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Modernity

Modernity. A modern notion Origins in the 17 th century Three Revolutions Scientific Religious Political. Morality. Most general guide for human conduct Some modern features Emphasis on formal values Liberty Tolerance Equality Neutrality with regard to the good

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Modernity

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  1. Modernity • A modern notion • Origins in the 17th century • Three Revolutions • Scientific • Religious • Political

  2. Morality • Most general guide for human conduct • Some modern features • Emphasis on formal values • Liberty • Tolerance • Equality • Neutrality with regard to the good • Sharp distinction between private and public • Sharp distinction between fact and value • Sharp distinction between science and ethics

  3. Rawls’ Blade Counter • In his influential A Theory of Justice John Rawls defends a view according to which what makes a person’s life good is the pursuit of a plan of the person’s own choosing, whatever that might be: • “Imagine someone whose only pleasure is to count blades of grass in various geometrically shaped areas such as park squares and well-trimmed lawns. He is otherwise intelligent and actually possesses unusual skills, since he manages to survive by solving difficult mathematical problems for a fee. The definition of good forces us to admit that the good for this man is indeed counting blades of grass, or more accurately, his good is determined by a plan that gives an especially prominent place to this activity… It will be for him the end that regulates the schedule of his actions, and this establishes that it is good for him.” John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 1971), 432-33.

  4. The Mystery Passage At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life. Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992).

  5. The Scientific Revolution • What Changes? • Content of Scientific Knowledge • New cosmology • New mathematics • New accounts of motion and change • Method for Scientific Discovery • Turn to experimentation and experience • Quantitative emphasized over qualitative • Practical emphasis

  6. What is Rejected in Aristotelian Science? • Distinction between sublunary and superlunary • The four elements (earth, air, fire and water) • The doctrine of natural place • Aristotle’s four causes (final, formal, material and efficient) • Teleological structure of nature

  7. The Teleological View of Nature • Models of teleological structure • Living things, e.g., human beings • Bodily organs, e.g., the liver • Artifacts, e.g., a knife • Objects have: • A Function • An end • A good

  8. After Teleology • Value removed from nature • Natural world is “disenchanted” (Weber) • Efficient causation is dominant • Nature is “gray on gray” • We must “put” meaning in nature

  9. Science Fact Knowledge Absolute Enforce standards Expertise College of Science Ethics Value Opinion Perspectival “Think for yourselves” Suspicion of Authority College of Arts and Letters Some Modern Distinctions

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