The Science, Politics, and Ontology of Life-Philosophy [Paperback]

Life-philosophy, central to 19th-century philosophical thought, is concerned with the meaning, value and purpose of life. This much-needed study returns to the central philosophical questions ofLebensphilosophieand reveals the ascendency of 'life' in contemporary philosophical thinking.

Scholars from the disciplines of political theory, aesthetics, bioethics and ontology examine how the notion of life has made its way into contemporary philosophical discussions. They explore three main themes: the shift toward biological and technological views of life; the political implications of our conceptions of life; and the re-emergence of the idea of life in recent philosophical discussions about, for example, care of the self, scepticism, tragedy, desire, the emotions, and history.

Anticipating new directions of philosophical thinking, this study restores a vital school of thought to crucial considerations about the dangers of contemporary politics and the threat of new technologies.

Notes of Contributors \ Acknowledgements \ Editors' IntroductionScott M. Campbell and Paul W. Bruno\Part I: Life-Contexts in Dilthey, Nietzsche, and Bergson\ 1. Dilthey as a Philosopher of LifeRudolf A. Makkreel\ 2. Biological and Historical Life: Heidegger between Levinas and DiltheyEric Nelson\ 3. Your Money or Your Life: Using Nietzsche's Critique of Mechanism and Platonism to Defend the BiosphereRonnie Hawkins\ 4. The Comprehensive Meaning of Life in BergsonFlorence Caeymaex\Part II: Converging Technologies\ 5. Information, Self-Reference, and the Magical Realism of Life H. Peter Steeves\ 6. The Artificialization of Life: Designing Self-OrganizationJean-Pierre Dupuy\ 7. eLife: From Biology to Technology and Back AgainJos de Mul\ 8. Philosophy of Life in the Age of Information:Seinsgeschichteand the Task of An Ontology of Ourselves Charles Bonner\Part III: Life, Power, Politil£