THE DISINTEGRATION OF METANARRATIVES AND THE EMERGENCE OF MULTIPLE RATIONALITIES IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY PHILOSOPHY

Abstract

This article offers a systematic historical-philosophical analysis of the transformation of rationality in twentieth-century philosophy through the disintegration of metanarratives and the emergence of multiple forms of rationality. Classical modern philosophy was grounded in the idea of a unified, universal reason capable of legitimizing knowledge, morality, and political order. The dramatic historical experiences of the twentieth century-world wars, totalitarian regimes, technological acceleration, and radical changes in scientific knowledge-undermined the credibility of such universal foundations. Drawing on original texts by Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Michel Foucault, and Jean-François Lyotard, the article reconstructs the internal philosophical logic of this transformation. It is argued that plural rationality should not be interpreted as epistemological relativism or the rejection of reason as such. Instead, plural rationality is conceptualized as a historically conditioned reconfiguration of reason that allows critical thinking to persist after the collapse of universal legitimating narratives. The scientific novelty of the article lies in interpreting plural rationality as a structural response to the crisis of modernity rather than as a symptom of philosophical decline. This interpretation makes it possible to understand twentieth-century philosophy as a coherent, though non-totalizing, intellectual project oriented toward contextual justification, reflexivity, and ethical responsibility.