What It's Worth Living For

A life that doesn’t want to risk life inevitably begins to resemble death. Our culture has blocked our access to glamour, generosity and indulgence – we supposedly hard-boiled hedonists are quick to call for bans and police when it comes to smoking, sex, black humour or curses. All the liberating or smart aspects of these practices are lost in the process. In his new book, Robert Pfaller examines how it came to this and what lies behind the development. In analyses of phenomena including pornographic pop, dirty spring, table manners, “my” taste and failure, he unmasks the latest cultural tendencies and calculates their political price.

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  • Publisher: FISCHER Taschenbuch
  • Release: 25.07.2012
  • ISBN: 978-3-596-18903-8
  • 320 Pages
  • Author: Robert Pfaller
What It's Worth Living For
Robert Pfaller What It's Worth Living For
Peter Rigaud
© Peter Rigaud
Robert Pfaller

Robert Pfaller, born in 1962, studied philosophy in Vienna and Berlin and, after guest professorships in Chicago, Berlin, Zurich and Strasbourg, is now a professor of philosophy at the University of Art and Design Linz. From 2009 to 2014, he was a professor of philosophy at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. His books published by Fischer include "Das schmutzige Heilige und die reine Vernunft. Symptome der Gegenwartskultur" (2008), the highly acclaimed study "Wofür es sich zu leben lohnt. Elemente materialistischer Philosophie" (2011), "Zweite Welten. Und andere Lebenselixire" (2012) as well as “Kurze Sätze über gutes Leben” (2015). After "Erwachsenensprache. Über ihr Verschwinden aus Politik und Kultur" (2017), "Die blitzenden Waffen. Über die Macht der Form" was published in 2020. He was awarded the Paul Watzlawick Ring of Honour in 2020.