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The Shape of the New: Four Big Ideas and How They Made the Modern World
by Daniel Chirot Scott L. MontgomeryHow four revolutionary ideas from the Enlightenment shaped today's worldThis panoramic book tells the story of how revolutionary ideas from the Enlightenment about freedom, equality, evolution, and democracy have reverberated through modern history and shaped the world as we know it today.A testament to the enduring power of ideas, The Shape of the New offers unforgettable portraits of Adam Smith, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Charles Darwin, and Karl Marx—heirs of the Enlightenment who embodied its highest ideals about progress—and shows how their thoughts, over time and in the hands of their followers and opponents, transformed the very nature of our beliefs, institutions, economies, and politics. Yet these ideas also hold contradictions. They have been used in the service of brutal systems such as slavery and colonialism, been appropriated and twisted by monsters like Stalin and Hitler, and provoked reactions against the Enlightenment's legacy by Islamic Salafists and the Christian Religious Right.The Shape of the New argues that it is impossible to understand the ideological and political conflicts of our own time without familiarizing ourselves with the history and internal tensions of these world-changing ideas. With passion and conviction, it exhorts us to recognize the central importance of these ideas as historical forces and pillars of the Western humanistic tradition. It makes the case that to read the works of the great thinkers is to gain invaluable insights into the ideas that have shaped how we think and what we believe.
The Shapes of Ideas: Chinese Philosophy in Cultural Relics
by Xi ZhangThe book combines Chinese philosophy and historical knowledge and delivers the core ideas of Chinese philosophy from 72 elaborately selected pieces of cultural relics in 18 topics. Based on the structure of “Cosmology-Ontology-Theory of Mind-Nature” for ancient Chinese philosophy, the author probes the new achievements in recent years, and portrays the Chinese world of thought for its vivid transformation from pre-philosophical period to early modern period, from elitism taste to popularized orientation. By narrating the nature of being, the author brings the thought essence of ancient Chinese philosophy to the readers, meanwhile mentions the society and history, and therefore sketches the interaction among the three objects. The book elucidates the wisdom of Chinese philosophy contained in cultural relics and reveals the thought and exploration of ancient Chinese sages to the secrets of human nature.
The Share of Perspective (Routledge Research in Aesthetics)
by Emmanuel AlloaThis book is a defense of perspectivism in the age of post-truth. At the crossroads of science, art, and philosophy, it unearths a tradition that we must rediscover: the point of view is not only what divides, it is also what is shared.Today, perspective is associated with individualism and personal viewpoints. But in an age of post-truth, the only robust answer to relativism lies in fact in a reappraisal of perspectivism. In discussion with contemporary new realisms of various sorts, this book makes a case why perspectivism alone can avoid us falling back into epistemological naivetés. A journey into the history of optics, art, philosophy, and social psychology, this book unearths the forgotten tradition of perspectiva communis, which makes perspective the vector of a common horizon. This book argues that vision is never immediate. Rather, to see through is the key to understanding the perspectival operation. We never see by ourselves—all seeing must pass through something other than itself, through the mediation and the detour of an apparatus or the witness of a third party. Besides the theoretical framework for this new approach to perspective, this book presents a series of case studies ranging from innovative interpretations of classical authors and key moments in the history of art—from ancient painting, trompe l’oeil, and Brunelleschi’s experiment in Renaissance Florence—to the issue of perspective in the work of contemporary artists such as Robert Smithson.The Share of Perspective will be of interest to scholars and advanced students working in aesthetics, phenomenology, art history, and the history of sciences.
The Shared World: Perceptual Common Knowledge, Demonstrative Communication, and Social Space (The\mit Press Ser.)
by Axel SeemannA novel treatment of the capacity for shared attention, joint action, and perceptual common knowledge.In The Shared World, Axel Seemann offers a new treatment of the capacity to perceive, act on, and know about the world together with others. Seemann argues that creatures capable of joint attention stand in a unique perceptual and epistemic relation to their surroundings; they operate in an environment that they, through their communication with their fellow perceivers, help constitute. Seemann shows that this relation can be marshaled to address a range of questions about the social aspect of the mind and its perceptual and cognitive capacities.Seemann begins with a conceptual question about a complex kind of sociocognitive phenomenon—perceptual common knowledge—and develops an empirically informed account of the spatial structure of the environment in and about which such knowledge is possible. In the course of his argument, he addresses such topics as demonstrative reference in communication, common knowledge about jointly perceived objects, and spatial awareness in joint perception and action.
The Shield of Achilles
by Philip Bobbitt"We are at a moment in world affairs when the essential ideas that govern statecraft must change. For five centuries it has taken the resources of a state to destroy another state . . . This is no longer true, owing to advances in international telecommunications, rapid computation, and weapons of mass destruction. The change in statecraft that will accompany these developments will be as profound as any that the State has thus far undergone."--from the PrologueThe Shield of Achilles is a classic inquiry into the nature of the State, its origin in war, and its drive for peace and legitimacy. Philip Bobbitt, a professor of constitutional law and a historian of nuclear strategy, has served in the White House, the Senate, the State Department, and the National Security Council in both Democratic and Republican administrations, and here he brings his formidable experience and analytical gifts to bear on our changing world. Many have observed that the nation-state is dying, yet others have noted that the power of the State has never been greater. Bobbitt reconciles this paradox and introduces the idea of the market-state, which is already replacing its predecessor. Along the way he treats such themes as the Long War (which began in 1914 and ended in 1990). He explains the relation of violence to legitimacy, and the role of key individuals in fates that are partially--but only partially--determined.This book anticipates the coalitional war against terrorism and lays out alternative futures for the world. Bobbitt shows how nations might avoid the great power confrontations that have a potential for limitless destruction, and he traces the origin and evolution of the State to such wars and the peace conferences that forged their outcomes into law, from Augsburg to Westphalia to Utrecht to Vienna to Versailles.The author paints a powerful portrait of the ever-changing interrelatedness of our world, and he uses his expertise in law and strategy to discern the paths that statehood will follow in the coming years and decades. Timely and perceptive, The Shield of Achilles will change the way we think about the world.From the Hardcover edition.
The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace, and the Course of History
by Philip BobbittHistory of war and international relations with commentary and theses.
The Ship of State: Statecraft and Politics from Ancient Greece to Democratic America
by Norma ThompsonThe stimulus for this book initially came from Tocqueville's study of America.
The Shipwrecked Mind: On Political Reaction
by Mark LillaWe don't understand the reactionary mind. As a result, argues Mark Lilla in this timely book, the ideas and passions that shape today's political dramas are unintelligible to us. The reactionary is anything but a conservative. He is as radical and modern a figure as the revolutionary, someone shipwrecked in the rapidly changing present, and suffering from nostalgia for an idealized past and an apocalyptic fear that history is rushing toward catastrophe. And like the revolutionary his political engagements are motivated by highly developed ideas. Lilla begins with three twentieth-century philosophers--Franz Rosenzweig, Eric Voegelin, and Leo Strauss--who attributed the problems of modern society to a break in the history of ideas and promoted a return to earlier modes of thought. He then examines the enduring power of grand historical narratives of betrayal to shape political outlooks since the French Revolution, and shows how these narratives are employed in the writings of Europe's right-wing cultural pessimists and Maoist neocommunists, American theoconservatives fantasizing about the harmony of medieval Catholic society and radical Islamists seeking to restore a vanished Muslim caliphate. The revolutionary spirit that inspired political movements across the world for two centuries may have died out. But the spirit of reaction that rose to meet it has survived and is proving just as formidable a historical force. We live in an age when the tragicomic nostalgia of Don Quixote for a lost golden age has been transformed into a potent and sometimes deadly weapon. Mark Lilla helps us to understand why.
The Shogun's Scroll
by Stephen F. KaufmanIn the tradition of The Art of War and The Book of Five Rings, Stephen Kaufman's The Shogun's Scroll offer timeless advice on success in war and life. Written in the voice of Hidetomo Nakadai, a late twelfth century scholar and servant in the court of Minamoto Yoritomo-the first shogun of Japan and one of the world's most ruthless generals-this treatise can be used as a guide for personal development and motivation.
The Shortcut: Why Intelligent Machines Do Not Think Like Us
by Nello CristianiniAn influential scientist in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) explains its fundamental concepts and how it is changing culture and society.A particular form of AI is now embedded in our tech, our infrastructure, and our lives. How did it get there? Where and why should we be concerned? And what should we do now? The Shortcut: Why Intelligent Machines Do Not Think Like Us provides an accessible yet probing exposure of AI in its prevalent form today, proposing a new narrative to connect and make sense of events that have happened in the recent tumultuous past, and enabling us to think soberly about the road ahead.This book is divided into ten carefully crafted and easily digestible chapters. Each chapter grapples with an important question for AI. Ranging from the scientific concepts that underpin the technology to wider implications for society, it develops a unified description using tools from different disciplines and avoiding unnecessary abstractions or words that end with -ism. The book uses real examples wherever possible, introducing the reader to the people who have created some of these technologies and to ideas shaping modern society that originate from the technical side of AI. It contains important practical advice about how we should approach AI in the future without promoting exaggerated hypes or fears.Entertaining and disturbing but always thoughtful, The Shortcut confronts the hidden logic of AI while preserving a space for human dignity. It is essential reading for anyone with an interest in AI, the history of technology, and the history of ideas. General readers will come away much more informed about how AI really works today and what we should do next.
The Shorter Logical Investigations (International Library of Philosophy)
by Edmund HusserlFirst Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
The Shorter Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy
by Edward CraigThe Shorter REP presents the very best of the acclaimed ten volume Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy in a single volume. It makes a selection of the most important entries available for the first time and covers all you need to know about philosophy, from Aristotle to Wittgenstein and animals and ethics to scientific method.Comprising over 900 entries and covering the major philosophers and philosophical topics, The Shorter REP includes the following special features: Unrivalled coverage of major philosophers, themes, movements and periods making the volume indispensable for any student or general reader Fully cross-referenced Revised versions of many of the most important entries, including fresh suggestions for further reading Over twenty brand new entries on important new topics such as Cloning and Sustainability entries by many leading philosophers such as Bernard Williams, Martha Nussbaum, Richard Rorty, Onora O'Neill, T.M. Scanlon and Anthony Appiah Striking new text design to help locate key entries quickly and easily An outstanding guide to all things philosophical, The Shorter Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy provides an unrivalled introduction to the subject for students and general readers alike.
The Shorter Socratic Writings: Apology of Socrates to the Jury, Oeconomicus, and Symposium'
by Xenophon Robert C. BartlettThis book presents translations of three dialogues Xenophon devoted to the life and thought of his teacher, Socrates. Each is accompanied by notes and an interpretative essay that will introduce new readers to Xenophon and foster further reflection in those familiar with his writing.
The Shorter Writings: "apology Of Socrates To The Jury," "oeconomicus," And "symposium" (Agora Editions)
by XenophonThis book contains new, annotated, and literal yet accessible translations of Xenophon’s eight shorter writings, accompanied by interpretive essays that reveal these works to be masterful achievements by a serious thinker of the first rank who raises important moral, political, and philosophical questions. Five of these shorter writings are unmistakably devoted to political matters. The Agesilaos is a eulogy of a Spartan king, and the Hiero, or the Skilled Tyrant recounts a searching dialogue between a poet and a tyrant. The Regime of the Lacedaemonians presents itself as a laudatory examination of what turns out to be an oligarchic regime of a certain type, while The Regime of the Athenians offers an unflattering picture of a democratic regime. Ways and Means, or On Revenues offers suggestions on how to improve the political economy of Athens’ troubled democracy.The other three works included here—The Skilled Cavalry Commander, On Horsemanship, and The One Skilled at Hunting with Dogs—treat skills deemed appropriate for soldiers and leaders, touching on matters of political importance, especially in regard to war. By bringing together Xenophon’s shorter writings, this volume aims to help those interested in Xenophon to better understand the core of his thought, political as well as philosophical.Interpretive essays by: Wayne Ambler, Robert C. Bartlett, Amy L. Bonnette, Susan D. Collins, Michael Ehrmantraut, David Levy, Gregory A. McBrayer, Abram N. Shulsky.
The Shortest History of Europe: How Conquest, Culture, And Religion Forged A Continent--a Retelling For Our Times (Shortest History #0)
by James HirstUncover the decisive moments that shaped a world-changing continent. The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read. Celebrated historian John Hirst draws from his own lectures to deliver this ultra-accessible master class on the making of modern Europe, from Ancient Greece through World War II. With over 600,000 copies sold worldwide, this brief history is a global sensation propelled by a thesis of astonishing simplicity: Just three elements—German warfare, Greek and Roman culture, and Christianity—come together to explain everything else, from the Crusades to the Industrial Revolution. Hirst’s razor-sharp grasp of cause and effect helps us see with sparkling clarity how the history of Europe—the crucible of liberal democracy—shapes the way we live today.
The Shortest History of Music: From Bone Flutes to Synthesizers, Hildegard of Bingen to Beyoncé - 5,000 Years of Instrument and Song (The Shortest History Series)
by Andrew FordFrom prehistoric songwriting to digital recording, discover the history of the world’s favorite art form No other art is as popular—or pervasive—as music. With just a few clicks, anyone can cue up (and critique) Chopin or Cher, The Bangles or The Beatles—even the brand-new Beyoncé. But things weren’t always this way. In this brisk, breakneck history under 300 pages, award-winning composer, author, and broadcaster Andrew Ford replays the dramatic evolution of music, from early oral songs to the first orchestras (and their wealthy patrons) and from the emergence of recording technology to the multibillion-dollar industry we know today. The Shortest History of Music explores the immense influence of religion, politics, and the economy on world music, what led humans to make music in the first place, and why—in every era—we are irresistibly drawn to listen to it. The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.
The Sicilian Mafia: The Armed Wing of Politics
by Anita BestlerThis book offers a completely new approach to the complex social phenomenon of the Mafia: In addition to the origins, organization and actions of the Mafia, the author Anita Bestler examines above all the close connection between organized crime and politics. In the process, readers [also] gain an interesting insight into the complicated political development of Italy from the founding of the state to the present, as well as an answer as to why Italians have a different political mindset.
The Sickness Unto Death
by Shirin ShafaieSøren Kierkegaard’s The Sickness unto Death is widely recognized as one of the most significant and influential works of Christian philosophy written in the nineteenth century. One of the cornerstones of Kierkegaard’s reputation as a writer and thinker, the book is also a masterclass in the art of interpretation. In critical thinking, interpretation is all about defining and clarifying terms – making sure that everyone is on the same page. But it can also be about redefining terms: showing old concepts in a new light by interpreting them in a certain way. This skill is at the heart of The Sickness unto Death. Kierkegaard’s book focuses on the meaning of “despair” – the sickness named in the title. For Kierkegaard, the key problem of existence was an individual’s relationship with God, and he defines true despair as equating to the idea of sin – something that separates people from God, or from the idea of a higher standard beyond ourselves. Kierkegaard’s interpretative journey into the ideas of despair, sin and death is a Christian exploration of the place of the individual in the world. But its interpretative skills inspired generations of philosophers of all stripes – including notorious atheists like Jean-Paul Sartre.
The Sickness Unto Death: A Christian Psychological Exposition of Edification and Awakening by Anti-Climacus
by Soren KierkegaardOne of the most remarkable philosophical works of the nineteenth century, The Sickness Unto Death is also famed for the depth and acuity of its modern psychological insights. Writing under the pseudonym Anti-Climacus, Kierkegaard explores the concept of 'despair', alerting readers to the diversity of ways in which they may be described as living in this state of bleak abandonment - including some that may seem just the opposite - and offering a much-discussed formula for the eradication of despair. With its penetrating account of the self, this late work by Kierkegaard was hugely influential upon twentieth-century philosophers including Karl Jaspers, Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. The Sickness unto Death can be regarded as one of the key works of theistic existentialist thought - a brilliant and revelatory answer to one man's struggle to fill the spiritual void.
The Sickness Unto Death: A New Translation
by Søren KierkegaardThe first new translation of Kierkegaard’s masterwork in a generation brings to life this impassioned investigation of the self. The “greatest psychologist of the spirit since St. Augustine” (Gregory R. Beabout), Soren Kierkegaard is renowned for such richly imagined philosophical works as Fear and Trembling and The Concept of Anxiety. Yet only The Sickness unto Death condenses his most essential ideas—on aesthetics, ethics, and religion—into a single volume. First published in 1849 under the pseudonym Anti-Climacus, The Sickness unto Death is as demanding as it is concise, posing fundamental yet complicated questions about human nature and the self. Beginning with the biblical story of Lazarus, whom Jesus miraculously raised from the dead, The Sickness unto Death identifies the titular “sickness” as “despair,” a state worse than death because it is “unto” death. As Kierkegaard demonstrates, despair—or, in Christian categories, “sin”—is a sickness not of the body, but of the spirit, and thus, of the self. A dramatic “medical history” of the course of this sickness, The Sickness unto Death culminates, as all medical histories do, in a crisis, a turning point at which the self, the patient, either realizes or abandons itself. Given the choice between eternal salvation and extinction, Kierkegaard calls upon the self to become receptive in faith to God’s mercy, “even today, even at this hour, even at this instant.” With his “historian’s eye” (Vanessa Parks Rumble) and “lucid and informative” (George Pattison) introduction, Bruce H. Kirmmse deftly situates The Sickness unto Death in the historical context of the European revolutions of 1848, reminding us that even Kierkegaard was a product of his time and place. Yet as Kirmmse ultimately shows, The Sickness unto Death is as apt for our times as for mid-nineteenth-century Europe, speaking to the human soul across generations and centuries.
The Siddhāntasundara of Jñānarāja: An English Translation with Commentary
by Toke Lindegaard KnudsenThe first English translation of this major work of classical Indian astronomy and mathematics.A treasure for anyone interested in early modern India and the history of mathematics, this first English translation of the Siddhāntasundara reveals the fascinating work of the scholar-astronomer Jñānarāja (circa 1500 C.E.). Toke Lindegaard Knudsen begins with an introduction to the traditions of ancient Hindu astronomy and describes what is known of Jñānarāja’s life and family. He translates the Sanskrit verses into English and offers expert commentary on the style and substance of Jñānarāja's treatise.The Siddhāntasundara contains a comprehensive exposition of the system of Indian astronomy, including how to compute planetary positions and eclipses. It also explores deep, probing questions about the workings of the universe and sacred Hindu traditions. In a philosophical discussion, the treatise seeks a synthesis between the cosmological model used by the Indian astronomical tradition and the cosmology of a class of texts sacred in Hinduism. In his discourse, which includes a discussion of the direction of down and adhesive antipodeans, Jñānarāja rejects certain principles from the astronomical tradition and reinterprets principles from the sacred texts. He also constructs a complex poem on the seasons, many verses of which have two layers of meaning, one describing a season, the other a god's activities in that season. The Siddhāntasundara is the last major treatise of Indian astronomy and cosmology to receive serious scholarly attention, Knudsen’s careful effort unveils the 500-year-old Sanskrit verses and shows the clever quirkiness of Jñānarāja's writing style, his keen use of mathematics, and his subtle philosophical arguments.
The Sign
by Robert Van KampenRobert Van Kampen takes the Scripture at face value and tells of the dooming end of age and the biblical prophecy concerning the last days.
The Sign of the Cross: From Golgotha to Genocide
by Daniel Rancour-LaferriereThis book presents a unique effort to create a new understanding of the Christian sign of the cross. At its core, it traces the conscious and unconscious influence of this visual symbol through time. What began as the crucifixion of a Jewish troublemaker in Roman-occupied Judea in the first century eventually gave rise to a broad spectrum of readings of the instrument used to accomplish such a punishment, a cross. The author argues that Jesus was a provocative, grandiose masochist whose suffering and death initially signified redemption for believers. This idea gradually morphed into a Christian sense of freedom to persecute and wage war against non-believers, however, as can be seen in the Crusades ("wars of the cross"). Many believers even construed the murder of their savior as a crime perpetrated by "the Jews," and this paranoid notion culminated in the mass murder of European Jews under the sign of the Nazi hooked cross (Hakenkreuz). Rancour-Laferriere's book is expertly written and argued; it will be readable to a large audience because it touches on many areas of controversy, interest, and scholarship. The work is critical, but not unfair; it employs psychoanalysis, art history (the study of the symbol of the cross in works of art), religion and religious texts, and world history generally. The interweaving of these various themes is what gives this work its ability to draw in readers-and will ultimately be what keeps the reader interested through the conclusion.
The Significance of Aspect Perception: Bringing the Phenomenal World into View (Nordic Wittgenstein Studies #5)
by Avner BazIn this volume, Baz offers a wide-ranging discussion of Wittgenstein’s remarks on aspect-perception, with special focus on Wittgenstein’s method. Baz starts out with an interpretation of Wittgenstein’s remarks on aspects and continues with attempts to characterize and defend Wittgenstein’s approach to the understanding and dissolution of philosophical difficulties. Baz ends with attempts to articulate—under the inspiration of Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology—certain dissatisfactions, both with Wittgenstein’s remarks on aspect perception, and with his philosophical approach more generally. On the way, Baz explores connections between Wittgenstein’s remarks on aspects and Kant’s aesthetics. He examines ways in which the remarks on aspects may be brought to bear on contemporary philosophical work on perception. He discusses some of the implications of Wittgenstein’s work on aspect perception for issues in moral philosophy and the philosophy of action.
The Significance of Complexity: Approaching a Complex World Through Science, Theology and the Humanities
by KEES VAN KOOTEN NIEKERK Hans BuhlOriginally published in 2004. Thanks to computer simulations science is beginning to understand complex natural processes such as the weather, earthquakes and the evolution of life. The Significance of Complexity deals with the importance of the sciences of complexity - for the humanities and theology. First, three scientists explain the science of complexity and illustrate it with concrete examples. Second, two scholars consider the concept of complexity and possible applications of complexity theory within the humanities, e.g. as a tool to understand the interplay between the artist, the work of art and the user in interactive art. Finally, three theologians ask what can be learned from the science of complexity for a religious understanding of humankind and the world. The Significance of Complexity is a pioneering work exploring the import of a fascinating new branch of science for human self-understanding. It caters for all those who are interested in relating science to the quest for the meaning of life.