Natality and Finitude

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Philosophy “An extraordinary book, beautifully written, well argued.” —Peg Birmingham, DePaul University Cover illustration: Daniel Richardson, A Neologism, 2009 Reorienting our approach to fundamental questions about human existence 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. Anne O’Byrne is Assistant Professor in Philosophy at Stony Brook University. Studies in Continental Thought John Sallis, editor O’Byrne Natality and Finitude ANNE O’BYRNE Natality and Finitude Natality and Finitude OBYRNE_final_pages.indd 1 7/28/10 2:39:19 PM Studies in Continental Thought John Sallis, editor Consulting Editors Robert Bernasconi Rudolph Bernet John D. Caputo David Carr Edward S. Casey Hubert Dreyfus Don Ihde David Farrell Krell Lenore Langsdorf Alphonso Lingis William L. McBride J. N. Mohanty Mary Rawlinson Tom Rockmore Calvin O. Schrag †Reiner Schürmann Charles E. Scott Thomas Sheehan Robert Sokolowski Bruce W. Wilshire David Wood OBYRNE_final_pages.indd 2 7/28/10 2:39:20 PM Natality and Finitude 5 Anne O’Byrne Indiana University Press Bloomington and Indianapolis OBYRNE_final_pages.indd 3 7/28/10 2:39:20 PM This book is a publication of Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, Indiana 47404-3797 USA www.iupress.indiana.edu Telephone orders 800-842-6796 Fax orders 812-855-7931 Orders by e-mail iuporder@indiana.edu© 2010 by Anne O’Byrne All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. • The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data O’Byrne, Anne E. (Anne Elizabeth), [date] Natality and finitude / Anne O’Byrne. p. cm. — (Studies in Continental thought) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-253-35531-7 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-253-22241-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Birth (Philosophy) 2. Finite, The. 3. Philosophical ­ anthropology. 4. Continental philosophy. I. Title. BD443.O29 2010 128—dc22 2010009382 1 2 3 4 5 15 14 13 12 11 10 OBYRNE_final_pages.indd 4 7/28/10 2:39:20 PM to Michael and Sophia OBYRNE_final_pages.indd 5 7/28/10 2:39:20 PM OBYRNE_final_pages.indd 6 7/28/10 2:39:20 PM ...