In Eclipse of Reason (1947), Max Horkheimer provides a fundamental analysis of the ambivalences of the (Western) concept of reason and showcases what a dialectical understanding of reason could look like. The special issue of JSPP “Eclipse of Common Sense” proposes an analogous treatment of the concept of common sense. The issue will revisit the conceptual foundations and premises of common sense (analytical function); explore its ambivalent normative character (evaluative function); and suggest ways out of this impasse that are inherent (critical function). In a first step, authors will address from a conceptual and a historical perspective a series of parameters or intellectual constants at the core of the term’s conceptual content. Second, other papers will scrutinize the concept’s foundation for democratic societies and test the term’s political applicability by examining its emancipatory promises in regard to promoting core democratic values, e.g., inclusivity, plurality, and visibility. Third, some will draw attention to the dangers underlying every attempt to universalize the supposed qualities of a particular and contextually dependent, Western, type of common sense and extrapolate different ways to reconceptualize the term as well as different practices that help overcome it’s political-social shortcomings.

Anyone interested in submitting a paper dealing with an East Asian approach or approaches to common sense should contact Paul Patton prp@unsw.edu.au

Deadline for Submissions: December 31, 2024.