Phantom Communities reconsiders the status of the simulacrum - sometimes defined as a copy of a copy, but more rigorously defined as a copy that subverts the legitimacy and authority of its model - in light of recent debates in literature, art, philosophy, and cultural studies. …
Criticizing the tendency to treat Nietzsche as a literary figure or as a vitalist in the tradition of Bergson, Simmel, and Klages, Lowith situates Nietzsche squarely within the history of Western philosophy. He takes issue with the position of Jaspers that Nietzsche is best read…
The strategy of the book is to argue that the apparently compelling objections raised against the platitude that depiction is mediated by resemblance are manifestations of more general problems, which are familiar from the philosophy of language. These problems, it argues, can b…