Derrida and Disinterest

Sean Gaston

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English

Continuum
29 June 2006

Philosophy; History of Western philosophy

Series: Continuum Studies in Continental Philosophy

Disinterest has been a major concept in Western philosophy since Descartes. Its desirability and importance have been disputed, and its definition reworked by such pivotal figures as Nietzsche, Shaftesbury, Locke and Kant. In this groundbreaking book, Sean Gaston looks at the treatment of disinterest in the work of two major modern Continental philosophers: Jacques Derrida and Emmanuel Levinas. He identifies both as part of a tradition, obscured since the eighteenth-century, that takes disinterest to be the opposite of self-interest, rather than the absence of all interest. Such a tradition locates disinterest at the centre of thinking about ethics. The book argues that disinterest plays a significant role in the philosophy of both thinkers and in the dialogue between their work. In so doing it sheds new light on their respective contributions to moral and political philosophy. Moreover, it traces the history of disinterest in Western philosophy from Descartes to Derrida, taking in the contributions of major philosophers in both the analytic, Anglo-American and Continental traditions: Locke; Shaftesbury; Hume; Smith; Nietzsche; Kant; Hegel; Heidegger. Derrida and Disinterest offers a new reading of Derrida, a stimulating account of the role and importance of disinterest in the history of Western philosophy and a provocative and original contribution to Continental ethics.

By: Sean Gaston
Imprint: Continuum
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: New edition
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 14mm
Weight: 320g
ISBN: 9780826491633
ISBN 10: 0826491634
Series: Continuum Studies in Continental Philosophy
Pages: 176
Publication Date: 29 June 2006
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational , A / AS level , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Sean Gaston is a Research Fellow of the Department of English, University of Melbourne.

Reviews for Derrida and Disinterest

'[will] excite and engage' -- Arnab Chatterjee, review in Political Studies Review 2007 reviewed in Political Studies Review -- Arnab Chatterjee 'Glibly dismissed by postmodernists as an illusion, the idea of disinterestedness has been patiently awaiting its philosophical saviour. Sean Gaston has now ridden triumphantly to the rescue, with a subtlety and originality of insight which positively leap from the page'. Terry Eagleton * Blurb from reviewer * 'Sean Gaston has produced a new kind of informed and intelligible 'reader' in continental philosophy and the history of an idea. * Forum of Modern Language Studies * Sean Gaston's contribution to philosophical literature on the work of Jacques Derrida is to be welcomed for its serious engagement with Derrida's oeuvre and sensitive reading of his formulations of ethics and responsibility. Gaston develops an insightful and original interpretation of Derrida's work through the lens of 'disinterest' and considers the potential of this concept for contemporary ethics and politics. * Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *