Reynolds is at the forefront of a return: the rebirth of phenomenology after successive burials by analytic philosophy, post-structuralism and naturalism. It returns, critically and controversially, through a philosophy of time setting lived time alongside contemporary scientific theories and ideas taken from Derrida and Deleuze. Reynolds has made believable phantoms of Heidegger, Levinas and, above all, Merleau-Ponty. It matters not whether you wish to dispel them or make them flesh, his book is an essential discussion of debates around time at the cross-over of different philosophical traditions.
- James Williams, University of Dundee,
Jack Reynolds has undertaken the monumental task of defining philosophy as it stands today. Unlike any other book of which I know, Reynolds has approached all the major strains of contemporary philosophy with an even hand and a depth of insight, from analytic philosophy to post-structuralism, to phenomenology. Reynolds shows us that the primary philosophical problem remains that of time but now it is time connected to ethics and politics. The value of Chronopathologies cannot be underestimated.
- Leonard Lawlor, Sparks Professor of Philosophy, Penn State University,
Jack Reynolds’ insightful essays demonstrate the importance as well as the difficulty of thinking across the metaphilosophical borders that separate phenomenology, poststructuralism and analytic philosophy. They develop a compelling case for the deficiencies of each, from the perspective of the others, in relation to their respective approaches to time and suggest ways in which each can learn from the others. This book both calls for and exemplifies genuine conversation between analytic and continental philosophy.
- Paul Patton, Hongyi Chair Professor of Philosophy, Wuhan University,
In Chronopathologies, the Australian philosopher Jack Reynolds gives an exciting analysis of the intimate connection between time and politics in three trajectories of contemporary philosophy: analytic philosophy, poststructuralism and phenomenology. Reynolds makes an important contribution to the philosophical study of time. He convincingly shows that the analytic and continental branches of philosophy need each other to become aware of the temporal and normative biases that bedevil them.
International Journal of Philosophical Studies