- Table View
- List View
Die Wissenschaft vom Leben nach dem Tod
by Alexander Moreira-Almeida Marianna de Costa Humberto Schubert CoelhoDieses Buch untersucht die besten verfügbaren empirischen Beweise für eine der schwierigsten und allgegenwärtigsten Fragen in allen Zeitaltern, Kulturen und Religionen: das Überleben des menschlichen Bewusstseins nach dem Tod. Es beginnt mit einem kontextuellen Überblick über den Glauben an ein persönliches Überleben und widerlegt fehlgeleitete historische und erkenntnistheoretische Argumente gegen die Vorstellung eines Überlebens nach dem Tod (z. B. irrational, rein religiös, wissenschaftlich unmöglich, von der Neurowissenschaft als falsch erwiesen). Das Buch gibt einen Überblick über die wissenschaftlichen Beweise für das Fortleben des menschlichen Bewusstseins nach dem Tod und konzentriert sich dabei auf Studien über Medialität, Nahtoderfahrungen, außerkörperliche Erfahrungen und Reinkarnation.Zu den behandelten Themen gehören:Der Glaube an ein Leben nach dem Tod in der heutigen Welt sowie in der Geschichte der Religionen und der Philosophie.Die wichtigsten fehlgeleiteten Argumente und Vorurteile gegen die wissenschaftliche Erforschung des Überlebens nach dem Tod.Was sind empirische Beweise für ein Überleben nach dem Tod?Die wichtigsten alternativen Erklärungshypothesen für das Überleben nach dem Tod.Die wichtigsten kulturellen Hindernisse für eine faire Untersuchung der verfügbaren Beweise für das Weiterleben des Bewusstseins nach dem Tod.Science of Life After Death ist ein unverzichtbares Hilfsmittel für Forscher, Professoren und Doktoranden sowie für Kliniker, Therapeuten und andere Fachleute in den Bereichen Entwicklungs- und klinische Psychologie, Spiritualität, Religions- und Bewusstseinsforschung, Psychiatrie, Neurowissenschaft/Neurologie, Phänomenologie/Philosophie, Komplementär- und Alternativmedizin und allen damit verbundenen Disziplinen.
The Magma of War: An Ontology of the Global
by Edgar IllasWar, from the conflicts in the Middle East and Russia/Ukraine to Mexican narco-violence, from neocolonial land grabs in the Global South to racial, border, health, and climate crises all over the planet, defines the most extreme and contradictory expression of the global world. In this fascinating exploration on the history of the thinking of conflict, Edgar Illas departs from military and sociological analyses to propose a theoretical exploration of war as the ontological force that produces political orders.Magma is used as a geological metaphor to theorize the mixtures of politics and war that organize, and disorganize, global society. Divided into two parts, Illas’ study begins by surveying some of the most important thinkers of war, moving from classical antiquity to the twentieth century. Each thinker provides a different inflection in the historical evolution of the being of war. The second part turns to a theorization of the twenty-first century to claim that conflictive relations between capital, state power, political movements, and social life in globalization culminate and at the same time reiterate the paradoxes of war as an ontological event.The Magma of War is an energizing contribution to the task of rethinking politics in relation to war and an invaluable resource to all those conscious of the unstable forms of contemporary social and political life.
The Architecture and Geography of Sound Studios: Sonic Heritage (Routledge Research in Architecture)
by Even Smith WergelandThis is a book about sound studios, focusing on their architectural and geographical aspects. It explores how music is materialized under specific spatial and technological conditions and the myths associated with this process.Through ten in-depth studies, it examines the design, evolution and current function of sound studios amidst economic and technological shifts in the music industry. Traditional studios are in flux between the past and future. The industry, while steeped in romanticism and nostalgia, also embraces forward-driven pragmatism and an extensive reuse culture, encompassing heritage audio, building materials and existing buildings. A surprisingly diverse architectural heritage, the most significant feature is the host building, the framework around the studio capsule. Many traditional studios adapt to digitalization with hybrid solutions, reflecting a shift toward smaller, more versatile spaces. In a time when recordings in theory can happen anywhere, destination studios must excel to attract clients, balancing historical legacies with diversification. Although they may be easy to deconstruct, many of the myths endure, sustaining ideas of landmark recordings, unique locations and distinct remnants of sonic heritage. Courtesy of their capacity to keep the past alive in the present, traditional sound studios are best described as museums that work.This book aims to reach scholars and students with an interest in history, theory and preservation, as well as practicing architects and architectural students who wish to find out more about the relationship between sound and space, acoustic design and retrofitting of historical buildings into specialized functions. It also aims to reach practicing musicians, producers, music students and music scholars.
Eigenvalue Problem and Nonlinear Programming Problem: For Economic Studies (New Frontiers in Regional Science: Asian Perspectives #70)
by Keiko NakayamaThis book focuses on the Frobenius theorem regarding a nonlinear simultaneous system. The Frobenius theorem is well known as a condition for a linear simultaneous system’s having a nonnegative solution. Generally, however, the condition of a simultaneous system, including a non-linear system’s having a nonnegative solution, is hardly discussed at all. This book, therefore, extends the conventional Frobenius theorem for nonlinear simultaneous systems for economic analysis. Almost all static optimization problems in economics involve nonlinear programing. Theoretical models in economics are described in the form of a simultaneous system resulting from the rational optimization behavior of households and enterprises. On the other hand, rational optimization behavior of households and enterprises is, mathematically speaking, expressed as nonlinear programing. For this reason it is important to understand the meaning of nonlinear programing. Because this book includes explanations of the relations among various restrictions in a nonlinear programing systematically and clearly, this book is suitable for students in graduate school programs in economics.
The Origins of the Idea of Scientific Progress: Bernard de Fontenelle and His Contemporaries (International Archives of the History of Ideas Archives internationales d'histoire des idées #250)
by Daniel ŠpeldaThis volume offers a new interpretation of the genesis of the idea of scientific progress in early modern science and philosophy. The interpretation argues that the idea of scientific progress was not a historical category, but an epistemological one. The main thesis of the book posits that the idea of scientific progress was a methodological means of dealing with the contingency of nature. To illustrate the novelty of the idea, the individual chapters compare several features of Renaissance natural philosophy with a new regime of knowledge that included time as an inevitable factor of empirical research. The temporal regime of knowledge is illustrated by the work of Bernard de Fontenelle and his colleagues at the Académie des sciences in Paris at the end of the 17th century. The new interpretation remedies a gap in recent scholarship where the idea of scientific progress has been overlooked even though the early modern natural philosophers themselves used it to describe the nature of their research. The book places both well-known texts and less-studied documents in a new light, thus contributing to the lively and rich debate on the origins and nature of early modern science and philosophy. It is of interest to scholars studying the history of early modern philosophy and science.
Robert Rosen and Relational System Theory: An Overview (Anticipation Science #8)
by James Bryan LennoxThis book focuses on Robert Rosen’s contributions to relational system theory, which is the science of organization and function. This science was originally developed by Nicolas Rashevsky, and further developed by Rashevsky’s student Robert Rosen, and continues to be developed by Rosen’s student A. H. Louie amongst others. Due to its revolutionary character, it is often misunderstood, and to some, controversial. The formal and conceptual setting for Rosen’s relational system theory is category theory. Rosen was the first to apply category theory to scientific problems, outside of pure mathematics, and the first to think about science from the point of view of category theory. To better understand the work of Rosen, this book provides an overview of his theory of modeling, complexity, anticipation, and organism. It presents the foundations of this science and the philosophical motivations behind it along with conceptual clarification and historical context in order to present Rosen’s ideas to a wider audience.
Fictional Worlds and the Political Imagination
by Garry L. HagbergThere has been a steady stream of articles written on the relations between political thought and the interpretation of literature, but there remains a need for a book that both introduces and significantly contributes to the field – particularly one that shows in detail how we can think more freely and creatively about political possibilities by reading and reflecting on politically significant literature. This volume offers analytically acute and culturally rich ways of understanding how it is that we can productively think philosophically about political literature and what kind of distinctive conceptual progress we can make by doing so. Given the extremely widespread interest in political issues, this volume will strike resonant chords far and wide, while offering something that has not been done quite in this way and for which the time certainly seems right.
The Great Family of Life: Rethinking the place of Homo sapiens in the Biosphere
by David Rodríguez-RodríguezThis book explains the causes, consequences and desirable solutions to the unbalanced and unfair relationship between Homo sapiens and the other species that inhabit Planet Earth in a succinct, enjoyable and thought-provoking way. Major sociological, economic, political, educational, religious and phylosophical perspectives are reviewed in order to understand why we have reached the current alarming status of global biodiversity during the Anthropocene, and how we can react to it to attain not just human welfare, but global happiness. The target audience is wide, from the general public interested in the deep inner causes of environmental degradation, to college and university students and lecturers, notably in the fields of environmental ethics, environmental philosophy, environmental law and environmental politics.
Dignity: Its History and Meaning
by Michael RosenDignity plays a central role in current thinking about law and human rights, but there is sharp disagreement about its meaning. Combining conceptual precision with a broad historical background, Michael Rosen puts these controversies in context and offers a novel, constructive proposal.“Penetrating and sprightly…Rosen rightly emphasizes the centrality of Catholicism in the modern history of human dignity. His command of the history is impressive…Rosen is a wonderful guide to the recent German constitutional thinking about human dignity…[Rosen] is in general an urbane and witty companion, achieving his aim of accessibly written philosophy.”—Samuel Moyn, The Nation“[An] elegant, interesting and lucid exploration of the concept of dignity...Drawing on classical, liberal and Catholic traditions, Rosen hopes to rehabilitate dignity to its rightful place near the centre of moral thought...Rosen's admirable book deserves wide attention from political theorists, jurisprudes and political philosophers.”—Simon Blackburn, Times Higher Education“Dignity deserves to be widely read, not only for its intrinsic interest, but also as a corrective to the habit of discussing such topics in abstraction from their social context. Whether or not one agrees with Rosen's arguments, there can be no doubt he has widened our horizons.”—Rae Langton, Times Literary Supplement
Lincoln's Tragic Pragmatism: Lincoln, Douglas, and Moral Conflict
by John BurtA New York Times Book Review Editors’ ChoiceIn 1858, challenger Abraham Lincoln debated incumbent Stephen Douglas seven times in the race for a U.S. Senate seat from Illinois. More was at stake than slavery in those debates. In Lincoln’s Tragic Pragmatism, John Burt contends that the very legitimacy of democratic governance was on the line. In a United States stubbornly divided over ethical issues, the overarching question posed by the Lincoln-Douglas debates has not lost its urgency: Can a liberal political system be used to mediate moral disputes? And if it cannot, is violence inevitable?“John Burt has written a work that every serious student of Lincoln will have to read...Burt refracts Lincoln through the philosophy of Kant, Rawls and contemporary liberal political theory. His is very much a Lincoln for our time.”—Steven B. Smith, New York Times Book Review“I'm making space on my overstuffed shelves for Lincoln’s Tragic Pragmatism. This is a book I expect to be picking up and thumbing through for years to come.”—Jim Cullen, History News Network“Burt treats the [Lincoln-Douglas] debates as being far more significant than an election contest between two candidates. The debates represent profound statements of political philosophy and speak to the continuing challenges the U.S. faces in resolving divisive moral conflicts.”—E. C. Sands, Choice
Inferno: An Anatomy of American Punishment
by Robert A. FergusonAn Open Letters Monthly Best Nonfiction Book of the YearAmerica’s criminal justice system is broken. The United States punishes at a higher per capita rate than any other country in the world. In the last twenty years, incarceration rates have risen 500 percent. Sentences are harsh, prisons are overcrowded, life inside is dangerous, and rehabilitation programs are ineffective. Looking not only to court records but to works of philosophy, history, and literature for illumination, Robert Ferguson, a distinguished law professor, diagnoses all parts of a now massive, out-of-control punishment regime.“If I had won the $400 million Powerball lottery last week I swear I would have ordered a copy for every member of Congress, every judge in America, every prosecutor, and every state prison official and lawmaker who controls the life of even one of the millions of inmates who exist today, many in inhumane and deplorable conditions, in our nation’s prisons.”—Andrew Cohen, The Atlantic“Inferno is a passionate, wide-ranging effort to understand and challenge…our heavy reliance on imprisonment. It is an important book, especially for those (like me) who are inclined towards avoidance and tragic complacency…[Ferguson’s] book is too balanced and thoughtful to be disregarded.”—Robert F. Nagel, Weekly Standard
Öffentliche Kontrolle der Streitkräfte in der Russischen Föderation
by Nadja DouglasDer Band befasst sich mit den Grundlagen der gegenwärtigen Beziehungen zwischen zivilen Akteuren und staatlichen Machtstrukturen. Der Schwerpunkt liegt auf dem Themenfeld der öffentlichen Kontrolle von Streitkräften und der Frage, warum zivile Akteure ein wachsames Auge auf die militärische Institution sowie zivile Behörden, die den Einsatz von Gewalt legitimieren, haben sollten. Am Beispiel von Wehrpflicht und Rekrutierung als Schnittstelle zwischen Militär und Gesellschaft analysiert die Studie den institutionellen Wandel im politisch-militärischen Bereich im postsowjetischen Russland. In kritischer Auseinandersetzung mit der konventionellen Militärsoziologie verlagert das Buch den Fokus weg von der exklusiven Machtbeziehung zwischen politischen und militärischen Eliten im Kontext der nationalen Sicherheit. Stattdessen berücksichtigt es die menschliche und gesellschaftliche Sicherheit, d.h. die Bedürfnisse und Forderungen von Individuen und Gruppen an der Basis, die vom Militär und der herrschenden Sicherheitslage in Russland betroffen sind. Das Buch richtet sich an Leser mit Interesse an zivil-militärischen Beziehungen, gegenwärtiger russischer Gesellschaftspolitik und Theorien sozialer Bewegungen.
Romanticism and the Contingent Self: The Challenge of Representation (Palgrave Studies in the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Cultures of Print)
by Michael FalkThis book offers a new critique of selfhood in Romantic literature. In the past, Romanticism has been seen as an individualistic movement, with writers believing in the ‘centrality’ of the self. Challenging this prevailing view of Romanticism and the modern self, this study unveils an alternative tradition of Romantic writing in which the self is fragile, degenerate, non-existent – or in a word, contingent. It combines philosophy, intellectual history, literary studies and digital humanities and takes a transnational approach both in its coverage of philosophical thought and literature, including case studies from England, Ireland, Scotland and colonial Australia, with examples from American and European works as well. The book also uses innovative digital techniques such as text analysis, sentiment mining and network analysis to enrich the exploration of text and context. It covers all major genres of Romantic writing: fiction (realist novels), poetry (the sonnet), non-fiction prose (biography) and drama (gothic tragedy). Providing a new framework for understanding the contingent self, this book is of interest to scholars and students of Romantic literature, philosophy of the self and digital humanities.
Ontology, Relational Ethics, and Corporations
by Helen MussellThis book offers a unique exploration and analysis of social responsibility and associated ethical concepts used by business and financial organizations. Mussell lays out the argument that a realist analysis of social responsibility reveals caring relations underpinning this ethical behavior. The combination of a realist social ontology with contemporary relational care ethics provides the theoretical framework needed to successfully explore the ethics of social responsibility. She then applies this realist caring relations argument to three specific contexts in which social responsibility is explicitly evident - including corporate social responsibility, socially responsible investment, and the legal concept of the fiduciary. By tracing the historical development of each concept – including how economic methodology has influenced interpretations and practice – a complex picture emerges, showing how ethics, economic theory, and political theory intersect. This is an insightful work of philosophically informed contemporary political economy, analyzing the evolution and connection of key ethical concepts widely used by organizations.
Philosophic Classics: Ancient Philosophy
by Forrest E. BairdFor courses in Ancient Philosophy. Designed to be accessible to today's students, this anthology of readings in Ancient Western philosophy focuses on the writings of the most important Greek philosophers, along with selections from some of their Roman followers. Striking a balance between major and minor figures, it features the best available translations of texts--complete works or complete selections of works--which are both central to each philosopher's thought and are widely accepted as part of the "canon." The selections are readable and accessible, while still being faithful to the original. Introductions to each philosopher; an abundance of drawings, diagrams, photographs; and a timeline keep students focused throughout.
The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage
by Jonathan TurleyA timely, revelatory look at freedom of speech—our most basic right and the one that protects all the others.Free speech is a human right, and the free expression of thought is at the very essence of being human. The United States was founded on this premise, and the First Amendment remains the single greatest constitutional commitment to the right of free expression in history. Yet there is a systemic effort to bar opposing viewpoints on subjects ranging from racial discrimination to police abuse, from climate change to gender equity. These measures are reinforced by the public&’s anger and rage; flash mobs appear today with the slightest provocation. We all lash out against anyone or anything that stands against our preferred certainty. The Indispensable Right places the current attacks on free speech in their proper historical, legal, and political context. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights were not only written for times like these, but in a time like this. This country was born in an age of rage and for 250 years we have periodically lost sight of the value of free expression. The history of the struggle for free speech is the story of extraordinary people—nonconformists who refuse to yield to abusive authority—and here is a mosaic of vivid characters and controversies. Jonathan Turley takes you through the figures and failures that have shaped us and then shows the unique dangers of our current moment. The alliance of academic, media, and corporate interests with the government&’s traditional wish to control speech has put us on an almost irresistible path toward censorship. The Indispensable Right reminds us that we remain a nation grappling with the implications of free expression and with the limits of our tolerance for the speech of others. For rather than a political crisis, this is a crisis of faith.
Zen Sourcebook: Traditional Documents from China, Korea, and Japan
by Stanley Lombardo Stephen Addiss Judith Roitman"Featuring a carefully selected collection of source documents, this tome includes traditional teaching tools from the Zen Buddhist traditions of China (Ch'an), Korea (Son), and Japan (Zen), including texts created by women. The selections provide both a good feel for the varieties of Zen and an experience of its common core. . . . The texts are experiential teachings and include storytelling, poetry, autobiographies, catechisms, calligraphy, paintings, and koans (paradoxical meditation questions that are intended to help aspirants transcend logical, linguistic limitations). Contextual commentary prefaces each text. Wade-Giles transliteration is used, although Pinyin, Korean, Japanese, and Sanskrit terms are linked in appendixes. An insightful introduction by Arai contributes a religious studies perspective. The bibliography references full translations of the selections. A thought-provoking discussion about the problems of translation is included. . . . Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels." --Choice
The Palgrave Handbook of Philosophy and Money: Volume 1: Ancient and Medieval Thought
by Joseph J. TinguelyThe Palgrave Handbook of Philosophy and Money surveys the role of money in the history of ideas. Volume 1: Ancient and Medieval Thought explores the worldviews of societies in the process of monetization. The volume is divided into sections on early Civilizations, classical Greece, the Roman era, and Medieval and Renaissance thought.
Science for Humans: Mind, Life, The Formal-&-Natural Sciences, and A New Concept of Nature
by Robert HannaThis book presents and defends an original and paradigm-shifting conception of formal science, natural science, and the natural universe alike, that’s fully pro-science, but at the same time neither theological or God-centered, nor solipsistic or self-centered, nor communitarian or social-institution-centered, nor scientistic or science-valorizing, nor materialist/physicalist or reductive, nor—above all—mechanistic. It does this by presenting and defending what Robert Hanna calls the neo-organicist turn, including manifest realism and the three sub-parts of metaphysical organicism: liberal naturalism, mind-life continuity, and explanatory inversion, whereby mechanical systems are explained by grounding them in organic systems, and not the other way around. Or more briefly and simply put, the purpose of this book is to present and defend science for humans. As such, it will be highly interesting and profoundly relevant to graduate students and specialist researchers in philosophy and the formal-&-natural sciences.
Educational Research and the Question(s) of Time
by David R. Cole Mehri Mirzaei Rafe Gui Ying Annie Yang-HeimThis book fully explores the question(s) of time in educational research and achieves the acceleration and merging of inquiry with action to understand change and implement these findings through practice. It deals with the philosophy of education, higher education, schooling (the curriculum), time displacement, technology, the environment and policy. This book focuses on time revolution(s). It explores new ways of thinking about time, that question a linear/arrow in time, and sets into motion an educational research agenda to extract revolutions of time. Furthermore, this book figures the dimension of time in teaching and learning by extending and deepening the engagement with time in education. For example, it analyzes the climate crisis in terms of education and how the realization that the climate is changing sits parallel and adjacent to pedagogy. The climate crisis and how to do anything about it through education is an example of how considering the dimension of time opens up education beyond quick or narrow fixes and introduces a profound synthesis for the future.
At the End of Property: Patents, Plants and the Crisis of Propertization
by Veit BraunRecent decades have witnessed the creation of new types of property systems, ranging from data ownership to national control over genetic resources. This trend has significant implications for wealth distribution and our understanding of who can own what. This book explores the idea of ownership in the realm of plant breeding, revealing how plants have been legally and materially transformed into property. It highlights the controversial aspects of turning seeds, plants and genes into property and how this endangers the viability of the seed industry. Examining ownership not simply as a legal concept, but as a bundle of laws, practices and technologies, this is a valuable contribution that will interest scholars of intellectual property studies, the anthropology of markets, science and technology studies and related fields.
Distracted: A Philosophy of Cars and Phones
by Robert RosenbergerApplying insights from philosophy and cognitive science to address the urgent issue of smartphone-induced distracted driving Although the dangers of texting while driving are widely known, many people resist the idea that phone usage will impair their driving. And connectivity features in new cars have only made using technology behind the wheel more tempting. What will it take to change people&’s minds and behavior? Robert Rosenberger contends that a better understanding of why this combination of technologies is so dangerous could effectively adjust both habits and laws. Rosenberger brings together ideas from philosophy and cognitive science to leverage a postphenomenological perspective that reveals how our smartphones make us such bad drivers. Reviewing decades of empirical studies in cognitive science, he shows that we have developed habits of perception regarding our compulsive technology use—habits that may wrest our attention away from the road. Distracted develops innovative concepts for understanding technology-related habits and the ways that our relationships to our devices influence how we perceive the world. In turn, these ideas can help drivers be more cognizant of the effect that smartphone usage has on their perceptions, better inform efforts to enact stricter regulations, and help us all to be more reflective about the technologies that shape our lives.
The Caliphate or Supreme Imamate (World Thought in Translation)
by Muhammad Rashid RidaA translation of Muhammad Rashid Rida&’s best-known work, which examines the compatibility of Islamic political and legal tradition with modern thought Muhammad Rashid Rida (1865–1935) was a prominent Muslim intellectual and reformer. Born in a village near Tripoli in present-day Lebanon, he was renowned for his founding of Al-Manar, an independent and successful Islamic magazine in which he published The Caliphate or Supreme Imamate as a series beginning in 1922. The work showcased Rida&’s faith in the Islamic tradition as the origin of notions such as self-determination and popular sovereignty, as well as his opposition to Western politics. A realist, he nevertheless argued that a revived Caliphate was viable and held the keys to Muslim empowerment and universal salvation. This skillful translation by Simon A. Wood will make The Caliphate or Supreme Imamate accessible for the first time to English-speaking scholars and students of political theory and the modern Middle East.
Speaking Words of Wisdom: The Beatles and Religion (American Music History)
by Michael McGowan“More popular than Jesus.”Despite the uproar it caused in America in 1966, John Lennon’s famous assessment of the Beatles vis-à-vis religion was not far off. The Beatles did mean more to kids than the religions in which they were raised, not only in America but everywhere in the world.By all accounts, the Beatles were the most significant musical group of the twentieth century. Their albums sold in the hundreds of millions, and the press was always eager to document their activities and perspectives. And when fan appreciation morphed into worship, Beatlemania took on religious significance. Many young people around the world began to look to the Beatles—their music, their commentary, their art—for meaning in a turbulent decade. Speaking Words of Wisdom is a deep dive into the Beatles’ relationship to religion through the lenses of philosophy, cultural studies, music history, and religious studies. Chapters explore topics such as religious life in Liverpool, faith among individual band members, why and how India entered the Beatles’ story, fan worship/deification, and the Beatles’ long-lasting legacy. In the 1960s, the Beatles facilitated a reevaluation of our deepest values. The story of how the Beatles became modern-day sages is an important case study for the ways in which consumers make culturally and religiously significant meaning from music, people, and events.In addition to the editor, the contributors to this book include David Bedford, Kenneth Campbell, John Covach, Melissa Davis, Anthony DeCurtis, Mark Duffett, Scott Freer, Murray Leeder, Sean MacLeod, Grant Maxwell, Christiane Meiser, and Eyal Regev.
Culture, Secularization, and Democracy: Lessons from Alexis de Tocqueville (ISSN)
by Sophie van Bijsterveld and Hans-Martien ten NapelFollowing the approach developed by Alexis de Tocqueville, this volume views democracy as a cultural phenomenon. It starts from the assumption that if we are to adequately address concerns about the current state and future of modern Western democracies, we need first to tackle the cultural preconditions necessary for the functioning of a democracy.Since Tocqueville’s time, the book takes the most crucial change in the West to be ‘double secularisation’. Here, this concerns, first, the diminished influence of organised Christianity. Even though secularity was partly a product of Christianity, secularisation is highly significant in terms of the cultural underpinnings of Western democracy. Second, it involves a decreased interest in and knowledge of classical philosophy.Chapters on secularity, family life, civic life, and public spirit focus on central elements of the changed cultural foundation of democracy, exploring issues such as identity politics, the public space, and the role of human rights and natural law in a pluralistic and resilient democracy. The volume concludes with a closer look at the implications of current presentism, that is, the view that only the present counts for the legitimacy and effectiveness of democratic systems. Finally, it asks if double secularisation can also offer fresh opportunities for promoting the conditions of a viable democracy.The book will be of interest to academics and researchers working in the areas of law and religion, constitutional law, political science, history, and philosophy.