An extraordinary book by one of our most distinguished literary and cultural theorists. Weber's main theme is that 'targeting' is an effort to overcome finitude-our human condition of being consigned to death, limited to singular times and places, and vulnerable to the workings of chance. By targeting another (at the limit, by killing another) we seek to evade the truth of our own condition. - âMarc Redfield, Claremont Graduate University
âSam Weber has, over the years, established himself as one of the major critical
thinkers of our time, a true philosopher of the event and of the medial condition.
Weber extends our understanding of cognition and information networks
as they have been mobilized in the wake of Sept. 11 and the âwar on terror.â
. . . In addition to offering a way around the intellectual impasse of âterrorâ
as a political construct, the book provides an education in how to think
philosophically about life and politics.â
- âEmily Apter, New York University
Samuel Weber has been one of the most important critical voices
within the fields of literary theory, psychoanalysis, philosophy, and
media theory for more than thirty years now. He is a luminous,
intricate, and preeminently ethical critic whose work has helped
define the stakes and tasks of research and scholarship in the
humanities during this era of great transformation. . . . What is
perhaps most persuasive about this book is its capacity not only to
enhance our understanding of the several authors and texts with
which it is concerned but also to address and explore some of the
most pressing and urgent ethical and historico-political issues of
our time, including war, violence, technology, media, nationalism,
and sovereignty. That Weber is able to address these
contemporary issues through the lens of our literary, philosophical,
and psychoanalytic inheritance is perhaps the best testament to his
conviction that we can only address the present and facilitate a
future by learning to read historically. A richly demanding work, it
reaffirms his stature as one of the finest critics inside and outside
the academy.
- âEduardo L Cadava,, Princeton University
These essays bristle with provocative and illuminating insights into the works of Plato, Carl Schmitt, and Walter Benjamin. - âChoice
Samuel Weber has been one of the most important critical voices
within the fields of literary theory, psychoanalysis, philosophy, and
media theory for more than thirty years now. He is a luminous,
intricate, and preeminently ethical critic whose work has helped
define the stakes and tasks of research and scholarship in the
humanities during this era of great transformation. . . . What is
perhaps most persuasive about this book is its capacity not only to
enhance our understanding of the several authors and texts with
which it is concerned but also to address and explore some of the
most pressing and urgent ethical and historico-political issues of
our time, including war, violence, technology, media, nationalism,
and sovereignty. That Weber is able to address these
contemporary issues through the lens of our literary, philosophical,
and psychoanalytic inheritance is perhaps the best testament to his
conviction that we can only address the present and facilitate a
future by learning to read historically. A richly demanding work, it
reaffirms his stature as one of the finest critics inside and outside
the academy.
---âEduardo L Cadava,, Princeton University
âSam Weber has, over the years, established himself as one of the major critical
thinkers of our time, a true philosopher of the event and of the medial condition.
Weber extends our understanding of cognition and information networks
as they have been mobilized in the wake of Sept. 11 and the âwar on terror.â
. . . In addition to offering a way around the intellectual impasse of âterrorâ
as a political construct, the book provides an education in how to think
philosophically about life and politics.â
---âEmily Apter, New York University
An extraordinary book by one of our most distinguished literary and cultural theorists. Weber's main theme is that 'targeting' is an effort to overcome finitude-our human condition of being consigned to death, limited to singular times and places, and vulnerable to the workings of chance. By targeting another (at the limit, by killing another) we seek to evade the truth of our own condition.---âMarc Redfield, Claremont Graduate University