The Immanent Word: The Turn to Language in German Philosophy, 1759-1801 (Studies in Philosophy) [Hardcover]

Katie Terezakis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0415980119 | ISBN-13: 978-0415980111

The Immanent Word establishes that the philosophical study of language inaugurated in the 1759 works of Hamann and Lessing marks a paradigm shift in modern philosophy; it analyzes the transformation of that shift in works of Herder, Kant, Fichte, Novalis and Schlegel. It contends that recent studies of early linguistic philosophy obscure the most relevant commission of its thinkers, arguing against the theological appropriation of Hamann by John Milbank; against the "expressive" appropriation of Hamann and Herder by Christina Lafont and Charles Taylor; and against Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe and Jean-Luc Nancy’s uncritical championing of Schlegel’s ideological position.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (March 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415980119
• ISBN-13: 978-0415980111
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,023,015 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Phenomenal Work, November 4, 2007

By 

Friedrich "Friedrich" (NYC, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Immanent Word: The Turn to Language in German Philosophy, 1759-1801 (Studies in Philosophy) (Hardcover)

I would say a "must read" for scholars of German romanticism and idealism, of Enlightenment and "anti-Enlightenment" thinking and a very provocative invitation to philosophers altogether. A meticulously researched and powerfully argued work that recuperates a number of promising suggestions from largely unstudied early (mostly German romantic/idealist) philosophies of language and that paves the way for applying them in a more contemporary milieu. The book also shows how the issues it raises implicate aesthetic theory and literary criticism. The price is not the lowest ever for a scholarly work, and it is only available in hardback, but it is a work you will want to own for reference and will probably need to take your time to work through some dense and involved lines of reasoning. The high-points of these are in the chapters devoted to clashes between Hamann and Herder, on the one side, and Kant on the other. Finally, the author writes extremely well, opening up some of the densest texts in the canon with lucidity and clarity. The book has none of the stylistic awkwardness or scholarly myopia that often accompanies scholarly works. E.g., even for a thinker like Kant, who inspires so much secondary research, it is extremely difficult to get a handle on his agenda and the details of his arguments. In this text, they really come alive. I felt like I was getting a new lease on the critical project. Highly recommended.
The chapters are divided as follows:
Part One. Radical Tradition: Hamann and Lessing.
1. Hamann's Challenge; 2. Lessing's Letters and Demands.
Part Two. The Divided Heart of Naturalism: Herder.
3. Herder's Treatise on the Origin of Language; 4. Herder and Kant.
Part Three. Jena Romanticism: The Promise of Logology and the Production of Incomprehensibility. 5. Fichte on Idealism and Language; 6. Novalis and the Renewal of Logology; 7. Schlegel's On Incomprehensibility and Ideas.
8. Concluding Remarks.