1: Intellectuals and History 2: The "End of Philosophy"? 3: The Social-Historical: Mode of Being, Problems of Knowledge 4: Individual, Society, Rationality, History 5: The Greek Polis and the Creation of Democracy 6: The Nature and Value of Equality 7: Power, Politics, Autonomy 8: Reflections on "Rationality" and "Development"; Presentation and Response to Critics 9: The Crisis of Culture and the State 10: Dead End? Bibliography Index

"Excellent introduction to Castoriadis."--Manual M. Davenport, Texas A & M "The author writes with a broad scope of vision and, at the same time, a depth needed to compare the important ideas considered. The work is bound to generate discussion among students in at least two fields; philosophy and political thought."--Keith R. David, William Jewell College "The essays, most of them written during the past five years or so, show Castoriadis to be an extraordinarily wide-ranging social critic, prepared to grapple with some of the most complex and disturbing aspects of the late modern age....[T]hese essays are edifying reading."--Times Higher "I only wish I had read Cornelius Castoriadis before, and I recommend him strongly....Marvellously compelling."--Political Studies "Reading Castoriadis, is an urgent task. I cannot hope adequately to convey the exhilaration that following his conceptual trails induces. Here is a young and alert political philosopher."--J.J. Lecercle, Radical Philosophy "The strength of these essays - has been a passionate promotion of the modernist vision of a self-reflective and self-realizing society."--Philosophical Reviews

The most recent writings of one of Europe's foremost social thinkers Relates topical issues in a wide variety of fields--from political and social theory to science and ecology--to the quest for individual and collective autonomy Poses a radical challenge to Western philosophical traditions that is bound to spark classroom debate

The most recent writings of one of Europe's foremost social thinkers Relates topical issues in a wide variety of fields--from political and social theory to science and ecology--to the quest for individual and collective autonomy Poses a radical challenge to Western philosophical traditions that is bound to spark classroom debate