[Buddha-l] The Malaise of Modernity

[Richard P. Hayes]

On Monday 17 November 2008 13:11:31 Erik Hoogcarspel wrote:
>
> I happen to disagree with Richards reading of Taylor. 

Do you think I misrepresented what he says, or do you disagree with my 
evaluation of his worth? You clearly disagree with my evaluation, but I'm not 
sure whether you think I have misrepresented his views in The Malaise of 
Modernity.

> The bottom of the 
> line is he wants to defend the modernist views of the Catholic church
> against postmodernism and therefore he tries make grounds for a
> revisited modernism. 

Yes, Taylor makes the point in various ways that no one should celebrate the 
demise of modernity. He says modernity is untenable, but he finds nothing to 
rejoice about in its untenability, and he thinks postmodernism is a complete 
disaster. His Catholic influence shows in his favoring a communitarian ethic 
over individualism. He does not hold Catholic authoritarianism or dogmatism 
in high esteem, but he does think that the Catholic emphasis on the 
individual's value consisting in potential and actual contributions to the 
human community is preferable to the Protestant emphasis on each individual's 
being inherently valuable because of a relationship with God. I tend to agree 
with him on all these issues. Incidentally, I think his positions are quite 
consistent with Buddhism as I understand it. Perhaps that's why I value him 
highly; I value Buddhism highly and find him to be quite Buddhist in tone if 
not at all in terminology.

> For me reading him was a waste of time, but if you really want a
> tast you should read 'Sources of the self'.

Sources of the Self is a long, detailed and rather difficult book written for 
philosophers, whereas Malaise of Modernity is a short and accessible book 
written for the general public. I would recommend reading his more accessible 
book first and then diving into Sources of the Self for a much more 
substantial read.

-- 
Richard P. Hayes
Department of Philosophy
University of New Mexico