ACS 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Self-Determination, Soft Despotism, Superficiality
25 Oct 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Malaises of modernity: features of our contemporary society that people experience as a loss or decline even as our society develops (taylor 1991:1) Three malaises: loss of meaning individualism, eclipse of ends instrumental reason, loss of freedom comfort trumps politics. No longer locked in to a predetermined category. Economic growth justifies social injustice and environmental destruction. Preference for technological solutions over human understanding. Loss of depth and nuance in communication. Superficiality prevails (bull shit is the way to climb up social ladder) Once someone that surrounds us lose the significant that they were placed on this planet for, they are open to being treated as raw materials. Political consequences: (of lost meaning and eclipsed ends): E. g forced to own a car for transport. Soft despotism de tocqueville mild, paternalistic placating of the masses. Eclipse of ends treats people as raw meat. Loss of freedom desires to relax and feeds the desire.
