Introduction
Journal
Journal of Social and Political Philosophy
ISSN
2752-7522
Type
journal-article
Date Issued
2026-02
Author(s)
Abstract
In Eclipse of Reason (1947), Max Horkheimer provides a fundamental analysis of the ambivalences of the Western concept of reason and showcases paradigmatically what a dialectical understanding of reason could look like. Whereas reason cannot be abandoned altogether or declared obsolete, at the same time it manifests itself in forms that are difficult to qualify as promoting emancipation which initially was reason's primary promise. As Horkheimer concludes his study, 'if by enlightenment and intellectual progress we mean the freeing of man from superstitious belief in evil forces, in demons and fairies, in blind fatein short, the emancipation from fearthen denunciation of what is currently called reason is the greatest service we can render' (Horkheimer 1947: 126). The two prefaces to the English (1947) and German edition (1967) respectively are indicative of the interrelated goals to which Horkheimer aspires through his dialectical critique of reason. While the English preface underlines the theoretical gains, the German preface highlights the practical ramifications. What led Horkheimer to declare the need to denounce reason was its instrumentalisation under 'the weight of the overwhelming machinery of social power and that of the atomized masses' (ibid.: 126). The latter 'mutilates' reason and prevents it from its original route, i.e. a 'progress toward utopia' (ibid.: 126) where reasonand mutatis mutandis philosophy-'can function as a corrective of history' (ibid.: 126) through the recognition of the factors that distort it. This special issue 'Eclipse of Common Sense' proposes an analogous treatment of the concept of common sense. The denunciation of what currently is demagogically presented as common sense and instrumentally implemented as common-sense policy is also the greatest service that we can render to restore common sense. Notwithstanding, 'denouncing' common sense does not mean to ignore or reject it. Nor does 'restoring' common sense mean to unconditionally accept or apply it. However, denouncing and restoring common sense does mean to revisit its rich intellectual history and reconsider its theoretical strengths and lacunae to reflect its political ramificationsadvantageous as well as disadvantageousand, last but not least, examine whether it can be recalibrated as a robust political concept. This is the complex task that the contributions to this special issue collectively undertake. To do justice to this task, they fulfil the following three interrelated functions: they scrutinise the conceptual foundations and premises as well as practical and political derivations of common sense (analytical function); they explore its ambivalent normative character (evaluative function); and they suggest inherent ways out of this impasse (critical function). The issue commences with an all-encompassing interview with Sophia Rosenfeld whose Common Sense. A Political History (2014) still remains the most comprehensive account of the political valences of common sense. The interview starts with a political comment on the inauspicious political actuality that has befallen the concept of common sense under the second Trump administration. It then investigates the constitutive elements of common sense, namely,
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Edinburgh University Press
Volume
5
Number
1
Start page
1
End page
4
Division(s)
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Name
Telios_Introduction_JSPP_5_1_1_4.pdf
Size
51.55 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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