Philosophy in the Mass Age

by George Parkin Grant, William Christian, Constance B. Hieatt

When George Grant delivered Philosophy in the Mass Age over the CBC radio network early in 1958, it was an immediate hit. He criticized the Western notion of progress and affirmed the role of philosophy in teaching and assisting people in understanding. Robert Fulford described it then as stunningly effective: 'Grant's talks, obviously the product of a supple and curious mind, were models of their type - learned but clear, original but persuasive, highly personal but intensely communicative.'

Grant's analysis of lhe paradox of modernity is no less intriguing today. The need to reconcile freedom with the moral law 'of which we do not take the measure, but by which we are measured and defined' is still an issue in our times.

William Christian has restored the text of the original 1959 edition. He has supplemented it with material from the broadcast version of the lectures, including a ninth lecture, not previously published, in which Grant responded to listeners' questions. The controversial introduction to the 1966 edition appears as an appendix.

Genres: Philosophy, Politics

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

George Parkin Grant was a Canadian philosopher, professor, and political commentator. He is best known for his Canadian nationalism, political conservatism, and his views on technology, pacifism and Christian faith. He is often seen as one of Canada's most original thinkers.

Academically, his writings express a complex meditation on the great books, and confrontation with the great thinkers, of Western Civilization. His influences include the "ancients" such as Plato, Aristotle, and Augustine of Hippo, as well as "moderns" like Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, Leo Strauss, James Doull, Simone Weil, and Jacques Ellul.

Although he is considered the main theoretician of Red Toryism, he expressed dislike of the term when applied to his deeper philosophical interests, which he saw as his primary work as a thinker. Recent research on Grant uncovers his debt to a neo-Hegelian idealist tradition, Canadian idealism, that had a major influence on many Canadian scholars and Canadian political culture more broadly.

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

* Good analysis of Marxism, the historical mode of thinking and its corruptions (progress, Marxism)
* Broadly about moral philosophy, the challenge of objective morality (natural law) in the modern world (with its ideals of progress, technological power over nature, limits seen as inimical to freedom).
* Grant is not yet fully critical of the idea of progress - his later introduction outlines his shift away from a positive view of progress, and away from Hegel and towards the Greeks - principally Plato.
* A fully Christian philosopher fully engaged in modern questions.
* Intriguing questions about philosophy of nature, and the nature of true freedom are indicated, but not fully dealt with.

[Wyatt Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

George Grant attempts to balance the notion of history (how we ourselves within a process called history which moves towards a goal), freedom (the will to dominate nature and each other through technological means), and natural limits on our freedom. The book comes from a CBC lecture series, and so it's easy to read. It's earlier ish in Grant's thought, and so he changes his mind in certain respects. For example, later he rejects Hegel, while here is OK with him.

Mass Society refers to the way in which all society masses together to produce large scale living in the modern age.

[Al Maki]

In the mid 1950s there were a number of thinkers; e.g. Arendt, Mumford and Grant who were concerned that we appeared to have arrived in a new, different, very disturbing world, quite different than the old one. They tried in their various ways to make sense of it and this collection of lectures is part of that. Grant was a Canadian philosopher, Christian and conservative. (He completely repudiated the popular and political definitions on conservatism which he thought were shams used to justify a very unconservative way of life.) In the lectures Grant was trying to define the problem he thought needed solving in order for humanity to move out of its dilemma. I don’t share his assumptions or his methods but found the book interesting nevertheless. The lectures are far too abstract for my taste but his characterizations of the belief structure that dominates North America even to this day would be difficult to better.

[Mack Daddy69 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Certain ideas in this book are timeless and extremely important to understanding modern movements of thought, but other parts have me lost in the weeds, can't pinpoint whether this is the best philosophical contribution out of Canada or if it's mid

[Marco den Ouden · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and lucid discussion of ancient and modern philosophy. Includes a discussion of natural law as well as critique of pragmatism.

[loafingcactus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous and readable little bit of philosophy. Highly recommend it to anybody.