Critique of Western philosophy and social theory
By: David Sprintzen.
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2010
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 287
ISBN-13: 9780230621206
Subjects: Social sciences -- Philosophy; Philosophy and science; Metaphysics
Description: The "existential" drama at the heart of the modern world is the result of a truly cataclysmic transformation in our institutions and modes of belief. It rivals in scope and significance, if it does not surpass, the transformation occasioned by the "Scientific Revolution" of the sixteenth and seventeenth century. Few can still doubt - even if they do not yet appreciate - the comprehensive and global scope of this "Second Scientific Revolution." Our fundamental modes of thought and action, institutional structure, personal identity, economic development, and relation to nature, all require radical revision if human life on this planet (and beyond) is to survive and prosper. We are thus confronted with a world whose structures of meaning and corresponding institutional foundations are being undermined, thus presaging a revolutionary transformation. That transformation, however unclear at present, cannot fail to be radical and comprehensive. This work critically evaluates its nature, outlines the structures of an alternative world view and then develops the contours of the social and institutional order it suggests. It concludes with a discussion of practical strategies by which we may reasonably hope to meet the challenges confronting our civilization.

This book offers a new approach to contemporary problems by using philosophical perspectives and analyzing practical consequences.
Table of contents: title: A world in crisis; title: Living in a world without God; title: The end of an era; title: A ripple in a field; title: Telling our story; title: Ecosense; title: The webbed self : deconstructing individualism; title: The American enterprise; title: Current patterns and future prospects.