Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Conversation
The Conversation
Charles Barbour, Associate Professor, Philosophy, Western Sydney University

Nuclear bombs, artificial intelligence and the madness of reason – in The Maniac, Benjamin Labatut examines the troubling dawn of the digital age

GM Pictures/Shutterstock

A little over 100 years ago, the great German sociologist Max Weber warned that the growth of modern science would result in the “disenchantment” of the world.

He meant a world without mystery, without the unknown or the transcendent, and therefore without meaning – a world governed by the grim law of what he called “instrumental rationality”, where everything is a means to an end and nothing an end in itself.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.