The Idea
This statement affirms that modernity is not fully realized, but rather an open-ended process that includes clear achievements as well as shortcomings. Criticism of it, therefore, is not a rejection of its gains, but an attempt to correct its course. The idea invites us to treat modernity as a continuing historical experience, not as a ready-made final solution or a completed model that no longer needs revision.
Concise Formulation
Modernity: it is an incomplete project
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This claim occupies a middle position in the book’s argument, because it balances enthusiasm for modernity with reservations about its current form. The book does not want to discard it or sanctify it, but rather to approach it as a project open to correction. In this sense, the statement helps build a critical stance that stops neither at rejection nor at full adoption.
Why It Matters
Its importance lies in the fact that it explains Arkoun’s cautious tone: he does not attack modernity from outside it, but engages it from within. This is essential for understanding his project, because reform for him does not rest on replacing one certainty with another, but on keeping the question open. It also prevents the reader from interpreting his critique as hostility to modernization.
Brief Evidence
Modernity is an unfinished project, and criticizing it does not mean rejecting its gains Arkoun brings his position on modernity closer to Habermas’s position: modernity is an unfinished project
Reading Questions
- Why does criticizing modernity not mean rejecting its gains?
- How does describing modernity as an incomplete project help in understanding the book’s position?
Documentation Level
High: the claim appears in a clear place in the book’s material.