CiNii 図書 - Belief and resistance : dynamics of contemporary intellectual controversy

The controversies between traditionalists and postmodernists are the topic of this book. It examines questions at the heart of the debate, such as: truth, reason, and objectivity - can we survive without them? What happens to law, science and the persuit of justice when these ideals are abandoned? The clash of belief and skepticism, and our need for intellectual stability are also examined. Focusing on the impasses to which these controversies often lead, and on the charges - "absurdity", "irrationalism", "complicity", "blindness", "stubbornness" - that typically accompany them, the author stresses our tendency to give self-flattering reasons for our own beliefs, and to discount or demonize the motives of those who disagree with us. The resulting cognitive and rhetorical dynamics of intellectual conflict is accounted for, drawing on research and theory in evolutionary biology, neuroscience, developmental psychology, and the history and sociology of science. The analysis continues into ongoing debates over the possiblity of an objective grounding of legal and political judgements, the value of Enlightenment rationalism, challenges to dominant ideas of scientific truth, and responses to denials of the factuality of the Holocaust.

The unquiet judge
activism without objectivism in law and politics
making (up) the truth - constructivist contributions
belief and resistance - a symmetrical account
doing without meaning
unloading the self-refutation charge
the skeptic's turn - a performance of contradiction
arguing with reason - webs of reason
microdynamics of incommensurability - philosophy of science meets science studies.

巻冊次: pbk. : alk. paper ISBN 9780674064928

内容説明

Truth, reason, and objectivity--can we survive without them? What happens to law, science, and the pursuit of social justice when such ideas and ideals are rejected? These questions are at the heart of the controversies between traditionalists and "postmodernists" that Barbara Herrnstein Smith examines in her wide-ranging book, which also offers an original perspective on the perennial--perhaps eternal--clash of belief and skepticism, on our need for intellectual stability and our experience of its inevitable disruption. Focusing on the mutually frustrating impasses to which these controversies often lead and on the charges--"absurdity," "irrationalism," "complicity," "blindness," "stubbornness"--that typically accompany them, Smith stresses our tendency to give self-flattering reasons for our own beliefs and to discount or demonize the motives of those who disagree with us. Her account of the resulting cognitive and rhetorical dynamics of intellectual conflict draws on recent research and theory in evolutionary biology, neuroscience, developmental psychology, and the history and sociology of science, as well as on contemporary philosophy and language theory. Smith's analyses take her into important ongoing debates over the possibility of an objective grounding of legal and political judgments, the continuing value of Enlightenment rationalism, significant challenges to dominant ideas of scientific truth, and proper responses to denials of the factuality of the Holocaust. As she explores these and other controversies, Smith develops fresh ways to understand their motives and energies, and more positive ways to see the operations of intellectual conflict more generally.

Preface The Unquiet Judge: Activism without Objectivism in Law and Politics Making (Up) the Truth: Constructivist Contributions Belief and Resistance: A Symmetrical Account Doing without Meaning Unloading the Self-Refutation Charge The Skeptic's Turn: A Performance of Contradiction Arguing with Reason Appendix: Webs of Reason Microdynamics of Incommensurability: Philosophy of Science Meets Science Studies Notes Index

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Belief and resistance : dynamics of contemporary intellectual controversy

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