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A critical appreciation of Charles Taylor's endeavour to reframe contemporary political debates
Charles Taylor is one of the most influential contemporary philosophers, and arguably the most important living political philosopher writing in English. This book assesses Taylor's thought and its relevance to contemporary political challenges, especially those relating to religion and secularity, multicultural diversity, political alienation and demands for greater democracy.
Taylor and Politics provides an authoritative and accessible explication of Taylor's theory, outlining key concepts and highlighting substantive applications of his ideas. It explains the substantial differences between Taylor's conception of social imaginaries and that of Cornelius Castoriadis, as well as the contrasts between Taylor's account of the political form of modernity and that of Claude Lefort. The book positions Taylor in contemporary continental thought and introduces the reader to intense debates over Taylor's politics.
Key Features
. Explains why Charles Taylor makes a major contribution to understanding democratic culture and to the development of a richer conception of human freedom;
. Assesses the political implications of Taylor's landmark work, A Secular Age, and details why his arguments on secularity have generated intense discussions and divided opinion;
. Sketches the innovations and tensions that result from Taylor's political thought's synthesis of ideas taken from various theoretical perspectives and movements, including romanticism, liberalism and phenomenology;
. Reviews Taylor's critical diagnoses of the tendencies of contemporary society that lead to discontent, alienation and atomisation.
Craig Browne is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney. He is the author of Habermas and Giddens on Praxis and Modernity: A Constructive Comparison (2017), and Critical Social Theory (2017).
Andrew P. Lynch teaches and researches on the sociology of religion and sociological theory at the University of Sydney.
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edinburghuniversitypress.com
ISBN 978-0-7486-9193-7 [PPC]
ISBN 978-0-7486-9194-4 [cover]
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List of contents
Acknowledgments; Abbreviations; Introduction; 1. Charles Taylor: A Thinker for Our Times; 2. Meaning, Identity, and Freedom; 3. Romanticism and Modernity; 4. Democracy and Recognition; 5. Modern Social Imaginaries; 6. Living in a Secular Age; 7. A Secular Age: Controversies and Critiques; Taylor's Work after A Secular Age; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.
About the author
Craig Browne is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of SydneyAndrew P. Lynch is Researcher at the University of Sydney. He holds an M.A. (Hons) from the University of Auckland, and a Ph.D. from the University of Sydney.
Summary
Taylor and Politics 'assesses Taylor's thought and its relevance to contemporary political challenges, especially religion and secularity, multicultural diversity, political alienation and demands for greater democracy. Craig Browne and Andrew Lynch outline Taylor's key concepts and highlight the substantive applications of his ideas.
