Critique of Rationality : Judgement and Creativity from Benjamin to Merleau-Ponty

In His 'critique Of Rationality', John Eustice O'brien Proposes A Fascinating Rectification For The Distortion Of Technical Necessity In Western Society Due To Unbridled Instrumental Reason. He Begins With A Review Of This Issue First Raised By The Early German Romantics As Discussed By Isaiah Berlin And Walter Benjamin. Following French Social Philosopher Maurice Merleau-ponty's Radically Different Apperceptive Epistemology, He Explores The Possibility Of A Social World In Which Each Is Anchored By A Preobjective Disposition To Meaning Based On The Intersubjective Presence Of All. This Justifies The Postulate Of Aesthetic-consciousness As The Site Of Socialization In Communities Of Meaning, As A Frame For Judgment And Creativity. The Struggle Must Continue For Awakening That Consciousness If An Open Society Is To Be Realized. By John Eustice O'brien. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 285-294) And Index.