Forms of Life
In Forms of Life , Andreas Gailus argues that the neglect of aesthetics in most contemporary theories of biopolitics has resulted in an overly restricted conception of life. He insists we need a more flexible notion of life: one attuned to the interplay and conflict between its many dimensions and f...
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| Format: | Online |
| Sprog: | engelsk |
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Cornell University Press
2026
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| Online adgang: | https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/110018 |
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| _version_ | 1869517099017175040 |
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| author | Gailus, Andreas |
| author_browse | Gailus, Andreas |
| author_facet | Gailus, Andreas |
| author_sort | Gailus, Andreas |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | In Forms of Life , Andreas Gailus argues that the neglect of aesthetics in most contemporary theories of biopolitics has resulted in an overly restricted conception of life. He insists we need a more flexible notion of life: one attuned to the interplay and conflict between its many dimensions and forms. Forms of Life develops such a notion through the meticulous study of works by Kant, Goethe, Kleist, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Benn, Musil, and others. Gailus shows that the modern conception of "life" as a generative, organizing force internal to living beings emerged in the last decades of the eighteenth century in biological thought. At the core of this vitalist strand of thought, Gailus maintains, lies a persistent emphasis on the dynamics of formation and deformation, and thus on an intrinsically aesthetic dimension of life. Forms of Life brings this older discourse into critical conversation with contemporary discussions of biopolitics and vitalism, while also developing a rich conception of life that highlights, rather than suppresses, its protean character. Gailus demonstrates that life unfolds in the open-ended interweaving of the myriad forms and modalities of biological, ethical, political, psychical, aesthetic, and biographical systems. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-172170 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Cornell University Press |
| publisherStr | Cornell University Press |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-1721702026-02-20T05:19:47Z Forms of Life Gailus, Andreas Wittgenstein Vitalism Biopolitical modernity thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDH Philosophical traditions and schools of thought In Forms of Life , Andreas Gailus argues that the neglect of aesthetics in most contemporary theories of biopolitics has resulted in an overly restricted conception of life. He insists we need a more flexible notion of life: one attuned to the interplay and conflict between its many dimensions and forms. Forms of Life develops such a notion through the meticulous study of works by Kant, Goethe, Kleist, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Benn, Musil, and others. Gailus shows that the modern conception of "life" as a generative, organizing force internal to living beings emerged in the last decades of the eighteenth century in biological thought. At the core of this vitalist strand of thought, Gailus maintains, lies a persistent emphasis on the dynamics of formation and deformation, and thus on an intrinsically aesthetic dimension of life. Forms of Life brings this older discourse into critical conversation with contemporary discussions of biopolitics and vitalism, while also developing a rich conception of life that highlights, rather than suppresses, its protean character. Gailus demonstrates that life unfolds in the open-ended interweaving of the myriad forms and modalities of biological, ethical, political, psychical, aesthetic, and biographical systems. 2026-02-20T05:19:46Z 2026-02-20T05:19:46Z 2026-02-19T08:14:20Z 2020 book https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/110018 9781501749964 9781501749971 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/172170 eng Signale: Modern German Letters, Cultures, and Thought open access image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/110018/2/9781501749971.pdf Cornell University Press Cornell University Press and Cornell University Library 05937e7b-c222-4680-9580-c09c5ce7a11e 9781501749964 9781501749971 Cornell University Press and Cornell University Library 408 Ithaca open access |
| spellingShingle | Wittgenstein Vitalism Biopolitical modernity thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDH Philosophical traditions and schools of thought Gailus, Andreas Forms of Life |
| title | Forms of Life |
| title_full | Forms of Life |
| title_fullStr | Forms of Life |
| title_full_unstemmed | Forms of Life |
| title_short | Forms of Life |
| title_sort | forms of life |
| topic | Wittgenstein Vitalism Biopolitical modernity thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDH Philosophical traditions and schools of thought |
| topic_facet | Wittgenstein Vitalism Biopolitical modernity thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDH Philosophical traditions and schools of thought |
| url | https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/110018 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gailusandreas formsoflife |