Just Do It: The Transformation of Contemporary Philosophy

Abstract

Introduction: In contemporary philosophical debates the notion of a transformation of philosophy is cropping up with increasing frequency. In Germany, Jurgen Habermas and his followers are pleading a paradigm-shift away from the philosophy of consciousness towards the paradigm of communicative action. In France post-structuralist and postmodernist philosophy have effected a formidable landslide in which the whole tradition of modern philosophy is at stake, especially its logocentric premises and practice. Within the anglo-saxon countries the analytic tradition has lost its dominance, to be replaced by an intriguing mixture of post-structuralist, critical-theoretical and post-analytical fragments. Moreover, these different movements are not separated from each other but are inteacting with increasing frequency and intensity, resulting in workshops on Derrida at John Hopkins, courses on Rorty in Berlin and the rediscovery of Adorno in Paris.