TELOS (journal)
Encyclopedia
Telos is an academic journal
published in the United States
. It was founded in May 1968 to provide the New Left
with a coherent theoretical perspective. It sought to expand the Husserlian diagnosis of "the crisis of European sciences" to prefigure a particular program of social reconstruction relevant for the US. In order to avoid the high level of abstraction typical of Husserlian phenomenology, the journal began introducing the ideas of Western Marxism
and of the critical theory
of the Frankfurt School
.
With the disintegration of the New Left and the gradual integration of what remained of the American Left
within the Democratic Party
, Telos became increasingly critical of the Left in general. It subsequently undertook a reevaluation of 20th century intellectual history
, focusing primarily on forgotten and repressed authors and ideas, beginning with Carl Schmitt
and American populism
. Eventually the journal rejected the traditional divisions between Left and Right as a legitimating mechanism for new class
domination and an occlusion of new, post-Fordist
political conflicts. This led to a reevaluation of the primacy of culture and to efforts to understand the dynamics of cultural disintegration and reintegration as a precondition for the constitution of that autonomous individuality
critical theory had always identified as the telos
of Western civilization.
, is the publisher of both the journal Telos as well as a separate book line. Based in New York City
, it is widely known for having introduced English-speaking audiences to the works of Ernst Jünger
, György Lukács, Theodor Adorno, Carl Schmitt
, Jean Baudrillard
, Matthias Küntzel
, Jean-Claude Paye
, photographer Kiki of Paris
, Lucien Goldmann
, Gustav Landauer
, and Péter Szondi
. Among others the journal has published original contributions from Claude Lefort
, Paul Feyerabend
, Cornelius Castoriadis
, Jürgen Habermas
and Jean-François Lyotard
. Telos Press Publishing's current bookline editor is Timothy Luke
.
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
published in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was founded in May 1968 to provide the New Left
New Left
The New Left was a term used mainly in the United Kingdom and United States in reference to activists, educators, agitators and others in the 1960s and 1970s who sought to implement a broad range of reforms, in contrast to earlier leftist or Marxist movements that had taken a more vanguardist...
with a coherent theoretical perspective. It sought to expand the Husserlian diagnosis of "the crisis of European sciences" to prefigure a particular program of social reconstruction relevant for the US. In order to avoid the high level of abstraction typical of Husserlian phenomenology, the journal began introducing the ideas of Western Marxism
Western Marxism
Western Marxism is a term used to describe a wide variety of Marxist theoreticians based in Western and Central Europe, in contrast with philosophy in the Soviet Union...
and of the critical theory
Critical theory
Critical theory is an examination and critique of society and culture, drawing from knowledge across the social sciences and humanities. The term has two different meanings with different origins and histories: one originating in sociology and the other in literary criticism...
of the Frankfurt School
Frankfurt School
The Frankfurt School refers to a school of neo-Marxist interdisciplinary social theory, particularly associated with the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt am Main...
.
With the disintegration of the New Left and the gradual integration of what remained of the American Left
American Left
The American Left consists of individuals and groups, including socialists, communists and anarchists, that have sought fundamental change in the economic, political and cultural institutions of the United States. Although left-wing ideologies came to the United States in the 19th century, there...
within the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, Telos became increasingly critical of the Left in general. It subsequently undertook a reevaluation of 20th century intellectual history
Intellectual history
Note: this article concerns the discipline of intellectual history, and not its object, the whole span of human thought since the invention of writing. For clarifications about the latter topic, please consult the writings of the intellectual historians listed here and entries on individual...
, focusing primarily on forgotten and repressed authors and ideas, beginning with Carl Schmitt
Carl Schmitt
Carl Schmitt was a German jurist, philosopher, political theorist, and professor of law.Schmitt published several essays, influential in the 20th century and beyond, on the mentalities that surround the effective wielding of political power...
and American populism
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
. Eventually the journal rejected the traditional divisions between Left and Right as a legitimating mechanism for new class
New class
The "New Class" model, as a theory of new social groups in post-industrial societies, gained ascendency during the 1970s as social and political scientists noted how "New Class" groups were shaped by post-material orientations in their pursuit of political and social goals...
domination and an occlusion of new, post-Fordist
Post-Fordism
Post-Fordism is the name given to the dominant system of economic production, consumption and associated socio-economic phenomena, in most industrialized countries since the late 20th century...
political conflicts. This led to a reevaluation of the primacy of culture and to efforts to understand the dynamics of cultural disintegration and reintegration as a precondition for the constitution of that autonomous individuality
Autonomy
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
critical theory had always identified as the telos
Telos (philosophy)
A telos is an end or purpose, in a fairly constrained sense used by philosophers such as Aristotle. It is the root of the term "teleology," roughly the study of purposiveness, or the study of objects with a view to their aims, purposes, or intentions. Teleology figures centrally in Aristotle's...
of Western civilization.
Telos Press Publishing
Telos Press Publishing, founded by Paul PicconePaul Piccone
Paul Piccone was the founder and long-time editor of the journal TELOS.He was born in L'Aquila in Italy to a family that emigrated to Rochester, New York in the mid-1950s. In 1968 he and others started the journal TELOS, which he edited until his death in 2004.He completed a doctorate in...
, is the publisher of both the journal Telos as well as a separate book line. Based in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, it is widely known for having introduced English-speaking audiences to the works of Ernst Jünger
Ernst Jünger
Ernst Jünger was a German writer. In addition to his novels and diaries, he is well known for Storm of Steel, an account of his experience during World War I. Some say he was one of Germany's greatest modern writers and a hero of the conservative revolutionary movement following World War I...
, György Lukács, Theodor Adorno, Carl Schmitt
Carl Schmitt
Carl Schmitt was a German jurist, philosopher, political theorist, and professor of law.Schmitt published several essays, influential in the 20th century and beyond, on the mentalities that surround the effective wielding of political power...
, Jean Baudrillard
Jean Baudrillard
Jean Baudrillard was a French sociologist, philosopher, cultural theorist, political commentator, and photographer. His work is frequently associated with postmodernism and post-structuralism.-Life:...
, Matthias Küntzel
Matthias Küntzel
Matthias Küntzel , is a German author and a political scientist. He is a research associate at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a member of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East.-Career:...
, Jean-Claude Paye
Jean-Claude Paye
Jean-Claude Paye is a Belgian sociologist . His work, including La fin de l’Etat de droit , focuses on the transformations of the juridical forms of the state in the wake of the War on Terrorism.-Works:* Global War on Liberty, trans. James H. Membrez...
, photographer Kiki of Paris
Kiki of Paris
Kiki of Paris is the pseudonym for a French photographer and artist born in Paris in 1945.-Biography:Kiki studied humanities and social sciences before turning towards drawing and painting. In Montparnasse, he was introduced by the actor Michel Simon to Henry Miller who advised him to devote...
, Lucien Goldmann
Lucien Goldmann
Lucien Goldmann was a French philosopher and sociologist of Jewish-Romanian origin...
, Gustav Landauer
Gustav Landauer
Gustav Landauer was one of the leading theorists on anarchism in Germany in the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. He was an advocate of communist anarchism and an avowed pacifist. Landauer is also known for his study and translations of William Shakespeare's works into German...
, and Péter Szondi
Péter Szondi
Péter Szondi was a celebrated literary scholar and philologist, originally from Hungary. His father was the Hungarian-Jewish psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Léopold Szondi, who settled in Switzerland after his 1944 release from Bergen-Belsen....
. Among others the journal has published original contributions from Claude Lefort
Claude Lefort
Claude Lefort was a French philosopher and activist.He was politically active by 1942 under the influence of his tutor, the phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty...
, Paul Feyerabend
Paul Feyerabend
Paul Karl Feyerabend was an Austrian-born philosopher of science best known for his work as a professor of philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley, where he worked for three decades . He lived a peripatetic life, living at various times in England, the United States, New Zealand,...
, Cornelius Castoriadis
Cornelius Castoriadis
Cornelius Castoriadis was a Greek philosopher, social critic, economist, psychoanalyst, author of The Imaginary Institution of Society, and co-founder of the Socialisme ou Barbarie group.-Early life in Athens:...
, Jürgen Habermas
Jürgen Habermas
Jürgen Habermas is a German sociologist and philosopher in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. He is perhaps best known for his theory on the concepts of 'communicative rationality' and the 'public sphere'...
and Jean-François Lyotard
Jean-François Lyotard
Jean-François Lyotard was a French philosopher and literary theorist. He is well known for his articulation of postmodernism after the late 1970s and the analysis of the impact of postmodernity on the human condition...
. Telos Press Publishing's current bookline editor is Timothy Luke
Timothy Luke
Timothy W. Luke is University Distinguished Professor of Political Science in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences as well as Program Chair of the Government and International Affairs Program, School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State...
.