Philosophy & Critical Pedagogy ─ Insurrection & Commonwealth

Aiming to challenge conventional intellectual and political theory, the author presents critical philosophical and historical studies to outline an emancipatory kind of knowledge and praxis that can be created by dialectical philosophy, to address global economic oppression. He critiques philosophical perspectives in early natural scientific and social theory and the emergence of dialectics in them; examines the contributions of sociologist Ernest Manheim in his Zur Logik des konkreten Begriffs to radical philosophizing and a concrete logic; discusses how critical theory rooted in the cultural philosophy of George Lukács, Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, and Herbert Marcuse does not address economic issues, and the need to consider labor in the economy; and considers Ludwig Wittgenstein's theory of language games, which he argues made philosophy obsolete, and how logic and critical thinking are alternatives for inquiry into the causes of social problems. He also discusses Marcuse in terms of campus codes, hate speech, and pure tolerance, as well as educational philosophy and his lectures on global capitalism and radical opposition; a theory of labor humanism; the relationship between education and the political economy; and the role of the commonwealth in society. Annotation ©2016 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)

Charles Reitz studied philosophy at Freiburg University, attaining his PhD in educational studies from the State University of New York. He is the author of Art, Alienation, and the Humanities: A Critical Engagement with Herbert Marcuse and editor of Crisis and Commonwealth: Marcuse, Marx, McLaren.