Mark Coeckelbergh - philosophy

mark coeckelbergh

Academic Books

Mark Coeckelbergh, PhD

_______the metaphysics of autonomy (2004)

The Metaphysics of Autonomy
The Reconciliation of Ancient and Modern Ideals of the Person

If we want to be autonomous, what do we want? The author shows that contemporary value-neutral and metaphysically economical conceptions of autonomy, such as that of Harry Frankfurt, face a serious problem. Drawing on Plato, Augustine, and Kant, this book provides a sketch of how 'ancient' and 'modern' can be reconciled to solve it. But at what expense? It turns out that the dominant modern ideal of autonomy cannot do without a costly metaphysics if it is to be coherent.

see also a summary of the book by Stefan Beyst (in English and in Dutch)

a review (in Dutch) is available in the March 2005 issue of the philosophy journal ANTW (Algemeen Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Wijsbegeerte)

click here for information from the publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
you can order the book directly from the publisher

liberation and passion (2002) _____

Liberation and Passion
Reconstructing the Passion Perspective on Human Being and Freedom

Many contemporary philosophers tell us that we are essentially purposeful, independent, willing, and acting beings. The self is presented as a citadel defending itself against external, alien influences. Alternatively, some argue that we are the sum of a determined body and a free will. Are we really like that? And is personal liberation basically a matter of enhancing our capacity to will, to act, and to control ourselves? Is freedom necessarily a question of will and action?

This book searches for alternative perspectives on human being and freedom, highlighting a different side of ourselves: openness, receptivity, dependency, being-in-relation. By articulating these aspects in the work of some key Western thinkers, including Euripides, Augustine, Eckhart, Dostoevski, and Heidegger, the author explores a different view of what liberation is and what it would be like to be free.

click here for information from the publisher: DenkMal Verlag
you can also order the book from them