Critique of Western Philosophy and Social Theory

The “existential” drama at the heart of the modern world is the result of a truly cataclysmic transformation in our institutions and modes of belief. It rivals in scope and significance, if it does not surpass, the transformation occasioned by the “Scientific Revolution” of the sixteenth and seventeenth century. Few can still doubt--even if they do not yet appreciate--the comprehensive and global scope of this “Second Scientific Revolution.” Our fundamental modes of thought and action, institutional structure, personal identity, economic development, and relation to nature, all require radical revision if human life on this planet (and beyond) is to survive and prosper. We are thus confronted with a world whose structures of meaning and corresponding institutional foundations are being undermined, thus presaging a revolutionary transformation. That transformation, however unclear at present, cannot fail to be radical and comprehensive. This work critically evaluates its nature, outlines the structures of an alternative world view and then develops the contours of the social and institutional order it suggests. It concludes with a discussion of practical strategies by which we may reasonably hope to meet the challenges confronting our civilization.