Critical Conditions

An examination and revaluation of contemporary theories about the foundations of knowledge and meaning, first published in 1994.

The postmodern debate has been heavily influenced by often contradictory conclusions about the foundations of knowledge. In this 1994 book, Horace Fairlamb examines the history of foundationism and analyses the work of leading theorists including Fish, Foucault, Gadamer and Habermas, in order to argue for a less reductive and less arbitrary theory of knowledge and meaning.The postmodern debate has been heavily influenced by often contradictory conclusions about the foundations of knowledge: hermeneutics challenges epistemology, politics challenges science, identity theory challenges critical theory, pragmatism challenges formalism, and so on. Horace Fairlamb contends that philosophy's foundationist quest has usually been misconceived as a choice between a 'super-science' and theoretical anarchy. Through an examination of the history of foundationism, and detailed analysis of the work of leading theorists including Fish, Foucault, Derrida, Gadamer and Habermas, Dr Fairlamb argues for a less reductive and less arbitrary conception of knowledge and meaning. The result in this 1994 book is a sophisticated critique of contemporary theory with implications for philosophers as well as literary theorists, and an important contribution to the re-evaluation of theoretical discourse.