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Article: Tragedy and Enlightenment: Athenian Political Thought and the Dilemmaa of Modernity.
- Article from:
- American Political Science Review
- Article date:
- December 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Cambridge University Press. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Denise Schaeffer, College of the Holy Cross
"We are much more Greeks than we care to admit." So begins Rocco's book, a far-ranging treatment that includes Oedipus Tyrannos, the Oresteia, and Plato's Gorgias and Republic and concludes with Horkheimer and Adorno. Rocco argues that these texts can be used to illuminate contemporary debates about the (im)possibility and (un)desirability of "enlightenment," specifically the debate between Habermas and Foucault. He argues that Habermas and Foucault present overly polarized, falsely dichotomous choices, and he seeks a middle ground that balances both alternatives. "We are left with the unsatisfying dilemma of having to ...