Enlightenment critique exposes tradition-based authority as authoritarian

Evidence

In Israel’s narrative, Enlightenment corrodes the bases of all traditional forms of authority. This does not lead to some “postmodern” free-for-all any more than it mandates some dogmatic adherence to the current institutions of science. Rather, forms of “authority” which claim their legitimacy from tradition stand exposed as illegitimate, which is to say authoritarian. It then becomes possible to contrast such authoritarianism with a democratic and transparent model of authority. — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 1925

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s knowledge of Jonathan Israel’s Radical Enlightenment historiography and to Spinoza as a resource against capitalist realism, themes Fisher circles throughout K-Punk. — connects to: Authoritarianism and traditional religiosity reinforce each other bidirectionally — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 1972; Fighting authoritarianism requires constituting authority collectively, not abandoning it — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 2174; Suspending critical thought for religion stems from authoritarian submission (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Enlightenment must critique itself rather than merely defend cultural values #qualifies (0.82) — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 24
• Anti-enlightenment ideology unconsciously reveres what it seeks to destroy #complicates (0.79)
• Authoritarianism and traditional religiosity reinforce each other bidirectionally #expands (0.78) — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 1972
• Fighting authoritarianism requires constituting authority collectively, not abandoning it #complicates (0.76) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 2174
• A left politics can defend knowledge-based authority against authoritarianism #responds-to (0.75) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 2172
• Suspending critical thought for religion stems from authoritarian submission #exemplifies (0.72)