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Interdisciplinary Materialism IV: Beyond Reason? Critical Theories and Forms of (Ir)rationality
One of the central insights of Critical Theory is that, in the modern era, reason itself has become a problem. While reason, in the Enlightenment’s self-conception, is regarded as a means of liberation from myth, arbitrariness, tradition, and domination, as well as the foundation of autonomy, science, and social emancipation, many critical theorists develop a counter-narrative of modernity. From their perspective, history shows that reason has not been realized solely in an emancipatory form, but in many cases in problematic and destructive forms. From this perspective, not only the persistence of old forms of domination but also the emergence of entirely new modes of subjugation cast reason in an ambivalent light: On the one hand, it is the force of critical thinking that challenges social injustices; yet at the same time, it seems to repeatedly give rise to social forms of domination, reification, and irrationality.
Against the backdrop of this finding, our workshop is dedicated to a systematic examination of the various forms of reason and unreason and their relevance today. Are we dealing with a single form of reason that takes on historically diverse manifestations, or rather with a plurality of heterogeneous forms of reason—and, accordingly, of unreason as well? How do such forms emerge historically and socially, and in what ways do their respective conditions of origin shape their internal structure and effectiveness? Finally, the fundamental methodological question arises as to whether a critical theory of reason can be genealogically reconstructed or critically examined immanently in light of its own normative claims—or whether both approaches can coexist in a relationship marked by tension.
Registration: To help us plan, please register at sekretariat-philosophie[at]uni-kassel[dot]de