Idea
The text says that modernity did not bring an end to the old tension between religion and reason; rather, it obscured the question for a time before it returned in a more forceful form. The problem is therefore not the absence of progress, but the fact that the relationship between faith and rational understanding remains open and unresolved. Modernity thus appears here as a stage that revealed the impossibility of final closure, not as a definitive solution to the dilemma.
Concise Formulation
Modernity: did not settle: the dilemma of the relationship between religion and reason
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This claim occupies a foundational position because it opens the book onto the question of the relationship between modern knowledge and religious reference points. The argument does not begin by proclaiming the triumph of reason, but by pointing out that this supposed triumph did not end the deeper conflict. In this way, the text prepares for reading the history of religions as a history of continual friction with questions of reason.
Why It Matters
The importance of the idea lies in the fact that it prevents a naïve reading of modernity as an automatic solution to every religious problem. It also helps us understand Arkoun as a thinker who sees that great questions do not disappear; they only change form. It further illuminates why he continually returns to critique and history rather than settling for final judgments.
Brief Evidence
The text says that modernity did not end the old tension between religion and reason, but rather concealed it for a time and then brought it back. The problem is not the absence of progress, but the continued openness and unresolved nature of the relationship between faith and rational understanding. For this reason, modernity appears as a stage that exposed the impossibility of final closure, not as a final solution to the issue.
Reading Questions
- How does the text understand modernity: as a solution, or as a stage that revealed the persistence of the question?
- What does it mean for the dilemma of religion and reason to remain open in a reading of the history of religions?
Level of Documentation
High: the claim appears in a clear location within the book’s material.