Episode #134 - Consequences of Reason
The Consequences of Reason
In the early 20th century, a growing number of philosophers began to question the legacy of the Enlightenment—particularly its faith in reason, rationality, and science as tools for accessing objective truth. This episode traces how thinkers like Nietzsche and Kierkegaard laid the groundwork for this skepticism, arguing that Enlightenment ideals merely replaced religious dogma with a new form of certainty rooted in reason. Critics contended that rationality, while powerful, cannot fully explain the paradoxes of human existence or provide an objective foundation for values. As the scientific method became increasingly central to modern life, philosophers such as Richard Rorty challenged its cultural neutrality, likening the survival of scientific theories to natural selection shaped by historical and societal biases. This critique of reason raised concerns about its role in justifying cultural imperialism and shaping political systems centered on individualism. Rather than abandoning reason or science, these thinkers sought to demystify their authority, seeing them as cultural constructs rather than gateways to universal truth. Ultimately, the episode situates this philosophical tension—between rational certainty and cultural relativism—as a recurring debate that has echoed since ancient Greece and continues to shape our political and cultural discourse today.
Further Reading:
The Philosophy of the Enlightenment – Ernst Cassirer (1951)
Dialectic of Enlightenment – Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno (1947)
Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault – Stephen R. C. Hicks (2004)
See the full transcript here.
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