9780415080248
Postmodernism, Reason and Religion
Ernest Gellner
ISBN 13: 9780415080248
Publisher: Routledge
Publication Date: 1992
Binding: Softcover
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How can we account for the extraordinary strength of Islam in the modern world? Are the views of the Enlightenment still an acceptable basis for social order?
In Postmodernism, Reason and Religion, Ernest Gellner suggests that we face three ideological options at the present time: a return to the genuine and firm faith of religious tradition; the pursuit of a form of relativism which abandons the notion of truth and resigns itself to treating truth as relative to the society or culture in question, and upholding the view that while perhaps there is a unique truth, no one society can fully possess it.
The first option is especially strong in Muslim societies, and the book explores the reason why. Gellner finds the explanation in the relationship between high culture and low culture within Islam, where the high culture, previously the achievement of the minority, has now become the pervasive culture of the entire society. This high culture within Muslim societies performsa function similar to those performed by nationalism elsewhere.
The second option is more fully developed in postmodernism in the West. The author is highly critical of this movement, arguing that postmodernism indulges in a kind of subjectivism as a form of expiation for the sins of colonialism. He maintains that the objectivity pursued as an ideal by social science during the colonial period was in fact a tool of domination, and that a subjectivist relativism is a way of moving beyond that mode.
The book explores the strengths and weaknesses of the third option. He proposes that this option only works on assumption of inner compromise, and a separation of truth taken seriously as opposed to truth used as cultural decoration.
This shrewd and penetrating book, written by one of the world's most highly respected social thinkers, digs into the heart fo the controversy between Islam and the West. It is a superb source of stimulating ideas and sound judgement that will be of particularinterest to students of sociology, anthropology, philosophy and Islamic studies.
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Postmodernism, Reason and Religion (ISBN: 041508024X / 0-415-08024-X) Gellner, Ernest Quantity Available: > 20
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Postmodernism, Reason and Religion (Paperback) (ISBN: 9780415080248) Gellner, Ernest Quantity Available: 10
Book Description: Taylor Francis Ltd, United Kingdom, 1992. Paperback. Book Condition: New. 203 x 127 mm. Brand New Book with Free Worldwide Delivery ***** Print on Demand *****. On questions of faith, Ernest Gellner believes, three ideological options are available to us today. One is a return to the genuine and firm faith of religious tradition. The other is a form of relativism which abandons the notion of unique truth altogether, and resigns itself to treating truth as relative to the society or culture in question. The third, which Gellner calls enlightenment rationalism, upholds the idea that there is a unique truth, but denies that any society can ever possess it definitively. The first option - religious fundamentalism - is particularly strong in Muslim socities, and Gellner investigates why this is so. He finds the explanation in the relationship between high culture and low culture within Islam, where the high culture, previously the achievement of the minority, has now become the pervasive culture of the entire society. This high culture, within Muslim societies, performs a function very similar to those performed by nationalisms elsewhere. The second option - relativism - is exemplified in the west by the postmodernism movement.Gellner is highly critical of postmodernism, arguing that it indulges in subjectivism as a form of expiation for the sins of colonialism. The objectivity pursued as an ideal by social science during the colonial period was in fact a tool of domination, and that a subjectivist relativism is a way of freeing oneself from that. Gellner explores the strengths and weaknesses of the third option, the option he prefers, arguing that this works only on assumption of inner compromise, and a seperation of truth taken seriously from truth used as a kind of cultural decoration. Learned and stimulating, Professor Gellner's book is an important contribution to our understanding of postmodernism and the relations between Islam and the West. It will be of great interest to anyone concerned with the ideological condition of contemporary society. Bookseller Inventory # AAV9780415080248 Bookseller & Payment Information | More Books from this Seller | Ask Bookseller a Question |
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Book Description: Taylor & Francis Ltd. Paperback. Book Condition: new. BRAND NEW PRINT ON DEMAND., Postmodernism, Reason and Religion, Ernest Gellner, This shrewd and penetrating book, written by one of the world's most respected social thinkers, delves to the heart of the controversy between Islam and the West. Bookseller Inventory # B9780415080248 Bookseller & Payment Information | More Books from this Seller | Ask Bookseller a Question |
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Book Description: TAYLORandFRANCIS, 1992. Book Condition: New. 203 x 127 mm. (120 pages) This item is printed on demand. Please allow up to 10 days extra for printing & delivery. This shrewd and penetrating book, written by one of the word's most respected socia thinkers, deves to the heart of the controversy between Isam and the West. ( ). Bookseller Inventory # AG041508024X Bookseller & Payment Information | More Books from this Seller | Ask Bookseller a Question |
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