Ernest Gellner and Modernity (Political Philosophy Now)

Providing a comprehensive discussion of the polymathic writer and thinker Ernest Gellner, this book presents a lucid exposition of his thought, making clear both his major contributions to the diverse areas in which he worked and the underlying consistency and unity of his thought. Examined is how Gellner’s analysis of the social, economic, and cognitive forms intrinsic to modernity carries forward the work of Max Weber and Karl Popper and also enables him to develop a profound and original philosophy of science which is at the same time a political philosophy.

Michael Lessnoff is reader in politics at the University of Glasgow. He is the author of The Structure of Social Science, Social Contract, and The Spirit of Capitalism and the Protestant Ethic. He lives in Glasgow, Scotland.