Time and World

Hartmut Rosa is a leading social theorist whose books on social acceleration and resonance have become milestones in discussions about the problems and promises of late modern societies. Rosa not only presents a critical diagnosis of our times but also searches for innovative solutions. This new collection of Rosa’s essays provides an overview of his work and explores key topics and concepts in depth. Among the subjects discussed are Charles Taylor’s account of alienation, self-interpretation and social critique; the theory of acceleration and the challenges for identity formation and democratic politics in the high-speed society; the theory of resonance and its relation to alienation and uncontrollability; and the relation between social theory and moral philosophy. Among other things, this volume highlights the influence of Taylor’s social philosophy on Rosa’s work and brings out the architecture of Rosa’s social theory, in particular the opposition between the concepts of resonance and alienation. This book by one of the most creative and influential social theorists writing today will be essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary social theory, critical theory and the sociology of late modernity.

Publisher’s Note In defence of inconsistency: A note on Hartmut Rosa in English Christophe Fricker Introduction: Moral maps, time structures and world-relations Frédéric Vandenberghe 1.   Four levels of self-interpretation A paradigm for interpretive social philosophy and political criticism 2.   Social Acceleration Ethical and political consequences of a desynchronized high-speed society 3. Critique of temporality Acceleration and alienation as key concepts of social critique 4. Dynamic Stabilization, the Triple A Approach to the Good Life, and the Resonance Conception 5. Is there anybody out there? Muted and resonant relationships to the world – ‘monomaniac’ Charles Taylor’s analytical focus 6. Resonance A key concept in social theory 7. Why we live the way we live On the philosophy, sociology and politics of life as a practice Acknowledgements Notes Index