Open AccessReflections on Castoriadis’ “The Crisis of Modern Society”
Author(s) -
Giorgio Baruchello
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
nordicum-mediterraneum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1670-6242
DOI - 10.33112/nm.9.4.4
Subject(s) - ingenuity , prosperity , modernity , politics , subject (documents) , sociology , epistemology , environmental ethics , political science , social science , law , philosophy , library science , computer science
In this paper I outline Castoriadis’ 1965 talk entitled “The Crisis of Modern Society”, whereby he individuates two general critical elements of modernity and five specific ones. The two general elements are: (1) While human ingenuity gives rise to more and more complex technological applications of scientific knowledge, our capacity to steer human society towards a harmonious order decreases; (2) Progressive changes such as alleged prosperity and seemingly less cruel living conditions for most of the people are undeniable, yet dissatisfaction and constant conflicts appear more than in most other known historical societies. The five specific elements are: (1) axiological; (2) work-related; (3) political; (4) familial; (5) educational. In addition, I offer some reflections connecting Castoriadis’ talk with previous contributions of mine to the NSU research group #3 and also furthering such contributions in a novel subject area: higher education.