Natality and Finitude

Philosophers are accustomed to thinking about human existence as finite and deathbound. Anne O'Byrne focuses instead on birth as a way to make sense of being alive. Building on the work of Heidegger, Dilthey, Arendt, and Nancy, O'Byrne discusses how the world becomes ours and how meaning emerges from our relations to generations past and to come. Themes such as creation, time, inheritance, birth and action, embodiment, biological determinism, and cloning anchor this sensitive and powerful analysis. O'Byrne's thinking advances and deepens important discussions at the intersections of feminism, continental philosophy, philosophy of religion, and social and political thought.

Author: Anne O'Byrne
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Published: 09/22/2010
Pages: 218
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780253222411

Review Citation(s):
Choice 08/01/2011

About the Author

Anne O'Byrne is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Stony Brook University.