The Critique of Instrumental Reason from Weber to Habermas

Name: The Critique of Instrumental Reason from Weber to Habermas
Brand: Continnuum-3PL
Availability: OutOfStock
Rating: 5 (1 reviews)

By Darrow Schecter

0 - Default Title

Description

What different kinds of reason are possible, and which ones are the most appropriate for a legitimate, as opposed to a merely legitimated state? The book opens with an analysis of Weber as a figure who marks a key moment of sociological transition. Weber articulates a distinctly different view to Enlightenment thinkers who believe in the capacity of reason to improve society and emancipate humanity from ignorance and domination. Weber signals that the institutionalization of the instrumental reason particular to industrial society might actually be an effective tool in the struggle for social supremacy. He notes that in comparison with charismatic and traditional legitimation, modern forms of legal-rational legitimation are de-personalised, anonymously bureaucratic, and much more difficult to combat. The book then looks at various responses to Weber's diagnosis, from Lukács and Benjamin to Horkheimer, Adorno, Heidegger, Arendt, Simmel, Foucault and Habermas. The study culminates with a sociological reading of critical theory that draws together Adorno's concept of non-identity with Habermas on communicative reason and Luhmann on social complexity and differentiation.

Product details

Binding:: Paperback
Edition:: 1
Number of Pages:: 266
Release Date:: 2011-12-14
Publication Date:: 2012-02-23
Publisher:: Continnuum-3PL
Languages:: Original: English
ISBN10:: 1441124551
ISBN13:: 9781441124555
GPSR Manufacturer Reference:: [email protected]
Weight:: 390 g
Height:: 152 cm
Width:: 229 cm
Thickness:: 14 cm

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