What might it mean to think of philosophy as being in the condition of modernism -- in which its relation to its own past, and hence its sense of its own future, has become an undismissable problem? If philosophy's hitherto-defining conventions can neither be taken for granted nor rejected, they must be put in question -- which menans re-evealuating the relation between the form and content of philosophical writing, rethinking the demands that such writing must place on its readers, and reconceiving the nature of philosophy itself. Inheritance and Originality argues that the writings of Wittgenstein, Heidegger, and Kierkegaard are best understood as responsive (each in their own way) to such questions, and as driven in consequence to strikingly similar reconceptions of language, reason, and understanding, doubt and scepticism, morality, and the structure of selfhood. Through detailed re-readings of these authors' most influential texts, as attentive to their specificity as to their family resemblances, Stephen Mulhall reorients our sense of the philosophical work each text aims to accomplish, to engender a critical dialogue betweeen them from which the elements of a new conception of philosophy might emerge, and to uncover that conception's indebtedness to certain fundamental theological preoccupations.
Reviews
To anyone who loves Heidegger and Wittgenstein, the name Stephen Mulhall immediately evokes feeling of gratitude ... Mulhall in this book brings a narrative eloquence and master precision to his interpretations ... a sterling performance. * Philosophical Investigations *
It is in Mulhall's textual analyses of these works that his book especially shines. His readings are exceedingly close and sensitive, and more than repay the not insubstantial demands that they place upon the reader. From the outset, one gets the sense from Mulhall that there are still new and important insights to be reaped by freshly reconsidering works that have already received a huge amount of attention, and throughout the book he delivers on this promise. This makes it a real pleasure to read ... There is much to consider in this book. It is rigorously argued, and opens up Wittgenstein, Heidegger and Kierkegaard in new and interesting ways. * Mind *



Book Information
ISBN 9780199265497
Author Stephen Mulhall
Format Paperback
Page Count 464
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 665g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 156mm * 23mm