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The Postmodern Predicament

Existential Challenges of the Twenty-First Century
By Bruce Ackerman
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Brief Description
One of our most influential political theorists offers a boundary-breaking—and liberating—perspective on the meaning of life in the internet age. Human beings have taken one thing for granted since our earliest days: we are bodily creatures dealing with one another on a face-to-face basis. The internet... Read More
Format: Hardback
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One of our most influential political theorists offers a boundary-breaking—and liberating—perspective on the meaning of life in the internet age

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

One of our most influential political theorists offers a boundary-breaking—and liberating—perspective on the meaning of life in the internet age.

Human beings have taken one thing for granted since our earliest days: we are bodily creatures dealing with one another on a face-to-face basis. The internet has shattered this fundamental feature of human existence. We are suddenly living our lives in two worlds at once—shifting endlessly from virtual to physical reality as we reach out to others.

Worse yet, we are developing different personal identities in our two worlds. We say and do things in virtual reality that flatly contradict our face-to-face commitments to family, friends, and fellow-workers—and vice versa. The Postmodern Predicament explores these dilemmas at each phase of the life cycle, beginning at the moment a young child picks up a cell phone.

The existentialist tradition of the twentieth century provides a precious perspective on our postmodern dilemmas. Thinkers and doers like Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre considered the fragmentation of modern life as a central source of contemporary anxieties. Like them, Ackerman views the challenges of the internet age as a political, no less than personal, problem—and proposes concrete reforms that could mobilise broad-based support for democracy against demagogic assaults on its very foundations.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780300273502

Publisher: Yale University Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 28 May 2024

Country: United States

Imprint: Yale University Press

Audience: Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Width: 140.0mm

Height: 216.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 320

Collections

Bruce Ackerman Non-Fiction Philosophy & Psychology Philosophy & Stoicism

About the Author

Bruce Ackerman is Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University and the author of numerous books on political philosophy, constitutional law, and public policy, including Revolutionary Constitutions, Social Justice in the Liberal State, and the three-volume series We the People.

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