Reason, Tradition, and the Good

Jeffery L. Nicholas

Description

In Reason, Tradition, and the Good, Jeffery L. Nicholas addresses the failure of reason in modernity to bring about a just society, a society in which people can attain fulfillment. Developing the critical theory of the Frankfurt School, Nicholas argues that we rely too heavily on a conception of rationality that is divorced from tradition and, therefore, incapable of judging ends. Without the ability to judge ends, we cannot engage in debate about the good life or the proper goods that we as individuals and as a society should pursue.

Nicholas claims that the project of enlightenment—defined as the promotion of autonomous reason—failed because it was based on a deformed notion of reason as mere rationality, and that a critical theory of society aimed at human emancipation must turn to substantive reason, a reason constituted by and constitutive of tradition. To find a reason capable of judging ends, Nicholas suggests, we must turn to Alasdair MacIntyre’s Thomistic-Aristotelianism. Substantive reason comprises thinking and acting on the set of standards and beliefs within a particular tradition. It is the impossibility of enlightenment rationality to evaluate ends and the possibility of substantive reason to evaluate ends that makes the one unsuitable and the other suitable for a critical theory of society. Nicholas’s compelling argument, written in accessible language, remains committed to the promise of reason to help individuals achieve a good and just society and a good life. This requires, however, a complete revolution in the way we approach social life.

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Philosophie politique
• Political Ideologies
• Political
• POLITICAL SCIENCE
• PHILOSOPHY
• Philosophie et théologie
• Politics
• Habermas
• Alasdair MacIntyre
• Charles Taylor
• Jürgen Habermas

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 15 juin 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780268087647
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

R E A S O N , T R A D I T I O N ,

A N D T H E G O O D

R E A S O N , T R A D I T I O N , A N D T H E G O O D

Macïnyre’s TradîîOn-COnsîued ReasOn and Frankur ScOO Crîîca TeOry

J E F F E R Y L . N I C H O L A S

Unîversîy O NOre Dame Press NOre Dame, ïndîana

COpyrîg © 2012 by Unîversîy O NOre Dame Press NOre Dame, ïndîana 46556 www.undpress.nd.edu A Rîgs Reserved Manuacured în e Unîed Saes O Amerîca

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

NîcOas, Jefery, 1969– ReasOn, radîîOn, and e gOOd : Macïnyre’s radîîOn-cOnsîued reasOn and Frankur ScOO crîîca eOry / Jefery L. NîcOas.  p. cm. ïncudes bîbîOgrapîca reerences and îndex. ïSBN-13: 978-0-268-03664-5 (pbk. : ak. paper) ïSBN-10: 0-268-03664-0 (pbk. : ak. paper) E-ïSBN: 978-0-268-08764-7 1. POîîca scîence—PîOsOpy. 2. ReasOn. 3. Crîîca eOry. 4. POîîca sOcîOOgy. 5. Frankur scOO O sOcîOOgy. 6. Macïnyre, Aasdaîr C. 7. Habermas, Jürgen. ï. Tîe. JA71.N53 2012 320.01—dc23  2012014925

∞ The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durabilityoftheCommitteeonProductionGuidelinesforBookLongevity of the Council on Library Resources.

To

J A N E T

I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has

endoweduswithsense,reason,andintellecthasintendedusto

forgo their use.

—GaîeO Gaîeî

When valour preys on reason, it eats the swordIT igHTs wITH. —Wîîam Sakespeare

Reason has always existed, but not always in a reasonable form. —Kar Marx

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Contents

Preace AbbrevîaîOns O Frequeny Cîed WOrks

ïnrOducîOn: Te QuesîOn O ReasOn

Te Frankur ScOO Crîîque O ReasOn

Habermas’s COmmunîcaîve RaîOnaîy

Macïnyre’s TradîîOn-COnsîued ReasOn

A Subsanîve ReasOn

BeyOnd Reaîvîsm: ReasOnabe PrOgress and Learnîng FrOm

COncusîOn: TOward a TOmîsîc-ArîsOeîan Crîîca TeOry O SOcîey

NOes BîbîOgrapy ïndex

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Preface

We are raîOna anîmas, creaures endOwed wî reasOn. Ye Our îves Oten seem îrraîOna. We îve îves O supersîîOn, O aî, O ear, O naîOnaîsm, and reasOn Oten seems O be sOmeîng we eave O Ose we înk O as avîng mOre îme Or mOre educaîOn an we dO. ï grew up în wO wOrds: a wOrd în wîc peOpe ad îe îme Or mOney Or Orma educaîOn, were sree smars were mOre împOran an bOOk smars, and were yOu ad O be careu nO O e a back ca crOss e sree în rOn O yOu, and anOer wOrd O bOOks, îmagî- naîOn, and cOege-preparaOry educaîOn wî e îdea a ï wOud becOme a prîes, One O Ose wO, a eas în my neck O e wOOds, were e smar Ones. Wen ï dîscOvered VOaîre and e Enîgenmen în îg scOO, ï Ound a wOrd O prOmîse, O Ope Or umanîy based în e u deveOpmenOumanreasOnOreveryOne.VOaîre’scryOÉcrasez l’infâmesîrred me, Oug nO agaîns e Curc. A rîend O mîne în graduae scOO saîd e waned a bumper sîcker a read, “ï’ e prayer în scOO wen yOu e înkîng în yOur curc.” ï earned Ow O înk în and rOug e Curc, aways caenged by prîess and nuns, aways caenged by e educaOrs în my CaOîc îg scOO O înk rOug îngs. Ye every day a ï waked O scOO Or O curc, ï wînessed e îdîOcy O Our wOrd: e pOOr and Omeess, e ungry, peOpe needîng jObs în an era O cuîng. We sî îved under e îmmî- nen rea O nucear war în e 1980s—nO a we drîed Or nucear bOmbs, bu we perceîved e rea în e mOvîes and sOrîes we ad. Te înamy VOaîre warned agaîns cOnsîsed în e prejudîce and su- persîîOn and ear a ï saw sO muc în e everyday wOrd.

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