The Era of the Individual

by Alain Renaut and M.B. De Devoise (Tr.) and Franklin Philip (Tr.)

In The Era of the Individual, the author explores the most saliant feature of post-structuralism: the elimination of the human subject. At the root of this thinking lies the belief that humans cannot know or control their basic natures, a premise that led to Heidegger`s distrust of an individualistic, capitalist modern society and that allied him briefly with Hitler`s National Socialist Party. While acknowledging some of Heidegger`s misgivings toward modernity as legitimate, Renaut argues that it is nevertheless wrong to equate modernity with the triumph of individualism. Here he distinguishes between individualism and subjectivity and, by offering a history of the two, powerfully redirects the course of current thinking away from potentially dangerous, reductionist views of humanity.

About the Author:

ALAN RENAUT, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Caen and confounder of the College de Philosophie, is among the foremost representatives of liberal humanism in France today.