Étienne Balibar Books

Identité et différence Inséré par Locke dans son Essai philosophique concernant l’entendement humain , le « traité de l’identité » a laissé une trace remarquable du XVIIIe siècle à nos jours. Pour la première fois, il donne un nom aux grandes catégories de la métaphysique du sujet : the consciousness , the self , et les associe étroitement dans une problématique de la « conscience de soi ». Pour que celle-ci déploie ses possibilités et ses conflits latents, il faut cependant un moment spécifique de traduction : la proposition par le huguenot français Pierre Coste de leurs équivalents – « la con-science » et « le soi » –, fournissant à toute la philosophie continentale les moyens de sortir des apories du cartésianisme. Cet événement dont nous sommes encore tributaires, l’invention européenne de la conscience , se trouve ici étudié à travers la réédition des textes de Locke et de Coste, augmentée d’une nouvelle traduction et complétée par un commentaire et un dossier. Étienne Balibar Il est professeur émérite à l’université de Paris-Ouest-Nanterre-La Défense.

Etienne Balibar, one of the foremost living French philosophers, builds on his landmark work 'Spinoza and Politics' with this exploration of Spinoza's ontology. Balibar situates Spinoza in relation to the major figures of Marx and Freud as a precursor to the more recent French thinker Gilbert Simondon's concept of the transindividual.

A key dialogue on identity and nationalism by major critics of capitalism.

Acclaimed French philosopher on metaphysics and politics

An analysis of Spinoza's treatises within the context of his contemporary political, religious, and ideological life.

This work represents a significant shift in French intellectual thought, challenging traditional interpretations of Marx. It offers a fresh perspective that re-evaluates Marxist theory, encouraging readers to reconsider established beliefs and engage with new ideas. The text is pivotal for those interested in philosophy, political theory, and the evolution of Marxist thought.

The book critiques the Left's dismissal of "universal" as a concept tied to masculinist and Eurocentric biases. Balibar engages with these critiques to redefine and revitalize universal claims, proposing their potential to support a revolutionary politics that prioritizes the common good. Through this exploration, he seeks to navigate the complexities of universalism while advocating for a more inclusive and transformative political framework.

Etienne Balibar explores the tensions between cosmopolitanism and secularism in order to advance a truly democratic and emancipatory cosmopolitanism, which requires a secularization of secularism. Going beyond circumscribed notions of religion and the public sphere, Secularism and Cosmopolitanism is a profound rethinking of identity and difference.

A rich and accessible introduction to Marx’s fundamental concepts from a key intellectual—now updated Written by one of political theory’s leading thinkers, The Philosophy of Marx examines all the key areas of Marx’s writings in their wider historical and theoretical context—including the concepts of class struggle, ideology, humanism, progress, determinism, commodity fetishism, and the state. Etienne Balibar opens a gateway into the thought of one of history’s great minds. In this updated edition to this now classic work, Balibar has added a substantial introduction and new material. Complete with key “information boxes” for the student to make the most challenging areas of theory easy to understand, this remains the best available introduction to the most important thinker of the past 200 years.