Brook Blair - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Brook Blair

Rhizomes: Cultural Studies in Emerging Knowledge

while philosophers such as Foucault, Deleuze, and Negri have variously posed the dual problem of ... more while philosophers such as Foucault, Deleuze, and Negri have variously posed the dual problem of selfconstitution and subjectification in highly innovative ways, postmodernists in general have long overlooked the manner in which this problem was earlier developed by one of their most important, if largely unacknowledged, precursors: the great Austrian novelist and essayist Robert Musil (1880-1942). In a series of treatments replete with bold intimations of the radical thought of the 1960s, Musil's literary endeavor was directed, throughout nearly the entirety of his writings, towards ends very similar to the postmodernists, particularly in his elaboration of "essayism" and his accompanying concepts of the "ratioid" and the "nonratioid." Musil's literary project thus serves not merely as an anticipation of the postmodernist gambit but also as an essential complement to it, not least insofar as his endeavors likewise sought to grasp the dual projects of self-constitution and subjectification as simultaneously engaging both power and knowledge while also endeavoring to establish a considerable degree of relative independence from them. As such, Musil's writings may well be situated in the vein of Nietzschean "centauric literature," a type of writing that extends beyond the confines of traditional genres in constituting whatever it might potentially mean to be a human subject in an age that has increasingly outstripped the historical legacies of humanism.

The European Legacy, 2021

In the debates on “post-metaphysical” philosophy, Nietzsche’s philosophical legacy has been widel... more In the debates on “post-metaphysical” philosophy, Nietzsche’s philosophical legacy has been widely seen as contributing to the understanding of human creativity and its role in constructing an imag...

History of European Ideas

Millennium - Journal of International Studies, 1995

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1016 S0191 659900041 9, Jan 3, 2012

Review of International Studies, 2011

D. S. L. Jarvis has led a spirited and well-considered polemic against post-structuralist and pos... more D. S. L. Jarvis has led a spirited and well-considered polemic against post-structuralist and post-modernist theories of International Relations, arguing that they still leave much to be desired if they are to succeed in establishing a viable alternative to the traditional theoretical approaches of the field. While Jarvis and his cohorts have clearly delivered a great many important criticisms to this end, the question nonetheless remains as to how adroitly the foundational literature of post-structuralist and post-modernist thought has been deployed by the dissident school of International Relations theory. As this article argues, a return to the foundations of anti-foundationalist thought thus becomes a vital necessity if the footing of the ‘third debate’ is to be secured with some greater degree of perspicuity and, indeed, in a manner more fruitful for the study of International Relations. In so doing, it concludes that the ‘power-knowledge’problématiquehas been poorly construed ...

Review of International Studies, 1993

A theory, writes Anthony Wilden, like any other adaptive system, must have a survival value. It i... more A theory, writes Anthony Wilden, like any other adaptive system, must have a survival value. It is impossible, he continues, ‘for a theory not to have a referent or a goal outside itself, since “pure truth” not only does not exist, it has no survival value whatsoever.’ Wilden's reference to the ‘external’ goal of a theory suggests that theories carry subliminal messages which exceed the strict boundary of their textual content. An effective technique for identifying the political and normative undertones communicated by theories is an inquiry into those areas which supposedly of peripheral significance to them.

History of European Ideas, 2001

Rhizomes: Cultural Studies in Emerging Knowledge

while philosophers such as Foucault, Deleuze, and Negri have variously posed the dual problem of ... more while philosophers such as Foucault, Deleuze, and Negri have variously posed the dual problem of selfconstitution and subjectification in highly innovative ways, postmodernists in general have long overlooked the manner in which this problem was earlier developed by one of their most important, if largely unacknowledged, precursors: the great Austrian novelist and essayist Robert Musil (1880-1942). In a series of treatments replete with bold intimations of the radical thought of the 1960s, Musil's literary endeavor was directed, throughout nearly the entirety of his writings, towards ends very similar to the postmodernists, particularly in his elaboration of "essayism" and his accompanying concepts of the "ratioid" and the "nonratioid." Musil's literary project thus serves not merely as an anticipation of the postmodernist gambit but also as an essential complement to it, not least insofar as his endeavors likewise sought to grasp the dual projects of self-constitution and subjectification as simultaneously engaging both power and knowledge while also endeavoring to establish a considerable degree of relative independence from them. As such, Musil's writings may well be situated in the vein of Nietzschean "centauric literature," a type of writing that extends beyond the confines of traditional genres in constituting whatever it might potentially mean to be a human subject in an age that has increasingly outstripped the historical legacies of humanism.

The European Legacy, 2021

In the debates on “post-metaphysical” philosophy, Nietzsche’s philosophical legacy has been widel... more In the debates on “post-metaphysical” philosophy, Nietzsche’s philosophical legacy has been widely seen as contributing to the understanding of human creativity and its role in constructing an imag...

History of European Ideas

Millennium - Journal of International Studies, 1995

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1016 S0191 659900041 9, Jan 3, 2012

Review of International Studies, 2011

D. S. L. Jarvis has led a spirited and well-considered polemic against post-structuralist and pos... more D. S. L. Jarvis has led a spirited and well-considered polemic against post-structuralist and post-modernist theories of International Relations, arguing that they still leave much to be desired if they are to succeed in establishing a viable alternative to the traditional theoretical approaches of the field. While Jarvis and his cohorts have clearly delivered a great many important criticisms to this end, the question nonetheless remains as to how adroitly the foundational literature of post-structuralist and post-modernist thought has been deployed by the dissident school of International Relations theory. As this article argues, a return to the foundations of anti-foundationalist thought thus becomes a vital necessity if the footing of the ‘third debate’ is to be secured with some greater degree of perspicuity and, indeed, in a manner more fruitful for the study of International Relations. In so doing, it concludes that the ‘power-knowledge’problématiquehas been poorly construed ...

Review of International Studies, 1993

A theory, writes Anthony Wilden, like any other adaptive system, must have a survival value. It i... more A theory, writes Anthony Wilden, like any other adaptive system, must have a survival value. It is impossible, he continues, ‘for a theory not to have a referent or a goal outside itself, since “pure truth” not only does not exist, it has no survival value whatsoever.’ Wilden's reference to the ‘external’ goal of a theory suggests that theories carry subliminal messages which exceed the strict boundary of their textual content. An effective technique for identifying the political and normative undertones communicated by theories is an inquiry into those areas which supposedly of peripheral significance to them.

History of European Ideas, 2001