Power of Gentleness

“Power of Gentleness achieves [the] incredible feat of being a gentle book… . . One of the most surprising points of the book is the argument that the true enemy of gentleness is … gentleness. Fake gentleness, mawkishness, this passivity sold to us via every new age commercial technique… . True gentleness contains an element of negativity, … and therein lies the crux of the problem: gentleness has its own dialectic… . Power of Gentleness is an important text that teaches us, comforts us, disturbs us too, that in any case touches us, always, at every moment. From this book that is so devoted to fragility, the reader emerges–and this is incontestable–that much stronger.”—Catherine Malabou, from the Foreword“With rigor and charm, Anne Dufourmantelle breaks in an emergent concept–crucial yet unclassifiable–that has been overlooked by the big guns of philosophical discourse. The notion of gentleness resets the hermeneutics of affect and ontology.”—Avital Ronell, New York University

Anne Dufourmantelle (1964–2017), philosopher and psychoanalyst, taught at the European Graduate School and wrote monthly columns for the Paris newspaper Libération. Her books in English include In Praise of Risk; Power of Gentleness; Blind Date; and, with Jacques Derrida, Of Hospitality.

Katherine Payne teaches at the City University of New York.

Vincent Sallé teaches at the City University of New York.

Catherine Malabou, holder of Visiting Chairs in numerous North American universities, teaches philosophy at the CRMEP (Center for Research in Modern European Philosophy) at Kingston University (UK). The most recent of her books are, Changing Difference: The Feminine in Philosophy, and, with Judith Butler, You Will Be My Body for Me.