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Book Cover
E-book
Author Shomali, Alireza

Title Thoughtlessness and Decadence in Iran : a Sojourn in Comparative Political Theory
Published Albany : State University of New York Press, 2019

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Description 1 online resource (343 pages)
Contents Headless babes : Adorno and thinking about thinking -- These impotent rebels : Strauss and modern decadence -- God's greatest name : disparity dictum and political religion -- So long as they stay asinine : Razi on reason and religion -- The folklore of philosophy : Farabi's political philosophy of religion
Summary Political decay in Islamic societies has for the most part been the subject of structural analyses while philosophical studies have been rare, often speculative and deterministic. Thoughtlessness and Religious Decadence in Iran: A Sojourn in Comparative Political Theory explores from a theoretical perspective the problem of democracy deficit--or, political decadence--, in contemporary Iran and, by implication, in present-day Middle Eastern societies. This decadence, the book argues, is in part a religion-based decadence, and deliverance from it requires collective thoughtfulness about religion. Alireza Shomali conceptualizes the Iranian Reality in terms of a lack of not only good life but also thinking of good living. This thoughtlessness means dissolution of critical consciousness and, as such, it heralds escalating decadence. At this moment of rapid decay, the book argues, thought must become relevant to society: the communicative practice of thinking must emerge to examine the pathologies of a religiously administrated life. Opening a dialogue between Adorno, Strauss, Farabi and Razi, among others, Shomali underlines the critical points of similarity and difference between these thinkers and envisions a "local" emancipatory project that, noting the specifics of the Iranian case, takes lessons from the western experience without blind imitation
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Political science -- Iran
Political science -- Iran -- Philosophy
Political culture -- Iran
Religion and politics -- Iran
Political culture.
Political science.
Political science -- Philosophy.
Religion and politics.
Iran.
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9781438473802
143847380X