The Idea
The claim points to a rationality that favors identity and similarity over difference and comparison. This means that the highest criterion is not to reveal what distinguishes things from one another, but to affirm what gathers them within a single image. This tendency makes reason closer to protecting internal harmony than to opening a space for questioning, because difference appears there as a threat more than as knowledge.
Condensed Formulation
Central rationality: favors: identity and similarity
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This claim appears in the context of a critique that links a mode of thinking to its stance toward the other. When identity is presented as a priority, rational judgment becomes biased toward similarity instead of examination. The statement therefore belongs to a broader argument that sees some forms of rationalization as not producing comparative knowledge, but rather reproducing the boundaries between the group and what lies outside it.
Why It Matters
Its importance lies in showing how reason can work in a way that unifies vision at the expense of diversity. This helps the reader understand that the book’s critique is not limited to ideas, but extends to the mental structure that makes difference unwelcome. From here, the issue connects to Arkoun’s understanding of the history of knowledge as a history of the struggle of images, not of facts alone.
Brief Evidence Passage
The claim points to a rationality that favors identity and similarity over difference and comparison. This means that the highest criterion is not to reveal what distinguishes things from one another, but to affirm what gathers them within a single image. This tendency makes reason closer to protecting internal harmony than to opening a space for questioning, because difference appears there as a threat more than as knowledge.
Reading Questions
- Why might identity become stronger than comparison in some modes of thought?
- What does understanding lose when similarity is given absolute priority?
Documentation Level
High: the claim appears in a clear location in the book’s material.