March 20, 2004

Destruction in an enlightened age

Schmitt is putting forth a stark thesis about economic rationality in modernity.

He is saying that an economic/technical rationality promises salvation---a heaven on earth--- but such an enlightening reason actually delivers destruction and despair, which may not be recognized as such.

A good example of this in Australia is the clear felling of Tasmania's old growth forests. The promise is that this will deliver heaven on earth by way of economic growth, jobs and rising incomes. It results in ecological devastation. This is not recognized as such by the politicians.

This overlaps with the key thesis of Adorno and Horkheimer in their Dialectic of Enlightenment. This thesis is stated thus:


"In the most general sense of progressive thought, the Enlightenment has always aimed at liberating men from fear and establishing their sovereignty. Yet the fully enlightened earth radiates disaster triumphant. "

It is this thesis that distinquishes Anglo-American philosophy from the continental one.

Posted by Gary Sauer-Thompson at March 20, 2004 11:42 PM | TrackBack
Comments

Quite - anglo-american philosophy seems to 'legitimate' enlightenment deception by positing the instrumental rationale as an absolute; continental thought then, has the tools to be reflective of this.

When thinking about the history of ideas in secular terms, analytical philosophy seems deeply medieval.

Posted by: mike on March 25, 2004 02:15 AM
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