{"product_id":"the-defeat-of-the-mind-european-perspectives-a-series-in-social-thought-cultural-ctiticism","title":"The Defeat of the Mind (European Perspectives: a Series in Social Thought \u0026 Cultural Ctiticism)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Defeat of the Mind examines the opposition to Enlightenment thought from the eighteenth century to the present. Finkielkraut asserts that the ostensibly progressive cast of third world anticolonial and anti-Western sentiment  paradoxically  has its antecedent in Eurocentric sources - chiefly the German romantic concept of the Volksgeist  or spirit of the people. Straightforward and succinct  Finkielkraut draws a line between the idea of culture as an expression of the life of the mind and culture as an expression of national spirit. He deplores the appropriation of the concept of the Volksgeist by ethnic nationalists  who employ the notion in justification of such horrors as the Final Solution in Nazi Germany and the current waves of \"ethnic cleansing.\" Equally worrying  he claims  are the seemingly harmless infusions of the Volksgeist into campaigns for ethnic diversity espoused by some social scientists and third world intellectuals. The Defeat of the Mind questions notions of cultural relativism espoused by such intellectual and political leaders as Claude Levi-Strauss and Frantz Fanon. Finkielkraut points to the United Nations and UNESCO - founded to propagate the universalist ideals of Enlightenment Europe  these organizations have co-opted the notion of cultural relativism to a fault  now speaking on behalf of every ethnic prejudice. \"The objective remained the same \" Finkielkraut maintains of this shift in ideology  \"but to achieve its goal  it was no longer a matter of opening others to reason  but of opening ourselves to the reason of others.\" Defending values that seem absent from many contemporary frames of reference  the book concludes with a chapter challenging post-modernist thought  for Finkielkraut claims that it equates the value of novels by Flaubert with television movies and lacks concern for the survival of culture and reason.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44964024385589,"sku":"ByrdShop_0231080220","price":53.85,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780231080224.jpg?v=1770445794","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-defeat-of-the-mind-european-perspectives-a-series-in-social-thought-cultural-ctiticism","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}