Vicious Circles

Disclosing a History of Critique

By: Arvi Saerkelae

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Paperback | 10 March 2026

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344 Pages

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22.86 x 15.24 x 1.85

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How can social critique respond to a catastrophic world? From Emerson to Adorno, a tradition of radical social critique has flourished that utilize methods which disclose rather than judge the form of life: instead of trying to say what is wrong and what would be better, these criticisms seek to show how the world is false and to reveal how we might escape the vicious circles of present society-pointing out its catastrophic state and directing readers to the real possibilities for another form of life. This book presents an incisive history of critical disclosure by looking at its common metaphors. As Saerkelae illuminates, circular metaphors continually interact in the works of 19th and 20th century European and American authors including not just Emerson and Adorno, but also Nietzsche, Tarde, Freud, and Dewey. By reconstructing the driving examples of such disclosing critical gestures, Saerkelae articulates their similarities and differences, and considers their potential for contemporary social critique. The result points the way toward the cultivation of critical skills relevant for our own age of catastrophe.

Industry Reviews

"Vicious Circles advances an exciting, ambitious, and original vision of disclosive critique. Through the careful excavation of prominent historical exemplars, Saerkelae develops a compelling alternative to the normative, juridical conceptions of critique that predominate in contemporary critical theory." - Amy Allen, Pennsylvania State University "What are the conditions and nature of effective social criticism? In this groundbreaking study of disclosive critique without conceptual guardrails, Saerkelae moves the terms of this long-standing debate decisively forward." - Espen Hammer, Temple University

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