The Philosophy of Isabelle Stengers
Situates Isabelle Stengers as one of the most significant figures in contemporary continental philosophy
- Explores four problematic conceptual complexes: constructivism; peace fabrication; resistance to the present; and reclaiming nonmodern practices
- Draws from the majority of Stengers’ texts, including monographs, co-written books and journal articles
- Positions Stengers as a key figure in contemporary continental philosophy
Over more than four decades, the work of Isabelle Stengers has ranged widely across many different subjects, from the practices of physics, biology and chemistry to psychoanalysis, ethnopsychiatry, ecology, gender, climate change, animism, capitalism, witchcraft, medicine, drugs and the history of philosophy.
Providing a comprehensive overview of Stengers’ work, Grant Maxwell situates her as a primary figure in a philosophical tradition extending from Leibniz, James and Guattari to perhaps her main precursors, Deleuze and Whitehead. In doing so, he explores how Stengers’ constructivism resists the hierarchical binarity characteristic of modernity, constructing the means to create coherence among problematic differences – a creation which could potentially transform the binary constructions of gender, capitalism and climate change.
Acknowledgments
Introduction: An Unfaithful Heir to Whitehead and Deleuze
- Constructivism
- Peace Fabrication
- Resistance to the Present
- Reclaiming Nonmodern Practices
Conclusion: Fighting for Peace
Notes
Works Cited
Index
Maxwell’s timely study explores Stengers’ work through its interlocutors and predecessors (Leibniz, Whitehead, Deleuze, James, and others) and diverse forays in psychoanalysis, ethnopsychiatry, ecology, and the sciences. Confirming her importance as a visionary world philosopher, Maxwell provocatively asks if Stengers’ constructivist ethos leads to a becoming-personal that unsettles philosophy’s complacency.
