Philosophy
Postmodernist philosophy and the legacy of Nietzsche
An all-levels philosophy course examining how Nietzsche and later continental thinkers challenge ideas of stable identity, rational selfhood and autonomous agency.
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About this course
The course considers the breakdown of the unified modern subject across continental philosophy. It examines Nietzsche’s influence on Bataille and Deleuze, Heidegger’s challenge to dualism, and psychoanalytic accounts of the divided subject in Freud and Lacan, including the role of language and unconscious desire. Interactive lectures and engagement with key texts then turn to Foucault’s analysis of power and subject formation, Derrida’s deconstruction of self-presence, and attempts by Merleau-Ponty and Habermas to reconsider embodiment, communication and human agency.
What you'll learn
- Analyse the crisis of the modern subject in continental philosophy
- Compare Cartesian ideas of rational selfhood with post-Cartesian critiques
- Explain how Freud and Lacan describe divided subjectivity and unconscious processes
- Examine Lacan’s account of language in the formation of the subject
- Apply Foucault’s genealogical approach to power, knowledge and subject production
- Evaluate Derrida’s critique of self-presence alongside later responses concerning embodiment and communication
Is this course right for you?
The course is intended for learners interested in philosophy, the history of ideas and cultural analysis. It is listed as suitable for all levels, with an open-minded approach and willingness to consider views that may differ from one’s own more important than particular skills. Teaching involves interactive lectures and engagement with key texts.
- Suitable for learners approaching the subject from philosophy or the history of ideas
- Requires willingness to listen to and think about differing viewpoints
- Involves participation in interactive lectures and discussion of key texts
Before you go
- Suggested reading includes Slavoj Žižek’s The Ticklish Subject: The Absent Centre of Political Ontology, Bruce Fink’s The Lacanian Subject: Between Language and Jouissance, and The Continental Philosophy Reader edited by Richard Kearney and Mara Rainwater.