Read about all the problems with reason in our special issue
THE 18th-century challenges to superstition, religion, prejudice, monarchical government and lack of freedom all made sense. Replacing the oppressive baggage of the past with ideas of individual autonomy, liberty and, above all, reason, was a considerable step forward. The fruits of that reason have transformed our world and brought many benefits and riches, but they have also brought problems which are rarely discussed in mainstream discourse.
Feminist theorists, for example, argue that the Enlightenment’s focus on the individual, on rights, on reason, ignores the complicated and subtle web of…
