Kōjin Karatani Book order

Classic study of Marx by Japan's leading critical theoristOriginally published in 1974, Kojin Karatani's Towards the Centre of Possibility has been amongst his most enduring and pioneering works in critical theory. Written at a time when the political sequences of the New Left had collapsed into crisis and violence, with widespread political exhaustion for the competing sectarian visions of Marxism from 1968, Karatani's Marx laid the groundwork for a new reading, unfamiliar to the existing Marxist discourse in Japan at the time.Karatani's Marx takes on insights from semiotics, deconstruction, and the reading of Marx as a literary thinker, treating Capital as an intervention in philosophy that could be read as itself a theory of signs. Marx is unique in this sense, not only because of its importance in post-68 Japanese thought, but also because the heterodox reading of Marx that Karatani debuts in this text, centered on his theory of the value-form, will go on to form the basis of his globally-influential work.

Originally published in 1974, Kojin Karatani's Marx- Towards the Centre of Possibility has been among his most enduring and pioneering works in critical theory. Written at a time when the political sequences of the New Left had collapsed into crisis and violence, with widespread political exhaustion for the competing sectarian visions of Marxism from 1968, Karatani's Marx laid the groundwork for a new reading, unfamiliar to the existing Marxist discourse in Japan at the time. Karatani's Marx takes on insights from semiotics, deconstruction, and the reading of Marx as a literary thinker, treating Capital as an intervention in philosophy that could be read as itself a theory of signs. Marx is unique in this sense, not only because of its importance in post-'68 Japanese thought, but also because the heterodox reading of Marx that Karatani debuts in this text, centred on his theory of the value-form, will go on to form the basis of his globally influential work.

"Nation and Aesthetics" explores the intrinsic links between nationalism and aesthetics across art, language, and religion. It reveals how the nation intertwines with capitalism and the state, shaping the complex modern social structure of capital-nation-state.

Questions the idealization of ancient Athens as the source of philosophy and democracy by placing the origins instead in Ionia, a set of Greek colonies located in present-day Turkey.

Seeks to understand both Capital-Nation-State, the interlocking system that is the dominant form of modern global society, and the possibilities for superseding it.

Kojin Karatani's work offers a fresh perspective by intertwining the philosophies of Kant and Marx, presenting a transcritical analysis that uncovers ethical dimensions within socialism and critiques of money. He interprets Kant as a philosopher aiming to reclaim metaphysics for ethics and praxis, while proposing a reinterpretation of Marx that seeks to free Marxism from traditional constraints. This approach aims to establish a foundation for positive activism that can transcend the interconnected systems of Capital, Nation, and State.

A genuine Copernican turn in Kantian and Marxist theory and practice.

The book expands on Rainer Ganahl's public project, which involved six reading seminars held across different countries from 1993 to 1996. Each seminar featured distinct bibliographies, emphasizing the theme of reinventing the coffee table through curated selections of 25 books. This work serves as a reflection on the seminars and their cultural impact, offering insights into the intersection of art, literature, and public engagement.

In Architecture as Metaphor, Kojin Karatani detects a recurrent will to architecture that he argues is the foundation of all Western thinking, traversing architecture, philosophy, literature, linguistics, city planning, anthropology, political economics, psychoanalysis, and mathematics.

Karatani Kojin is one of Japan's leading critics. In his work as a theoretician, he has described Modernity as have few others; he has re-evaluated the literature of the entire Meiji period and beyond. As one critic has said, Karatani's thought "has had a profound effect on the way we formulate the questions we ask about modern literature and culture ... [his] argument is compelling, moving even, and in the end the reader comes away with a different understanding not only of modern Japanese literature but of modern Japan itself." Among the many authors discussed are Soseki Natsume, Doppo Kunikida, Katai Tayama, and Shoyo Tsubouchi.