The New Materialism Althusser, Badiou, and }}i}}ek [Paperback]

Alain Badiou and Slavoj }i~ek have become two of the dominant voices in contemporary philosophy and critical theory. In this book, Geoff Pfeifer offers an in-depth look at their respective views. Using Louis Althussers materialism as a starting pointwhich, as Pfeifer shows, was built partially as a response to the Marxism of the Parti Communiste Fran?ais and partially in dialogue with other philosophical movements and intellectual currents of its timesthe book looks at the differing ways in which both Badious and }i~eks work attempt to respond to issues that arise within the Althusserian edifice. Pfeifer argues here that, ultimately, }i~eks materialism succeeds in responding to these issues in ways that Badious does not. In building this argument, Pfeifer engages not only with the work of Althusser, Badiou, and }i~ek and their intellectual backgrounds, but also with much of the contemporary scholarship surrounding these thinkers. As such, Pfeifers book is an important addition to the ongoing debates within contemporary critical theory.

Introduction  1. Louis Althusser and the Parti Communiste Fran?ais  2. En Media Res: Althussers Materialism, the Challenge to the PCFs Marxism, and the Rise of Anti-Humanism  3. Badious Materialist Project: Stasis and Change  4. Badiou as Structuralist, or the Idealism of Formalism  5. }i~ek and the Materialism of the Immaterial, or Why Hegel Is Not an Idealist  6. }i~ek contra Badiou.  Conclusion: New Materialism?

Geoff Pfeifer is Assistant Teaching Professor of Philosophy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.