Critical Humanism and the Politics of Difference PDF
Preview Critical Humanism and the Politics of Difference
FRONT-CL.QXD 5/21/2003 8:21 AM Page i Critical Humanism and the Politics of Difference FRONT-CL.QXD 5/21/2003 8:21 AM Page ii FRONT-CL.QXD 5/21/2003 8:21 AM Page iii Critical Humanism and the Politics of Difference jeff noonan McGill-Queen’s University Press Montreal & Kingston · London · Ithaca FRONT-CL.QXD 5/21/2003 8:21 AM Page iv © McGill-Queen’s University Press 2003 isbn 0-7735-2578-5 Legal deposit third quarter 2003 Bibliothèque nationale du Québec Printed in Canada on acid-free paper. This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Humanities and Social Sciences Federation of Canada, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. McGill-Queen’s University Press acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (bpidp) for our publishing activities. National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Noonan, Jeff Critical humanism and the politics of difference / Jeff Noonan Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 0-7735-2578-5 1. Difference (Philosophy)—Political aspects. 2. Humanism. I. Title. b809.9.n65 2003 191 c2003-901479-7 Typeset in 10/12Palatino by True to Type FRONT-CL.QXD 5/21/2003 8:21 AM Page v To the memory of my father Who should have lived to see this day FRONT-CL.QXD 5/21/2003 8:21 AM Page vi FRONT-CL.QXD 5/21/2003 8:21 AM Page vii Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction: The Fear of Difference 3 part one the postmodern critique 1 The Emergence of Difference 11 2 The Dynamics of Difference 24 3 The Twilight of Subjecthood 41 4 Postmodern Freedom 57 part two the contradictions of the postmodern politics of difference 5 Realizing Postmodern Politics 81 6 Is Radical Pluralism a Coherent Idea? 92 7 The Universal Voice of the Other 106 8 The Return of the Repressed 125 Conclusion 159 Notes 163 Bibliography 177 Index 185 FRONT-CL.QXD 5/21/2003 8:21 AM Page viii viii Contents FRONT-CL.QXD 5/21/2003 8:21 AM Page ix Acknowledgments The work of conceiving of a book and bringing it to completion is labyrinthine and brings one into contact with so many people, depends upon so many insights gleaned from so many sources, and incurs so many debts, intellectual and otherwise, that it really is a col- lective work. The author who signs his or her name remains respon- sible for the claims asserted, of course, but is the final link in a chain of inquiry and argument without which no project could come to fruition. In my case this chain is long, and the debts that I have incurred demand at least that I acknowledge them. The text that you have before you began life as my doctoral dissertation, and for his expert guidance during that process, as well as his unflagging support as my supervisor and now as my philosophical colleague and friend, I must thank John McMurtry of the University of Guelph. Marina Vitkin and Evan Simpson, both of McMaster University at the time this project was first coming to light, also merit recognition. After graduating with my phd I set the dissertation aside for a time to pursue other ideas and came back to this text only two years ago. I fundamentally revised the work but kept intact its central claim, that contrary to prevailing orthodoxy, an essentialist understanding of human being remains a necessity for coherent critical political philosophy. For taking a keen interest and for all his help shepherding this book through the various committees and stages of the review process, I am indebted to Philip Cercone at McGill-Queen’s Univer- FRONT-CL.QXD 5/21/2003 8:21 AM Page x x Acknowledgments sity Press. For their very illuminating criticisms, which have made this a better book, I must also recognize the reviewers who freely gave of their time to referee the work. Joan McGilvray, also of McGill- Queen’s, deserves thanks for her assistance in helping me reformat and edit the book. Of course, intellectual endeavours require other forms of support. My road to philosophy was inspired by my uncle and life-long friend, John Brown. My parents, even when they did not quite understand why I wanted to study philosophy, never doubted my choices and remained by my side. Whatever I have achieved I owe to that support. The many evenings spent discussing politics and philosophy as a young student in Toronto with Joe Kispal Kovacs, Debbie Simmons, and David McNally greatly shaped my subse- quent thinking. The encouragement given me and the confidence shown in me by my colleagues at the University of Windsor were also a great help. Although the finished book might be a collective effort, the actual writing of it was an often private and sometimes selfish act that required both tolerance and emotional support from the people with whom I share my life. In that regard I have two debts to acknowl- edge: first to Simone and now to Josie, whose strength and joie de vivre in the face of difficulty and love while I was reworking this pro- ject were invaluable. Finally my friend Jim, who knows what it is to struggle, must be acknowledged.
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