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The
twentieth century has been a time of holocaust and totalitarianism. Terrible
deeds have been carried out in the name of reason and science, which have
brought these concepts into disrepute, along with the associated ideas of
progress and modernity. Wendy Wheeler argues that, in spite of all this, we
should not reject the concepts of modernity. Instead, we should hold on to
the ideas of science and rationality, but try to think about them in different
ways.
The book focuses on three areas: science and culture; identity and gender, and politics. In each area unhelpful divions and separations are analysed. Thus, the section on science looks at new critiques of science, and argues for a more holistic approach in areas such as genetics and artificial intelligence.
Building on her analysis of these three areas, Wheeler examines how a new modernity could be imagined. This modernity would include the concepts of ecology and the connections between things, and reject rigid separation, such as between thought and feeling, men and women, science and culture.