In addition to war, terrorism, and unchecked military violence, modernity is also subject to less visible but no less venomous conflicts. Global in nature, these "culture wars" exacerbate the tensions between tradition and innovation, virtue and freedom. Internationally acclaimed scholar Fred Dallmayr charts a course beyond these persistent but curable dichotomies in Integral Pluralism: Beyond Culture Wars. Consulting diverse fields such as philosophy, literature, political science, and religious studies, Dallmayr equates modern history with a process of steady pluralization. This process, which Dallmayr calls "integral pluralism," requires new connections and creates ethical responsibilities. Dallmayr critically compares integral pluralism against the theories of Carl Schmitt, the Religious Right, international "realism," and so-called political Islam. Drawing on the works of James, Heidegger, Gadamer, and Merleau-Ponty, Integral Pluralism offers sophisticated and carefully researched solutions for the conflicts of the modern world.
"Fred Dallmayr sheds fresh light on familiar authors such as Gadamer, Heidegger, and Merleau-Ponty, while rightly insisting on bringing thinkers outside the usual (eurocentric) theoretical canon into the dialogue. Over the course of many decades, Dallmayr has almost single-handedly knocked down the provincial, cultural, and intellectual walls of what passes for 'proper' political theory and social
William E. Scheuerman, author of Hans J. Morgenthau: Realism and Beyond
