The multicultural dilemma: Between normative and practical reasoning (original) (raw)

2012, Dialogues in Human Geography

The multicultural dilemma', i.e., how to reconcile equal dignity with difference, is the central question around which Randi Gressgård's book revolves. As a way to excavate the conceptual underpinnings of this dilemma, Gressgård embarks in a rich philosophical journey through the texts of, among others, Kant, Lyotard, Lash, Gadamer, Falzon, and Kögler. Her writing strategy is one which expressly tries to let the others speak in her text, avoiding the elevation of the central thinking 'I' (p. xiii). This strategy, she maintains, is in line with her theoretical argument for an open dialogue, respectful of difference, which, as I will explain below, is her 'solution' to the multicultural dilemma.