Dialectics Of The Body

In opposition to an essentialist conceptualization, the social construct of the human body in literature can be analyzed and described by means of effective methodologies that are based on Discourse Theory, Theory of Cultural Transmission and Ecology, System Theory, and Media Theory. In this perspective, the body is perceived as a complex arrangement of substantiation, substitution, and omission depending on demands, expectations, and prohibitions of the dominant discourse network. The term Body-Dialectics stands for the attempt to decipher – and for a moment freeze – the web of such discursive arrangements that constitute the fictitious notion of the body in the framework of a specific historic environment, here in the Age of Goethe.

The study of Theodor Adorno has largely ignored or dismissed the enigmatic and provocative moments in his writing on the body. Dialectics of the Body corrects this gap by arguing that Adorno's analysis of reified society emanates and returns to the body and that hope and desire are present throughout Adorno's philosophy.

The study of Theodor Adorno has largely ignored or dismissed the enigmatic and provocative moments in his writing on the body. Dialectics of the Body corrects this gap by arguing that Adorno's analysis of reified society emanates and returns to the body and that hope and desire are present throughout Adorno's philosophy.

The study of Theodor Adorno has largely ignored or dismissed the enigmatic and provocative moments in his writing on the body. Dialectics of the Body corrects this gap by arguing that Adorno's analysis of reified society emanates and returns to the body and that hope and desire are present throughout Adorno's philosophy.

The achievements of science and technology during the past century are unparalleled in history. They provide the potential for the solution to all the problems faced by the planet, and equally for its total destruction. Allegedly scientific theories are being used to "prove" that criminality is caused, not by social conditions, but by a "criminal gene". Black people are alleged to be disadvantaged, not because of discrimination, but because of their genetic make-up. Of course, such "science" is highly convenient to right-wing politicians intent on ruthlessly cutting welfare. In the field of theoretical physics and cosmology there is a growing tendency towards mysticism. The "Big Bang" theory of the origin of the universe is being used to justify the existence of a Creator, as in the book of Genesis . For the first time in centuries, science appears to lend credence to religious obscurantism. Yet this is only one side of the story.

This book traces the development of Dialectical Logic within the history of modern western philosophy, culminating in Marx s materialist dialectics. It brings out the essential contours of Logic through a detailed exposition of the ontological and epistem