Ποιος απειλεί τον Διαφωτισμό; Ποιοι τον καπηλεύονται και πως θα τον ανακτήσουμε

by Dan Hind, Γιάννης Αβραμίδης (Translator), Γιώργος Αυγέρης (Translator)

Οι αξίες του Διαφωτισμού κινδυνεύουν.
Το θέμα είναι: Από ποιούς;

Ναι, υπάρχουν οι δυνάμεις που αντιτάσσονται ανοιχτά στο Διαφωτισμό: Χριστιανοί και Ισλαμιστές φονταμενταλιστές, μεταμοντέρνοι διανοούμενοι, νεοεποχίτικη ψευδοεπιστήμη και αγυρτεία, ανορθολογικές ιδεολογίες, Εκκλησία...

Μόνο που ο αληθινός κίνδυνος δεν προέρχεται από αυτές. Οι αυτόκλητοι υπερασπιστές της παράδοσης του Διαφωτισμού, που στρέφουν τα βέλη τους κατά της θρησκείας ή επισείουν τον ισλαμικό κίνδυνο ή κατακεραυνώνουν τον μεταμοντέρνο σχετικισμό, στην ουσία αποπροσανατολίζουν: οι πραγματικοί υπονομευτές του Διαφωτισμού και της ανοιχτής δημοκρατικής κοινωνίας είναι οι δυνάμεις εκείνες που μιλούν τη γλώσσα του Διαφωτισμού και τον καπηλεύονται για να στήσουν τον γιγάντιο μηχανισμό απάτης μες στον οποίο θέλουν να ζούμε.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Sociology

230 pages, Paperback

First published June 17, 2007

Reviews

[Andrew]

I strongly agree with the crux of Hind’s core argument: that the New Atheist fetishization of Enlightenment is thoroughly misguided. The New Atheists target what they believe to be “irrationalist” groups rather than targeting enemies who operate within the scientific tradition (corporate science, neoliberal capitalists). These enemies are either pretty damned marginal (postmodern academics, New Age spiritualists) or on an equal plane of guilt with corporate science (fundamentalist Christianity and Islam).

The problem is that this argument—more or less the entirety of it, beyond the anecdotes—is encapsulated in that above paragraph. Dan Hind is certainly a talented storyteller, and he brings together some amusing examples that illustrate his argument, but there’s not a whole lot of breadth here.

[Ramzey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good polemic against what Dan Hind calls "folk enlightment" by popular science writers such as Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris.

At the same time he critiques post modernism.
He says science is not so much under threat from religion and it doesn't stop people from doing science. He says alternative medicine and herbal medicine has not harmed or killed as many People compared with drugs by pharmaceutial companies which faked/lied or hidden harmful sidereffect of medicine and for their research for profit.
He is not against pharmaceutial medicine he just mention One drug where they cheated With their research.

Science is much more under threat of capitalism and corperate profit which Only cares about making money not the enviroment or peoples Health than by religion.


Corperate media who lies about what happens in the world and to start wars is much more dangerous and cia false flags and "national security state" than killings and wars by religious fundementalism.


Also the Focus on religious fundementalism of the folk enlightment and "islámic fascism" is wrong when they long have ignored their Ally Saudi Arabia. Often western countries allied With religious fundementalism such as tablians against the soviet union and the muslim brother hood against democracy in egypt.

I would have given it 5 stars if he didn't eqaute stalinism with nazism which is bullshit.
Overall a good book 4 stars.

This is from versobooks, which refused to publish Domenico Losrudo book.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mountains of books have recently been published on the supposedly damaging and undermining effects of postmodernism and multiculturalism. But Dan Hind's excellent and slim, though hard to find (as in, low profile), volume details how these fears, which are not unfounded, have been exaggerated out of all proportion in comparison to the very real, very dire effects of basing our culture, education, economy, and entire society on a globally corporate, profit-obsessed order where the only acceptable (read "normal") decisions must conform to the pathology of the free market. The Threat to Reason places such concerns back into a meaningful perspective. The book I wish everyone I meet would read.

[Mz · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://www.fractalart.gr/ernst-cassi...

[George Moody · Rating 2 out of 5]

Upscale rantings of a crank who’s found the truth. What value there is in this book – and some of it is interesting in terms of research and raising awareness of issues – is undone by the tendentious and conspiratorial presentation. As an example of the approach taken, having accused (highly respected philosopher) John Gray of giving a ‘reliably eccentric take’ he shortly afterwards lists as ‘subjects that cannot be ignored’ ‘state and corporate mind control programmes’ and ‘fluoridation’ (pg. 184-85, n.14 and n.21.).

His fundamental argument is against all accepted authority and expertise and in favour of a mass public truth finding project. Of the two major problems with this he only addresses one. The huge time waste and danger of taking seriously half-informed conspiratorial crazies is just a price worth paying for his ‘open enlightenment’. On the idea that there may be no one truth that will settle political arguments and differences – that some things are essentially contested – he is silent, presumably because he hasn’t considered it. Ultimately this renders his a fundamentally anti-politics take on (then) contemporary politics.

[C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The part of this that was most interesting for me was his explanation of how/why post-modernism came about, which is no doubt is only part of the story but it is a part I wasn't familiar with before reading this book. I don't think that post-modernism is as marginal as he seems to think it is, though I do agree with has broad argument.