Dialectic of Enlightenment as Sport: The Barbaric Urge within Sports, Religion, and Capitalism - Softcover

Donovan, Tom

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1628941626 ISBN 13: 9781628941623

Verlag: Algora Publishing, 2015

Inhaltsangabe

Dialectic of Enlightenment as Sport: The Barbaric Urge within Sports, Religion, and Capitalism by Tom Donovan provides a sharp and philosophical critique of contemporary society, drawing from Horkheimer and Adorno's Dialectic of Enlightenment. Donovan, a philosophy teacher, reinterprets this seminal text to reveal how sports, capitalism, and religion contribute to the persistence of barbarism in modern life. By highlighting the metaphysical urge that drives irrational consumption, competitive sports culture, and religious fanaticism.
Exploring the Metaphysical Urge: At the core of Donovan's argument is the notion that Dialectic of Enlightenment is not merely a critique of rationality but a deeper investigation into the metaphysical urge that fuels the decay of modern civilization. He explains how sports, capitalism, and entertainment contribute to a culture where people seek pleasure in the domination of others rather than in human progress and reconciliation. Donovan emphasizes that this metaphysical urge prioritizes competition over collaboration, reinforcing hierarchies that distract from the real crises facing society.
The Barbarism of Modern Spectacles: Drawing examples from pop culture, sports, and religion, Donovan critiques modern spectacles such as the Super Bowl, basketball icons like LeBron James, and even reality television shows like *The Bachelor*. He argues that these spectacles are emblematic of a society that allows barbarism to flourish while pretending to celebrate enlightenment and progress. In this world, Donovan explains, people are more concerned with watching others fail than achieving collective success, leading to a society obsessed with competition rather than reconciliation.
Religion and Capitalism: Unraveling Modernity: Donovan also turns his critical eye toward religion and capitalism, explaining how these systems play a fundamental role in perpetuating class divisions and societal inequality. By comparing modern mega-churches and capitalist enterprises, he shows how religion has become intertwined with consumerism, further alienating individuals from achieving true freedom and equality. His analysis ties these institutions to the larger fabric of barbarism and domination that pervades modern life.
Critical Theory and the Frankfurt School: Readers interested in Marxism, critical theory, and the Frankfurt School will find Dialectic of Enlightenment as Sport particularly compelling. Donovan's interpretation of Horkheimer and Adorno’s work offers a fresh perspective on their critique of enlightenment, positioning the metaphysical urge as a key driver of societal regression. 
Fragmentary Style Reflecting Dialectics: In both form and content, Donovan’s book mirrors the fragmentary nature of Dialectic of Enlightenment. This style allows his argument to emerge dialectically, illustrating how the synthesis of various cultural phenomena reflects the deeper philosophical currents underlying modern life. The book's unique structure offers a dynamic way for readers to engage with its critical theory, reflecting the complexities of modern society.
A Critique for Today’s World: Donovan’s reflections are timely and relevant to modern readers, especially those grappling with the entangled dynamics of sports, capitalism, and religion in the digital age. His critique goes beyond superficial analysis to offer an in-depth exploration of how these forces impact society and contribute to the regression of civilization into new forms of barbarism. 
In conclusion, this book is an essential read for those invested in understanding critiques of capitalism, religion, sports culture, and modern entertainment, as well as those interested in the Frankfurt School, Marxism, and critical theory. It provides a fresh lens through which to view modern society's descent into spectacle-driven barbarism while offering hope for a renewed, enlightened future.

Über diesen Titel

Reseña del editor

In their Dialectic of Enlightenment, Horkheimer and Adorno set out to "explain why humanity, instead of entering a truly human state, is sinking into a new kind of barbarism." Philosophy teacher Tom Donovan (PhD UCRiverside) offers a fresh reading of that classic text showing that it is first and foremost a critique of the metaphysical urge. Describing our world of "stupid consumption, mindless entertainment, and perverted games and relationships" he notes, "these sorts of games have no end game, as fantasy spectators never really win, and yet they don’t see it because they are too busy watching the other lose. This is the secret of class society. As long as there is someone below you, then lack of reconciliation doesn’t hurt so badly." Citing the Super Bowl, Clippers owner Donald Sterling, basketball players like LeBron James, plus the Kardashians, mega churches, and comedians like Jon Stewart, Donovan gives us a new understanding of our age and how the broken threads that are today’s Capitalism, religion, and sports contribute to unraveling the fabric of Modernity. Against readings that claim that Dialectic of Enlightenment is a simple critique of instrumental reason that ultimately undermines rationality itself, Dr. Donovan argues that the real critique is aimed at the metaphysical urge itself. As such, rationality itself is not the target of attack nor is the notion of enlightenment. Taking Adorno's and Horkheimer's example of the Marquis de Sade, the author observes, "...Sade can only find pleasure in domination. The fear of the outside has morphed into fear of a reconciled world, fear of a world where everyone treats each other as ends in themselves. A society like this can tolerate porn but not socialism, a society like this won’t miss the ice-caps but wouldn't miss the Super Bowl, a society like this lets civilization sink into barbarism so long as they can watch The Bachelor. Stylistically this book attempts to rationally mimic the fragmentary nature of Dialectic of Enlightenment so that through form and content the argument of the book will emerge dialectically. Readers will see that Dialectic of Enlightenment actually offers a positive conception of enlightenment and a philosophical instance of the use of dialectics. The book is for readers interested in critiques of capitalism and religion, and sports in America, as well as Marxism and Critical Theory. It will intrigue academics interested in the Frankfurt School and the idea of the "Metaphysical Urge."

Biografía del autor

Dr. Donovan holds an MA in Philosophy from Michigan State University and a PhD in Philosophy from The University of California, Riverside. For his dissertation he focused on the works of Horkheimer and Adorno, Habermas and Lukács. Tom is chair of Philosophy at Mt. San Jacinto College, where he has been teaching philosophy and humanities for over 15 years.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Algora Publishing
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2015
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1628941626
• ISBN 13: 9781628941623
• Einband: Tapa blanda
• Anzahl der Seiten: 178
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar