Pathos and Praxis: The Phenomenology of Life in Michel Henry and Paul Ricouer presents a new and original framework for a dualistic integrated phenomenology of life. It provides the first comparative study of two influential French philosophers, Paul Ricoeur and Michel Henry, and shows that their debates over the interpretation of Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx signal two rival approaches to the phenomenology of life.
Author Scott Davidson demonstrates that while Henry reveals the phenomenological meaning of life through an inward turn to a pure subjective feeling of being alive, Ricoeur anchors its significance in the reciprocal interaction between the self and the world. But these two alternatives are not necessarily opposed.
Pathos and Praxis proposes an integrated phenomenology of life to which both Henry and Ricoeur make an important contribution. To be a self is to suffer the pathos of "having a life" but also to be capable of engaging in the praxis of "leading a life." By thinking the pathos and praxis of life together, the integrated approach preserves human agency against deterministic conceptions of life and at the same time avoids the meritocratic hubris that depicts one's life solely as the result of one's own doing. This integration of having and leading a life reframes our thinking about human capabilities and vulnerabilities in a way that has important implications for biopolitics and the ethics of life.
Industry Reviews
"With Pathos and Praxis, Scott Davidson constructs a judicious debate between Michel Henry and Paul Ricoeur.. Even though this debate did not occur in history, it is fully justified philosophically. This gap is filled by the author's "phenomenology of life" which provides a third way between the ordeal of suffering and the transformation of oneself by the other. It is necessary to pursue this debate in order to innovate, and it is the merit of this book to have perfectly achieved it."-Emmanuel Falque, Honorary Dean, Catholic University of Paris "Anyone interested in the philosophies of Ricoeur and Henry will benefit from this thoroughly researched book. But Pathos and Praxis is more than a scholarly investigation. In it, Davidson introduces the idea of an integrated phenomenology of life which integrates both our internal feeling of being alive-pathos-and our power to engage with the external world-praxis. Because of this integration, Pathos and Praxis is major contribution to phenomenology and to philosophy in general."-Leonard Lawlor, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Philosophy, Penn State University "Davidson's plea for an integrated philosophy of life and action is hugely welcome. His engagement with the critical and neglected dialogue between two major phenomenologists marks an invaluable contribution to our understanding of human experience. His final discussion of a 'life after life' is a startling inspiration."-Richard Kearney, Charles B. Seelig Chair of Philosophy, Boston College
