The Idolatry of the Actual

In an empirical manner and using the methodology of critical theory, Borman (philosophy and political science, Nipissing U.) analyzes the problem of intellectual inertia as an obstacle to both effective critical insight and meaningful social transformation. Part of his argument is that German philosopher Jugen Habermas (b. 1929) in his early work, laid a foundation for a far more adequate response to the problem than his later work displayed. Among his topics are capitalism and contradiction in Legitimate Crisis, rationalization and social pathology in The Theory of Communicative Action, moral consciousness and postconventionality, and socialization and ego autonomy. Much of the research behind this work was for his doctoral dissertation at Fordham University (no date cited). Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

David A. Borman is Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Winnipeg.