Adventures in Transcendental Materialism : Dialogues with Contemporary Thinkers

Armed with resources provided by German idealism, Marxism, psychoanalysis, the life sciences and contemporary philosophy, the author formulates an account of subjectivity that is both materialist and naturalist, and does full justice to human beings as irreducible to natural matter alone.

Since Bacon, Gallileo and Descartes in the early 17th century, the relations between science and religion as well as mind and body have remained volatile fault lines of conflict. The controversies surrounding these relations are as alive and pressing now as at any point over the course of the past four centuries.

Adrian Johnston''s transcendental materialism offers a new theoretical approach to these issues. Arming himself with resources provided by German idealism, Marxism, psychoanalysis, the life sciences and contemporary philosophical developments, Johnston formulates an account of subjectivity that, although being both materialist and naturalist, does full justice to human beings as irreducible to natural matter alone. At the same time he argues against relapses into idealisms, dualisms and spiritualisms.

Adventures in Transcendental Materialism elaborates Johnston''s position through critical engagements with some of today''s most important thinkers including Slavoj Zizek, Alain Badiou, Catherine Malabou, Jean-Claude Milner, Martin Hägglund, William Connolly, and Jane Bennett.