Giorgio Agamben is one of the most important and controversial figures in contemporary continental philosophy and critical theory. His work covers a broad array of topics from biblical criticism to Guantanamo Bay and the ‘war on terror’.

Alex Murray explains Agamben’s key ideas, including:
an overview of his work from first publication to the present clear analysis of Agamben’s philosophy of language and life theories of ethics and ‘witnessing’ the relationship between Agamben’s political writing and his work on aesthetics and poetics.

Investigating the relationship between politics, language, literature, aesthetics and ethics, this guide is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the complex nature of modern political and cultural formations.

Contents

Acknowledgements Why Agamben? Key Ideas 1. Language and the Negativity of Being 2. Infancy and Archaeological Method 3. Potentiality and ‘the Task of the Coming Philosophy’ 4. Politics – Bare Life and Sovereign Power 5. The Homeland of Gesture – Art and Cinema 6. The Laboratory of Literature 7. Bearing Witness and Messianic Time After Agamben Further Reading Works Cited