Theory of Strangers: Science of People, Democracy, Non-Psychoanalysis
By (Author) Jeremy R. Smith
By (author) Francois Laruelle
Edinburgh University Press
Edinburgh University Press
12th May 2026
United Kingdom
Non Fiction
Social and political philosophy
Hardback
328
Width 156mm, Height 234mm
Originally published in 1995, this book constitutes a turning point in the development of what Francois Laruelle calls non-philosophy, towards its democratic and emancipatory vision. In this work, Laruelle utilises his non-philosophical theory to develop unified theoretical analyses into philosophy's relationship with the humanities, politics and psychoanalysis.
Centred on the figure of the Stranger, he argues for a democratic reformation of thought governed by human multitudes. The new field of thought is opened by this Universal Humanity, identified with three different pathways: a science of people and non-humanism, democracy and non-politics, and non-psychoanalysis as the development of a Universal Unconscious.