dc.description.abstract |
My thesis begins by acknowledging the fact that our time is marked by crisis.
Although this seems, to most, undeniable, I argue that because we lack the criterion for
legitimating this claim, appeals to crisis are always susceptible to ideological appropriation
and misuse. Hence, the thesis strives to articulate a space of critical reflection in which the
legitimate diagnosis of crises may be possible. To this end, I turn to the tradition of
continental philosophy, appraising the efforts of Karl Marx, Jurgen Habermas, and Jacques
Derrida. While each of these thinkers offers a unique critique of crisis, I argue that they
nevertheless succumb to what I call "crisis consciousness" - a condition in which the
perception of crisis is inseparable from that of powerlessness. |
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