Modern Social Imaginaries

Taylor Charles Taylor

Description

One of the most influential philosophers in the English-speaking world, Charles Taylor is internationally renowned for his contributions to political and moral theory, particularly to debates about identity formation, multiculturalism, secularism, and modernity. In Modern Social Imaginaries, Taylor continues his recent reflections on the theme of multiple modernities. To account for the differences among modernities, Taylor sets out his idea of the social imaginary, a broad understanding of the way a given people imagine their collective social life.Retelling the history of Western modernity, Taylor traces the development of a distinct social imaginary. Animated by the idea of a moral order based on the mutual benefit of equal participants, the Western social imaginary is characterized by three key cultural forms-the economy, the public sphere, and self-governance. Taylor's account of these cultural formations provides a fresh perspective on how to read the specifics of Western modernity: how we came to imagine society primarily as an economy for exchanging goods and services to promote mutual prosperity, how we began to imagine the public sphere as a metaphorical place for deliberation and discussion among strangers on issues of mutual concern, and how we invented the idea of a self-governing people capable of secular "founding" acts without recourse to transcendent principles. Accessible in length and style, Modern Social Imaginaries offers a clear and concise framework for understanding the structure of modern life in the West and the different forms modernity has taken around the world.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Western philosophy

Informations

• Publié par: Duke University Press
• Date de parution: 29 décembre 2003
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780822385806
• Langue: English

Extrait

Public Planet Books A series edited by Dilip Gaonkar, Jane Kramer, Benjamin Lee, and Michael Warner

Public Planet Books is a series designed by writers in and out- side the academy—writers working on what could be called narratives of public culture—to explore questions that ur- gently concern us all. It is an attempt to open the scholarly discourse on contemporary public culture, both local and international, and to illuminate that discourse with the kinds of narrative that will challenge sophisticated readers, make them think, and especially make them question. It is, most important, an experiment in strategies of discourse, com- bining reportage and critical reflection on unfolding issues and events—one, we hope, that will provide a running nar- rative of our societies at this particular fin de siècle. Public Planet Books is part of the Public Works publication project of the Center for Transcultural Studies, which also includes the journalPublic Cultureand the Public Worlds book series.

Modern Social Imaginaries

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Modern Social Imaginaries

Charles Taylor

DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS

Durham and London 2004

© 2004 Duke University Press

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of

America on acid-free paper 

Typeset by Tseng Information

Systems, Inc. in Bodoni Book

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-

Publication Data appear on the

last printed page of this book.

To Wanda

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1

xi

The Modern Moral Order

3

What Is a ‘‘Social Imaginary’’?

The Specter of Idealism

The Great Disembedding

31

49

23

The Economy as Objectified Reality

The Public Sphere

Public and Private

83

101

The Sovereign People

An All-Pervasive Order

109

143

69