Babette Babich (born 14 November 1956,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

) is an American

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

who writes from a continental perspective on

aesthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...

philosophy of science Philosophy of science is the branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. Amongst its central questions are the difference between science and non-science, the reliability of scientific theories, ...

, especially Nietzsche's, and

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

, especially Martin Heidegger's and Günther Anders, in addition to critical and cultural theory.

Career

Including research work at the

Université Catholique de Louvain UCLouvain (or Université catholique de Louvain , French for Catholic University of Louvain, officially in English the University of Louvain) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university and one of the oldest in Europe (originally establishe ...

(

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

), Université François-Rabelais,

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

(

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Freie Universität Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...

and Universität Tübingen (

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

) Babich has a doctoral degree from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

. She taught at

Denison University Denison University is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio, United States. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. It was first called ...

and

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

before her current position at

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

in addition to an honorary appointment as Visiting Professor of Theology, Religion and Philosophy,

University of Winchester The University of Winchester is a public research university based in the city of Winchester, Hampshire, England. The university has origins tracing back to 1840 as a teacher training college, but was established in 2005. Winchester University ...

, England, she has also taught, as visiting professor, most recently, at the Humboldt University, Berlin as well as at the Universität Tübingen, The University at Stony Brook,

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

, the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

in Chelsea (NYC),

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, and the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

Work

In addition to

inspired by Nietzsche ,

Paul Feyerabend Paul Karl Feyerabend (; ; January 13, 1924 – February 11, 1994) was an Austrian philosopher best known for his work in the philosophy of science. He started his academic career as lecturer in the philosophy of science at the University of Bri ...

Ludwik Fleck Ludwik Fleck (, ; 11 July 1896 – 5 June 1961) was a Polish, Jewish, and Israeli physician and biologist who did important work in epidemic typhus in Lwów, Poland, with Rudolf Weigl and in the 1930s developed the concepts of "''Denkstil''" ("t ...

, etc., Babich writes on AI,

philosophy of technology The philosophy of technology is a sub-field of philosophy that studies the nature of technology and its social effects. Philosophical discussion of questions relating to technology (or its Greek ancestor ''techne'') dates back to the very dawn of ...

as well as

philosophy of art Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,'' , acces ...

, including

philosophy of music Philosophy of music is the study of "fundamental questions about the nature and value of music and our experience of it".Andrew Kania,The Philosophy of Music, ''The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', Spring 2014 edition, edited by Edward N. Zal ...

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and

poetics Poetics is the study or theory of poetry, specifically the study or theory of device, structure, form, type, and effect with regards to poetry, though usage of the term can also refer to literature broadly. Poetics is distinguished from hermeneu ...

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, and

digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, an ...

, as well as life-size bronzes in antiquity ( Greek sculpture), and the stylistic (and political) difference between analytic and

continental philosophy Continental philosophy is a group of philosophies prominent in 20th-century continental Europe that derive from a broadly Kantianism, Kantian tradition.Continental philosophers usually identify such conditions with the transcendental subject or ...

. Over the years, Babich has contributed to contemporary debates in

as well as the

history of science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient history, ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural science, natural, social science, social, and formal science, formal. Pr ...

and

sociology of science The sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK) is the study of science as a social activity, especially dealing with "the social conditions and effects of science, and with the social structures and processes of scientific activity." The sociolo ...

and has written on

ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

, especially aether (she is part of Aaron Michael Smith and Jordan Kokot's multimedia art project, ''field, guide'') and animal philosophy. She specializes in the writings of

Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche became the youngest pro ...

Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. His work covers a range of topics including metaphysics, art, and language. In April ...

, and Hölderlin and she engages the work of

Theodor Adorno Theodor is a masculine given name. It is a German form of Theodore. It is also a variant of Teodor. List of people with the given name Theodor * Theodor Adorno, (1903–1969), German philosopher * Theodor Aman, Romanian painter * Theodor Blue ...

Giorgio Agamben Giorgio Agamben ( ; ; born 22 April 1942) is an Italian philosopher best known for his work investigating the concepts of the state of exception, form-of-life (borrowed from Ludwig Wittgenstein) and '' homo sacer''. The concept of biopolitic ...

Günther Anders Günther Anders (; born Günther Siegmund Stern, 12 July 1902 – 17 December 1992) was a German-born philosopher, journalist and critical theorist. Trained as a philosopher in the phenomenological tradition, he obtained his doctorate under ...

Bruno Latour Bruno Latour (; ; 22 June 1947 – 9 October 2022) was a French philosopher, anthropologist and sociologist.Wheeler, Will. ''Bruno Latour: Documenting Human and Nonhuman Associations'' Critical Theory for Library and Information Science. Librari ...

Georges Bataille Georges Albert Maurice Victor Bataille (; ; 10 September 1897 – 8 July 1962) was a French philosopher and intellectual working in philosophy, literature, sociology, anthropology, and history of art. His writing, which included essays, novels, ...

Jean Baudrillard Jean Baudrillard (, ; ; – 6 March 2007) was a French sociology, sociologist and philosopher with an interest in cultural studies. He is best known for his analyses of media, contemporary culture, and technological communication, as well as hi ...

Ivan Illich Ivan Dominic Illich ( ; ; 4 September 1926 – 2 December 2002) was an Austrian Catholic priest, Theology, theologian, philosopher, and social critic. His 1971 book ''Deschooling Society'' criticises modern society's institutional approach to ...

Paul Virilio Paul Virilio (; 4 January 1932 – 10 September 2018) was a French Culture theory, cultural theorist, Urban planning, urbanist, architect and aesthetic philosopher. He is best known for his writings about technology as it has developed in relation ...

Peter Sloterdijk Peter Sloterdijk (; ; born 26 June 1947) is a German philosopher and cultural theorist. He was a professor of philosophy and media theory at and Rector from 2001 to 2015 of the University of Art and Design Karlsruhe. He co-hosted the German tel ...

, and

Slavoj Žižek Slavoj Žižek ( ; ; born 21 March 1949) is a Slovenian Marxist philosopher, cultural theorist and public intellectual. He is the international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, Global Distin ...

. Babich is the author of a range of studies foregrounding the role of

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

in institutional philosophy, particularly the analytic-continental divide but also on the question of gender and agism. A student of

Hans-Georg Gadamer Hans-Georg Gadamer (; ; 11 February 1900 – 13 March 2002) was a German philosopher of the continental tradition, best known for his 1960 on hermeneutics, '' Truth and Method'' (''Wahrheit und Methode''). Life Family and early life Gad ...

and Jacques Taminiaux, she also worked with

Jacob Taubes Jacob Taubes (25 February 1923 – 21 March 1987) was a sociologist of religion, philosopher, and scholar of Judaism. Taubes was born into an old rabbinical family. He was married to the writer Susan Taubes. He obtained his doctorate in 1947 f ...

and

among others. As an undergraduate, she studied biology at Stony Brook University (one of her first teachers was the prize-winning microbiologist, Edwin Battley) along with David Allison, Don Ihde, and Patrick Aidan Heelan in philosophy. In 1995, she founded the journal ''New Nietzsche Studies'', echoing the title of the 1974 book, ''The New Nietzsche,'' the continentally minded collection edited by David Blair Allison (1944-2016).

Bibliography

Books

*
Günther Anders’ Philosophy of Technology: From Phenomenology to Critical Theory
'' London: Bloomsbury, 2022. *
Nietzsches Plastik. Ästhetische Phänomenologie im Spiegel des Lebens
'' London/Berlin: Peter Lang, 2021. *
Nietzsches Antike. Beiträge zur Altphilologie und Musik
'' Berlin: Academia, 2020. *
The Hallelujah Effect. Philosophical Reflections on Music, Performance Practice and Technology
'' Routledge: 2016. 013*
Un politique brisé. Le souci d'autrui, l'humanisme, et les juifs chez Heidegger
'' Paris: L'Harmattan, 2016. *
La fin de la pensée? Philosophie analytique contre philosophie continentale
'' Paris: L'Harmattan, 2012. *
Nietzsches Wissenschaftsphilosophie. »Die Wissenschaft unter der Optik des Künstlers zu sehn, die Kunst aber unter der des Lebens«.
' Oxford: Peter Lang, 2010. *
"Eines Gottes Glück voller Macht und Liebe." Beiträge zu Nietzsche, Hölderlin, Heidegger.
' Weimar: Klassik Stiftung Weimar, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, 2009. *
Words in Blood, Like Flowers: Philosophy and Poetry, Music and Eros in Hölderlin, Nietzsche, and Heidegger.
' Albany: State University of New York Press, 2006, paper: 2007. *
Nietzsche e la Scienza: Arte, vita, conoscenza.
' Translated by Fulvia Vimercati. Raffaello Cortina Editore. Milan. 1996. *
Nietzsche's Philosophy of Science: Reflecting Science on the Ground of Art and Life.
' State University of New York Press. Albany. 1994.

Edited collections

*
Reading David Hume's 'Of the Standard of Taste
'' Berlin: de Gruyter, 2019. *
Hermeneutic Philosophies of Social Science
'' Berlin: de Gruyter, 2017. * ''New Nietzsche Studies.'' he Journal of the Nietzsche Society.1996 - ongoing. * ''The Multidimensionality of Hermeneutic Phenomenology.'' Frankfurt am Main: Springer, 2013. ith Dimitri Ginev* ''Heidegger und Nietzsche.'' Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2012. ith Holger Zaborowski and Alfred Denker* ''Nietzsche, Habermas, and Critical Theory.'' Amherst, New York. Prometheus Books Humanity Books Imprint. 2004. * ''Hermeneutic Philosophy of Science, Van Gogh's Eyes, and God: Essays in Honor of Patrick A. Heelan. S.J.'' oston Studies in the Philosophy of Science.Dordrecht. Kluwer. 2002. * ''Nietzsche, Theories of Knowledge and Critical Theory: Nietzsche and the Sciences I'' oston Studies in the Philosophy of Science.Dordrecht. Kluwer. 1999. * ''Nietzsche, Epistemology and Philosophy of Science: Nietzsche and the Sciences II'' oston Studies in the Philosophy of Science.Dordrecht. Kluwer Academic Publishers. 1999. * ''From Phenomenology to Thought, Errancy, and Desire: Essays in Honor of William J. Richardson, S.J.'' hænomenologicaKluwer Academic Publishers. Dordrecht. 1995.

References

External links

Babette Babich: Fordham University Faculty Web Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Babich Philosophers from New York (state) Critical theorists American philosophers of art American philosophers of technology American women philosophers Living people 1956 births Heidegger scholars 20th-century American philosophers 21st-century American philosophers