In a Materialist Way:Selected Essays
“The record of a subtle, independent, powerfully demystifying mind.” —Terry Eagleton
Best known for his work in literary criticism, Pierre Macherey has, over the past two decades, produced a series of original philosophical works. This first collection of his philosophical writings to be published in English discloses the full range of Macherey’s interventions, testifying to his signal status as one of France’s leading philosophers. In a Materialist Way ranges over Macherey’s writings on philosophy and theory, critiques of the work of major figures in contemporary French thought such as Lacan, Foucoult and Canguilhem, and analyses of the work of Spinoza. It reveals to English-speaking audiences what has long been common knowlege in France: that Pierre Macherey is among the most fertile, imaginative and subtle of contemporary philosophers.
Reviews
Three decades ago, the work of Pierre Macherey helped to change the face of literary studies. In this volume, he reappears in his more customary persona of philosopher rather than literary theorist, retaining all of his materialist rigour but widening his intellectual range. This fascinating set of encounters with Hegel, Lacan, Foucault, Spinoza and others is the record of a subtle, independent, powerfully demystifying mind, as well as an historic document in the after-life of so-called Althusserian Marxism.