Best of
Philosophy
1984
The Book of Qualities
J. Ruth Gendler - 1984
J. Ruth Gendler's evocative book has as its cast of familiar characters our own emotions, brought to life with a poet's wisdom and an artist's perceptive eye. In The Book of Qualities' magical community, Excitement wears orange socks, Faith lives in the same apartment building as Doubt, and Worry makes lists of everything that could go wrong while she is waiting for the train. In portraying the complexities of the psyche, Gendler uses the Qualities to bridge the distinctions between literature and psychology, and has created an original work that challenges us to look at our emotions in new and inspiring ways.
Reasonable Faith
William Lane Craig - 1984
The average Christian does not realize that there is an intellectual war going on in the universities and in the professional journals and scholarly societies. Christianity is being attacked from all sides as irrational or outmoded, and millions of students, our future generation of leaders have absorbed this viewpoint. This is a war which we cannot afford to lose.... "In addition to serving, like the rest of theology in general, as an expression of our loving God with all our minds, apologetics specifically serves to show to unbelievers the truth of the Christian faith, to confirm that faith to believers, and to reveal and explore the connections between Christian doctrine and other truths.... Apologetics... is a theoretical discipline that tries to answer the question, What rational defense can be given for the Christian faith?"This book by respected philosopher and theologian William Lane Craig has been thoroughly revised and updated to equip believers in the successful proclamation of biblical truth claims. The author gives careful attention to crucial questions and concerns, including: How Do I Know Christianity Is True?, The Absurdity of Life Without God, The Existence of God, The Problem of Miracles, and The Resurrection of Jesus.An invaluable scholarly resource for all committed defenders of the Christian faith.
Biophilia
Edward O. Wilson - 1984
The eminent biologist reflects on his own response to nature and the aesthetic aspects of his exploration of natural systems in an intensely personal essay that examines the essential links between mankind and the rest of the living world.
Reasons and Persons
Derek Parfit - 1984
It is often rational to act against our own best interests, he argues, and most of us have moralviews that are self-defeating. We often act wrongly, although we know there will be no one with serious grounds for complaint, and when we consider future generations it is very hard to avoid conclusions that most of us will find very disturbing.
Eros and Magic in the Renaissance
Ioan Petru Culianu - 1984
Eros and Magic in the Renaissance challenges this view, providing an in-depth scholarly explanation of the workings of magic and showing that magic continues to exist in an altered form even today.Renaissance magic, according to Ioan Couliano, was a scientifically plausible attempt to manipulate individuals and groups based on a knowledge of motivations, particularly erotic motivations. Its key principle was that everyone (and in a sense everything) could be influenced by appeal to sexual desire. In addition, the magician relied on a profound knowledge of the art of memory to manipulate the imaginations of his subjects. In these respects, Couliano suggests, magic is the precursor of the modern psychological and sociological sciences, and the magician is the distant ancestor of the psychoanalyst and the advertising and publicity agent.In the course of his study, Couliano examines in detail the ideas of such writers as Giordano Bruno, Marsilio Ficino, and Pico della Mirandola and illuminates many aspects of Renaissance culture, including heresy, medicine, astrology, alchemy, courtly love, the influence of classical mythology, and even the role of fashion in clothing.Just as science gives the present age its ruling myth, so magic gave a ruling myth to the Renaissance. Because magic relied upon the use of images, and images were repressed and banned in the Reformation and subsequent history, magic was replaced by exact science and modern technology and eventually forgotten. Couliano's remarkable scholarship helps us to recover much of its original significance and will interest a wide audience in the humanities and social sciences.
The Tree of Knowledge: The Biological Roots of Human Understanding
Humberto R. Maturana - 1984
Its authors present a new view of cognition that has important social and ethical implications, for, they assert, the only world we humans can have is the one we create together through the actions of our coexistence. Written for a general audience as well as for students, scholars, and scientists and abundantly illustrated with examples from biology, linguistics, and new social and cultural phenomena, this revised edition includes a new afterword by Dr. Varela, in which he discusses the effect the book has had in the years since its first publication.
Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior
Chögyam Trungpa - 1984
In ancient times, the warrior learned to master the challenges of life, both on and off the battlefield. He acquired a sense of personal freedom and power—not through violence or aggression, but through gentleness, courage, and self-knowledge. The Japanese samurai, the warrior-kings of Tibet, the knights of medieval Europe, and the warriors of the Native American tribes are a few examples of this universal tradition of wisdom. With this book the warrior's path is opened to contemporary men and women in search of self-mastery and greater fulfillment. Interpreting the warrior's journey in modern terms, Trungpa discusses such skills as synchronizing mind and body, overcoming habitual behaviors, relaxing within discipline, facing the world with openness and fearlessness, and finding the sacred dimension of everyday life. Above all, Trungpa shows that in discovering the basic goodness or human life, the warrior learns to radiate that goodness out into the world for the peace and sanity of others. The Shambhala teachings—named for a legendary Himalayan kingdom where prosperity and happiness reign—thus point to the potential for enlightened conduct that exists within every human being. "The basic wisdom of Shambhala," Trungpa writes, "is that in this world, as it is, we can find a good and meaningful human life that will also serve others. That is our true richness."
The Fourth Dimension: A Guided Tour of the Higher Universes
Rudy Rucker - 1984
and now, The Fourth Dimension is this handy paperback. The result is a fantastic, enlightening, and mind-expanding reading experience. In text, pictures, and puzzles, master science and science fiction writer Rudy Rucker immerses his readers in an amazing exploration of a mysterious realm — a realm once seen only by mystics, physicists, and mathematicians. More accessible than Gödel, Escher, Bach and more playful than The Tao of Physics, Rucker's The Fourth Dimension is the most engaging tour of other dimensions since Flatland.David Povilaitis' 200 drawings illustrate Rucker's heady insights while dozens of puzzles and problems make the book a delight to the eye and mind. As Eileen Pollack has written in her rave review, The Fourth Dimension is "magical ... Its effects persist beyond its covers." That's because, like everything else in the fourth dimension, this is more than a book, it is a mental spaceship capable of grand tours of universes far beyond our own.
On Longing: Narratives of the Miniature, the Gigantic, the Souvenir, the Collection
Susan Stewart - 1984
Originally published in 1984 (Johns Hopkins University Press), and now available in paperback for the first time, this highly original book draws on insights from semiotics and from psychoanalytic, feminist, and Marxist criticism. Addressing the relations of language to experience, the body to scale, and narratives to objects, Susan Stewart looks at the "miniature" as a metaphor for interiority and at the "gigantic" as an exaggeration of aspects of the exterior. In the final part of her essay Stewart examines the ways in which the "souvenir" and the "collection" are objects mediating experience in time and space.
The Embers and the Stars
Erazim V. Kohák - 1984
Despite the author's criticisms of Thoreau, it is more like Walden than any other book I have read. . . . The book makes great strides toward bringing the best insights from medieval philosophy and from contemporary environmental ethics together. Anyone interested in both of these areas must read this book."—Daniel A. Dombrowski, The Thomist"Those who share Kohák's concern to understand nature as other than a mere resource or matter in motion will find his temporally oriented interpretation of nature instructive. It is here in particular that Kohák turns moments of experience to account philosophically, turning what we habitually overlook or avoid into an opportunity and basis for self-knowledge. This is an impassioned attempt to see the vital order of nature and the moral order of our humanity as one."—Ethics
Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts
Toshihiko Izutsu - 1984
His original and suggestive approach opens new doors in the study of comparative philosophy and mysticism.Izutsu begins with Ibn 'Arabi, analyzing and isolating the major ontological concepts of this most challenging of Islamic thinkers. Then, in the second part of the book, Izutsu turns his attention to an analysis of parallel concepts of two great Taoist thinkers, Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu. Only after laying bare the fundamental structure of each world view does Izutsu embark, in the final section of the book, upon a comparative analysis. Only thus, he argues, can he be sure to avoid easy and superficial comparisons. Izutsu maintains that both the Sufi and Taoist world views are based on two pivots—the Absolute Man and the Perfect Man—with a whole system of oncological thought being developed between these two pivots. Izutsu discusses similarities in these ontological systems and advances the hypothesis that certain patterns of mystical and metaphysical thought may be shared even by systems with no apparent historical connection. This second edition of Sufism and Taoism is the first published in the United States. The original edition, published in English and in Japan, was prized by the few English-speaking scholars who knew of it as a model in the field of comparative philosophy. Making available in English much new material on both sides of its comparison, Sufism and Taoism richly fulfills Izutsu's motivating desire "to open a new vista in the domain of comparative philosophy."
The Best Things in Life: A Contemporary Socrates Looks at Power, Pleasure, Truth & the Good Life
Peter Kreeft - 1984
But they don't boggle Socrates. The indomitable old Greek brings his unending questions to Desperate State University. With him come the same mind-opening and spirit-stretching challenge that disrupted ancient Athens.What is the purpose of education?Why do we make love?What good is money?Can computers think like people?Is there a difference between Capitalism and Communism?What is the greatest good?Is belief in God like belief in Santa Claus?In twelve short, Socratic dialogues Peter Kreeft explodes contemporary values like success, power and pleasure. And he bursts the modern bubbles of agnosticism and subjectivism. He leaves you richer, wiser and more able to discern what the best things in life actually are.
In Search of a Better World: Lectures and Essays from Thirty Years
Karl Popper - 1984
His subjects range from the beginnings of scientific speculation in classical Greece to the destructive effects of twentieth century totalitarianism, from major figures of the Enlightenment such as Kant and Voltaire to the role of science and self-criticism in the arts. The essays offer striking new insights into the mind of one of the greatest twentieth century philosophers.
The Politics of Education: Culture, Power and Liberation
Paulo Freire - 1984
. . . The book enlarges our vision with each reading, until the meanings become our own. Harvard Educational ReviewConstitutes the voice of a great teacher who has managed to replace the melancholic and despairing discourse of the post-modern Left with possibility and human compassion. Educational Theory
Constructive Living
David K. Reynolds - 1984
Constructive Living (CL) presents an educational method of approaching life realistically and thoughtfully. The action aspect of CL emphasizes accepting reality (including feelings), focusing on purposes, and doing what needs doing. The reflection aspect of CL enables us to understand the present and past more clearly and to live in recognition of the support we receive from the world.
Cosmos and Transcendence: Breaking Through the Barrier of Scientistic Belief
Wolfgang Smith - 1984
And this 'opening' enables him to recover and reaffirm the deep metaphysical insights that have come down to us through the teachings of Christianity: having broken the grip of scientistic presuppositions, the author succeeds in bringing to view universal truths which had long been obscured.
The Sword of No-Sword: Life of the Master Warrior Tesshu
John Stevens - 1984
John Stevens's biography is a fascinating, detailed account of Tesshu's remarkable life. From Tesshu's superhuman feats of endurance and keen perception in life-threatening situations, to his skillful handling of military affairs during the politically volatile era of early nineteenth-century Japan, Stevens recounts the stories that have made Tesshu a legend. This is the book all martial artists must own.
Ennead V (Plotinus V)
Plotinus - 1984
His writings were edited by his disciple Porphyry, who published them many years after his master's death in six sets of nine treatises each (the Enneads).Plotinus regarded Plato as his master, and his own philosophy is a profoundly original development of the Platonism of the first two centuries of the Christian era and the closely related thought of the Neopythagoreans, with some influences from Aristotle and his followers and the Stoics, whose writings he knew well but used critically. He is a unique combination of mystic and Hellenic rationalist. His thought dominated later Greek philosophy and influenced both Christians and Moslems, and is still alive today because of its union of rationality and intense religious experience.In his acclaimed edition of Plotinus, Armstrong provides excellent introductions to each treatise. His invaluable notes explain obscure passages and give reference to parallels in Plotinus and others.
The Foucault Reader
Michel Foucault - 1984
But of his many books, not one offers a satisfactory introduction to the entire complex body of his work. The Foucault Reader was commissioned precisely to serve that purpose.The Reader contains selections from each area of Foucault's work as well as a wealth of previously unpublished writings, including important material written especially for this volume, the preface to the long-awaited second volume of The History of Sexuality, and interviews with Foucault himself, in the course of which he discussed his philosophy at first hand and with unprecedented candor.This philosophy comprises an astonishing intellectual enterprise: a minute and ongoing investigation of the nature of power in society. Foucault's analyses of this power as it manifests itself in society, schools, hospitals, factories, homes, families, and other forms of organized society are brought together in The Foucault Reader to create an overview of this theme and of the broad social and political vision that underlies it.
Isha Upanishad
Anonymous - 1984
In his definitive commentary on this important Vedantic scripture, he presents its central idea, which is a reconciliation and harmony of fundamental opposites, and shows how in its verses one can discover the resolution of such pairs of opposites such as God and Nature, renunciation and enjoyment, action and freedom, the active and inactive Brahman, and works and knowledge.
The Spirit of Aikido
Kisshomaru Ueshiba - 1984
This book explains it in reference to the founder's philosophy of mind-and action. In addition, the history of aikido's prewar development as a non-competitive new martial art is described, with a consideration of its international role.
From Unconsciousness To Consciousness
Osho - 1984
Extemporaneous talks given by the author at Rajneeshpuram, Oregon, U.S.A.
I Am That: Discourses on the Isha Upanishad
Osho - 1984
"There is no document of such luminosity, of such profoundness anywhere in the whole history of humanity." These sutras are amongst the most ancient wisdom available to mankind - transmitted from masters to their disciples twenty-five centuries before even Buddha. With clear metaphors, stories and jokes, we are introduced to the perspective of an enlightened master - a world view so total that it embraces the cosmic, a rebirth of the spirit of the Upanishads.SubjectUpanishadsTranslated fromNotesTime Period of Osho's original Discourses/Talks/Lettersfrom Oct 11, 1980 to Oct 26, 1980Number of Discourses/Chapters16
Fighting to Win: Samurai Techniques for Your Work and Life
David J. Rogers - 1984
The book offers useful methods for overcoming these obstacles. It draws on history and uses Samurai and Zen techniques and other inspirational material to help the reader devise strategies for facing and overcoming opponents and achieving a better life.
The Discovery of Being
Rollo May - 1984
He pays particular attention to the causes of loneliness and isolation and to our search for stability in order to move towards a future where responsibility, creativity, and love can play a role.
For the Inward Journey
Howard Thurman - 1984
Howard Thurman (1900-1981) and his throught emerges in a message of hope, reconciliation, and love. An anthology of the most important and eloquent writings of Thurman, minister, philosopher, educator, and spiritual leader whose influence on leaders of the civil rights movement and on Americans at large has been likened to that of Martin Lurther King, Jr.
Attitudes Toward History
Kenneth Burke - 1984
In this volume we find Burke’s first entry into what he calls his theory of Dramatism; and here also is an important section on the nature of ritual.
The Dance of Life: The Other Dimension of Time
Edward T. Hall - 1984
Business readers will enjoy the cross-cultural comparison of American know-how with practices of compartmentalized German, centralized French, and ceremonious Japanese firms.”— Publishers WeeklyIn his pioneering work The Hidden Dimension, Edward T. Hall spoke of different cultures’ concepts of space. The Dance of Life reveals the ways in which individuals in culture are tied together by invisible threads of rhythm and yet isolated from each other by hidden walls of time. Hall shows how time is an organizer of activities, a synthesizer and integrator, and a special language that reveals how we really feel about each other. Time plays a central role in the diversity of cultures such as the American and the Japanese, which Hall shows to be mirror images of each other. He also deals with how time influences relations among Western Europeans, Latin Americans, Anglo-Americans, and Native Americans.First published in 1983, this book studies how people are tied together and yet isolated by hidden threads of rhythm and walls of time. Time is treated as a language, organizer, and message system revealing people's feelings about each other and reflecting differences between cultures.
Inquiries Into Truth and Interpretation
Donald Davidson - 1984
The original volume remains a central point of reference, and a focus of controversy, with its impact extending into linguistic theory, philosophy of mind, and epistemology. Addressing a central question--what it is for words to mean what they do--and featuring a previously uncollected, additional essay, this work will appeal to a wide audience of philosophers, linguists, and psychologists.
Melancholy
László F. Földényi - 1984
His book, part history of the term melancholy and part analysis of the melancholic disposition, explores many centuries to explore melancholy’s ambiguities. Along the way Földényi discovers the unrecognized role melancholy may play as a source of energy and creativity in a well-examined life. Földényi begins with a tour of the history of the word melancholy, from ancient Greece to the medieval era, the Renaissance, and modern times. He finds the meaning of melancholy has always been ambiguous, even paradoxical. In our own times it may be regarded either as a psychic illness or a mood familiar to everyone. The author analyzes the complexities of melancholy and concludes that its dual nature reflects the inherent tension of birth and mortality. To understand the melancholic disposition is to find entry to some of the deepest questions one’s life. This distinguished translation brings Földényi’s work directly to English-language readers for the first time.
Ennead IV (Plotinus IV)
Plotinus - 1984
His writings were edited by his disciple Porphyry, who published them many years after his master's death in six sets of nine treatises each (the Enneads).Plotinus regarded Plato as his master, and his own philosophy is a profoundly original development of the Platonism of the first two centuries of the Christian era and the closely related thought of the Neopythagoreans, with some influences from Aristotle and his followers and the Stoics, whose writings he knew well but used critically. He is a unique combination of mystic and Hellenic rationalist. His thought dominated later Greek philosophy and influenced both Christians and Moslems, and is still alive today because of its union of rationality and intense religious experience.In his acclaimed edition of Plotinus, Armstrong provides excellent introductions to each treatise. His invaluable notes explain obscure passages and give reference to parallels in Plotinus and others.
Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language
Umberto Eco - 1984
. . this collection can be read with pleasure by those unversed in semiotic theory." —Times Literary Supplement
Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life: A Philosophical Inquiry
Albert Borgmann - 1984
This pattern, discernible even in such an inconspicuous action as switching on a stereo, has global effects: it sharply divides life into labor and leisure, it sustains the industrial democracies, and it fosters the view that the earth itself is a technological device. He argues that technology has served us as well in conquering hunger and disease, but that when we turn to it for richer experiences, it leads instead to a life dominated by effortless and thoughtless consumption. Borgmann does not reject technology but calls for public conversation about the nature of the good life. He counsels us to make room in a technological age for matters of ultimate concern—things and practices that engage us in their own right.
Products of the Perfected Civilization: Selected Writings
Nicolas Chamfort - 1984
Merwin precedes Chamfort's selected writings, along with an introduction by essayist-critic Louis Kronenberger. A poet and translator, Merwin sheds light on the man while Chamfort (1740-1794) is shedding light on his world.
Krishnamurti: The Years of Awakening
Mary Lutyens - 1984
Sent from his native India to study at the finest school in Britain, the charismatic youth was groomed for the messianic role of World Teacher—a mantle he would ultimately cast off, unleashing a storm of controversy within the spiritual community. And through inner doubts and physical agony—through bitter trials of the mind, the body, and the soul—he would follow his own path to enlightenment and become a shining beacon of joy and truth to millions the world over.
The Thoughts of Nanushka - Volume VII - XII
Nan Witcomb - 1984
Includes sketches by Fiona Heysen.Nan Witcomb is a fifth generation Australian. She writes under the name Nanushka which she believes represents the thoughts of people all over the world.
The Pasteurization of France
Bruno Latour - 1984
It is the operation of these forces, in combination with the talent of Pasteur, that Bruno Latour sets before us as a prime example of science in action.Latour argues that the triumph of the biologist and his methodology must be understood within the particular historical convergence of competing social forces and conflicting interests. Yet Pasteur was not the only scientist working on the relationships of microbes and disease. How was he able to galvanize the other forces to support his own research? Latour shows Pasteur’s efforts to win over the French public—the farmers, industrialists, politicians, and much of the scientific establishment.Instead of reducing science to a given social environment, Latour tries to show the simultaneous building of a society and its scientific facts. The first section of the book, which retells the story of Pasteur, is a vivid description of an approach to science whose theoretical implications go far beyond a particular case study. In the second part of the book, “Irreductions,” Latour sets out his notion of the dynamics of conflict and interaction, of the “relation of forces.” Latour’s method of analysis cuts across and through the boundaries of the established disciplines of sociology, history, and the philosophy of science, to reveal how it is possible not to make the distinction between reason and force. Instead of leading to sociological reductionism, this method leads to an unexpected irreductionism.
Bhagavad Gita : With the commentary of Shankaracharya
Gambhirananda - 1984
The translator has accomplished his task in a most praiseworthy manner by giving a faithful translation, without in any way detracting from the strength or clarity of the original commentary. The inclusion of a ‘word index’ of the entire text has added to the worth of the book.
Language, Thought, and Other Biological Categories: New Foundations for Realism
Ruth Garrett Millikan - 1984
The results support a realist theory of truth and of universals, and open the way for a nonfoundationalist and nonholistic approach to epistemology.
Four Texts on Socrates: Euthyphro/Apology/Crito/Aristophanes' Clouds
Plato - 1984
Thomas G. West's introduction provides an overview of the principal themes and arguments of the four works. There are extensive explanatory notes to the translations.In their translations, the Wests capture successfully the simplicity and vigor of straightforward Greek diction. They strive for as high a degree of accuracy as possible, subordinating concerns for elegance and smoothness to the goal of producing the most faithful and most reliable English versions of these texts. For this new edition, Thomas West has revised the introduction and updated the annotated bibliography, which includes the best of the secondary literature on Socrates and on the texts included in this book.
The Wisdom of the Stoics: Selections from Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius
Frances Hazlitt - 1984
The first volume of its kind to bring together generous selections of the works of three of the great Stoic philosophers, Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius.
Geometry of Meaning
Arthur M. Young - 1984
At the heart of this book is what he called the "Rosetta Stone of meaning," a diagram of relationships based upon the twelve measure formulae of modern physics, which he used to describe the interaction of mind with matter.
George Steiner: A Reader
George Steiner - 1984
He scatters bright ideas everywhere, writes The New York Times Book Review, and they are sure to be picked up. This volume presents a rich sampling of Steiner's ideas, including selections from his seminal books The Death of Tragedy, After Babel, Tolstoy or Dostoevsky, and Language and Science. Aside from pointing to work that lies ahead, this anthology offers a rich retrospective of the intellectual ground Steiner has already covered. Whether discussing Marxist literary theory, the significance of Tolstoy, or the problems of treating sexual material in literature, Steiner's writings give us the pleasure of watching an astute and nimble mind constantly at work.
The Origins of Man and Universe: The Myth that Came to Life
Barry Long - 1984
It is impossible to adequately describe the scope and range of its subject matter because it encompasses everything we are able to perceive and much that we can only know by spiritual insight. It describes how the human mind works. It contains prophecy - some of which has now come true, in events like 9/11 and recent scientific discoveries. It contains explanations for UFO's and other phenomena. It explains evolution in a way that resolves the more recent debates about Intelligent Design. It provides the perspective for understanding the Big Bang. It is not science. It is not religion. It is what Barry Long called 'the myth that came to life.
On Ideology
Louis Althusser - 1984
Collected here are Althusser’s most significant philosophical writings from the late sixties and through the seventies. Intended to contribute, in his own words, to a ‘left-wing critique of Stalinism that would help put some substance back into the revolutionary project here in the West’, they are the record of a shared history. At the same time they chart Althusser’s critique of the theoretical system unveiled in his own major works, and his developing practice of philosophy as a ‘revolutionary weapon’.The collection opens with two lucid early articles - "Theory, Theoretical Practice and Theoretical Formation" and "On Theoretical Work." The title piece - Althusser’s celebrated lectures in the "Philosophy Course for Scientists" — is the fullest exploration of his new definition of philosophy as politics in the realm of theory, a conception which is further developed in "Lenin and Philosophy." "Is it Simple to be a Marxist in Philosophy?" provides an invaluable account of Althusser’s intellectual development. The volume concludes with two little-known late pieces - "The Transformation of Philosophy," in which the paradoxical history of Marxist philosopher is investigated; and "Marxism today," a sober balance-sheet of the Marxist tradition. Attesting to the unique place that Althusser has occupied in modern intellectual history - between a tradition of Marxism that he sought to reconstruct, and a "post-Marxism" that has eclipsed its predecessor - these texts are indispensable reading.
Theodicy in Islamic Thought: The Dispute Over Al-Ghazali's Best of All Possible Worlds
Eric Ormsby - 1984
These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
The Vindication of Tradition: The 1983 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities
Jaroslav Pelikan - 1984
Ought not to be missed.”—M.D. Aeschliman, National Review “A soul-stirring self-analysis, no less than a distillation of the life-work of the living historian best qualified to provide solutions to those ‘Tradition versus Bible-Only’ controversies that have plagued Christianity since the Reformation.”—L.K. Shook, Canadian Catholic Review “Admirably concise and penetrating.”—Merle Rubin, The Christian Science Monitor “It takes a scholar thoroughly steeped in a subject to be able to write with lucidity and charm about its traditions. When the scholar is Dr. Pelikan, the result is a kind of classic, something sure to become a standard text for an interested public.”—Northrop Frye “Wit, grace, style, and wisdom vie with knowledge. A rare combination, delightful to mind and memory. Recommended broadly for scholarly and general use on many levels, and especially among theology students, undergraduate and graduate.”—Choice “Pelikan’s customary erudition, wit, and gracious style are evident throughout this stimulating volume.”—Harold E. Remus, Religious Studies Review “The book clearly constitutes a unified plea that modern society finds ways and means to recapture the resources of the past and to overcome its fear of the tyranny of the dead.”—Heiko A. Oberman, Times Literary Supplement Jaroslav Pelikan is Sterling Professor of History Emeritus at Yale University. Among his many books are Jesus Through the Centuries and the multivolume work The Christian Tradition.
The Being of the Beautiful: Plato's Theaetetus, Sophist and Statesman
Plato - 1984
Renowned classicist Seth Benardete’s careful translations clearly illuminate the dramatic and philosophical unity of these dialogues and highlight Plato’s subtle interplay of language and structure. Extensive notes and commentaries, furthermore, underscore the trilogy’s motifs and relationships. “The translations are masterpieces of literalness. . . . They are honest, accurate, and give the reader a wonderful sense of the Greek.”—Drew A. Hyland, Review of Metaphysics
A New Critique of Theoretical Thought, Volume 1: The Necessary Presuppositions of Philosophy
Herman Dooyeweerd - 1984
This is the pdf copy available online of the old Paideia Press printing.
Dialectic Of Nihilism: Post-structuralism and Law
Gillian Rose - 1984
Though Derrida, Foucault and Deleuze claim to have 'deconstructed' metaphysics, their work has much in common with previous attempts to 'end' the metaphysical tradition, from Kant to Nietzshe and Heidegger, and by sociology in general. Gillian Rose shows that this anti-metaphysical writing always appears in historically specific jurisprudential terms, which themselves found and recapitulate metaphysical categories. She reconsiders post-structuralism in this light and assesses the relationship between deconstruction and the earlier structuralism of Saussure and Levi-Strauss. She argues in conclusion that the choice between post-structuralist nihilism and Hegelian and Marxist dialectic is spurious.
The Minimal Self: Psychic Survival in Troubled Times
Christopher Lasch - 1984
In his latest book, Christopher Lasch, the renowned historian and social critic, powerfully argues that self-concern, so characteristic of our time, has become a search for psychic survival.
The Continuing Appeal of Nationalism
Fredy Perlman - 1984
This is an essential essay for a critical understanding of nationalism.The idea that an understanding of the genocide, that a memory of the holocausts, can only lead people to want to dismantle the system, is erroneous. The continuing appeal of nationalism suggests that the opposite is true-er, namely that an understanding of genocide has led people to mobilize genocidal armies, that the memory of holocausts has led people to perpetrate holocausts. --from the pamphlet
The Words of Albert Schweitzer (Words of)
Albert Schweitzer - 1984
Inspiring selections on Knowledge and Discovery, Reverence for Life, Faith, The Life of the Soul and Civilization and Peace.21 photos, chronology.
Harm to Others
Joel Feinberg - 1984
Feinberg presents a detailed analysis of theconcept and definition of harm and applies it to a host of practical and theoretical issues, showing how the harm principle must be interpreted if it is to be a plausible guide to the lawmaker.
A New Critique Of Theoretical Thought, Volume 2: The general theory of the modal spheres
Herman Dooyeweerd - 1984
: Presbyterian & Reformed Pub., 1955-1958)Other volumes:v. 1. The necessary presuppositions of philosophy --v. 2. The general theory of the modal spheres --v. 3. The structures of individuality of temporal reality --v. 4. Index of subjects and authors.
The Book: An Introduction to the Teachings of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Series III, R-Z
Osho - 1984
Scenes from the Drama of European Literature
Erich Auerbach - 1984
Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions.In his foreword to this reprint of Erich Auerbach's major essays, Paolo Valesio pays tribute to the author with an old saying that he feels is still the best metaphor for the genesis of a literary critic: the critic is born of the marriage of Mercury and Philology. The German-born Auerbach was a scholar who specialized in Romance philology, a tradition rooted in German historicism—the conviction that works of art must be judged as products of variable places and times, not from the eye of eternity, nor by a single unchanging aesthetic standard. The mercurial element in Auerbach's work is significant, for in a life of motion—of exile from Hitler's Germany—he came to believe that literary history was evolutionary, ever-changing—a view reflected in the title of his book, which suggests life and literature are historical drama.Auerbach is best known for his magisterial study Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature, written during the war, in Istanbul, when he was far from his own culture and from the books that he normally relied on. In 1957, just before his death, he arranged for the publication in English of his six most important essays, in a volume called Scenes from the Drama of European Literature.As in Mimesis,Auerbach's fresh insights bring to the disparate subjects of the essays a coherence that reflects the unity of Western, humanistic tradition, even while they hint at the deepening pessimism of his later years.In the first essay, "Figura," Auerbach develops his concept of the figural interpretation of reality; applied here to Dante's Divine Comedy,it also served as groundwork for his treatment of realism in Mimesis. A second essay on Dante's examines the poet's depiction of St. Francis of Assisi. The next three essays deal with the paradoxical nature of Pascal's political thought; the merging of la cour and la ville—the king's entourage and the bourgeoisie—chiefly in relation to the seventeenth-century French theater; and Vico's formulation concepts by the German Romantics. In the final essay Auerbach confers upon Baudelaire's Fleurs du Mal the designation "aesthetic dignity" because, not in spite of, the hideous reality of the peoms."A major collection of important essays on European literature, almost all classics, and almost all required reading for their various centuries—thus the book is indispensable for the medieval period,the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries; in addition, the 'Figura' and the Vico essays are very significant theoretical statements. The book is lucid and far more accessible for undergraduates than, say, current high theory. Nor has Auerbach's own work aged . . . All of his varied strengths are evidence in this collection, which is a better way into his work than Mimesis." –Fredric Jameson, University of California, Santa Cruz.
How Can Mankind Find the Christ Again?: The Threefold Shadow-Existence of Our Time and the New Light of Christ (Cw 187)
Rudolf Steiner - 1984
He describes the hidden spiritual battle raging today and the need for a renewal of the mysteries in a modern form.Today's road to Christ must involve a new, formative thinking whose Christian character is shown in the advent of selflessness, health, and a sense for truth. George O'Neil describes the nature of these lectures in his foreword: "As always, Rudolf Steiner spoke freely without using notes. Most of his audience had studied--or were at least familiar with--his written works and the published lecture cycles on the Gospels and related themes. A similar background will be needed for reading How Can Mankind Find the Christ Again? Such a background will prepare the reader for challenges and vistas not encountered elsewhere. Steiner's message of the new Christ Light midst the shadow existence of our age speaks to the modern soul in search of a cognitive reach"How Can Mankind Find the Christ Again? is a translation of � Wie kan die Menschheit den Christus wiederfinden? Das dreifache Schattendasein unserer Zeit und das neue Christus-Licht � (GA 187).
God, Guilt, and Death: An Existential Phenomenology of Religion
Merold Westphal - 1984
a profoundly stimulating and satisfying piece of philosophy.... It is a book from which one really can learn something worthwhile." --Idealistic Studies..". exceptionally well-written philosophy of religion... " --Mentalities..". a most impressive phenomenology of religion... a splendid achievement... " --The Reformed Theological Review..". challenging to scholars... interesting to general audiences." --International Journal for Philosophy of Religion..". equal in clarity of thought and comprehensiveness of scope.... profoundly original." --The Reformed Journal"Challenging and thought-provoking, this makes a fine... textbook in the philosophy of religion." --Religious Studies Review..". its virtues as a textbook in phenomenology or philosophy of religion are extraordinary." --Faith and PhilosophyExamples from the writings of Kierkegaard, Freud, Heidegger, Dostoyevsky, Nietzsche, and Tolstoi illuminate Westphal's thesis that guilt and death are the central problems of human existence.
Theories of Rights
Jeremy Waldron - 1984
This latest addition to the Oxford Readings in Philosophy series covers a topic which is one of the focal points of much of the current work in moral and politicaltheory.
In Search of Spiritual Excellence
Andrew Murray - 1984
Homo Academicus
Pierre Bourdieu - 1984
The academy is shown to be not just a realm of dialogue and debate, but also a sphere of power in which reputations and careers are made, defended and destroyed.Employing the distinctive methods for which he has become well known, Bourdieu examines the social background and practical activities of his fellow academics—from Foucault, Derrida, and Lacan to figures who are lesser known but not necessarily less influential. Bourdieu analyzes their social origins and current positions, how much they publish and where they publish it, their institutional connections, media appearances, political involvements and so on.This enables Bourdieu to construct a map of the intellectual field in France and to analyze the forms of capital and power, the lines of conflict and the patterns of change, which characterize the system of higher education in France today.Homo Academicus paints a vivid and dynamic picture of French intellectual life today and develops a general approach to the study of modern culture and education. It will be of great interest to students of sociology, education and politics as well as to anyone concerned with the role of intellectuals and higher education today.
Time, Creation and the Continuum: Theories in Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages
Richard Sorabji - 1984
Sorabji argues that the thought of these often negelected philosophers about the subject is, in many cases, more complete than that of their more recent counterparts.“Splendid. . . . The canvas is vast, the picture animated, the painter nonpareil. . . . Sorabji’s work will encourage more adventurers to follow him to this fascinating new-found land.”—Jonathan Barnes, Times Literary Supplement“One of the most important works in the history of metaphysics to appear in English for a considerable time. No one concerned with the problems with which it deals either as a historian of ideas or as a philosopher can afford to neglect it.”—Donald MacKinnon, Scottish Journal of Theology “Unusually readable for such scholarly content, the book provides in rich and cogent terms a lively and well-balanced discussion of matters of concern to a wide academic audience.”—Choice
The Long and the Short and the All: Excerpts from Early Discourses and Letters of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
Osho - 1984
The Great Discourse on Causation: The Mahanidana Sutta and Its Commentaries
Bhikkhu Bodhi - 1984
The Radical Politics of Thomas Jefferson
Richard K. Matthews - 1984
Matthews's Jefferson emerges as America's first and foremost advocate of permanent revolution, a democratic communitarian, and an anti-market theorist. This interpretation has been suggested in the past, but seldom has it been argued so persuasively or so intensely.It is Matthews's intent to extricate Jefferson from the myths that surround, envelop, and ultimately distort him. The interpretation of Jefferson's idea of democracy presented here could spark new thinking about contemporary democracy.
Order Out of Chaos: Man's New Dialogue with Nature
Ilya Prigogine - 1984
Stengers and Prigogine show how the two great themes of classic science, order and chaos, which coexisted uneasily for centuries, are being reconciled in a new and unexpected synthesis.
The Nature of Selection: Evolutionary Theory in Philosophical Focus
Elliott Sober - 1984
It presents a powerful analysis of the evolutionary concepts of natural selection, fitness, and adaptation and clarifies controversial issues concerning altruism, group selection, and the idea that organisms are survival machines built for the good of the genes that inhabit them."Sober's is the answering philosophical voice, the voice of a first-rate philosopher and a knowledgeable student of contemporary evolutionary theory. His book merits broad attention among both communities. It should also inspire others to continue the conversation."-Philip Kitcher, Nature"Elliott Sober has made extraordinarily important contributions to our understanding of biological problems in evolutionary biology and causality. The Nature of Selection is a major contribution to understanding epistemological problems in evolutionary theory. I predict that it will have a long lasting place in the literature."-Richard C. Lewontin
Passion: An Essay on Personality
Roberto Mangabeira Unger - 1984
It's one not to miss from any fans of philosophy and those interested in reading one of most impressive modern thinkers of our time.
Pure War
Paul Virilio - 1984
In this dazzling dialogue with Sylvere Lotringer, Paul Virilio for the first time displayed the whole range of his reflections on the effect of speed on our civilization and every one of them has been dramatically confirmed over the years. For Virilio, the foremost philosopher of speed, the "technical surprise" of World War I was the discovery that the wartime economy could not be sustained unless it was continued in peacetime. As a consequence, the distinction between war and peace ceased to apply, inaugurating the military-industrial complex and the militarization of science itself.Every new invention casts a long shadow that we are generally unwilling to acknowledge in the name of progress: the invention of automobiles inaugurated car-crashes; the invention of nuclear energy, Hiroshima and Tchernobyl. The technologies of instant communications have invented another kind of accident: the extermination of space and the derealization of time. Instant feedback is shrinking the planet to nothing, and "globalization" is its ultimate accident. First published in 1983, this book introduced Virilio's thinking to the United States. For successive generations of readers, it remains one of the most influential and far-reaching essays of our time.
Alexander of Aphrodisias on Fate
R.W. Sharples - 1984
This book includes the complete text of Alexander of Aphrodisias on Fate, a translation and detailed commentary.
What is an Emotion?: Classic Readings in Philosophical Psychology
Cheshire Calhoun - 1984
Utilizing sources from a variety of subject areas including philosophy, psychology, and biology, the editors provide an illuminating look at the "affective" side of psychology and philosophy from the perspective of the world's great thinkers. Part One features classic readings from Aristotle, Descartes, Spinoza, and Hume. Part Two, entitled "The Meeting of Philosophy and Psychology," samples the theories of thinkers such as Darwin, James, and Freud. The third section presents some of the extensive work on emotion that has been done by European philosophers over the past century, and the final section comprises essays from modern British and American philosophers.
Man's Being, His Destiny, and World-Evolution: 6 Lectures, Christiania, May 16-21, 1923
Rudolf Steiner - 1984
He had gone there at the invitation of Scandinavian friends to take part in the founding of the Anthroposophical Society in Norway. Upon their request for a series of public lectures he chose to talk about the fundamental anthroposophical problems connected with the being of man, the formation of his destiny and the relationship of the complete man to world evolution. Dr. Steiner, who was then late in life, responded to the warm interest of his audience with the vigor of a young man. As the scandinavian sky and earth appear to blend into each other, so his inspiring worlds seemed to link his listeners with the eternal truths of man's origins, his present needs and future aims. In the very first of these lectures Dr. Steiner typically relates man's being to the vast spaces of the cosmos in a discussion of the period between falling asleep and awaking and the path pursued by man between death and a new birth. From this beginning he traces human destiny working in the individual to the continuing course of mankind's whole evolution. Finally, the destiny of man is contemplated in the light of the Mystery of Golgotha, and the influence of this event on man's development on earth is revealed. The cycle closes with the thought that for man to reach God anew he must, in full consciousn ess of his connections with the Mystery of Golgotha, bring himself to be able to say with St. Paul, "Not I, but the Christ in me!"
Collected Papers of Kenneth J. Arrow, Volume 2: General Equilibrium
Kenneth J. Arrow - 1984
This publication of his collected papers, to be completed in seven topical volumes, will be welcomed by economists and other social scientists and in particular by graduate students, who can draw from them the deep knowledge and taste in the selection of scientific problems that only a master can offer.This volume is concerned with the foundations of neo-classical economic analysis. General equilibrium is a theory of prices in which all of the actions of the economic agents in an economy are determined simultaneously and in a decentralized fashion. The price system, determined in competitive markets, guides actions for both firms and individual consumers. All of the complex interrelations of the economy are distilled into the determination of this price system.In these papers, Arrow examines the conditions under which such a price system would exist. He also clarifies the conditions under which the system can or cannot achieve an optimum. In the latter case, when "market failures" are present, he shows the role of a benevolent government in helping to overcome the induced inefficiencies.
Ideology, Culture and the Process of Schooling
Henry A. Giroux - 1984
The author is the co-editor of Curriculum and Instruction: Alternatives in Education and The Hidden Curriculum and Moral Education.
Batteries of Life: On the History of Things and Their Perception in Modernity
Christoph Asendorf - 1984
We seem to "charge" the world of things as we would a battery. Now German art historian Christoph Asendorf explores this transformation of human sense perception in the industrial age and contributes to a new understanding of European culture and modernity.Drawing from literature, painting, architecture, film, philosophy, anthropology, and popular culture, Asendorf offers rich analyses of works by Manet, Baudelaire, Monet, Zola, Benjamin, Heidegger, and Duchamp. These close readings are combined with a montage of key cultural images and events ranging from Paxton's Crystal Palace to the introduction of electricity. The result is a striking account of the emergence of consumer culture within the developing commodity economy of modern Europe.Certain to challenge the mono-disciplinary perspectives of many specialists, this book will interest historians of art, culture, literature, science, and technology.
The Fall of Jericho (Now you can read--Bible stories)
Leonard Matthews - 1984
Retells the Old Testament story about how Joshua caused the fall of the city of Jericho.
The Sermon on the Mount
Leonard Matthews - 1984
Retells stories Jesus told while preaching to the people.
Peter and John at the Beautiful Gate (Now You Can Read--Bible Stories)
Leonard Matthews - 1984
Without Proof or Evidence
O.K. Bouwsma - 1984
K. Bouwsma weaves through the central topics of Western religion: the rationality of religious belief, the nature of Christianity, the promise of eternal life, the definition of faith, and proofs of the existence of God. When he works with the problems of Descartes or Moore or Wittgenstein, surveying the marketplace of language in which we all have commerce, he has the familiarity of an experienced trader. But in his work with the problems of Anselm or Nietzsche or Kierkegaard, in which the Scriptures move between background and foreground, there is another dimension, a concern with whether the Scriptures have been properly understood, what such an understanding might be, and how it affects someone who so understands them.
The New Science of Organizations: A Reconceptualization of the Wealth of Nations
Alberto Guerreiro Ramos - 1984
Mould's Medical Anecdotes,
Richard F. Mould - 1984
A unique prescription of humorous and intriguing anecdotes, encompassing the unusual, the mysterious, the historical, and some of the more gruesome aspects of the medical profession, from Egyptian times right up to the present day.
Hayek on Liberty
John N. Gray - 1984
In a substantial new chapter, Gray assesses how far the historical development of the last ten years can be deployed in a critique of Hayek's thought. His reassessment is not only a provoking study of a classical philosopher. It is also a timely contribution to the debate over the future of conservatism, as Gray argues that Hayekian liberalism - 'the most well-articulated political theory of the new right' - is flawed.
Scientific Explanation and the Causal Structure of the World
Wesley C. Salmon - 1984
Wesley C. Salmon describes three fundamental conceptions of scientific explanation--the epistemic, modal, and ontic. He argues that the prevailing view (a version of the epistemic conception) is untenable and that the modal conception is scientifically out-dated. Significantly revising aspects of his earlier work, he defends a causal/mechanical theory that is a version of the ontic conception.Professor Salmon's theory furnishes a robust argument for scientific realism akin to the argument that convinced twentieth-century physical scientists of the existence of atoms and molecules. To do justice to such notions as irreducibly statistical laws and statistical explanation, he offers a novel account of physical randomness. The transition from the reviewed view of scientific explanation (that explanations are arguments) to the causal/mechanical model requires fundamental rethinking of basic explanatory concepts.
Creativity in American Philosophy
Charles Hartshorne - 1984
My effort throughout my career has been to think about philosophical, that is, essentially a priori or metaphysical, issues, using the history of ideas as a primary resource.This is the second of two volumes dealing with the history of philosophy, especially of metaphysics. The first, Insights and Oversights of Great Thinkers, discusses some thirty European philosophers, from Democritus to Wittgenstein and Merleau-Ponty. In both volumes I try to learn and teach truth about reality by arguing, in a fashion, with those who in the past have sought such truth. -- Charles HartshorneIn a remarkable tour de force, Charles Hartshorne presents a lively and illuminating study of what major American philosophers have said about creativity. With a special talent for perceiving and elegantly expressing the essence of a position, Dr. Hartshorne details his reactions to friend and foe, demonstrating that philosophy at its best is dialogue. Noting that metaphysics is a major theme in the American philosophical tradition, he states that nowhere has the topic been more persistently and searchingly investigated than in this country.
Mount Fuji and Mount Sinai: A Critique of Idols
Kosuke Koyama - 1984
The Wonder of Being Human: Our Brain and Our Mind
John C. Eccles - 1984
What Sort of People Should There Be?
Jonathan Glover - 1984
It all seemed very futuristic then, and I had to convince readers that the issues might one day become practical. Discussing genetic choices, I had to invent thought experiments rather than, as now, discussing actual cases. It is striking how the genetic issues became real so much faster than the neuroethics issues, which even now for the most part seem a bit ahead of what we can actually do. "This book is about some questions to do with the future of mankind. The questions have been selected on two grounds. They arise out of scientific developments whose beginnings we can already see, such as genetic engineering and behaviour control. And they involve fundamental values: these technologies may change the central framework of human life. The book is intended as a contribution, not to prediction, but to a discussion of what sort of future we should try to bring about... The intention is to describe possibilities in ways that separate out different values, and to say, "these values, rather than those, are what matter, aren't they?" Of course, in a way I hope for the answer "yes". But, because people have different outlooks, the answer will quite often be "no". My hope is that those who answer "no" will have been helped to see more clearly what it is they do not believe, and perhaps as a result to work out more fully what they do believe."
Hegel, Heidegger, and the Ground of History
Michael Allen Gillespie - 1984
Analyzing the historical conflict between human nature and freedom, he centers his discussion on Hegel and Heidegger but also draws on the pertinent thought of other philosophers whose contributions to the debate is crucial—particularly Rousseau, Kant, and Nietzsche.
Computation and Cognition: Toward a Foundation for Cognitive Science
Zenon Pylshyn - 1984
Until now, most of the answers have come from the new breed of philosophers of mind. This book, however, is written by a distinguished psychologist and computer scientist who is well-known for his work on the conceptual foundations of cognitive science, and especially for his research on mental imagery, representation, and perception.In Computation and Cognition, Pylyshyn argues that computation must not be viewed as just a convenient metaphor for mental activity, but as a literal empirical hypothesis. Such a view must face a number of serious challenges. For example, it must address the question of strong equivalents of processes, and must empirically distinguish between phenomena which reveal what knowledge the organism has, phenomena which reveal properties of the biologically determined functional architecture of the mind. The principles and ideas Pylyshyn develops are applied to a number of contentious areas of cognitive science, including theories of vision and mental imagery. In illuminating such timely theoretical problems, he draws on insights from psychology, theoretical computer science, artificial intelligence, and psychology of mind.A Bradford Book
Ancient wisdom and modern science
Stanislav Grof - 1984
One of the interesting aspects of this development is the increasing convergence of science and the "perennial philosophy." The new research has led to a critical revaluation of ancient spiritual systems long ignored or rejected because of their assumed incompatibility with science.Here are Swami Muktananda on the mind. Swami Prajnananda on Karma. Swami Kripananda on the Kundalini. Ajit Mookerjee on the Kundalini. Joseph Chilton Pearce on spiritual development. Mother Teresa on love and service. Jack Kornfield on Buddhism for Americans. Fritjof Capra on the new paradigms. Rupert Sheldrake on morphic resonance. Karl Pribram on the holographic model. Claudio Naranjo on meditation, and more.The papers in this book were presented at the seventh Conference of the International Transpersonal Association held in Bombay. The ITA is a non-profit organization that brings together individuals of different nationalities, professions, and philosophical or spiritual preferences who share in the view that there is a fundamental unity underlying all of humanity and the material world.
A Prince of the Church: Schleiermacher and the Beginnings of Modern Theology
B.A. Gerrish - 1984
With this work, B.A. Gerrish offers a fresh view of Schleiermacher that breaks through the stereotypes and places Schleiermacher's work as a theologian into a broader context. Gerrish examines the elements of Schleiermacher's twofold theology - a specifically Christian relationship with Christ and a universally human consciousness of God - in the hope that this view of Schleiermacher's theological enterprise will lead contemporary Christians to reappraise him as a church theologian in the legitimate succession of Luther and Calvin.
Dominance and Affection: The Making of Pets
Yi-Fu Tuan - 1984
Is it cruelty or playfulness to breed a variety of goldfish with dysfunctional bulging eyes? Was it an urge for dominance or benevolence that led ladies of eighteenth-century England to keep finely dressed black boys as their pets? Can we be said to abuse a plant when part of our pleasure lies in twisting its stem into the shape of an animal? This is a provocative book about the psychological impulse to “make pets”—to tame and control inanimate nature, animals, and other humans. Yi-Fu Tuan has amassed a wealth of evidence to show that the human urge for domination—even in the cultural and aesthetic realm—has exhibited itself repeatedly through the ages. He contends that we fail to understand the true nature of pleasure, play, and art unless we put power as well as affection somewhere close to its center. When we view the beauty of a man-made landscape, we tend to forget that it was often initiated as an exercise in power; in the case of Louis XIV’s Versailles, for example, 30,000 soldiers had to labor day and night to bring water to the arid palace grounds. In the same way, the creation of topiary art and bonsai can be viewed in a dual light: as a playful, pleasurable activity or as a deliberate reminder of our ability to command and impose. Our relationship with animals is another vivid example of our inclination to control. Tuan contends that cruelty to animals is extremely widespread: breeding animals for aesthetic purpose and training them to perform are not only favored hobbies but examples of delight in willful manipulation. The abuse of power is also seen in the treatment of those human members of a household who become patronized as pets. Children, women, servants, and entertainers have been at different times both highly valued and severely controlled—trained to approach the obedience of inanimate matter or mechanical toys. Dominance and Affection is likely to change the way we look at ourselves and our “pets.” If it is sobering in the questions it raises about human nature, it is also irresistible in the nature of the varied and fascinating material it lays before the reader.