Springer Philosophizing Madness from Nietzsche to Derrida

Drawing connections between madness, philosophy and autobiography, this book addresses the question of how Nietzsche's madness might have affected his later works. It also explores why continental philosophy after Nietzsche is so fascinated with madness, and how it (re)considers, (re)evaluates and (re)valorizes madness. To answer these questions, the book analyzes the work of three major figures in twentieth-century French philosophy who were significantly influenced by Nietzsche: Bataille, Foucault and Derrida, examining the ways in which their responses to Nietzsche’s madness determine how they understand philosophy as well as philosophy’s relation to madness. For these philosophers, posing the question about madness renders the philosophical subject vulnerable and implicates it in a state of responsibility towards that about which it asks. Out of this analysis of their engagement with the question of madness emerges a new conception of 'autobiographical philosophy', which entails the insertion of this vulnerable subject into the philosophical work, to which each of these philosophers adheres or resists in different ways. Review “Philosophizing Madness, is an impressive feat of scholarly erudition. Evangelou, though a lecturer in Comparative Literature, has produced a work on an intense philosophical character debating one of the more crucial questions in contemporary Continental philosophy (in its French form).” (Guilel Treiber, Metapsychology Online Reviews, Metapsychology.Mentalhelp.net, Vol. 22 (15), April, 2010) Review “A thoughtful examination of madness as a philosophical metaphor, asking how engagement with the autobiographical writings of prominent philosophers―Nietzsche, Bataille, Foucault, Derrida―might change the way we read their respective theories of conscience, lucidity, accountability and doubt.” (Ted Hiebert, University of Washington Bothell, USA) “By way of Nietzsche, Derrida, and Bataille, Evangelou’s remarkable work attempts to demonstrate what a properly philosophical and ethical response to madness might be, with and beyond Foucault. An extremely important book for anyone interested in the relation between philosophy, work, life, and insanity.”  (Michael Lewis, Teaching Fellow in Philosophy, Newcastle University, UK) From the Back Cover Drawing connections between madness, philosophy and autobiography, this book addresses the question of how Nietzsche's madness might have affected his later works. It also explores why continental philosophy after Nietzsche is so fascinated with madness, and how it (re)considers, (re)evaluates and (re)valorizes madness. To answer these questions, the book analyzes the work of three major figures in twentieth-century French philosophy who were significantly influenced by Nietzsche: Bataille, Foucault and Derrida, examining the ways in which their responses to Nietzsche’s madness determine how they understand philosophy as well as philosophy’s relation to madness. For these philosophers, posing the question about madness renders the philosophical subject vulnerable and implicates it in a state of responsibility towards that about which it asks. Out of this analysis of their engagement with the question of madness emerges a new conception of 'autobiographical philosophy', which entails the insertion of this vulnerable subject into the philosophical work, to which each of these philosophers adheres or resists in different ways.