Karman: a brief treatise on action, guilt, and gesture

116 Pages·2018·0.762 MB·English

by  Agamben, Giorgio;Kotsko, Adam

Karman
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M E R I D I A N
Crossing Aesthetics
Series founded by the late Werner Hamacher
Editor
Translated by Adam Kotsko
Stanford
University
Press
Stanford,
California
2018
KARMAN
A Brief Treatise on Action, Guilt, and Gesture
Giorgio Agamben
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
English translation and Translator’s Note © 2018 by the Board of Trustees of
the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Karman: A Brief Treatise on Action, Guilt, and Gesture was originally
published in Italian in 2017 under the title Karman: Breve trattato sull’azione,
la colpa e il gesto © 2017, Bollati Boringhieri editore. This book was negotiated
through Agnese Incisa Agenzia Letteraria, Torino.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or
in any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written per-
mission of Stanford University Press.
Printed in the United States of America on acid- free, archival- quality paper
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Agamben, Giorgio, 1942– author. | Kotsko, Adam, translator.
Title: Karman : a brief treatise on action, guilt, and gesture / Giorgio
Agamben ; translated by Adam Kotsko.
Other titles: Karman. English
Description: Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, 2018. |
Series: Meridian, crossing aesthetics | “Originally published in Italian in
2017 under the title Karman: breve trattato sull’azione, la colpa e il gesto.” |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2017044378 (print) | LCCN 2017045501 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781503605831 | ISBN 9781503602144
(cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781503605824 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Law and ethics. | Law—Philosophy. | Free will and
determinism. | Act (Philosophy) | Responsibility.
Classification: LCC K247.6 (ebook) |
LCC K247.6 .A3313 2018 (print) | DDC 174/.3—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017044378
How can a human being be guilty?
—F ranz Kafka
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Contents
Translator’s Note xi
1. Causa and Culpa 1
2. Crimen and Karman 24
3. The Aporias of the Will 43
4. Beyond Action 60
Bibliography 87
Index of Names 93
ix