Castoriadis was born in 1922 in cosmopolitan Constantinople (now Istanbul)from Greek parents. He grew up in Athens in a cultivated and fertile social environment. Castoriadis belongs to the generation of Greek thinkers that left Greece (in 1945 because of the Greek civil war)and matured in Europe (Axelos, Kranaki, Papaioannou etc.). The imaginary istitution of society is his landmark work. In this work he covers several subjects (marxism, revolutionary theory, social imaginary and the individual..). A few words from this work will show the depth and clarity of his thought: "Is my desire infantile? But it is the situation we live in infantile. That the life is given to us, the law is given to us. In an infantile situation life is given for nothing;and the law is given without anything (sans rien), without a possible discussion. But what I want is the opposite: I want to live my life and if possible to give life .....The person who is in an infantile level is the person who is apolitical and conformist...the person who replaces the private father with the social anonymous father... "

Cornelius Castoriadis was one of the most original thinkers of this century and this book provides a good entry point for those interested in the matters his thought touches upon; Society, Philosophy, Autonomy, Psyche. It also provides, for those somewhat familiar with his work, an insight on the way his thought changed historically. Of particular interest, the last chapter includes an interview with the man himself in which he answers some of his critics. However, you must read some of his other publications if you want more in-depth treatment of the various subjects.