Ontology and Perversion: Deleuze, Agamben, Lacan

(Hardback)

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What is perversion How does it emerge within contemporary thought, politics and culture To what extent might it be possible to speak of a politics, aesthetics or even ontology of perversion This book examines the philosophical and political relevance of perversion in the works of three key representatives of contemporary philosophy and psychoanalysis: Gilles Deleuze, Giorgio Agamben and Jacques Lacan. Perversion is often understood simply in terms of cultural or sexual phenomena. By contrast, Bostjan Nedoh places perversion at the heart of philosophical and political issues in the works Deleuze, Agamben and Lacan. It examines the relevance of their discussions of perversion for their respective philosophical projects (Deleuze, Agamben) or for the critique of philosophy (Lacan). By tracing the differences between these thinkers' understanding of perversion, the book finally draws lines of delimitation between the vitalist and the structuralist or psychoanalytic philosophical positions in contemporary philosophy.

Reviews

Why is perversion not simply a social phenomenon but a mode of being In this remarkable book, Nedoh audaciously stalks a novel ontology that dresses in variegated furs. Lacans indifferently ferocious superego is juxtaposed to and played against the vitalist simulacra of Deleuzes Masoch and Agambens Sphinx. Should critique drive with high heels -- Lorenzo Chiesa, Author of Subjectivity and Otherness and The Not-Two
For an ontology to be truly fundamental and absolute, it must account for everything under the sun. Given this, the category of the perverse, with its peculiarities and strangenesses, represents perhaps the greatest challenge to any ontological ambitions. In Ontology and Perversion, Botjan Nedoh admirably rises to this challenge. He does so through a wonderfully illuminating defense of Lacans reflections on ontology in relation to the ontologies of Deleuze and Agamben. Nedohs book makes perversion an unavoidable point of reference for contemporary Continental metaphysics. -- Adrian Johnston, Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy, University of New Mexico

Author Bio

Botjan Nedoh is a Research Assistant at the Institute of Philosophy, Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Ljubljana.