Skepticism, Modernity and Critical Theory

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xii

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2. Introduction

   1. Introduction

      • Philip Walsh

      Pages 1-9

3. Skepticism and Modern Philosophy

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 11-11

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   2. Idealism, Metacritique and Ancient Skepticism

      • Philip Walsh

      Pages 13-34

   3. On the Origins of Modern Skepticism: Descartes, Doubt and Certainty

      • Philip Walsh

      Pages 35-52

4. Skepticism and Idealism

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 53-53

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   2. The Question of Legitimacy: Skepticism, Law and Transcendental Idealism

      • Philip Walsh

      Pages 55-75

   3. Hegel and Self-Completing Skepticism

      • Philip Walsh

      Pages 76-99

5. Skepticism and the Critique of Modernity

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 101-101

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   2. Skepticism, Nihilism and the Crisis of Rationality

      • Philip Walsh

      Pages 103-126

   3. Negative Dialectics and the Fate of Critical Theory

      • Philip Walsh

      Pages 127-145

6. Back Matter

   Pages 146-182

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This book examines the issue of philosophical skepticism in the light of its relevance for the critique of modernity associated with the Frankfurt School. It situates the problem of skepticism in the context of the history of philosophy and explores its significance for the modern crisis of reason manifested in post-Kantian philosophy, which presaged the critical turn toward social theory.

• Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
• Immanuel Kant
• reason
• scepticism

PHILIP WALSH is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology/Anthropology at the State University of New York, College at Cortland, where he teaches social theory. He has published articles on Hegel and Nietzsche and is the co-editor (with Davis Schmeiderman) of the collection Re-Taking the Universe: William S. Burroughs in the Age of Globalization (2004).

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