Human Reason and Its Enemies: A Rigorous Critique of Postmodernism

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Human Reason and Its Enemies is the result of a two-year research project under a National Fellowship of the Indian Council of Philosophical Research. The book is an uncompromising exposé of postmodernism-a philosophy which seeks to destroy philosophy; challenges the objectivity, universality and impartiality of reason; and which swears by 'situated' knowledge. The views of many postmoderns, particularly those of Cohen, Foucault, Lyotard, MacIntyre and Taylor, are shown to be superficial, sophistical, confused, fallacious and even ridiculous.

Postmodernism believes truth to be culture- relative and therefore believes that intercultural comparison and critical appraisal must require an 'Archimedean point' to make this possible. Since, they say, there is no such point, cultures are incommensurable. This argument, as well as the incommensurability thesis, are shown to be based on messy thinking and prejudice.

The postmodern reliance on the concept of 'language games' and its love-hate relationship to Western science, are examined in depth. The pronouncements of thinkers like Feyerabend and Kuhn are thoroughly exposed as mistaken and even laughable.

An attempt is made to disclose the true nature and salient features of human reason and thinking.

A full chapter is devoted to the arch- postmodern, Richard Rorty, and another to feminist writers like Fox Keller, Harding, Irigary and Tiles, who are powerfully drawn to postmodern ideas.

Sheryar Ookerjee studied philosophy at Wilson College, Mumbai, and won the Telang Gold Medal at the M.A. Examination of the University of Bombay in 1949. He joined the philosophy department of Wilson and retired as its head in 1985. Thereafter, as a UGC scholar, he worked on the political thought of Plato and the Arthasastra. His Ph.D. thesis was entitled 'F.H. Bradley's Approach to Logic'.

In 2001, Ookerjee was invited to lecture on Plato, Bradley and political philosophy at City College of the City University of New York. He has read numerous papers at conferences and published a considerable number of papers in learned journals. Ookerjee has given several lectures on the appreciation of Western 'classical music.