Includes bibliographical references and index.

Foreword / Virgil P. Nemoianu -- Translator's preface -- Author's preface to the English edition -- Introduction -- Part One : A condition deprived of meaning : Existence as sign -- The rejection of the figures of existence -- Black markets -- The danger of a return to existentialism -- Part Two : The revelations of the devil : The good without the true -- The morality of complacency -- A morality of emotion and indignation -- The clandestine ideology of our time -- Part Three : The urgent need for a new anthropology : Is democracy unsurpassable? -- The rejection of the worldviews -- The fear of decision-making -- The sacralization of rights -- Utopian equality -- Production and care-giving -- Part Four : Mastering the world in a different way : Fallen from the heights -- Fragmented existence -- God in exile -- The return of an uncertain world -- On vigilance -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Index.