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Situating the Self: Gender, Community, and Postmodernism in Contemporary Ethics

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"Situating the Self" is one of the best books in contemporary political theory. Benhabib starts the book by arguing that as the 20th century draws to an end, it is clear that we are also at the end of an intellectual epoch. Modernity, with its rights based liberalism, has to be rewritten. Seyla Benhabib's work is unique because she is so well versed in both Anglo-American and Continental philosophy. She is one of the few writers whose work can address issues such as the liberal-communitarian debate while at the same time integrating the work of people like Foucault and Derrida into the debate. Too much contemporary work comes from within too narrow a perspective, and ignores other important streams of thought which are relevant to the issues debated. Not so Benhabib - she is so well fluent in so many approaches, so no relevant perspective remains untouched. Her work is also important in that it does not attempt to remain "ideal theory", but rather looks at what's at the stake at the various theoretical debates. This is essential reading for anyone interested in political theory, liberalism, feminist theory, communitarian theory, and the implications of postmodernism for social theory.