New radical Enlightenment: Philosophy for a common world
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In this discussion we are proposing to discuss some of the ideas expressed by Marina Garces in her book "New Radical Enlightenment".
Marina Garcés defines "enlightened illiteracy" as the defining paradox of contemporary society: we possess more knowledge, data, and critical diagnosis than ever before, yet we feel entirely powerless to alter our reality.
We know the exact mechanisms behind climate disruption, economic inequality, and digital surveillance. Yet, despite "knowing everything," we behave as if we can do nothing. Knowledge has been severed from action, reducing citizens to well-informed spectators of an ongoing crisis.
Contemporary critical thought often operates from a safe, intellectual detachment. We excel at diagnosing problems, but that diagnosis rarely translates into personal or political commitment.
Knowledge is treated as a consumer product or a data point to be managed, rather than a transformational experience that reshapes how we live together.
Garcés proposes a New Radical Enlightenment not to abandon reason or critique, but to reconnect knowledge with collective agency through specific shifts.
We must move from merely "knowing about" an issue to acknowledging our place inside it. Real understanding occurs when we allow the world's crises to disrupt our lives and demand a response.
Humanities, philosophy, and art should not exist as museum pieces or elite academic credentials. Garcés calls for a "guerrilla" approach—using critical tools as practical, street-level instruments to dismantle false inevitabilities and rethink everyday life.
Emancipation cannot happen purely behind screens or through theoretical debate. It requires physical presence, shared vulnerability, and collective organizing in real-world spaces.
Garcés rejects both fatalistic doom (which breeds passive resignation) and tech-utopianism (which promises salvation without political change). Overcoming paralysis requires reclaiming the present as a space where human action still matters.