LOR - Project

Project

After the period of the theoretical and practical revival of such factors of human activity as feelings, drives and interests, after the time of paying attention to the differences between cultures and traditions, in the contemporary world we are rather facing a growing threat of the clash of isolated, monologically-shaped culture-circles, which celebrate their own uniqueness and do not find a common ground for the intercultural debate, mutual recognition and understanding.

We consider the notion of reason to be one of the strong assets to build such a ground, but only if it is not constructed against the local contexts of its genealogy or in the ideological oblivion of this genealogy. This is why LOR tries to reconcile the universalistic notion of reason with its local background. It is important to notice that we understand the 'locality' of reason not only as its rootedness in different geographical contexts but also as its anchorage in psychological, economic, social, historical, anthropological and cultural dimensions of human activity.

Thus we consider the concept of reason to be strongly connected with the notion of justification of norms that guide society, as well as with the notion of sense which is being ascribed to practices, procedures and institutions by the individuals who constitute the society.

In order to develop our hypothesis, we want to explore four aspects of the concept of reason, trying to answer some fundamental questions.

1) The genealogy of the concept of reason

1.1 How do different forms of local human activity establish general norms?

1.2 Does the generality of norms imply their rationality?

1.3 What is the nature of the processes that lead to the establishment of general norms and notions?

1.4 What is the impact of historical processes on the form and content of general notions?

1.5 In which sense do general concepts and notions reflect or express the social, economic and political position of the social groups that use them?

2) The process of construction of the concept of reason

2.1 What is the relation of the notions of objectivity of norms and intersubjectivity?

2.2 What is the ontological and epistemological status of notions and rules?

2.3 Are there any super-criteria of rationality that can be used in any rationally regulated practice?

2.4 What is the relation between rationality and history?

3) The forms and functions of the concept of reason

3.1 How do the definitions and the descriptions of reason reflect or change the realm of its development?

3.2 In which way does the notion of reason structure cognitions and actions undertaken in the framework of some practice or form of life?

3.3 Is there a possibility to speak about 'pure reason' or does reason always remain rooted in and limited by certain empirical factors?

3.4 What does the introduction of the concept of reason change in the structure of individual human behaviour and of social interaction?

4) Impact of the concept of reason on social, cultural and political arrangements of the XXI century.

4.1 What is the nature of the relation between theories of public reason and the empirical reality of social and political processes and institutions?

4.2 Should a rational theory of society start from given reality, search for normative foundations of existing processes and institutions and evaluate these from the perspective of their re-construction?

4.3 How can changes (or the lack of them) towards more rationality in the framework of social relations and political institutions influence the self-perception of the theories of rationality?