Reason, Truth and the Self

by Michael Luntley

Postmodernism has had a significant and divisive impact on late twentieth-century thought. Proponents of the postmodernist critique of absolute knowledge have felt it necessary to jettison the Enlightenment concepts of truth, reason and the self. Opponents of postmodernism have seized on this abandonment of rational standards to ignore the very real problems raised by the postmodernists. Michael Luntley provides a lively introduction to the debate and offers a clear and careful exposition of how rational standards can survive even if the main postmodernist critique of the Enlightenment is accepted. Offering a philosophy of postmodernism that shows it is possible to have rational enquiry in our postmodern age, Michael Luntley's book is ideal for introductory courses in philosophy and the social sciences.