The Signature of Modernity: Experiential Foundations of the Open Society

In: Politisches Denken: Jahrbuch, Band 29, Heft 1, S. 105-122

Abstract

The open society and its complement, the open mind, are the foundations of modernity. On both the individual and social levels, openness results from the combination of four specific modes of experience. These modes have evolved in two stages: first in the time of Greek antiquity and later during Western modernity. In the first stage, the discovery of self-reflection occurred, and the noëtic turn emerged. As a result, both in political and intellectual life, methods gained priority over faith in sacred authorities. In the second stage, the discovery of creative imagination took place, and the turn to consciousness evolved. Creativity led to the innovative dynamics of modernity, and personal and collective identities developed from the turn to consciousness. The combination of these four modes of experience constitutes the signature of modernity, crystallizing in the intellectual and political discourse of modernity, and creating what we call a liberal society.