Nothing is harder for this skeptical age than to believe that the universe ultimately has meaning --except, perhaps, the idea that such belief is not only warranted, but is in fact commanded, by reason. And yet, there is no greater obstacle to the struggle for social progress and social justice than gnawing doubt about the question of ultimate meaning. Hope, both individual and collective, withers and the highest objects of our love dissolve like so many phantoms or mirages. The existentialist claim that "life begins on the other side of despair," has shown itself to be little more than wishful thinking as existentialist humanism has given way to postmodernist nihilism, and existentialist atheism into a critique of the human subject itself. Unable to find an adequate ground for their moral ideas, people become incapable of judging --and thus of seeing injustice. Unable to find an adequate ground for hope, they become incapable of action on behalf of the Good.
Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society is dedicated to the task of restoring humanity's confidence in the ultimate meaningfulness of the universe --and thus restoring humanity's hope and its capacity to act effectively on behalf of social justice. This is a complex task, with epistemological, cosmological, metaphysical and ethical dimensions. It means drawing on the resources of the physical, biological, and social sciences as well as philosophy and theology, and analyzing the social basis and political valence of ideas, to help us understand where they come from, and what impact they have in practice. No existing school can claim to have adequately resolved this question, nor can we judge in advance, before an open hearing and vigorous debates, which can contribute to our task and which can not. Because of this our pages are open to work from diverse perspectives, including those which, from certain vantage points, might appear to reject our project as such, provided they contribute in some way to advancing or clarifying our task. We are especially interested in work which
* elucidates the relational, self-organizing, and/or teleological character of particular natural and social processes or of the cosmos generally;
* contributes to the reconstruction and renewal of the great philosophical tradition which stretches from Plato and Aristotle through Aquinas and Spinoza to Hegel, Marx, and their contemporary interpreters; and
* analyzes the current situation, and/or advances or evaluates strategies and programs for reorganizing institutions in order to promote the all-sided development of human social capacities.
We also publish poetry and fiction which is related in some way to the broad purposes of the journal.
Opinions expressed in signed articles do not necessarily reflect the official perspectives of the Foundation for Social Progress or the Institute for Religion and the Common Good. Membership in the International Advisory Committee of Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society does not imply any political or religious affiliation or assent to any ideological perspective.
Dialectic, Cosmos, and Society is published by the Foundation for Social Progress/Institute for Religion and the Common Good, P.O. Box 681216, Schaumburg, IL 60168