The Continental Philosophy Reader

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Overview of Many Great Continental Philosophers
Review: As a student of Dr.Kearney, I can say with confidence that this work is a very excellent and informative survey of the world's modern western continental philosophers. For anyone interested in studying philosophy, this is an great place to find where your interests lie and where a possible concentration might possible develop. For those who seek specifics, this work is divided into a section of phenomenology and hermeneutics, then a section on critcal thinking and theory and finishes off with a study of structuralism. Definitely a worthwhile read for anyone interested in western philosophy.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Overview of Many Great Continental Philosophers
Review: As a student of Dr.Kearney, I can say with confidence that this work is a very excellent and informative survey of the world's modern western continental philosophers. For anyone interested in studying philosophy, this is an great place to find where your interests lie and where a possible concentration might possible develop. For those who seek specifics, this work is divided into a section of phenomenology and hermeneutics, then a section on critcal thinking and theory and finishes off with a study of structuralism. Definitely a worthwhile read for anyone interested in western philosophy.

Rating:
Summary: A Helpful, Clear Survey
Review: If one is interested in getting to know some of the trends in 20th century continental philosophy, I know of no better place to start than with this reader. Richard Kearney and Mara Rainwater break the book down into three sections: From Phenomenology to Hermeneutics, From Marxism to Critical Theory and From Structuralism to Deconstruction. Within each section, works are presented in chronological order from major thinkers within these broadly defined movements; this enables the reader to see both continuities and differences between the authors in each section.

It is also helpful that Kearney and Rainwater note that many of the authors could have easily fit into multiple sections; 20th century continental philosophy then becomes something of a large dialogue between people from different decades and in different places. Anyone even remotely familiar with the topic will agree that continental philosophy is thick; it is to Kearney and Rainwater's credit that, in editing this reader, it loses none of its thickness but serves, instead, to draw the reader into the discussion/s that it contains.

The introductions to each thinker are wonderful, detailing historical context and mentors, major trends and changes in the whole of their work. It would have been nice, however, if these introductions to said a bit about why a particular piece was chosen and how it fits into the history of one of the three sections. All of the pieces included are obviously not ground breaking in and of themselves, but some of them are and bristle with a level of intellectual rigour and moral clarity that the vast majority of philosophers would do well to remember - the selection from Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno's Dialectic of Enlightenment is one such piece, and Walter Benjamin's Theses on the Philosophy of History is another.

Any knowledge of the history of 20th century Europe will help to put some of these pieces in a greater context; one can oftentimes feel the horrific weight of WWII and Nazism, for example, in the background of some of the pieces. If this volume is any indication, the companion volume, which is a history of 20th century continental thought, will also be well worth checking out. All in all, this is an excellent reader that I highly recommend to any and all interested in the area of 20th century continental philosophy.

Rating:
Summary: Indispensable Survey of Continental Philosphers
Review: If you do not have enough time to sift through all the important continental philosophers, but want to get a detailed summary idea of their thoughts, this book is an excellent primer. Kearney has done an excellent job of anthologizing selections of text that best represent each philosopher's thoughts. Treacherous waters of phenomenology, hermaneutics, deconstruction, and such can be navigated through these selections of writings, and there are excellent introductions to the philosophers and their work in the beginning of each text. Especially now that we are in the 21st century, these thoughts of the 20th century must be appreciated to know our own history - cultural, philosophical, and historical. This book is an excellent start.