
Fire Alarm
Reading Walter Benjamin's "On the Concept of History"
Michael Loewy(Author)
Verso Books (Publisher)
Published on 17. February 2006
Book
Hardback
148 pages
978-1-84467-040-6 (ISBN)
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Description
Revolutionary critic of the philosophy of progress, nostalgic of the past yet dreaming of the future, romantic partisan of materialism... Walter Benjamin is in every sense of the word an "unclassifiable" philosopher. His essay 'On the Concept of History' was written in a state of urgency, as he attempted to escape the Gestapo in 1940, before finally committing suicide.
Michael Lowy argues that it remains one of the most important philosophical and political writings of the twentieth century, in this scrupulous, clear and fascinating examination. Looking in detail at Benjamin's celebrated but often mysterious text, and restoring the philosophical, theological and political context, Lowy highlights the complex relationship between redemption and revolution in Benjamin's philosophy of history.
Michael Lowy argues that it remains one of the most important philosophical and political writings of the twentieth century, in this scrupulous, clear and fascinating examination. Looking in detail at Benjamin's celebrated but often mysterious text, and restoring the philosophical, theological and political context, Lowy highlights the complex relationship between redemption and revolution in Benjamin's philosophy of history.
Reviews / Votes
Sensitive to Benjamin's profound anxiety and the tragic vision of the world, Loewy traces the unfurling of this 'revolutionary melancholia,' which is haunted by the recurrence of disasters ... It is unusual to explore the depths of a text in this manner, but it is true that we have here the text of an exceptional thinker. * Le Monde *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 218 mm
Width: 147 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
311 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84467-040-6 (9781844670406)
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Book
10/2016
Verso Books
€16.50
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Persons
Michael Loewy isResearch Director of Sociology at the Centre National de la RechercheScientifique, Paris. His previous books include Redemption and Utopia: Liberation Judaism in Central Europe, Marxism in Latin America and The War of the Gods: Religion and Politics in Latin America.