[An update from Hillary on Not School Goings On]
We've been handling a lot of hard science the past few months and I'd like to move in a different direction for October with Jürgen Habermas' The Theory of Communicative Action. As Habermas is a strong proponent of argumentation I hope it will encourage all involved to chime in with thoughts, feelings or comments on the text.
Theory of Communicative Action dives into not only the subjective and objective but also the intersubjective aspects of rationality and communication. Habermas attempts to bring rationality (I hesitate to say "Philosophy" as he so thoroughly disparages the word) back around to a tool that can be used to debate more than objective questions. He also wants to examine the much more nebulous subjects of norms and aesthetics.
Habermas is considered one of the most influential modern philosophers and is still writing today (Between Naturalism and Religion 2008). Hopefully this will make it an easy read as the writing and thought process will be more in sync with our times. He draws from Schelling, Hegel and Husserl to name a few as well as Marx and (my personal favorite and, thus far, the group's least favorite) Wittgenstein. I promise, his writing is much easier to read that the aforementioned great!
Whether you're new to the group or re-upping, The Theory of Communicative Action should be a refreshing addition to your reading list. I'm looking forward to hearing from new and repeat members. It's an Intro class so feel free to weigh in, to ask questions and to seek clarification. If you haven't become a Citizen, go here and join the discussion! Connecting with other philosophical thinkers is one of the fastest way to grow your own paradigm.
Hillary
[…] And though some of us thought it was high time to start reading some Nietzsche, our Intro Readings in Philosophy group has deferred at least another month and is instead starting Volum…, which I’m sure will be […]