A Continental Philosophy of LuxuryPerfume, Superyachts and Videogames
£90.00
About this book
Offers a historically informed analysis of modern and contemporary responses to luxury
- Establishes a continental philosophy of luxury
- Engages with and rereads selected continental philosophical works of Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, Emmanuel Levinas, Georges Bataille, Hans-Georg Gadamer and Theodor Adorno
- Brings together leading cultural critics (Nietzsche) phenomenologists (Heidegger), cultural theorists (Bataille), hermeneuticians (Gadamer) and critical theorists (Adorno) from the disciplinary field of continental philosophy
John Armitage shows how the ideas and theories of continental philosophers Nietzsche, Heidegger, Levinas, Bataille, Gadamer and Adorno, play an important role in the understanding of luxury practices, revealing the actual and potential extent of modern and contemporary critical luxury studies.
Discussing contemporary case studies representing luxury including the longing for luxury perfume, the transgression of superyachts and the consumer experience of videogames, Armitage raises challenging questions about the contemporary world of luxury and delineates the continental philosophy of luxury.
Reviews
From longing an exclusive perfume to escape on a superyacht, from a Basquiat painting to transgression, from the singular instant to a high-fashion branded videogame: a compelling book on the thorny topic of luxury. Focusing on six continental philosophers, Armitage helps us understand contemporary luxury through philosophy, and at the same time philosophy through luxury.
A compelling and lucid analysis of the performative aspects of being luxurious, and the vicissitudes of different interpretations of the experiential authenticity that is implicit in luxury. The author grapples with luxury as an escape but questions from what we are escaping with immersive experiences and ultimately what it means to be luxurious.
Table of contents
Acknowledgments
1. A Continental Philosophy of Luxury: An Introduction
2. On the Concept of a Continental Philosophy of Luxury
3. Longing for Luxury Perfume: A Nietzschean Interpretation
4. Heidegger and the World of Sustainable Luxury: On the Earth in Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Equals Pi
5. Luxurious Escape with Levinas: Superyachts as Getaway Vehicles
6. The Pursuit of Luxury as an Act of Transgression: Bataille, Sovereignty, Desire
7. What Is a Luxury Experience? Gadamer and Luxury Fashion Branded Videogames
8. Adorno’s Critical Theory and the Singular Instant of Luxury: On Contemporary Conceptions of Luxury Consumer Experience
9. Conclusion: Continental Philosophy of Luxury: Future Possibilities
Index