Α rigorous engagement with Nancy’s thought remains difficult as long as his standpoint, that is, the site  of his thought, remains unaccounted for. And although the primary conundrum  of his work has remained largely constant, there are distinct shifts from his earlier writings that have become evident. To what can these be attributed? In whose name did they arise? This paper first introduces these shifts along with some of the fields of research that they have opened. It then emphasizes the importance of the historicity of sense for understanding these shifts, and discusses Nancy’s understanding of history in indicating its significant overlaps with Arendt’s, despite several key differences––the overlaps that help us discover the site of his thinking. This site lies on a trajectory that swerves from the autonomy of logos. The essay shows that the question of the site of Nancy‘s thinking is essential, not only for understanding his conception of history, but also because today it is indispensable, in response to the evident colonial foundations of all philosophical universalisms, which must be called on to answer for their standpoints.

With this book, we would like to resume the passionate conversation that Jean-Luc Nancy was engaged in throughout his life, with philosophers and artists from all over the world. Now that he has passed away, it is not enough for us to simply reflect on his work: we would like to stay true to the stance to which his thought invites us, in a pluralistic and communal way. Jean-Luc Nancy takes up the old philosophical question of truth as a praxis of a with — understanding truth without any given measure or comparison as an articulation of a with. It is a thinking responsible for the world from within the world, a language that seeks to respond to the ongoing mutation of our civilization.

With contributions by Jean-Christophe Bailly, Rodolphe Burger, Marcia Sá Calvacante Schuback, Marcus Coelen, Alexander García Düttmann, Juan-Manuel Garrido, Martta Heikkilä, Erich Hörl, Valentin Husson, Sandrine Israel-Jost, Ian James, Apostolos Lampropoulos, Nidesh Lawtoo, Jérôme Lèbre, Susanna Lindberg, Michael Marder, Artemy Magun, Boyan Manchev, Dieter Mersch, Hélène Nancy, Jean-Luc Nancy, Aïcha Liviana Messina, Ginette Michaud, Helen Petrovsky, Jacob Rogozinski, Philipp Stoellger, Peter Szendy, Georgios Tsagdis, Marita Tatari, Gert-Jan van der Heiden, Aukje van Rooden.