Synopsis

This volume is the essential collection of readings from the work of Stanley Cavell, one of the most influential American philosophers of the twentieth century. It provides those who are unfamiliar with Cavell's work with an overview of its strategic purpose, its central themes, and its argumentative development. The readings are taken from every one of the major fields in which Cavell has been involved—aesthetics, philosophy of religion, philosophy of Wittgenstein, Austin, Emerson, literary criticism, film theory, and psychoanalysis—and have been chosen to reflect the interdisciplinary nature of his thought. The Reader also includes brief editorial introductions to each individual piece to guide the reader through the key themes and phases, and to display the unity and the steady evolution of Cavell's thought. A previously unpublished Cavell essay on Wittgenstein is included as an Epilogue.