The New French Philosophy

This book gives a critical assessment of key developments in contemporary French philosophy, highlighting the diverse ways in which recent French thought has moved beyond the philosophical positions and arguments which have been widely associated with the terms 'post-structuralism' and 'postmodernism'. These developments are assessed through a close comparative reading of the work of seven contemporary thinkers: Jean-Luc Marion, Jean-Luc Nancy, Bernard Stiegler, Catherine Malabou, Jacques Rancière, Alain Badiou and François Laruelle.


The book situates the writing of each philosopher in relation to earlier traditions of French thought. In differing ways, these philosophers decisively distance themselves from the linguistic paradigm which dominated so much twentieth-century thought in order to rethink philosophical conceptions of materiality, worldliness, shared embodied existence and human agency or subjectivity. They thereby open the way for a radical renewal of the claims, possibilities and transformative power of philosophical thinking itself.


This book will be an indispensable text for students of philosophy and for anyone interested in current developments in philosophy and social thought.

* A major new introduction to contemporary French philosophy, focusing on the most recent developments since post-structuralism and postmodernism.
* Examines in detail the work of seven key thinkers, including Alain Badiou, Jean-Luc Nancy, Jacques Rancière and Catherine Malabou, situating each thinker in relation to earlier thinkers and traditions of thought.
* Explores their reassessment of conceptions of materiality, human agency, subjectivity and politics, among other things.
* This book will be indispensable for students of philosophy and will also be of great interest to a wider readership interested in current developments in philosophy and social thought.

Ian James is university lecturer in the Department of French at the University of Cambridge.