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Document Details : Title: Pluralism: Self-Image or Social Reality? Author(s): GRAHAM, Gordon Journal: Bijdragen Volume: 64 Issue: 3 Date: 2003 Pages: 299-310 DOI: 10.2143/BIJ.64.3.847 Abstract : This essay is a critical exploration of certain key elements in modernity's self-understanding – pluralism, secularism, the morally neutral state, and the the harm conditoin as a principle of law. Careful examination of all these elements reveals deep confusion about how they are to be understood. The picture that emerges is one in which modern society's self-image diverges dramatically from the reality, and critque of this self-image uncovers a pressing need for a reappraiasal of the values that are commonly thought to underlie the contemporary Western world. |
