Critique
of Patriarchal Reason by Arthur
Evans
"I would like to promote a revitalization
of American academic philosophy. Philosophical inquiry should be
made relevant to people whose interests are often slighted --
women, people of color, gay people, working people, etc. We need
to keep the rigor and clarity of analytic philosophy but broaden
its vision." -- Author Evans
An explosive indictment of analytic philosophy
and science. Arthur Evans exposes the patriarchal biases
underlying modern "rationality." Evans shows how these
biases have infected formal logic, higher mathematics, and the
scientific method. He demonstrates the harmful impact they have
had on women, gay people, artists, indigenous societies, and the
natural environment. In place of these biases, he offers a new,
liberating view of the role of reason in human life. Among the
many thinkers discussed in the book is Ludwig Wittgenstein. A
surprising connection is uncovered between Wittgenstein's theories
of logic and language on one hand, and his conflicted attitude
toward his homosexuality on the other.
San Francisco—Veteran gay activist and writer
Arthur Evans has just published a new, gay-positive book on
philosophy, entitled Critique of Patriarchal Reason. Publication
of the book was aided by an award of $6,941 from the S.F. Art
Commission, as part of its program of grants to individual artists
and writers. The book includes original artwork by San Francisco
artist Frank Pietronigro.
"I worked on this book for nine
years," said Evans. "It takes the spirit of the
Stonewall era of gay liberation, as I personally experienced it,
and applies it to the great philosophical questions. Among other
things, the book provides an eye-opening account of the gay
philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein."
Evans said that the S.F. Art Commission deserves
credit for supporting art that speaks directly to the lesbian and
gay community. "Even today," he added, "this type
of support is a rarity in America."
Evans has been a San Franciscan for more than
twenty years, and a gay activist for nearly thirty. He did
graduate work in philosophy at Columbia University in New York and
has published two previous books on gay history and culture.
Pietronigro, the artist for Critique of
Patriarchal Reason, has been a resident of San Francisco since
1977. On two occasions, he produced San Francisco's popular
"Art in the Park." He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts
degree from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1996. "My
work," says Pietronigro, "is a mix of traditional and
nontraditional media, using painting, public art, multimedia, and
installations."
