'Astonishing and intriguing.' <i>New Society</i> <p>'This is the first book since <i>The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe</i> that I've read from cover to cover twice ... Bauman's book is endlessly fascinating.' <i>Tribune</i></p> <p>'Enthralling ... a fascinating pot-pourri of contemporary sociological preoccupations.' <i>Times Literary Supplement</i></p>
The book discusses the role of intellectuals in the modern world. Bauman connects this with current analyses of modernity and post-modernity. The theme of the book is that the tasks of intellectuals change from being 'legislators' to 'interpreters' with the transition from modernity to post-modernity.
Intellectuals: From Modern Legislators to Post-modern Interpreters.
1. Paul Radin, or an Aetiology of the Intellectuals.
2. Les philosophes: The Archetype and the Utopia.
3. Sociogenesis of the Power Knowledge Syndrome.
4. Gamekeepers turned Gardeners.
5. Educating People.
6. Discovery of Culture.
7. Ideology, or Building the World of Ideas.
8. The Fall of the Legislator.
9. The Rise of the Interpreter.
10. Two Nations, Mark Two: The Seduced.
11. Two Nations, Mark Two: The Repressed.
12. Conclusions: one too many.
Notes.
Index.
During the period at which it was assumed that there were ready ways of assessing the truth of beliefs, intellectuals used to 'legislate' about opinions for the rest of the community. But today, in the period of post-modernism, there are many competing value-systems and beliefs. Intellectuals today become 'interpreters', representing different standpoints in relation to one another. In brilliant and telling fashion, Bauman draws out the implications of this change for contemporary cultural analysis.
This book will be of basic interest to students and professionals in cultural studies, sociology, politics and the history of ideas.