The Fragmentary Demand: An Introduction to the Philosophy of...

Philosophy / Poststructuralism and Phenomenology

This introduction to the philosophy of Jean-Luc Nancy gives an overview of his philosophical thought to date and situates it within the broader context of contemporary French and European thinking. The book examines Nancy’s philosophy in relation to five specific areas: his account of subjectivity; his understanding of space and spatiality; his thinking about the body and embodiment; his political thought; and his contribution to contemporary aesthetics. In each case it shows the way in which Nancy develops or moves beyond some of the key concerns associated with phenomenology, post-structuralism, and what could broadly be termed the “post-modern.”

About the author

Ian James is a Fellow in French and Director of Studies in Modern and Medieval Languages at Downing College, University of Cambridge. He is the author of Pierre Klossowski: The Persistence of a Name (2000).

"James shows himself to be an insightful and sophisticated expositor, carefully situating Nancy's work within the Continental tradition and detailing the central concepts and developments that constitute Nancy's own unique philosophical project."

—Continental Philosophy Review

"As an introductory overview to a major contemporary thinker, James's book is exemplary: the exposition is economical and clear, and combines useful contextual background with sustained sequences of detailed exegesis. James has a real knack for the concise presentation of complex ideas, and draws to good effect on Nancy's own tendency to work closely with and through other thinkers' work."

—Radical Philosophy

"This is a disciplined exposition of both the origins of Jean-Luc Nancy's work and its most recent shifts of emphasis...James makes an invaluable contribution to the reception of comtemporary European Philosophy in the English-speaking world. His synthetic skill, in particular his choice of topics and illustrating quotations, is impeccable."

—Philosophy in Review/Comptes Rendus Philosophiques