Habermas and the Dialectic of Reason

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Raymond Geuss

Habermas and earlier members of the Frankfurt School have presented critical theory as a radically new form of knowledge. It is differentiated from the natural sciences as essentially 'reflective': the knowledge it provides guides us towards enlightenment as to our true interests, and emancipation from often unsuspected forms of external and internal coercion. Its first paradigms are in the writings of Marx and Freud. In this book Raymond Geuss sets out these fundamental claims and asks whether they can be made good. Is a science which does not simply describe and explain social phenomena, but also criticizes? The concept of ideology plays a crucial role in this discussion. Geuss carefully analyses it here, its relation to our beliefs and interests, and the account of truth and confirmation required by its critique and the concomitant goal of self-knowledge. The book does not presuppose acquaintance with the works of the Frankfurt School and can serve as a lucid introduction to their central, distinctive theses. But in its scrupulous and incisive consideration of these, and the modified support for them that emerges, it will also interest experts on critical theory and others concerned with the methods and purposes of the social sciences in general.

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John E. Tropman

Based on years of scholarly research, the Catholic Ethic in American Society reveals a Catholic ethic that parallels the more well-known Protestant ethic. Tropman presents an innovative analysis of the deeply ingrained attitudes Americans have about money and work and their view of people who have neither. In this book, Tropman offers a fresh perspective on the Protestant "achievement" ethic by contrasting it with the newly identified Catholic "sharing" ethic. He outlines the key features that distinguish the Catholic ethic from its Protestant counterpart, including the perspectives of each ethic on the value of money and work, the importance of family and community, and the individual. The Protestant ethic - first articulated by sociologist Max Weber in the early 1900s - is rooted in the values of work, wealth, and achievement, whereas the Catholic ethic is firmly based on longstanding traditions and beliefs of sharing. Given the fundamental differences between the two ethics, the Catholic ethic has a stronger value base for providing assistance to others, especially the poor and the disadvantaged. Because of the Protestant ethic's emphasis on achievement and self-reliance, charitable acts become fraught with concern, worry, and hesitancy. Distinguishing between the poor who are worthy and those deemed unworthy becomes an essential part of the helping activity. . The Catholic Ethic in American Society is a valuable work for sociologists, political scientists, social activists, religion scholars and students, and fundraisers of Catholic charitable organizations.

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Barbara Herr Harthorn and John W. Mohr

"This volume shows how nanotechnology takes on a wide range of socio-historically specific meanings in the context of globalization, across multiple localities, institutions and collaborations, through diverse industries, research labs, and government agencies and in a variety of discussions within the public sphere itself. It explores the early origins of nanotechnologies; the social, economic, and political organization of the field; and the cultural and subjective meanings ascribed to nanotechnologies in social settings. "--

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Gary Bridge

"In the modernist city rationality ruled and subsumed difference in a logic of identity. In the postmodern city, reason is abandoned for an endless play of difference. Reason in the City of Difference poses an alternative to these extremes by drawing on classical American philosophical pragmatism (and its contemporary developments in feminism and the philosophy of communication) to explore the possibilities of a strengthening and deepening of reason in the contemporary city."--Jacket.