"The issues with which the author is concerned are subtle, complex, and intricate, the texts with which he deals are themselves notoriously difficult and often intentionally obscure, and many of the recent books in this area of philosophy/social theory do little to clarify the original texts. But this book goes well beyond exegesis of historically important texts. Trey does important exegetical work, but doesn't rest there—he moves on to develop an important position of his own. He brings together strains from many of the most important movements within contemporary philosophy and social theory and places them within a productive dialogue.

"Rarely have I read a book which so engaged my intellectual curiosity that I had the same desire to continue as soon as possible that I have when reading an engaging novel." — James Craig Hanks, The University of Alabama in Huntsville

"Trey addresses a debate—between enlightenment, critical theory, and postmodernism—whose assessment has been long overdue. He handles the interfaces between Habermas's philosophical and his sociological and political-economic analysis nicely." — Jane Braaten, Smith College

Abbreviations

Acknowledgments


Introduction


Chapter 1 Dialectic of Difference: Enlightenment and Its Other


Chapter 2 Modernity, Late Modernity, Postmodernity: The Theory and Practice of Enlightenment


Chapter 3 Modern Normativity and the Utopian Ideals of Discourse


Chapter 4 The Politics of Enlightenment and the Aftermath of Modernity


Chapter 5 Ethical Discourse and Radical Egalitarianism: Toward a Textualization of the Lifeworld


Notes


Works Cited


Index