Philosophy in the Mass Age

by George Parkin Grant

Book Overview

When George Grant delivered Philosophy in the Mass Age over the CBC radio network early in 1958, it was an immediate hit. He criticized the Western notion of progress and affirmed the role of philosophy in teaching and assisting people in understanding. Robert Fulford described it then as stunningly effective: 'Grant's talks, obviously the product of a supple and curious mind, were models of their type - learned but clear, original but persuasive,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802072283
• ISBN13: 9780802072283
• Release Date: June 1995
• Publisher: University of Toronto Press
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

A fine starting point for getting acquainted with Grant's philosophy

'Philosophy in the Mass Age' is probably the most well-known of George Grant's books, and certainly the one that made him a household name in Canada. Writing as a philosopher with a deep engagement with Christianity, Grant shows how the rise of technology has erased the ancient certainties of faith and now drives us to redefine the meaning of our lives and our place in history. Grant is no Luddite; although the new possibilities afforded by the staggering technological development of recent decades can only precipitate a profound crisis in meaning, Grant acknowledges the enormous benefits that technology, used wisely, has given us. The core of Grant's philosophy is the question whether we can receive the material gift of technology without suffering the death of the soul.

Recalling us to Philosophy

In the aftermath of Marxism and pragmatism the western world and its citizens have lost the anchor for their moral lives. Belieiving in the goodness of progress, not only can we no longer answer the question, "progressing to what," but it does not even occur as a question to be asked. Instead all progress is deemed beneficial. Nonetheless, we are still plagued by doubts that there must be limits to what we can and should do; plagued by the inclination that all progress must be directed toward some good. Grant argues that in order to recement our moral beings and give direction to the technological progress that we hold dear, we must return to an older, ancient vision of human beings. A vision of humans as creatures whose rightful end lies not merely in untrammelled freedom, but also in recognition of our limitations.