Enemies of Hope A Critique of Contemporary Pessimism

by Tallis, Raymond

• ISBN13: 9780312224172
• ISBN10: 0312224176
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-10-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Perceptive, passionate, and often controversial, Raymond Tallis's latest debunking of Kulturkritik delves into a host of ethical and philosophical issues central to contemporary thought, raising questions we cannot afford to ignore. After reading Enemies of Hope , those minded to misrepresent mankind in ways that are almost routine among humanist intellectuals may be inclined to think twice. By clearing away the "hysterical humanism" of the present century this book frees us to start thinking constructively about the way forward for humanity in the next.

Author Biography

Raymond Tallis is Professor of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Manchester.

Table of Contents

Prologue: Isiah Berlin's "Yes-But to the Enlightenment" * Part I: Pathologizing Culture * Introduction: Man as a Sick Animal * From Apes to Plate * Falling into the Ha-Ha * The Wisdom of Myths and the Myths of Wisdom * A Critique of Cultural Criticism * Part II: Marginalizing Consciousness * Marx and the Historical Unconscious * Durkheim and the Historical Unconscious * Freud and the Historical Unconscious * The Linguistic Unconscious: Sassure and the Post-Sassureans * Unconscious Consciousness: From Behaviorism to Cognitive Psychology * Recovering the Conscious Agent

Prologue: Isiah Berlin's "Yes-But to the Enlightenment" * Part I: Pathologizing Culture * Introduction: Man as a Sick Animal * From Apes to Plate * Falling into the Ha-Ha * The Wisdom of Myths and the Myths of Wisdom * A Critique of Cultural Criticism * Part II: Marginalizing Consciousness * Marx and the Historical Unconscious * Durkheim and the Historical Unconscious * Freud and the Historical Unconscious * The Linguistic Unconscious: Sassure and the Post-Sassureans * Unconscious Consciousness: From Behaviorism to Cognitive Psychology * Recovering the Conscious Agent