Document Type : Research

Author

• Morteza Bahrani

Associate Professor of Political Thoughts, Faculty Member of the Institute of Cultural and Social Studies, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The book The Concept of Criticism in the Modernist Movements in the Arab World has been reviewed. The most important criticism of this book is that it has inconsistent claims, while the author intends to discuss the criticism, he forgets that criticism is a modern action and therefore suffers from traditionalism and postmodernism. Throughout the book, and in spite of propositions that evoke hope for critique and progress, the author is either caught up in traditionalist retrogression or preoccupied with postmodernist bizarre and pompous gibberish. These two factors have led the author, from another point of view, to consider criticism as matter related to the realm of philosophy of consciousness: as if the Arabs reach a critical stage in their mentality and subjectivity, their societies will also prosper and get progressed. These contradictions are especially evident in the fact that the author does not pay attention to modern values ​​(freedom, happiness, and integrity). Any research on criticism that does not appreciate the practical results of modernity cannot be considered serious and honest research. This is the focus point of this article. In order to critique this cognitive disorder, I have examined the book by the method of hermeneutics of suspicion.

Keywords

• Social Criticism
• Freedom
• Modernity
• Subjectivity
• Hermeneutics of Suspicion

Main Subjects

• political science