Silly Thinking
*with Jim Farris*
2011234 Curiosities served
Is reason part of the problem?
Previous Entry :: Next Entry
Read/Post Comments (0)
Found this at Adbusters' website, and thought it was pretty interesting...
"Wow," I thought. "Primitivist anarchism has gone mainstream..." Then I saw that John Zerzan was the author...
still, it's interesting:
Consider, for example, the concept of "instrumental reason" as put forward by the Frankfurt Institute theorists Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer in their profound work, Dialectic of Enlightenment. They present reason not as a natural, eternal given, but as a human faculty deformed by the force of civilization, altered by the forcible suppression of Eros and instinctual freedom, so that work and culture could reign supreme. Following the thread, thinkers from Sigmund Freud to the anthropologist Marshall Sahlins point out that every increase in culture adds to the human workload.
What has passed unnoticed as just plain "reason" or "rationality" is, at base, defined by repression and domination of nature. This is reason's dynamic and its inner logic. It would be more appropriate to refer to our mental processes, suspended in culture, as "domesticated reason." Civilization depends on this reason for its existence and continuation.
"Wow," I thought. "Primitivist anarchism has gone mainstream..." Then I saw that John Zerzan was the author...
still, it's interesting:
Consider, for example, the concept of "instrumental reason" as put forward by the Frankfurt Institute theorists Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer in their profound work, Dialectic of Enlightenment. They present reason not as a natural, eternal given, but as a human faculty deformed by the force of civilization, altered by the forcible suppression of Eros and instinctual freedom, so that work and culture could reign supreme. Following the thread, thinkers from Sigmund Freud to the anthropologist Marshall Sahlins point out that every increase in culture adds to the human workload.
What has passed unnoticed as just plain "reason" or "rationality" is, at base, defined by repression and domination of nature. This is reason's dynamic and its inner logic. It would be more appropriate to refer to our mental processes, suspended in culture, as "domesticated reason." Civilization depends on this reason for its existence and continuation.
Read/Post Comments (0)
Previous Entry :: Next Entry
Back to Top
