On the Decline of Social Thought and Prospects for Its Renewal
Exploring neglected works in 20th-century social thought and philosophy, as well as the work of contemporary writers, this book argues that thought must be framed in a way which encompasses both non-rational forces and critical reason, and it offers an outline here for doing so.
In this critique of contemporary social theory, Eugene Halton argues that both modernism and postmodernism are damaged philosophies whose acceptance of the myths of the mind/body dichotomy make them incapable of solving our social dilemmas. Claiming that human beings should be understood as far more than simply a form of knowledge, social construction or contingent difference, Halton argues that contemporary thought has lost touch with the spontaneous passions - or enchantment - of life. Exploring neglected works in 20th-century social thought and philosophy - particularly the writings of Lewis Mumford and Charles Peirce - as well as the work of contemporary writers such as Vaclav Havel, Maya Angelou, Milan Kundera, Doris Lessing and Victor Turner, Halton argues that reason is dependent upon non-rational forces - including sentiment, instinct, conjecture, imagination and experience. We must, he argues, frame our questions in a way which encompasses both enchantment and critical reason, and he offers an outline here for doing so.