Thought and Change
Encyclopedia
Thought and Change is early work by Ernest Gellner
. In this book Gellner outlines his views on what is "modernity". He looks at the processes of social change and historical transformation and perhaps most forcefully the power nationalism. Maleŝević and Haugaard argue that Gellner's method, the socio-historical method, by which as he sets out a powerful sociology of specific philosophical doctrines and ideologies, from utilitarianism
and Kantianism
to nationalism
. (The chapter specifically dealing with nationalism was later expand to form the basis of Gellner's most famous work (1983) Nations and Nationalism). They note that rather than looking at philosophies' internal coherence Gellner places them in their historical context. By doing this he explains their origins and their likely influence. Modernity for Gellner is "unique, unprecedented and exceptional" and these characteristics are sustained by the growth of economies and increases in cultural uniformity.
Ernest Gellner
Ernest André Gellner was a philosopher and social anthropologist, described by The Daily Telegraph when he died as one of the world's most vigorous intellectuals and by The Independent as a "one-man crusade for critical rationalism."His first book, Words and Things —famously, and uniquely...
. In this book Gellner outlines his views on what is "modernity". He looks at the processes of social change and historical transformation and perhaps most forcefully the power nationalism. Maleŝević and Haugaard argue that Gellner's method, the socio-historical method, by which as he sets out a powerful sociology of specific philosophical doctrines and ideologies, from utilitarianism
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory holding that the proper course of action is the one that maximizes the overall "happiness", by whatever means necessary. It is thus a form of consequentialism, meaning that the moral worth of an action is determined only by its resulting outcome, and that one can...
and Kantianism
Kantianism
Kantianism is the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher born in Königsberg, Prussia . The term Kantianism or Kantian is sometimes also used to describe contemporary positions in philosophy of mind, epistemology, and ethics.-Ethics:Kantian ethics are deontological, revolving entirely...
to nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
. (The chapter specifically dealing with nationalism was later expand to form the basis of Gellner's most famous work (1983) Nations and Nationalism). They note that rather than looking at philosophies' internal coherence Gellner places them in their historical context. By doing this he explains their origins and their likely influence. Modernity for Gellner is "unique, unprecedented and exceptional" and these characteristics are sustained by the growth of economies and increases in cultural uniformity.