Rationalism
There are those who would equate modernism with rationalism, and so in advocating any sort of alternative to modernism, rationality and reason are given a correspondingly low priority.
Part of the rationale for this irrationality is the scientific view that mind is an accident of nature and it is what sets humans apart from nature. In order to get along in the world we must de-emphasize that which sets us apart from it. The way to survive is to go back to nature and/or back to our various traditions. Deep ecology, fundamentalism and postmodernism are the disparate responses.
Historically, rationalism has been based in theism. If reasoning is more than an accident of nature, then it must be based on the existence of a cosmic intelligence. In practice, however, the religious establishments have never been comfortable with the political possibility of free thought. Better to emphasize the authoritarian side of theism in prophecy and revelation, than open the gates to mass enlightenment or God knows what!
The printing press did open the doors of the intellect to the masses, nonetheless. But just in the nick of time, along came science to provide a tremendous outlet for a sustained but restricted intellectual endeavor. The standoff between religion and science was a way for the various authorities to keep the mass mind safely divided. The ultimately abortive outburst of dialectical materialism was the exception that proved the rule.
Now with the advent of the Internet, will the authorities find another stratagem to keep human reason in check? In the real-time global cacophony of the Internet, if there is a cosmic rationale, someone is bound to stumble upon it, and it is liable to make waves that no filter can stop. I guess we'll just have to stay tuned.
If there is a cosmic mind hiding somewhere behind nature and physics, the human mind will eventually reconnect with it, come hell or high water. With all the means now at our disposal, can we still believe that the time of concealment is not drawing to a close?
7/4/02