Reframing Twentieth-Century French Philosophy : The Roots of Desire

Reframing Twentieth-Century French Philosophy: The Roots of Desire, edited by Elodie Boublil, investigates the works of French philosophers who have been relegated to the margins of the canon, even if their teachings and writings have been recognized as highly influential. The contributions gather around the concept of “desire” to make sense of the French philosophical debate throughout the twentieth century. The first part of the volume investigates the concept of desire by questioning the role of reflexivity in embodiment and self-constitution. It examines specifically the works of three authors―Maine de Biran, Jean Nabert, and Jean-Louis Chrétien―to highlight their specific contribution to twentieth-century French philosophy. The second part of the volume explores desire's pre-reflective and affective dynamics that resist objectification and reflexivity by analyzing the contributions of lesser-known thinkers such as Simone Weil, Sarah Kofman, and Henri Maldiney. The last part of the volume focuses on three philosophical endeavors that aim to positively rethink the foundations of phenomenology and French philosophy: Jacques Garelli, Marc Richir, and Mikel Dufrenne.

Scott Davidson is Professor and Chair of the Philosophy Department at Oklahoma City University, USA. He is the translator of Michel Henry's works: Material Phenomenology (2008), Seeing the Invisible (2009), and Barbarism (2012).

A. Rebecca Rozelle-Stone is Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion, The University of North Dakota, USA.

Élodie Boublil is a philosopher, member of the International Association for the Study of the Philosophy of Edith Stein (IASPES) and the World Phenomenology Institute (WPI), specialized in phenomenology and ethics. She is Lecturer in Paris (France).