Spectacles and Predicaments: Essays in Social TheoryThis collection of essays is concerned with philosophy, politics and society. The first group examines what philosophers such as Hegel, Wittgenstein and Chomsky have said or implied about the nature of society in general. A second group examines the cognitive predicament, questions concerning the nature of the possibility of knowledge, as handled by a thinker such as Descartes, or the Pragmatist tradition. The third group handles the political predicament and deals specifically with problems such as nationalism, the nature of the liberalisation process, the future of the welfare and consumer state and the option facing underdeveloped societies. The essays deal not only with classical theories concerning these problems but also with various recent discussions. The volume will interest many individual philosophers and social theorists and those with a more general interest in our culture and political discussions. |
Contents
Editorial Preface by I C Jarvie and J Agassi | 1 |
The Absolute in braces | 13 |
the reenchantment industry | 41 |
A Wittgensteinian philosophy of or against | 65 |
Period piece | 103 |
Chomsky III | 111 |
Notes towards a theory of ideology | 117 |
Options of belief | 135 |
The last pragmatist or the behaviourist Platonist | 199 |
Pragmatism and the importance of being earnest | 241 |
Nationalism or the new confessions of a justified | 265 |
the demise | 277 |
The withering away of the dentistry state | 307 |
From the Revolution to liberalisation | 318 |
Plaidoyer pour une libéralisation manquée | 334 |
The Kathmandu option | 350 |
Common terms and phrases
abstract accept action appears argument authority become belief called central claim cognitive concepts concerning condition conduct consequence context continuity course criticism culture Descartes distinct doctrine doubt economic effect empiricism established evidence existence experience explanation fact follows force formulation give given hand happens Hegel hence human idea ideology important individual industrial intellectual interesting kind knowledge language lead least less liberal live logical Louch manner Marxism matter means merely method moral movement nature objects observes once perhaps philosophy political position possess possible pragmatism precisely present principle problem production question Quine reality reasons relatively requires rules scientific seems sense simply situation social social sciences society speak specific Taylor theory things thought tion tradition true truth turn ultimate universe valid vision whole