Genealogies of Difference

Genealogies of Difference by Nathan Widder explores the complex relationships between identity, difference, and time through a critical engagement with modern and postmodern theories. This volume provides a philosophical underpinning for a politics and ethics of difference that is crucial to our present day. Widder examines the failure of Hegelian dialectics to adequately address the problem of difference, drawing on the works of key thinkers such as Nietzsche, Lyotard, Deleuze, Foucault, and Blanchot. He then provides a nuanced exploration of major and marginal figures in Western philosophy, including Aristotle, Epicureanism, Augustine, Gnosticism, and medieval Scholasticism, to illustrate their relevance to contemporary issues. By tracing the development of theoretical discourse on difference, Widder develops a concept of difference that is indispensable to a postmodern world of blurred boundaries and hybrid forms. This book offers a thought-provoking analysis of the nature of difference and its relation to Western philosophy, making it an important contribution to contemporary debates on pluralism, multiplicity, and community.