Publishing.
The Philosophy of Edith Stein
For most philosophers, the work of Edith Stein continues to be eclipsed and relegated to obscurity. This work presents an excellent cross-section of Stein's writings and demonstrates the timeliness and relevance of her ideas for contemporary philosophical scholarship. Antonio Calcagno covers most of Edith Stein's philosophical life, from her early work with Husserl to her later encounters with medieval Christian thought, as well as a critical and analytical reading of major Steinian texts. Stein was an original thinker who challenged not only the direction in which Husserlian phenomenology was progressing but also sought to bring to philosophical light the relevance of certain key questions, including the meaning of what it is to be human, the relevance of metaphysics to science, and fundamental questions about the nature of God. Working to correct the perception that Stein is either an “unfaithful and distorting” phenomenologist or a pious Catholic mystic, Calcagno presents important work that has been neglected by both secular and religious scholars. The essays are not merely expository, but discuss the philosophical questions raised by Stein's work from a contemporary perspective, using Stein's original German texts. In its attention to the breadth and depth of Stein's philosophy from its initial development to its more mature form, The Philosophy of Edith Stein offers a new understanding of an individual who left behind an incredible philosophical and literary legacy worthy of scholarly attention. The book will be of interest not only to Stein scholars, but to feminists, phenomenologists, and Heideggerians. 2007, Duquesne University Press.
Giordano Bruno and the Logic of Coincidence: Unity and Multiplicity in the Philosophical Thought of Giordano Bruno
Burned at the stake for heresy, Giordano Bruno (1548-1600) was one of the Renaissance's more controversial thinkers. Current scholarship tends to read Bruno as either a Neo-Platonist who ultimately collapses reality to an overarching unity, or as an eclectic thinker whose disparate and disjointed musings are essentially incoherent. By closely and critically examining Bruno's writings this book demonstrates that Bruno was very much in the spirit of Modernity in that he tried to explain philosophically the possibility of the coexistence of unity and multiplicity (difference) through the «then-scientific» logic of the coincidence of opposites. His metaphysics, cosmology and ethical thinking are to be understood through this underlying logic of coincidence, thereby rendering Bruno neither an absolute Neo-Platonist nor unintelligible. 1998, Peter Lang.
