Animals and the Limits of Postmodernism by Gary Steiner (English) Hardcover Book

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While postmodern approaches to politics and ethics have offered some intriguing and influential insights in philosophy and theory, Gary Steiner illuminates the fundamental inability of these approaches to arrive at viable ethical and political principles. Ethics require notions of self, agency, and value that are not available to postmodernists. Therefore much of what is published under the rubric of theory lacks a proper basis for a systematic engagement with ethics. Steiner provocatively critiques postmodernist approaches to the moral status of animals against the background of a broader indictment of postmodern thought and its inability to establish clear principles for action. He revisits the work of Derrida, Foucault, Nietzsche, and Heidegger, together with recent work by their American interpreters, and shows that the basic terms of postmodern thought are incompatible with any definitive claims about the moral status or rights of animals -- and humans.Steiner acknowledges the failures of liberal humanist thought regarding the moral status of animals; but instead of following postmodern thinkers who reject humanist thought outright, he argues for the need to rethink humanist notions in a way that avoids the anthropocentric limitations of traditional humanist thought. Drawing on the achievements of the Stoics and Kant, Steiner builds on his earlier work, developing his ideas of cosmic holism and non-anthropocentric cosmopolitanism in order to arrive at a more concrete foundation for animal rights.

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In Animals and the Limits of Postmodernism, Gary Steiner illuminates postmodernism's inability to produce viable ethical and political principles. Ethics requires notions of self, agency, and value that are not available to postmodernists. Thus, much of what is published under the rubric of postmodernist theory lacks a proper basis for a systematic engagement with ethics. Steiner demonstrates this through a provocative critique of postmodernist approaches to the moral status of animals, set against the background of a broader indictment of postmodernism's failure to establish clear principles for action. He revisits the ideas of Derrida, Foucault, Nietzsche, and Heidegger, together with recent work by their American interpreters, and shows that the basic terms of postmodern thought are incompatible with definitive claims about the moral status of animals-as well as humans. Steiner also identifies the failures of liberal humanist thought in regards to this same moral dilemma, and he encourages a rethinking of humanist ideas in a way that avoids the anthropocentric limitations of traditional humanist thought. Drawing on the achievements of the Stoics and Kant, he builds on his earlier ideas of cosmic holism and non-anthropocentric cosmopolitanism to arrive at a more concrete foundation for animal rights.

Notes

In Animals and the Limits of Postmodernism, Gary Steiner lucidly and convincingly exposes French theory's judgmental paralysis and moral disorientation. With this book, Steiner establishes himself as one of the most talented and insightful philosophers working in the burgeoning field of animal rights. -- Richard Wolin, The Graduate Center, City University of New York Gary Steiner's polemic is directed at a wide range of modern thinkers who have addressed animal-human relations. He also offers an eloquent plea for a cosmopolitanism that will include all living beings. -- J.M. Coetzee, Nobel Prize-winning author Anyone who has struggled with the difficult jargon and the often abstruse presentations of the so-called French Theory in the field of animal studies will find in Animals and the Limits of Postmodernism a clear exposition of its cultural roots and substantive contents, together with a sympathetic appreciation of its merits and a lucid assessment of its shortcomings. But the book is much more than this. It is a global overview and a reasoned critique of our anthropocentric philosophical tradition, from Aristotle to John Rawls, put at the service of the construction of a new and consistent theory of justice for all sentient beings. -- Paola Cavalieri, author of The Animal Question: Why Nonhuman Animals Deserve Human Rights

Author Biography

Gary Steiner is John Howard Harris Professor of Philosophy at Bucknell University. He is the author of Anthropocentrism and Its Discontents: The Moral Status of Animals in the History of Western Philosophy and Animals and the Moral Community: Mental Life, Moral Status, and Kinship.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Use and Disadvantages of Nietzsche for Life 2. Postmodernism and Justice 3. "Later here signifies never": Derrida on Animals 4. Animal Rights and the Evasions of Postmodernism 5. Toward a Nonanthropocentric Cosmopolitanism 6. Cosmopolitanism and Veganism Bibliography Index

Promotional

With this book, Steiner establishes himself as one of the most talented and insightful philosophers working in the burgeoning field of animal rights -- Richard Wolin, The Graduate Center, City University of New York Gary Steiner's polemic is directed at a wide range of modern thinkers who have addressed animal-human relations. He also offers an eloquent plea for a cosmopolitanism that will include all living beings. -- J.M. Coetzee, Nobel Prize-winning author Anyone who has struggled with the so-called French theory in the field of animal studies will find in this volume a clear exposition of its cultural roots and substantive contents, together with a sympathetic appreciation of its merits and a lucid assessment of its shortcomings. But this book is much more. It is a global overview and a reasoned critique of our anthropocentric philosophical tradition, from Aristotle to John Rawls, put in the service of the construction of a new and consistent theory of justice for all sentient beings. -- Paola Cavalieri, author of The Animal Question: Why Nonhuman Animals Deserve Human Rights

Excerpt from Book

Read the introduction to Animals and the Limits of Postmodernism (to view in full screen, click on icon in bottom right-hand corner)

Details ISBN0231153422 Author Gary Steiner Publisher Columbia University Press Year 2013 ISBN-10 0231153422 ISBN-13 9780231153423 Format Hardcover Imprint Columbia University Press Place of Publication New York Country of Publication United States Language English Media Book Residence Lewisburg, PA, US Birth 1956 Short Title ANIMALS & THE LIMITS OF POSTMO DEWEY 149.97 Pages 312 Publication Date 2013-04-16 Translated from English Series Critical Perspectives on Animals: Theory, Culture, Science, and Law AU Release Date 2013-04-16 NZ Release Date 2013-04-16 US Release Date 2013-04-16 UK Release Date 2013-04-16 Audience General We've got this

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