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The Spell of Language: Poststructuralism and Speculation

by Thomas G. Pavel

The Spell of Language: Poststructuralism and Speculation Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Originally published as Le Mirage linguistique, this book remains the definitive study of the role of linguistics in structuralism and poststructuralism. Thomas Pavel examines recent French thought through the work of luminaries such as Lévi-Strauss, Lacan, Foucault, and Derrida. The "spell of language" for Pavel consists of three things: the promise that linguistics seemed to represent for the humanities and social sciences; the distortions, misunderstandings, and willful neglect incumbent upon the "linguistic turn"; and, above all, the break with traditional humanism. He isolates three modes of thought-moderate structuralism, scientific structuralism, and speculative structuralism-and shows how even as they diverge from each other, they all advocate an antihumanist point of view.

In this spirited book, Pavel shows that structuralism's flawed use of linguistic theory has rendered hollow the philosophical core of a whole generation of work in the human sciences.

Synopsis:

Preface1. The Order of Language2. Technology and Regression3. The Transcendental Ties of Linguistics4. Games of Dispersion and the Correspondence Fallacy5. On Conventionalism in Poetics6. On Discretionary Intellectual BehaviourPost-Scriptum: The Heidegger AffairNotesReferencesIndex

About the Author

Thomas G. Pavel is a professor in and chair of the Department of Romance Languages at the University of Chicago. He is the author of several previous books, both fiction and nonfiction, in English, French, and Romanian.

Table of Contents

Preface

1. The Order of Language

2. Technology and Regression

3. The Transcendental Ties of Linguistics

4. Games of Dispersion and the Correspondence Fallacy

5. On Conventionalism in Poetics

6. On Discretionary Intellectual Behaviour

Post-Scriptum: The Heidegger Affair

Notes

References

Index

Product Details

ISBN:
9780226650678
Translator:
Jordan, Linda
Translator:
Jordan, Linda S.
Translator:
Jordan, Linda
Translator:
Jordan, Linda S.
Author:
Jordan, Linda
Author:
Pavel, Thomas G.
Publisher:
University of Chicago Press
Subject:
Linguistics
Subject:
Movements - Structuralism
Subject:
PHI029000
Edition Description:
1
Publication Date:
December 2001
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
Professional and scholarly
Language:
English
Pages:
184
Dimensions:
9.00x6.36x.56 in. .62 lbs.

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