The Thought of Bernard Stiegler: Capitalism, Technology and the Politics of Spirit (Media, Culture and Critique: Future Imperfect)

Synopsis

This Book Provides A Comprehensive Account Of The Work Of Bernard Stiegler, One Of The Most Influential Living Social And Political Philosophers Of The Twenty-first Century. Focusing On Stiegler's Thought On Hyperindustrial Societies And The Development Of Technological Systems Through Which The Social, Economic And Political Life Of Human Beings Has Been Transformed, The Author Examines Stiegler's Claim That The Human Species Is 'originally Technological' And That To Understand The Evolution Of Human Society, We Must First Understand The Interface Between Human Beings And Technology. A Study Of The Reciprocal Development Of Technical Instruments And Human Faculties, That Offers A Chapter-by-chapter Account Of How This Relationship Is Played Out In The Digital, Informatic And Biotechnological Programmes Of Hyperindustrial Societies, The Thought Of Bernard Stiegler Develops Stiegler's Idea Of Technology As A Pharmakon: A Network Of Systems That Provoke Both Existential Despair And Unprecedented Modes Of Aesthetic, Literary And Philosophical Creativity That Can Potentially Revitalize The Political Culture Of Human Beings. As Such, It Will Appeal To Social And Political Theorists And Philosophers Concerned With Our Postmodern Inheritance. Introduction -- Originary Technicity -- The Evolution Of The Arche-programme -- The Capitalization Of Life -- Transhumanist Networks -- Crises Of The Aesthetic -- A Planetary Pharmacology? -- Conclusion: The Internation And The University -- Index. Ross Abbinnett. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.