life after death

This book makes available in English the work of one of the most important Brazilian philosophers and intellectuals of the twentieth century. First published in 2004, Error, Illusion, Madness is an original contribution to the debate about the nature and role of the subject and its forms of expression. In a context where the category of the subject was being at once dismissed by structuralist and post-structuralist thinkers and sidelined by the intersubjective turn of critical theory, Bento Prado Jr.’s book represented a unique intellectual intervention. He mobilized authors as diverse as Wittgenstein and Deleuze to formulate a notion of the subject as both a critique of identity and an affirmation of difference, a notion that dismantled the foundational character usually associated with this category. In this way Bento Prado Jr. opened up a new and distinctive kind of critical thinking that emphasized subjectivity while avoiding both foundationalism and relativism. This important book will be of great interest to those working in philosophy, critical theory, cultural theory, and Latin American studies.

A successful fiction must, therefore, in one sense be interactive, just as a lie needs a believer in order to work. Espen J Aarseth, Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature

If a serious statement is defined as one that may be made in terms of waking life, poetry will never rise to the level of seriousness. It lies beyond seriousness, on that more primitive and original level where the child, the animal, the savage, and the seer belong, in the region of dream, enchantment, ecstasy, laughter. To understand poetry we must be capable of donning the child's soul like a magic cloak and of forsaking man's wisdom for the child's. Johan Huizinga, Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture

In strongly opposing the world of play to that of reality, and in stressing that play is essentially a side activity, the interference is drawn that any contamination by ordinary life runs the risk of corrupting and destroying its very nature Roger Callois

Man, Play, and Games by Roger Caillois is a foundational text in game studies that defines play as a free, separate, and uncertain activity governed by rules, and categorizes games into four types: Agôn (competition), Alea (chance), Mimicry (simulation/make-believe), and Ilinx (vertigo/disorientation). The book analyzes how these categories appear in different cultures and how play can become "corrupted" by the intrusion of reality, such as the pursuit of profit or professionalism. 

Homo Ludens (1938) by Johan Huizinga argues that play is a fundamental and primary element of human culture, essential for its development, rather than a trivial pastime. Huizinga, a Dutch historian, defines play as a voluntary activity with its own rules, separate from ordinary life, and traces its influence through law, war, art, and politics, suggesting civilization itself arises from play. The book posits that "Man the Player" (Homo Ludens) is as crucial a descriptor as Homo Sapiens (Man the Thinker) or Homo Faber (Man the Maker). 

Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature by Espen J. Aarseth (1997) is a foundational text in digital humanities and game studies that introduces the concept of "ergodic literature" to analyze interactive texts like hypertext fiction, computer games, and MUDs. Aarseth argues these texts require non-trivial effort ("ergon" + "hodos") from the reader to navigate, making the medium's mechanics integral to the literary experience, and calls for new theoretical frameworks beyond traditional literary analysis to understand them. 

Psychosis and Extreme States: An Ethic for Treatment by Bret Fimiani is a psychoanalytic book that offers a new framework for treating psychosis, moving beyond traditional models by integrating clinical practice with "peer model" principles. Fimiani, a Lacanian psychoanalyst, argues for an ethical approach that respects the patient's experience, viewing psychosis not just as illness but as a potential pathway for growth, and provides a theory for how psychoanalysis can adapt to be more effective for psychosis. The book synthesizes clinical and peer-support ideas to help practitioners navigate transference issues and understand the subjective experience of psychosis, which involves a break from reality, hallucinations, and delusions.