Coming - by Jean-Luc Nancy (Paperback)

About the Book

Coming by Jean-Luc Nancy is a lyrical examination of the French notion of jouissance. How did jouissance evolve from referring to the pleasure of ownership to the pleasure of orgasm? The philosophers Adèle van Reeth and Jean-Luc Nancy engage in a lively dialogue touching on authors as varied as Spinoza, the Marquis de Sade, and Henry Miller, and on subjects ranging from consumerism to mysticism.

Book Synopsis

Coming is a lyrical, erudite examination of the French notion of jouissance. How did jouissance evolve from referring to the pleasure of possessing a material thing (property, wealth) to the pleasure of orgasm, from appropriation to dis-appropriation, from consumption to consummation? The philosophers Adèle van Reeth and Jean-Luc Nancy engage in a lively dialogue, ranging from consumerism to video games to mysticism and from Spinoza, Hegel, andAugustine to the Marquis de Sade, Marguerite Duras, and Henry Miller. Four additional essays are new to the American edition.

Review Quotes

A stimulating analysis, Nancy's Coming shows sex and sexuality to be crucial understanding central aspects of his work. Moving from the prurient to the profound, Coming is a scintillating read for anyone interested in the limits of desire, the loneliness that pervades much of contemporary culture, or what love means today.---Peter Gratton, Memorial University of Newfoundland

About the Author

Jean-Luc Nancy is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the Universite Marc Bloch, Strasbourg. His wide-ranging thought is developed in many books, including The Disavowed Community; Ego Sum: Corpus, Anima, Fabula; and, with Frederico Ferrari, Being Nude: The Skin of Images (all Fordham).

Adèle Van Reeth is the producer and host of France Culture Radio's daily program on philosophy. She also contributes to the program Le Cercle on Canal Plus Cinéma and to Philosophie magazine.

Charlotte Mandell has translated more than forty books and is the recipient of numerous awards.