''Rage and Time: A Psychopolitical Investigation'' () is a 2006 book by the German philosopher
Peter Sloterdijk
Peter Sloterdijk (; ; born 26 June 1947) is a German philosopher and cultural theorist. He is a professor of philosophy and media theory at the University of Art and Design Karlsruhe. He co-hosted the German television show ''Im Glashaus: Das Phi ...
. It traces the role and prevalence of
rage in Western history, starting with the
Thumos
''Thumos'' (also commonly spelled 'thymos'; grc-gre, θυμός) is the Ancient Greek concept of "spiritedness" (as in "a spirited stallion" or "spirited debate"). The word indicates a physical association with breath or blood and is also used to ...
described by
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
in the ''
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...
''. Sloterdijk argues that a productive form of rage has been suppressed by first Christianity and then
psychoanalysis
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...
.
An English translation by Mario Wenning was published in 2010.
Contents
* Rage transactions
* The wrathful god: the discovery of the metaphysical revenge bank
* The rage revolution: on the communist world bank of rage
* The dispersion of rage in the era of the center
* Conclusion: beyond resentment
Reception
Julia Encke of the ''
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...
'' gave Sloterdijk the label of a "democratically thinking
Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, Prose poetry, prose poet, cultural critic, Philology, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philo ...
reader" due to his search for a rage free from
ressentiment
In philosophy and psychology, ''ressentiment'' (; ) is one of the forms of resentment or hostility. The concept was of particular interest to some 19th century thinkers, most notably Friedrich Nietzsche. According to their use, ''ressentiment'' is ...
, and wrote that the book was "a first step" toward such a thing. ''
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
'' called the book "a brilliant and conceptually rich analysis of the influence of rage on the development of Western culture". The critic continued: "Though frequently hampered by excessive academic jargon and a theoretically questionable oscillation between the non-equivalent notions of Thymos and rage, the book offers a fascinating account of the historical dynamics of social development".
The French translation of the book received the
Prix européen de l'essai Charles Veillon in 2008.
References
External links
American publicity page
{{Peter Sloterdijk
2006 non-fiction books
Books by Peter Sloterdijk
Contemporary philosophical literature
German non-fiction books
German-language books
Rage (emotion)
Suhrkamp Verlag books