Plessner's Philosophical Anthropology: Perspectives and Prospects [Hardcover]

Helmuth Plessner (18921985) was one of the founders of philosophical anthropology, and his bookThe Stages of the Organic and Man, first published in 1928, has inspired generations of philosophers, biologists, social scientists, and humanities scholars. This volume offers the first substantial introduction to Plessners philosophical anthropology in English, not only setting it in context with such familiar figures as Bergson, Cassirer, and Merleau-Ponty, but also showing Plessners relevance to contemporary discussions in a wide variety of fields in the humanities and sciences.

Jos de Mulis professor of philosophy at Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Foreword
 
Artificial by Nature
An Introduction to Plessner’s Philosophical Anthropology
Jos de Mul
 
Part I: Anthropology
 
1. Philosophical Anthropology
A Third Way between Darwinism and Foucaultism
Joachim Fischer
 
2. The Nascence of Modern Man
Two Approaches to the Problem – Biological Evolutionary Theory and Philosophical Anthropology
Hans-Peter Krüger
 
3. “True” and “False” Evolutionism
Bergson’s Critique of Spencer, Darwin & Co. and Its Relevance for Plessner (and Us)
Heike Delitz
 
4. Life, Concept and Subject
Plessner’s Vital Turn in the Light of Kant and Bergson
Thomas Ebke
 
5. Bodily Experience and Experiencing One’s Body
Maarten Coolen
 
6. Plessner and the Mathematical-Physical Perspective
The Prescientif ic Objectivity of the Human Body
Jasper van Buuren
 
7. The Body Exploited
Torture and the Destruction of Self hood
Janna van Grunsven
 
8. Plessner’s Theory of Eccentricity
A Contribution to tl³&