Interrogating the work of four contemporary French philosophers to rethink philosophy's relationship to science and science's relationship to reality

The Technique of Thought explores the relationship between philosophy and science as articulated in the work of four contemporary French thinkers-Jean-Luc Nancy, Francois Laruelle, Catherine Malabou, and Bernard Stiegler. Situating their writings within both contemporary scientific debates and the philosophy of science, Ian James elaborates a philosophical naturalism that is notably distinct from the Anglo-American tradition. The naturalism James proposes also diverges decisively from the ways in which continental philosophy has previously engaged with the sciences. He explores the technical procedures and discursive methods used by each of the four thinkers as distinct "techniques of thought" that approach scientific understanding and knowledge experimentally.

Moving beyond debates about the constructed nature of scientific knowledge, The Technique of Thought argues for a strong, variably configured, and entirely novel scientific realism. By bringing together post-phenomenological perspectives concerning individual or collective consciousness and first-person qualitative experience with science's focus on objective and third-person quantitative knowledge, James tracks the emergence of a new image of the sciences and of scientific practice.

Stripped of aspirations toward total mastery of the universe or a "grand theory of everything," this renewed scientific worldview, along with the simultaneous reconfiguration of philosophy's relationship to science, opens up new ways of interrogating immanent reality.

About the Author

Ian James is fellow in French at Downing College, Cambridge. He is author of The New French Philosophy, Paul Virilio, and The Fragmentary Demand: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Jean-Luc Nancy.

Reviews

"This book is a tour de force: it remains faithful to the thought of the theorists studied while putting forward its own distinct philosophy. It also brings together philosophy and science in ways that have been lacking in contemporary continental thought."-Aurelien Barrau, Laboratory of Subatomic Physics and Cosmology, Universite Grenoble Alpes

"Rethinking the relation between philosophy and science, and written in dialogue with a wide range of scientific discourses, Ian James situates an incisive series of postphenomenological and postdeconstructive readings in light of Anglophone traditions of naturalism and science writing. The Technique of Thought is a remarkably lucid and accessible volume that will both initiate and transform scholarly debates across numerous disciplinary fields and traditions."-Philip Armstrong, The Ohio State University

"This book tentatively envisions philosophy as a technique of thought in order to "imagine a future" when there is no longer a fracture between analytic and Continental traditions in philosophy."-Philosophical Reviews

"While the title of this brilliant book is written in the singular, it should, to my mind, be read through the lens of what one of the thinkers addressed in the book, Jean-Luc Nancy, has referred to as the singular plural. For as Ian James establishes from one chapter to the next, in meticulous readings of contemporary scientific and philosophical texts, the real is irreducibly multiple."-Critical Inquiry

"The rigor and deft with which James approaches scientific-realist perspectives produce a rich picture of post-metaphysical thinking."-Rhizomes

"James's staged encounter of some of the most interesting current scientific and philosophical work is not only extremely rewarding to read, but also highly suggestive of myriad paths for research to come."-French Studies

Book Information
ISBN 9781517904302
Author Ian James
Format Paperback
Page Count 272
Imprint University of Minnesota Press
Publisher University of Minnesota Press
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 140mm * 38mm