Spectacular Logic in Hegel and Debord: Why Everything is as it Seems

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Revisiting Guy Debords seminal work, The Society of the Spectacle (1967), Eric-John Russell breathes new life into a text which directly preceded and informed the revolutionary fervour of May 1968. Deepening the analysis between Debord and Marx by revealing the centrality of Hegels speculative logic to both, he traces Debords intellectual debt to Hegel in a way that treads new ground for critical theory. Drawing extensively from The Phenomenology of Spirit (1807) and Science of Logic (1812), this book illustrates the lasting impact of Debords critical theory of 20th-century capitalism and reveals new possibilities for the critique of capitalism.

Reviews

Spectacular Logic in Hegel and Debord both contributes to this restoration and offers some revisions of the studies that preceded it. But in doing so, it provides far more than a mere analysis of Hegels influence on Debord. * Marx & Philosophy Review of Books *
Eric-John Russell is a brilliant and ingenious young writer and critic who needs and deserves to be heard; it takes courage to listen. Find it. * Robert Hullot-Kentor, Founding Chair, Critical Theory and the Arts, School of Visual Arts, New York, USA *
Debord was at risk of getting reduced to a media theorist or an appendix to historical avant-gardes, fashionable and superseded at the same time. Russell's book helps to put Debord in his right place in the history of critical thought, especially by pointing out his advancement of Hegel's philosophy. By utilizing hitherto unpublished material from the Guy Debord archive at the Bibliothque nationale de France, Russell upholds with exacting detail and formidable prowess Debord's concept of the spectacle as a critical theory of society. * Anselm Jappe, Professor of Philosophy, Accademia di Belle Arti di Sassari, Italy *
This book makes a serious and valuable contribution to the study of Debords work. It demonstrates that his theory of spectacle is not just a critique of the mass media, but rather a nuanced Hegelian social ontology that echoes some of the Frankfurt Schools central concerns. Recommended. * Tom Bunyard, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Brighton, UK *

Author Bio

Eric-John Russell is a researcher specializing in the areas of German Idealism, Hegelian Marxism and Frankfurt School Critical Theory. He is Editor in Chief of the Marx & Philosophy Review of Books and a founding editor of Cured Quail.