I Read, Therefore I Blog

Capitalism: A Conversation In Critical Theory by Nancy Fraser and Rahel Jaeggi

2025-05-25T22:13:35Z

The Blurb On The Back:

In this important new book, Nancy Fraser and Rahel Jaeggi take a fresh look at the big questions surrounding the peculiar social form known as “capitalism”, upending many of our commonly held assumptions about what capitalism is and how to subject it to critique. They show how, throughout its history, various regimes of capitalism have relied on a series of institutional separations between economy and polity, production and social reproduction, and human and non-human nature, periodically readjusting the boundaries between these domains in response to crises and upheavals. They consider how these “boundary struggles” offer a key to understanding capitalism’s contradictions and the multiple forms of conflict to which it gives rise.

What emerges is a renewed crises critique of capitalism which puts our present conjuncture into broader perspective, along with sharp diagnoses of the recent resurgence of right-wing populism and what would be required of a viable Left alternative. This major new book by two leading critical theorists will be of great interest to anyone concerned with the nature and future of capitalism and with the key questions of progressive politics today.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Nancy Fraser is Professor of Political & Social Science at the New School for Social Research and Rahel Jaeggi is professor of practical and social philosophy at the Humboldt University, Berlin. This highly academic book, framed as a conversation between the authors uses (and assumes that the reader is grounded in) critical theory to explore what capitalism is, how it’s been viewed in history, how it can be capitalised and how it can be defeated.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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Project Logic – Prove It: How To Think Rationally by Katie Dicker

2023-03-29T21:13:39Z

The Blurb On The Back:

Project Logic
Prove It!

Test and improve your critical thinking skills with Project Logic! Challenge yourself with fun (and fiendish!) puzzles and then discover how critical thinking can help you solve everyday problems and issues.

Thinking rationally is about taking your time to organise your thoughts and to make informed decisions. Learn how to boost your thinking skills with puzzles, challenges and activities and find out about brilliant rational minds from the past.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Katie Dicker is a writer and editor specialising in children’s educational publishing. Part of the PROJECT LOGIC SERIES this is a cracking guide to how to think logically and rationally for readers aged 8+ that mixes puzzles and examples and introduces philosophers and their ideas. The puzzles are complex, there are challenges to perform afterwards together and a glossary of terms. It’s a great introduction to the subject and well worth a look.

PROJECT LOGIC - PROVE IT! was released in the United Kingdom on 9th March 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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Doing Philosophy: From Common Curiosity To Logical Reasoning by Timothy Williamson

2022-06-08T21:27:52Z

The Blurb On The Back:

For those who are new to philosophy the methodology for philosophical thinking may seem almost mystical.

And yet the processes are more familiar than we may initially fear.

Drawing on examples throughout the history of philosophy’s successes and failures, Timothy Williamson demonstrates how philosophy begins with common-sense curiosity, and develops through our capacity to dispute rationally with each other.

As he shows, philosophy can clarify our thoughts. This depends on the development of philosophical theories, which can be tested by imaginative thought experiments, and compared against each other by standards like those in science. Overturning the widely held dogma of the special nature of philosophy, Williamson unravels its methods, uncovers both their power and their limitations, and assesses the future of philosophy.

From thought experiments to deduction to theories, this little book will make you rethink what philosophy is.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Timothy Williamson is the Wykeham Professor of Logic at Oxford University. His book aims to explain how to do philosophy well by cantering through various schools, including the history and science of philosophy, to set out how they approach problems. I found some parts (e.g. the history sections) easier to follow than others (notably the logic section) but if you’re thinking of studying philosophy it’s definitely worth a look.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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Saturday Night Live And Philosophy edited by Jason Southworth and Ruth Tallman

2022-02-06T21:13:23Z

The Blurb On The Back:

Is Weekend Update fake news?
How can we tell the difference between satire, smart-assert, and seriousness?
What is the benefit of jokes that cause outrage?
The Church Lady has a bad case of moral superiority. How about you?
What can Wayne and Garth teach us about living a happy life?

Live from New York for over forty years, Saturday Night Live is seriously funny, and through decades of sketches, monologues, commercials, music acts, and a huge cast of recurring characters, NBC’s original late-night comedy sketch show has brought a touch of levity to everything that is laughable about modern life. Many of the greatest minds in modern comedy - Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Steve Martin, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Chris Rock, Kate McKinnon and more - have honed their craft at SNL, finding fresh ways to highlight the ridiculous and absurd in our boardrooms, newsrooms, mailrooms, sorority houses, music studios, churches, schools, and everywhere in-between. Politicians from Gerald Ford to Donald Trump have had their faults and foibles lampooned by SNL’s election sketches and satirical news segments, and all the while, Weekend Update has shown us that the medium is the message.

Of course, comedian-philosophers from Socrates to Sartre have always produced and provoked us, critiquing our most sacred institutions and urging us to examine ourselves in the process. In Saturday Night Live and Philosophy, a star-studded ensemble cast of philosophers takes a close look at the “deep thoughts” beneath the surface of the award-winning late-night variety show and its hosts’ hijinks. In this book, philosophy and comedy join forces with the strength of the Ambiguously Gay Duo to explore the meaning of life itself through the riffs and beats of the subversive parody that gives the show its razor-sharp wit and undeniable cultural and political significance.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Jason Southworth is a philosophy instructor at several colleges and universities. Ruth Tallman is department chair and teaches philosophy at Hillsborough Community College. This mixed bag of 20 essays (part of a series on philosophy and pop culture) examines the elements of Saturday Night Live through various philosophical schools of thought but you need to be a hardcore SNL fan or an undergraduate philosophy student to get the most from it.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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Pandemic! 2: Chronicles Of A Time Lost by Slavoj Žižek

2021-12-22T23:06:18Z

The Blurb On The Back:

In this exhilarating sequel to his acclaimed Pandemic!: COVID-19 Shakes The World, Slavoj Žižek delves into the surprising dimensions of lockdowns, quarantines, and social distancing - as well as the increasingly unruly opposition to them by a “response-fatigued” public around the world.

Žižek examines the ripple effects on the food supply of harvest failures caused by labour shortages, and the hyper-exploitation of the global class of care workers, without whose labour daily life would be impossible. Through such examples he pinpoints the inability of contemporary capitalism to safeguard effectively the public in times of crisis.

Writing with characteristic daring and zeal, Žižek ranges across critical theory, pop culture, and psychoanalysis to reveal the troubling dynamics of knowledge and power emerging in these viral times.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

The philosopher, cultural critic and sociologist Slavoj Žižek is International Director for Humanities at Birkbeck College. This brave sequel, written during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic uncertainty in 2020 and published in January 2021, tries to make sense of what’s happening and what it means for the future. It’s a time capsule whose assumptions aren’t always correct but are nonetheless useful for future historians analysing this period.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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Dogs: A Philosophical Guide To Our Best Friends by Mark Alizart

2019-12-12T23:14:26Z

The Blurb On The Back:

Man’s best friend, domesticated since pre-historic times, a travelling companion for explorers and artists, thinkers and walkers, equally happy curled up by the fire and bounding through the great outdoors: dogs matter to us because we love them. But is that all there is to the canine’s good-natured voracity and affectionate dependency?

Mark Alizart dispenses with the well-worn cliches concerning dogs and their masters, seeing them not as submissive pets but rather as unexpected life coaches, ready to teach us the elusive recipes for contentment and joy. Dogs have faced their fate in life with a certain detachment that is not easy to understand. Unlike other animals in a similar situation, they have not become hardened, nor have they let themselves die a little inside. On the contrary, they seem to have softened. This book is devoted to understanding this miracle, the miracle of the joy of dogs - to understanding it and, if at all possible, learning how it’s done.

Weaving elegantly and eruditely between historical myth and pop-culture anecdote, between the peculiar views of philosophers and the even more bizarre findings of science, Alizart offers us a surprising new portrait of the dog as thinker - a thinker who may perhaps know the true secret of our humanity.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Mark Alizart is a journalist, philosopher and dog owner. In this peculiar book (translated from French by Robin MacKay) he looks at the evolution of the dog and its representation through mythology and religion with some musing on why women are compared to bitches. There’s interesting material here but its overt intellectualism is quite alienating and I’m not sure it has the heart or enthusiasm to appeal to average dog lovers.

DOGS: A PHILOSOPHICAL GUIDE TO OUR BEST FRIENDS was released in the United Kingdom on 11th October 2019. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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The Joy Of Missing Out: The Art Of Self-Restraint In An Age Of Excess by Svend Brinkmann

2019-07-13T13:31:16Z

The Blurb On The Back:

”Because you’re worth it”, proclaims the classic cosmetics ad. “Just do it!” implores the global sports retailer. Everywhere we turn, we are constantly encouraged to experience as much as possible, for as long as possible, in as many ways as possible. FOMO – Fear of Missing Out – has become a central preoccupation in a world fixated on the never-ending pursuit of gratification and self-fulfilment.

But this pursuit can become a treadmill leading nowhere. How can we break out of it? In this refreshing book, bestselling Danish philosopher and psychologist Svend Brinkmann reveals the many virtues of missing out on the constant choices and temptations that dominate our experience-obsessed consumer society. By cultivating self-restraint and celebrating moderation we can develop a more fulfilling way of living that enriches ourselves and our fellow humans and protects the planet we all share – in short, we can discover the joy of missing out.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Svend Brinkmann is professor of psychology at Aalborg University and in this readable book (translated from Danish by Tam McTurk) he examines the values of self-restraint and moderation to combat the Fear Of Missing Out lifestyle. However, while Brinkmann makes strong psychological and philosophical arguments for why moderation is good for you, he doesn’t give any guidance on how to practice it and so it feels a little half-done as a subject.

THE JOY OF MISSING OUT was released in the United Kingdom on 8th February 2019. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

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