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Could you explain the following sentences especially the last one? I have a problem understanding them:

The Enlightenment project, writes David Harvey in The Condition of Postmodernity, 'took it as axiomatic that there was only one possible answer to any question. From this it followed that the world could be controlled and rationally ordered if we could only picture and represent it rightly. But this persumed a single mode of representation which, if we could uncover it ... would provide the means to Enlightenment end.'

Frank Hubeny
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Asadi
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  • I assume the last paragraph came from the text of some book. Would you have a reference to that source? Who is the author? What is the title? On what page did the paragraph appear? This might help put the question in context. Also, if you have some idea now what that means this might also provide some context and help focus an answer that you might find useful Welcome to Philosophy! – Frank Hubeny Jan 13 '19 at 11:40
  • I made an edit which you may roll back or continue editing. Again, welcome! – Frank Hubeny Jan 13 '19 at 11:44
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    "Are you John?" Everyone should either answer "Yes" or "No"? If one answers "No" everyone does that? Axiomatic must make "Are you John?" not a question. Weird! – rus9384 Jan 13 '19 at 16:26

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Compare with Relativism and Social constructionism and Perspectivism.

Enlightenment whas founded on the concept of reason and thus on the existence of an absolute truth, the existence of which guarantees that there is "only one possible answer to any question" : the "right one".

Human beings are rational because they are endowed of reason, i.e. a "tool" with which they can uncover the truth, i.e. the "single mode of representation" that is the right one.

See page 11 :

the project of modernity came into focus during the eighteenth century. That project amounted to an extraordinary intellectual effort on the part of Enlightenment thinkers 'to develop objective science, universal morality and law, and autonomous art according to their inner logic.'

Mauro ALLEGRANZA
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