Critical Resistance

Hoy's penetrating and multifaceted account of theories of resistance in post-Nietschean French philosophy is without equal. His analyses of genealogical and deconstructionist modes of critique and his elaboration of the notion of 'critical resistance' consistently evince the mastery we have come to expect from him. There is no better guide through the thickets of poststructualism and its aftermath.

Thomas McCarthy, Northwestern University

In his new book David Hoy gives us an accomplished and compelling account of poststructural and post-critical thought by asking how it can account for the possibility of critical resistance to moral and social ills when it denies universal normative principles. Drawing on thinkers from Nietzsche to Zizek, Hoy calls for a 'deconstructive genealogy' that recognizes both the attractions and the limits of moral pluralism. This book is a scholarly achievement and a valuable addition to Anglo-American discussions of the continental European tradition in philosophy. And its emphasis on the body's powers of resistance also make it an intensely personal search for philosophical meaning.

Hans Sluga, Professor of Philosophy University of California Berkeley

Critical Resistance offers fresh consideration of persistently vexing questions posed by poststructuralist philosophy: How is it possible to do away with grounded norms and universal principles and at the same time offer a compelling theoretical critique of the existing order of things? How can thinking practices that call all normativity into question also generate possibilities for resistance to perceived domination or injustice? Indeed, how can such practices perceive domination or injustice at all? This is a book to learn from, to teach, and to admire.

Wendy Brown, University of California, Berkeley