Provocaties - gedachten over vooruitgang en andere illusies

by John Gray

John Gray is niet weg te denken uit het moderne politiek-filosofische debat. Boeken als "Strohonden" mogen controversieel zijn, je kunt ze niet schouderophalend terzijde leggen. Deze bundel heet niet voor niets "Provocaties": opnieuw knaagt Gray aan de vooroordelen van het intellectuele establishment. In 24 essays, eerder verschenen in de "New Statesman", ontmaskert hij de illusie van de vooruitgang, en schetst hij de rol die deze illusie bijvoorbeeld speelt bij de oorlog in Irak, de politiek van Blair en de opkomst van het moderne populisme. De opzet van de bundel zorgt voor enige overlap, de vertaling voor de nodige slordigheden, en de index voor een grote toegankelijkheid.
(Dr. D.G. van der Steen)

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Politics, Essays, History, Society, Social Science

215 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

John Nicholas Gray is a English political philosopher with interests in analytic philosophy and the history of ideas. He retired in 2008 as School Professor of European Thought at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Gray contributes regularly to The Guardian, The Times Literary Supplement and the New Statesman, where he is the lead book reviewer.

Reviews

[Ashley]

Another home-run for Gray. Heresies comprises essays and editorials Gray wrote between 1999 and 2003, including a series of eerily prescient observations on the Bungle in Mesopotamia. In these, Gray lays out the woeful future then ahead of Iraq, and one wonders why, if a British academic and philosopher could so clearly see the inevitable anarchy that would follow removing the keystone of an artificial multi-national state and the disintegration of Sykes-Picot and even the rise of apocalyptic cults such as ISIS, why couldn't W. and Co.? Also included with the price of admission are some of Gray's most refined arguments on the great myth of our time, capital-P Progress. Employing his usual (and alarmingly effective) dialectic of identifying fundamental misapprehensions in the zeitgeist, Gray proves himself, in yet another book, to be among the most thought-provoking and important writers working today.

[Taka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty much a rehash of his Straw Dogs--

You don't miss much by skipping this collection of short essays John Gray wrote for The New Statesman. It's basically a reiteration and application of his thoughts he presents in his masterful Straw Dogs. Similar themes appear again and again, from the Christian roots of modern-day science and Marxist impulse in those who espouse free-market capitalism and democracy, to criticism of human exceptionalism and belief in progress and the dark side of humans ("encapsulated by the term he coins: Homo rapiens").

Some interesting ideas contained in these essays include: Americans being Pelagians (believing that evil can be overcome) while Europeans are Augustinians (that evil cannot be overcome as humans are hopelessly flawed) ("America's War On Evil"); Hobbesian idea of human preference for protection and peace over freedom and liberty ("Back to Hobbes"); and celebrity as providing the masses with an illusion of individualism ("The Society of the Spectacle Revisited"). In addition, his analysis of the Matrix movies was quite interesting (interpreting the first two films as conveying the idea of the comfortable majority colluding with the media to create an illusion of security, peace, and progress), and the satiric essay on torture ("Torture: A Modest Proposal") is quite funny (after I caught onto the fact that it was satiric). But overall, because the essays are so short (all of them less than 10 pages), there isn't any sustained argument or analysis that get you all excited (the way his Straw Dogs does).

[Russell Warfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really thought provoking writer. A range of essays on subjects as diverse as religion, technology, animals (love the stuff on animals), Iraq, British politics and celebrity - all stemming from the notion that universal peace and prosperity will never be attained through human ingenuity, and that a utopian global civilisation is an inherently unrealistic prospect. In his arrival at this conclusion, he postulates atheism to be a form of Freudian repression, comparing present day secularism to Victorian attitudes to sexuality, and suggests that natural religious impulses still find dangerous outlets in apparently secular belief systems, often making even less sense once divorced from the original myths.

A little repetitive in places, but that's to be expected with a collection of essays published over time. Also, hindsight undermines some of the confidence with which he wrote on some subjects. But in all, I found this incredibly interesting and challenging, even while it was fucking bleak and frequently Hobbesian. Will definitely be reading more.

[Treamo · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Gray is much like a modern day Nietzsche raging against the delusions and hypocrisies of our modern age. In this slim and easy to read volume many of the ideas become repetitive, it’s easy to spot this collection of essays was taken from numerous sources the editor should have culled some of the ideas that pop up continuously.

Liberals, Conservatives, Marxists, Neo-Cons, believer and non-believer alike, no escapes his vitriol in these essays. Although the chapters about Bush and Blair already seem dated with a short passing of time.
Despite this flaw Gray is an original thinker regardless if you agree with him or not, and I’m sure those that disagree with him are legion.

[Daniel Cunningham · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always with Gray, keen observation, a realistic/pessimistic outlook, and a consistent, convincing synthesis. But many of the essays, taken together in book form, are heavily repetitive. And since this is a time-slice of essays, a first time reader (which I am not) of Gray would likely not get the development of the ideas; they would just come from nowhere, as mere assertions.

The narrowness of the time, too, from 1999 to 2004, also makes for a bit of repetition; though the number of unresolved issues from the turn of the millennium and first Bush Jr. term that I am reminded of is a bit shocking. Definitely several moments of, "Oh, yeah... what the hell?"

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Gray is an invaluable contrarian in an age when it's never been easier for people to pick the echo chamber they prefer. I might not agree with everything he says, but I find his analyses of our attitudes toward progress, knowledge and dominance extremely cogent. Furthermore, he's a very witty writer whose prose is a pleasure to read.

This book's major flaw is that it's very dated. Published in 2004, it focuses on the Iraq War and Blair's tenure. However, subsequent events like the global economic meltdown, Brexit and Trump only bear out Gray's pessimistic predictions.

[Anton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed this collection of John Gray's essays, published in the New Statesman between 1999 and 2003.

Gray, as usual, is full or novel and out-of-the-box takes on a melangerie of issues, from cryogenics, the Matrix movies, Iraq, the cult of celebrity, animal rights, and the European far-right.

The first section, 'The Illusion of Progress', is perhaps the most thought-provoking, but also the most repetitive. This is a largely why I've given this book a 3 star rating and not a 5. A lot of the essays here seemed to be riffing on the same few points: progress in science and technology will not necessarily produce progress in human reason; modern understandings of history are an offshoot of eschatological Christian beliefs; anthropocentrism and scientific humanism stem from the Christian idea that humans were made in the image of God, and have fed the belief that humans can transcend nature and shape the future; humans will fail to find an equilibrium with their environment due to Malthusian forces of 'old history'.

Part Two, 'War, Terrorism and Iraq' is devastating to read in hindsight. Gray correctly predicted that the US-led coalition's efforts to install a western-style democracy and free-market on Iraq would unravel the country's ethnic divisions, much like in the Balkans, creating a power vacuum that would give rise to the forces of Islamic fundamentalism. He also, quite rightly, perceived that the US would struggle to tolerate a long-term occupation, and would be especially ill-equipped to fight a sustained counterinsurgency campaign.

Gray is terrific here. He provides a blistering critique against Fukuyama and the 'End of History' thesis, aptly naming the first essay of this section '9/11: History Resumes'.

He also gives a powerful critique of what he calls the 'messianic' and 'utopian' American neo-conservative agenda, which he sees as just another 'secular religion'. Attempts to rebuild the world in America's image through the creation of a universal free-market and the transmutation of democracy worldwide in Gray's view well ill-advised, not taking into account the inherent instability and anarchy of many parts of the world - and the preference for security over freedom in such societies, or differing cultural norms and values.

He suggests that the universalist tendencies of neo-conservatism stem from Christian universalist impulses, which later morphed into secular humanism, Positivism, belief in science and progress, and finally into the liberal internationalism, finding its muscular edge in neo-conservativism. He draws direct parallels between the Bush and the French Jacobins, both of which hoped to spread democracy by fiat, both of which were willing to use violence for such ends.

I greatly enjoyed his satirical essay, 'Torture: A Modest Proposal', which pokes fun at the reinstitution of torture by liberal democracies in the wake of 9/11, despite ostensibly promoting liberal values in Iraq and Afghanistan.

[John Hodson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of essays grouped into three categories: The Illusion of Progress, The War on Terror/Iraq and Politics without Illusion. Gray's views on progress reminded me of Postman and his scorn for the liberal elite is amusing and well developed (Black Mass and Strawdogs elaborate on this theme further). Although I don't agree with Gray entirely on Green issues, it is hard to dismiss his concerns concerning population growth, the fallacy that technology will alleviate the problems caused by it and the inevitable wars for resources that will result (have resulted/are on-going). His assessment of Tony Blair is damning and his views on the endless War on Terror are not a million miles away from those held by Peter Hitchens. The essays are short, it isn't necessary to read them all as many go over similar material and it's entertaining.

[Δnd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much of the thoughts found in this collection are to be found in "Straw Dogs". It seems that Gray stitched together these different pieces from the New Statesman for the creation of the further fleshed out and unified piece that is "Straw Dogs". The repetition of these ideas does not make them any less potent though it does make this collection a little superfluous if you have already read his previous magnum opus. There are a few interesting scraps here and there that were not incorporated into the latter.

[Steph Bennion · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pieces on the Iraq war, though written much closer to the time, still seem very fresh and poignant today. As for the rest, I liked the idea that Europe has a destiny to become the world power needed to balance US 'imperialism', though I suspect that honour may well eventually go to China or India. The last few chapters on the fate of the Labour and Conservative parties however have not dated well, written as they were when Blair was still in power and Howard had just become leader of the Tories. Well worth a read, though.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know that the book is a collection of columns from the British magagazine The Spectator. It feels a bit dated as the latest article is from 2003. There is a lot of discussion regarding the Iraq war. While John Gray was spot on with his predictions regarding a civil war in Iraq, the discussion of British politics is mostly relevant as a historic document.

Despite the shortcomings, I found the description of our modern society very insightful and appreciate John Gray as one of the deepest thinkers of our times.

[Jorgon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant collection of essays. Although somewhat dated (collecting essays written between 1999 and 2004), it is still worthwhile, if only for the spot-on predictions of the Iraqi quagmire (uncanny in their detail), and of course the awesome skewering of Wolfowitz's et al thinking about torture (beautiful sarcasm in that one). Perhaps not a good place to start reading Gray, but a useful corrective of yeaterday's (and today's) political thought.

[Nic Brisbourne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting read, even if I don't agree fully with Gray's opinions. His idea that our faith in (technological) progress is a secular reshaping of christian ideas is instructive, and his later essays on UK government have left me thinking Blair achieved less than I had previously thought.

[Derrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gray is at his best writing aphoristically. This collection reads splendidly - lots of individual chapters not too long, wherein you can digest Gray's gloomy worldview. His philosophy is very tough minded, but perhaps he is right. Also recommend his "A Point of View" podcasts on BBC's radio four.

[Gerard Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series of political essays that are thought provoking in the sense that that provoke thought rather that just irritate or act as an echo chamber.

[Jon Beech · Rating 4 out of 5]

toilet fodder really. collected from the new statesman. when he stopped columnizing, i let my subscription lapse

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting thoughts on society, esp atheism and liberalism, and such themes.

[Ryan Murdock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Vital. Highly relevant to our current situation.

It's difficult to remember while reading this that it was written in 2003. The essays in the middle bit (on the Iraq War) feel somewhat dated, but events played out exactly as Gray anticipated.

But it is Part One, and some essays towards the end, that make the most thought-provoking reading today.

Gray makes a convincing case that the notion of progress is an illusion. An inheritance of our Judeo-Christian worldview which sees life in linear terms, as movement towards some better state. For the most part, the West ditched Jesus during the Enlightenment and swapped in science / ideology / secular humanism as their pillar of faith.

Scientific knowledge progresses this way, but humanity does not. Rather than become more reasonable, more enlightened and more balanced over time, we seem to go in cycles, with the struggles of earlier eras returning and being played out against a background of increased scientific knowledge and technological power.

I'm thinking of writing a blog to address why I find this idea so reassuring and so useful during the current global meltdown. In the meantime, I highly recommend this slim but fascinating book.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a collection, this felt a bit all over the place. It is divided into categories, but the difference in style between categories can be a bit jarring. One section will feel like a philosophical soapbox speech and then the next reads like a news article. Having been written mostly over twenty years ago, these conclusions did not feel out of date, however. Though I did find the most dated ones, related to 9/11 or an ambiguous approaching war with the Middle East, the least interesting and insightful for obvious reasons. I look forward to researching more about Gray's current takes. Also, I could not follow his essay about justified torture for terrorists.

[Paulisbored · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixture of truisms and eerily prescient insight, this collection of magazine articles hasn't aged brilliantly well. The middle section on the Iraq war, for instance, has lost much of its lustre even if many of its predictions did come to pass. Other parts, though, seem uncannily relevant, especially his prediction of, and explanation for, the rise of The Right in Western politics.

[Augustus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dropped because it gets boring in the latter chapters of Part 2. Iraq, Tony Blair, Bush etc.

Part 1 and the initial chapters of Part 2 are just a "refresher" if you have read already his earlier work, "Straw Dogs"

[Sotiris · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not an easy book. Interesting though. Whether you agree or not with Gray you'll find something to think about for sure.

[Daniel Bernoulli · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important chapter in Gray's crusade against prejudice and for a brighter mind and future. Short and enjoyable in my view.

[Tomas Palzer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tak jsem se ke knize vrátil a zklamání je ještě větší, než poprvé. Nejedná se o eseje, spíše o politické komentáře, které asi byly objevné a trefné v době vydání, pro knižní vydání ale příliš zdlouhavé a často se opakující.

[Theodoros Vassiliadis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gray is absolutely right when claims that politics and morals can never be conclusively defined and far from dispute.
The dictum of many that history is over and the triumphant liberal capitalism will be the de facto religion of mankind is disproved in the realm of facts as flimsy acquiring the trait of temporal.
Manhood is a mosaic , plus one that resists definition and its manifestation - politics is the art of providing answers to pressing problems and looming tragedies to arise.
Book was written in the years before and contemporary to the 2nd gulf war and foresees with clarity that lack of vision can devastate people.
It's worth is apparent in the relative conclusions of the American politics; an imperium that doesn't export but only import capital to sustain its budgets and its destructive mode of life.
Pre-emptive war occured for the attainment of the second largest pool of oil after the Saudi Arabian- those of Iraq so that I the wake of it the rest of the following powers shall contain themselves in extracting in great sea depths,as the ones in the South China sea.
The pretext was the one of liberalisation of the middle East area , which was not attained leaving an already non- cohere state in ruins.
As a usual tactic Americans left the dishwashing for international institutions,gradually departing ,after withholding the war loots.
Book stand for great political life vista and though a bit concise ,offers ample explanatory flow on the events that took part

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked that some of the information in this book was very new, such as about the Church of positivism and the link between ideologies and religion. It certainly added a new perspective to the way I view the world.

I didn't like the repetitiveness of the ideas in the book and the fact that he didn't provide much information about how he came to his conclusions.

I very much disliked his chapter on how we should legalize torture.

Overall, I'm not impressed, but still glad I read it.

[Pierre A Renaud]

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/20...