Continental Philosophy: A Critical Approach

Continental Philosophy: A Critical Approach is a lucid and wide–ranging introduction to the key figures and philosophical movements of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Chronologically organized, the book includes chapters on Hegel; Marx and Western Marxism; Schopenhauer, Freud, and Bergson; Nietzsche; hermeneutics; phenomenology; existentialism; structuralism; philosophies of dispersion; French feminist philosophy; and postmodernism. Each chapter includes an assessment of the thinkers it covers and highlights their main contributions. The book also provides a discussion of the value, present situation, and future prospects of Continental philosophy.

Acknowledgments. Preface. Introduction. 1. Hegel. 2. Marx and Western Marxism. 3. Life Philosophy and the Unconscious. 4. Nietzsche. 5. Hermeneutics. 6. Phenomenology. 7. Existentialism and Philosophical Anthropology. 8. Structuralism. 9. Philosophies of Dispersion. 10. French Feminist Philosophy. 11. Postmodernism. Conclusions. Index

William R. Schroeder is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. He is the author of Sartre and His Predecessors (1984) and co–editor, with Simon Critchley, of A Companion to Continental Philosophy (Blackwell, 1998).

“Schroeder has a masterful command of the Continental tradition after Kant in European philosophy. He presents a comprehensive critical introduction to the philosophers who have shaped it, in an admirably clear and concise idiom that is readily accessible to academics, students, and general readers alike.” Richard Schacht, University of Illinois “This is an enormously impressive work. In the fashion of a panoramic mosaic, it assembles incisive analyses of the host of thinkers who comprise the ‘Continental Tradition’ in philosophy. Like no other book before it, it succeeds not only in helping us to understand the past, but also defines an array of future tasks that those working in this field will have to address.” Frithjof Bergmann, University of Michigan “Schroeder captures Continental philosophy′s complex trajectory in clear and thoughtful language. Along the way, he offers provocative challenges to many of its central figures.” Todd May, Clemson University