The Idea
This idea holds that emerging from current crises does not come from a simple return to old models, nor from settling for opposing choices between religion and power. What is intended is a third horizon grounded in broader and more shared knowledge among people, so that shared understanding becomes the basis for easing tension and weakening the logic of violence, not merely a verbal substitute for conflict.
Condensed Formulation
The required passage beyond: a third formulation of the Enlightenment
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This claim appears at the heart of the argument that seeks to make cognitive renewal a condition for understanding the contemporary Arab and Islamic reality. It does not present the “Enlightenment” as an intellectual ornament, but as a response to a deficit in the tools of understanding and coexistence. It is therefore linked to the book’s effort to move beyond closure without falling into intellectual or political dependency.
Why It Matters
The idea gains its importance because it reveals that Arkoun is not calling for partial reform, but for a new epistemic horizon. Through the “third Enlightenment,” it becomes clear that the problem lies not in religion alone, nor in modernity alone, but in the absence of a formulation capable of bringing together critique, shared knowledge, and civic life.
Brief Evidence
It calls for a third formulation of the Enlightenment, more deeply rooted in shared knowledge It calls for a “third formulation” of the Enlightenment, more deeply rooted in shared knowledge
Reading Questions
- How does the text understand the meaning of the “third formulation”: is it a correction of modernity or a surpassing of it?
- What makes shared knowledge, in his view, a condition for reducing violence rather than merely a cultural value?
Documentation Level
High: the claim appears in a clear location within the book’s material.