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Karel Kosík (1926–2003) was one of the most remarkable Czech Marxist philosophers of the twentieth century. His reputation as a creative thinker is owed largely to his philosophical ‘blockbuster’ Dialectics of the Concrete, first published in Czechoslovakia in 1963. In reintroducing Kosík’s philosophy to English-speaking readers, we show that Kosík’s work is important not only as a leading intellectual document of the Prague Spring, but also as an original theoretical contribution with international impact that sheds light on the meaning of labour and praxis, cognition and economic structure, and revolution and the crises of modernity.
Contributors include: Ian Angus, Siyaves Azeri, Vít Bartoš, Jan Černý, Joseph Grim Feinberg, Diana Fuentes, Gabriella Fusi, Tomáš Hermann, Tomáš Hříbek, Xiaohan Huang, Peter Hudis, Petr Kužel, Ivan Landa, Michael Löwy, Jan Mervart, Anselm K. Min, Tom Rockmore, Francesco Tava, and Xinruo Zhang.
Contributors include: Ian Angus, Siyaves Azeri, Vít Bartoš, Jan Černý, Joseph Grim Feinberg, Diana Fuentes, Gabriella Fusi, Tomáš Hermann, Tomáš Hříbek, Xiaohan Huang, Peter Hudis, Petr Kužel, Ivan Landa, Michael Löwy, Jan Mervart, Anselm K. Min, Tom Rockmore, Francesco Tava, and Xinruo Zhang.
Price: $180.00
Pages: 380
Publisher: Brill
Imprint: Brill
Series: Historical Materialism Book Series
Publication Date:
09 December 2021
ISBN: 9789004325364
Format: Hardcover
"As the collection shows in impressive depth, Kosík’s legacy, beyond his involvement in the Prague Spring, is truly philosophical, offering up
several powerful concepts to contemporary Marxism, from labour and praxis to laughter and joy. As such, this handbook is already a classic, as an excellent introduction to both Kosík and Czech Marxism in a global context." — Isabel Jacobs, in: Marx & Philosophy Review of Books, September 2022
"Kosík’s international popularity among philosophers, artists, and writers after Dialectics of the Concrete was published in 1963 did not in any way lead to his philosophy being 'still fruitfully interpreted or further developed' [...]. His philosophy 'is “well known” as a historical document, but it is overlooked and ignored as a living contribution to social thought' [...]. The anthology can be considered a successful attempt to put an end to this inappropriate situation in Kosík’s case and save him from oblivion [...]. The editors have succeeded in compiling contributions that both explore the historical context and examine Kosík’s ideas for their current relevance." — Martin Küpper, in: Studies in East European Thought, 2023, Vol. 75, pp. 479-482.
"Kosík’s international popularity among philosophers, artists, and writers after Dialectics of the Concrete was published in 1963 did not in any way lead to his philosophy being 'still fruitfully interpreted or further developed' [...]. His philosophy 'is “well known” as a historical document, but it is overlooked and ignored as a living contribution to social thought' [...]. The anthology can be considered a successful attempt to put an end to this inappropriate situation in Kosík’s case and save him from oblivion [...]. The editors have succeeded in compiling contributions that both explore the historical context and examine Kosík’s ideas for their current relevance." — Martin Küpper, in: Studies in East European Thought, 2023, Vol. 75, pp. 479-482.
Joseph Grim Feinberg, PhD (2014), University of Chicago, is a researcher at the Institute of Philosophy of Czech Academy of Sciences. He is author of The Paradox of Authenticity (University of Wisconsin, 2018) and editor of Contradictions: A Journal for Critical Thought.
Ivan Landa, PhD (2010), Charles University, is a researcher at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences. He has published articles and chapters on Hegel and the history of Marxism. He is a co-editor of the Collected Works of Karel Kosík (Filosofia, 2019–), planned for 7 volumes (in Czech). Jan Mervart, PhD (2009), University of Hradec Králové, is researcher at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences. He has published monographs and articles on the intellectual history of Czechoslovakia. He is the co-editor of Czechoslovakism (Routledge, 2021).
Ivan Landa, PhD (2010), Charles University, is a researcher at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences. He has published articles and chapters on Hegel and the history of Marxism. He is a co-editor of the Collected Works of Karel Kosík (Filosofia, 2019–), planned for 7 volumes (in Czech). Jan Mervart, PhD (2009), University of Hradec Králové, is researcher at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences. He has published monographs and articles on the intellectual history of Czechoslovakia. He is the co-editor of Czechoslovakism (Routledge, 2021).