Reclaiming the enlightenment : toward a politics of radical engagement
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Reclaiming the enlightenment : toward a politics of radical engagement
Columbia University Press, c2004
- : cloth
- : pbk.
Available at 10 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
This book tackles an obvious yet profound problem of modern political life: the disorientation of intellectuals and activists on the left. As the study of political history and theory has been usurped by cultural criticism, a confusion over the origins and objectives of progressive politics has been the result. Specifically, it has become fashionable for intellectuals to attack the Enlightenment for its imperialism, eurocentrism, and scientism, and for the sexism and racism of some of its major representatives. Although the fact that individual thinkers harbored such prejudices is irrefutable, Stephen Bronner argues that reducing the Enlightenment ethos to these beliefs is wholly unsustainable. With its championing of democracy, equality, cosmopolitanism, and reason-and its vociferous attacks on popular prejudice, religious superstition, and arbitrary abuses of power-the Enlightenment was once hailed as the foundation of all modern, progressive politics.
But in 1947, this perspective was dramatically undermined when Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno published their classic work, Dialectic of Enlightenment, which claims that the Enlightenment was the source of totalitarianism and the worst excesses of modernity. Reclaiming the Enlightenment from purely philosophical and cultural interpretations, Bronner shows that its notion of political engagement keeps democracy fresh and alive by providing a practical foundation for fostering institutional accountability, opposing infringements on individual rights, instilling an enduring commitment to social reform, and building a cosmopolitan sensibility. This forceful and timely reinterpretation of the Enlightenment and its powerful influence on contemporary political life is a resounding wake-up call to critics on both the left and the right.
Table of Contents
Interpreting the Enlightenment: Metaphysics, Tradition, and Politics In Praise of Progress Inventing Liberalism The Great Divide: Enlightenment, Counter-Enlightenment, and the Public Sphere Abolishing the Ghetto: Anti-Semitism, Racism, and the Other The Illusory Dialectic: From Enlightenment to Totalitarianism Experiencing Reality: The Culture Industry, Subjectivity, and Identity Pathways to Freedom: Rights, Reciprocity, and the Cosmopolitan Sensibility Renewing the Legacy: Renewing the Legacy
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