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In Dialogue with the Mahābhārata (Dialogues in South Asian Traditions: Religion, Philosophy, Literature and History)
by Brian BlackThe Mahābhārata has been explored extensively as a work of mythology, epic poetry, and religious literature, but the text’s philosophical dimensions have largely been under-appreciated by Western scholars. This book explores the philosophical implications of the Mahābhārata by paying attention to the centrality of dialogue, both as the text’s prevailing literary expression and its organising structure. Focusing on five sets of dialogues about controversial moral problems in the central story, this book shows that philosophical deliberation is an integral part of the narrative. Black argues that by paying attention to how characters make arguments and how dialogues unfold, we can better appreciate the Mahābhārata’s philosophical significance and its potential contribution to debates in comparative philosophy today. This is a fresh perspective on the Mahābhārata that will be of great interest to any scholar working in religious studies, Indian/South Asian religions, comparative philosophy, and world literature.
In The Dust of This Planet (Horror of Philosophy, volume #1)
by Eugene ThackerThe world is increasingly unthinkable, a world of planetary disasters, emerging pandemics, and the looming threat of extinction. In this book Eugene Thacker suggests that we look to the genre of horror as offering a way of thinking about the unthinkable world. To confront this idea is to confront the limit of our ability to understand the world in which we live - a central motif of the horror genre. In the Dust of This Planet explores these relationships between philosophy and horror. In Thacker's hands, philosophy is not academic logic-chopping; instead, it is the thought of the limit of all thought, especially as it dovetails into occultism, demonology, and mysticism. Likewise, Thacker takes horror to mean something beyond the focus on gore and scare tactics, but as the under-appreciated genre of supernatural horror in fiction, film, comics, and music.
In Emergency, Break Glass: What Nietzsche Can Teach Us About Joyful Living in a Tech-Saturated World
by Nate AndersonAn Ars Technica Holiday Reading Title of 2021 A lively and approachable meditation on how we can transform our digital lives if we let a little Nietzsche in. Who has not found themselves scrolling endlessly on screens and wondered: Am I living or distracting myself from living? In Emergency, Break Glass adapts Friedrich Nietzsche’s passionate quest for meaning into a world overwhelmed by “content.” Written long before the advent of smartphones, Nietzsche’s aphoristic philosophy advocated a fierce mastery of attention, a strict information diet, and a powerful connection to the natural world. Drawing on Nietzsche’s work, technology journalist Nate Anderson advocates for a life of goal-oriented, creative exertion as more meaningful than the “frictionless” leisure often promised by our devices. He rejects the simplicity of contemporary prescriptions like reducing screen time in favor of looking deeply at what truly matters to us, then finding ways to make our technological tools serve this vision. With a light touch suffused by humor, Anderson uncovers the impact of this “yes-saying” philosophy on his own life—and perhaps on yours.
In Foreign Lands: The Migration of Scientists for Political or Economic Reasons (Trends in the History of Science)
by Maria Teresa Borgato Christine PhiliThis proceedings volume collects the stories of mathematicians and scientists who have spent and developed parts of their careers and life in countries other than those of their origin. The reasons may have been different in different periods but were often driven by political or economic circumstances: The lack of suitable employment opportunities in their home countries, adverse political systems, and wars have led to the emigration of scientists. The volume shows that these movements have played an important role in spreading scientific knowledge and have often changed the scientific landscape, tradition and future of studies and research fields.The book analyses in particular: aspects of Euler’s, Lagrange’s and Boscovich’s scientific biographies, migrations of scientists from France, Spain and Greece to Russia in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and from Russia to France in the twentieth century, exiles from Italy before the Italian Risorgimento, migrations inside Europe and the escape of mathematicians from Nazi-fascist Europe, between the two World Wars, as well as the mobility of experts around the world. It includes selected contributions from the symposium In Foreign Lands: The Migration of Scientists for Political or Economic Reasons held at the Conference of the International Academy of the History of Science in Athens (September 2019).
In God's Image: An Anthropology of the Spirit
by Michael WelkerFrom the 2019/2020 Gifford Lectures at the University of Edinburgh In God&’s Image describes how centering our culture on the human and divine spirit can revitalize four universally acknowledged characteristics of a thriving human existence: justice, freedom, truth, and peace. Inspired not only by religious sources, but also by scientists, philosophers, economists, and legal and political theorists, Michael Welker develops the idea of a &“multimodal&” spirit that generates the possibility of living and acting in the image of God. Welker&’s new approach to natural theology explains why the human and the divine spirit cannot adequately be grasped in simple bipolar relations and why the human spirit should not be reduced to the rational mind. Addressing the question What is the calling of human beings? in the context of late modern pluralistic societies, he aims at explaining to believers and non-believers alike what it means to be persons created in the image of God, moved by a spirit of justice, freedom, truth, and peace.
In God's Shadow
by Michael WalzerIn this eagerly awaited book, political theorist Michael Walzer reports his findings after decades of thinking about the politics of the Hebrew Bible. Attentive to nuance while engagingly straightforward, Walzer examines the laws, the histories, the prophecies, and the wisdom of the ancient biblical writers and discusses their views on such central political questions as justice, hierarchy, war, the authority of kings and priests, and the experience of exile. Because there are many biblical writers with differing views, pluralism is a central feature of biblical politics. Yet pluralism, Walzer observes, is never explicitly defended in the Bible; indeed, it couldn’t be defended since God’s word had to be as singular as God himself. Yet different political regimes are described in the biblical texts, and there are conflicting political arguments—and also a recurrent anti-political argument: if you have faith in God, you have no need for strong institutions, prudent leaders, or reformist policies. At the same time, however, in the books of law and prophecy, the people of Israel are called upon to overcome oppression and “let justice well up like water, righteousness like an unfailing stream. ”
In Gods We Trust: New Patterns of Religious Pluralism in America
by Thomas RobbinsMuch has changed since publication of the first edition of this established text in the sociology of religion. Revised and expanded, this edition emphasizes new patterns of religious change and conflict emerging in the United States in the latter part of the twentieth century. Leading scholars describe and analyze developments in five main areas: The fundamentalist and evangelical revival; challenge and renewal in mainline churches; spiritual innovation and the so-called New Age; women's movements and issues and their impact; and politics and civil religion.Chapters include an examination of religious movements' responses to AIDS; Christian schools; quasi-religions; healing rites and goddess worship; recruitment of women to charismatic and Hassidic groups,; televangelists and the Christian Right; racist rural populism; contemporary Mormonism and its growth; cults and brainwashing; Jonestown; dissidence in the Catholic church; and trance-channeling, among other topics.A new introductory chapter by the editors establishes an integrating framework in terms of three themes: increasing conflict and controversy associated with American religion; increasing focus on various forms of power in American religion; and challenges to models of secularization and modernization inherent in religious revival, innovation, and politicization. A concluding chapter by the editors looks at new trends and assesses their possible impact in coming years.Like its predecessor, this outstanding collection is a significant contribution to the literature as well as a valuable resource for the classroom.
In guter Gesellschaft?
by Tim KönigJürgen Habermas und Niklas Luhmann haben über mehrere Jahrzehnte hinweg sowohl die allgemeine sozialwissenschaftliche Theoriebildung als auch die Diskussionen zur politischen Theorie entscheidend geprägt. Das vorliegende Buch führt in die Theorien des Sozialen und der Politik beider Autoren ein und zeigt auf, inwiefern beide miteinander zusammenhängen. Diskurs- und Systemtheorie der Politik können damit in ihren jeweiligen Leistungen und Grenzen besser nachvollzogen werden.
In His Voice: Maurice Blanchot's Affair with the Neuter
by David AppelbaumIn His Voice considers the idea of the neuter in Maurice Blanchot's work, and seeks to work out through an exercise of literary impersonation, or ventriloquism, how and why Blanchot relied on this form. Neither active nor passive, the neuter expresses a kind of third voice beyond the command of the author, one that speaks paradoxically of what lies outside of speaking but nonetheless exerts an irrepressible influence on thought. The neuter is exilic, messianic, and fragmentary. Since it cannot be directly accounted for, Blanchot uses a number of indirect approaches—notably, myth—to announce the key elements of his view. Orpheus, Odysseus, and principally Narcissus figure his conception and elaborate the operation of giving voice. Through a distillation of Blanchot's narrative and critical texts—focusing on the late works, The Step Not Beyond, and The Writing of the Disaster—and through an emphasis on performance, In His Voice enacts the event of writing in search of how author's inscriptive reality appears in the world.
In höheren Räumen: Der Weg der Geometrie in die vierte Dimension (Mathematik im Kontext)
by Klaus VolkertDas vorliegende Buch schildert, wie sich die Geometrie in der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jhs. allmählich von der Beschränkung der bis dato als selbstverständlich angenommenen Einzigartigkeit und Dreidimensionalität des Raumes befreite, was die Motive hierfür waren und welche Ergebnisse erzielt wurden. Unter diesen ragt ein Topos heraus: die Bestimmung der regulären Polytope im vierdimensionalen Raum. Nicht nur innermathematisch erregte die neue Geometrie Aufsehen; der Versuch, sie zur „wissenschaftlichen“ Erklärung spiritistischer Kunststücke heranzuziehen, führte bald dazu, dass die vierte Dimension in aller Munde war. Selten hat ein mathematisches Konzept eine solche Popularität erreicht wie die vierte Dimension; ein interessantes, heute fast vergessenes Kapitel zum Thema Mathematik und Öffentlichkeit wurde aufgeblättert. Dieses Buch schildert ausführlich den „Zöllner-Skandal“, ausgelöst durch die erwähnten Erklärungsversuche des Leipziger Astrophysiker Friedrich Karl Zöllner, und die Reaktionen hierauf seitens der Mathematiker, deren Strategie sich schlagwortartig als "Zurück in den Elfenbeinturm" charakterisieren lässt. Schließlich kommen die Beziehungen der vierten Dimension zu anderen Kulturgebieten wie bildende Kunst und Literatur zur Sprache. Philosophische Aspekte sind allgegenwärtig in der Geschichte der vierten Dimension.Das Buch wendet sich an alle, die sich für die Geschichte der Mathematik und deren Einbettung in eine allgemeinere Kulturgeschichte interessieren. Es setzt wenig mehr als Schulgeometrie voraus.
In(-)Kongruenz leben: Eine qualitative Untersuchung zu vegetarisch und vegan lebenden Menschen aus bildungstheoretischer Perspektive
by Marvin GiehlMarvin Giehl zeigt den im erziehungswissenschaftlichen Diskurs bislang unterrepräsentierten Konnex zwischen den ethisch motivierten Ernährungs- und Lebensformen des Vegetarismus und des Veganismus sowie deren biographischer Genese und bildungstheoretischen Überlegungen auf. Durch die Erhebung qualitativer Interviews und die Auswertung im Stile der dokumentarischen Methode entwirft der Autor mehrere datenbegründete Typiken, welche die Komplexität von ‚vegetarischen‘ und ‚veganen‘ Biographien rekonstruieren. Virulent wird dabei ein spannungsreiches Wechselspiel von erlebter Inkongruenz und Kongruenz. Mit dem Forschungsergebnis legt er eine neue Betrachtung von post-anthropozentrisch gedachten biographischen Bildungsprozessen vor, woraus auch praktische pädagogische Implikationen abzuleiten sind. Schließlich erweitert die Arbeit die Perspektiven im methodologischen Diskurs, indem sie bislang vorherrschende und reproduzierte Fokussierung auf konjunktive Wissensbestände und die damit korrespondieren Wissensformen durch die analytische Berücksichtigung von kommunikativem Wissen ergänzt.
In Krisen aus Krisen lernen: Sozioökonomische Bildung und Wissenschaft im Kontext sozial-ökologischer Transformation (Sozioökonomische Bildung und Wissenschaft)
by Lisa-Marie Schröder Harald Hantke Theresa Steffestun Reinhold HedtkeDas zu Beginn der Corona-Krise heraufbeschworene „neue Normal“ wird von Krisen geprägt sein. Schon früher traten miteinander verwobene Krisen wie die Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise 2007 ff., die Staatsschulden- und Eurokrise 2010, Armutskrisen oder die Krisen der liberalen Demokratie, etwa durch den Rechtspopulismus, zutage. Die Pandemie ist allgegenwärtig, das Klima bildet den Inbegriff einer Dauerkrise, die weitere Krisen evozieren wird. Die Omnipräsenz von Krisen fordert die Gesellschaft heraus.Dieser Themenband widmet sich dem Umgang mit Krisen aus der Perspektive sozioökonomischer Bildung und Wissenschaft. Ausgehend von den Erfahrungen des Lehrens und Lernens in Krisen erörtern die Beiträge u. a. folgende Fragen: Welche Bildungsinhalte, -formen und -politiken helfen, um in Krisen aus Krisen zu lernen? Welche Wege zum Umgang mit dem Dauerkrisenzustand bietet die sozioökonomische Wissenschaft? Neben programmatischen, theoretischen und historischen Abhandlungen stellt der Band Lehr-Lernformate dar, die diese Herausforderung angenommen haben. Präsentiert werden fachdidaktische und fachwissenschaftliche Antworten auf multiple Krisen als Inspiration für Ansätze und Aktivitäten einer kritisch-transformativen sozioökonomischen Bildung und Wissenschaft.
In Letters of Blood and Fire: Work, Machines, and the Crisis of Capitalism (Common Notions)
by George CaffentzisAlthough information technology, immaterial production, financialization, and globalization have been trumpeted as inaugurating a new phase of capitalism that transcends its violent origins, this collection of essays by autonomist Marxist George Caffentzis argues that instead of being in a period of major social and economic novelty, the course of the last decades has been a return to the vehement conflicts present at the advent of capitalism. Emphasizing class struggles that have proliferated across the social body of global capitalism, Caffentzis shows how these struggles are so central to the dynamic of the system that even the most sophisticated machines cannot liberate capitalism from class struggle and the need for labor. The writings draw upon a careful rereading of Marx's thought in order to elucidate political concerns of the day and document the peculiar way in which capital perpetuates violence and proliferates misery on a world scale.
In Light-Years There's No Hurry: Cosmic Perspectives on Everyday Life
by Marjolijn van HeemstraHow seeing Earth through the eyes of an astronaut brings new wonder and meaning to life on our planet. One stifling summer night, the poet and journalist Marjolijn van Heemstra lay awake, unable to sleep—like so many of us feeling anxious and alienated, deeply exhausted yet restless. Amid the suffocating stream of daily obligations, the clamor of notifications and increasingly dismal headlines, she longed for a way to rise above the frenzy, for a renewed sense of meaning and connection. Then she learned about the overview effect—a permanent shift in consciousness many astronauts experience when beholding Earth from outside the atmosphere—and wondered: could the perspective of outer space offer the internal space she sought? The lyrical account of van Heemstra’s yearlong quest to experience the overview effect on Earth, In Light-Years There’s No Hurry invites us to lift our gaze above eye level and discover our connections with the cosmos, our planet, and each other. We follow as van Heemstra’s cosmic awareness expands and she finds herself feeling simultaneously lighter and more grounded. Compared with the complexity of the universe, daily life on Earth begins to seem more manageable, while understanding the improbability of our collective existence gives her new patience and tenderness for her neighbors. The grand rhythms of light-years and eons become a source of restoration and relief—a comforting, necessary reminder to slow down and zoom out. Contemplating the solace a cosmic perspective offers in our chaotic, divided world, In Light-Years There’s No Hurry is a moving meditation on what it is to be human amid the vastness of the universe.
In Living Color: An Intercultural Approach to Pastoral Care and Counseling Second Edition
by Emmanuel Y LarteyThe meaning of pastoral care in modern multicultural societies is challenged and reexamined from a pluralistic, global perspective in this book. Emmanuel Lartey stresses the importance of recognizing different cultural influences on individuals in order to effectively counsel, guide and empower them. He provides a clear and concise history of pastoral care and considers its relationship to different models of counseling and spirituality. This new edition has been updated to reflect postmodern and postcolonial studies and provides illustrations of how an intercultural approach can work in practice. Theological teachers and students will welcome its return as an indispensable introduction to the field of pastoral care. In Living Color is an essential source of inspiration to leaders from any religious stream who wish to provide pastoral care in a way that reflects their community's cultural diversity. This book is also a useful resource for practitioners in a wider range of caring contexts who work in multicultural environments.
In Love with Life
by Osho Osho International FoundationIn his preface to Ecce Homo, Friedrich Nietzsche says this: "With [Thus Spoke Zarathustra] I have given mankind the greatest present that has ever been made to it so far. This book, with a voice bridging centuries, is not only the highest book there is, the book that is truly characterized by the air of the heights-the whole fact of man lies beneath it at a tremendous distance-it is also the deepest, born out of the innermost wealth of truth, an inexhaustible well to which no pail descends without coming up again filled with gold and goodness."Perhaps only a contemporary mystic like Osho could truly understand what Nietzsche meant by this statement. In Love with Life shares Osho's understanding of both Nietzsche the man and of his seminal work, with extraordinary clarity and relevance to readers in the 21st century. Ten chapters have been selected from a series of 43 talks given by Osho, first published as two volumes: Zarathustra: A God that Can Dance, and Zarathustra: The Laughing Prophet. Here, Nietzsche is rescued from any remaining taint brought on by the Nazi misunderstanding and appropriation of his work, and we also learn much about the mysterious and revolutionary Persian mystic Zarathustra (Zoroaster), whom Nietzsche chose as a spokesperson.The result is an enchanting journey through a world where life is celebrated, not renounced, and where timeless truths prevail over the lies and distortions that continue to cripple our efforts to become healthy and whole.
In Motion, At Rest
by Grant FarredIn Motion, At Rest takes up the event as a philosophical problem from a novel perspective. Grant Farred examines three infamous events in sport, arguing that theorizing the event through sport makes possible an entirely original way of thinking about it.In the first event, Ron Artest committed a flagrant foul in a National Basketball Association game, which provoked fans to hurl both invectives and beer cups. Artest and some teammates then attacked the fans. Drawing from Alain Badiou, Farred suggests that this event extends far beyond Artest and into the actions of many others, including those of Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson, and Emmett Till. In the second event Eric Cantona--a professional footballer (soccer player)--was ejected from a game. On his way to the locker room a fan verbally assaulted him, and in response Cantona kicked the fan. Farred utilizes Gilles Deleuze's insights on cinema to theorize "the most famous kung-fu kick in football." In the third event, Zinedine Zidane, captain of the French national team, head butted an opposing player. Applying concepts from Jacques Derrida, Farred explores xenophobia and the politics of immigration.Throughout, Farred shows how what was already inherent in the event is opened to new possibilities for understanding ontological being by thinking about sport philosophically.
In Orientierung begriffen
by Constanze Berndt Maik WalmBildung, Kultur und Kompetenz spielen in Diskursen moderner Gesellschaften eine herausgehobene Rolle und stellen deshalb zentrale Referenzpunkte des (erziehungs)wissenschaftlichen Denkens dar. Die hier versammelten Beiträge zielen darauf ab, Orientierungspunkte zu geben, um disziplinäre Standortbestimmungen zu befördern und Institutionen wie Kindertagesstätten, Schulen und Hochschulen kritisch zu analysieren und reflektiert zu begleiten.
In Our Name: The Ethics of Democracy
by Eric BeerbohmWhen a government in a democracy acts in our name, are we, as citizens, responsible for those acts? What if the government commits a moral crime? The protestor's slogan--"Not in our name!"--testifies to the need to separate ourselves from the wrongs of our leaders. Yet the idea that individual citizens might bear a special responsibility for political wrongdoing is deeply puzzling for ordinary morality and leading theories of democracy. In Our Name explains how citizens may be morally exposed to the failures of their representatives and state institutions, and how complicity is the professional hazard of democratic citizenship. Confronting the ethical challenges that citizens are faced with in a self-governing democracy, Eric Beerbohm proposes institutional remedies for dealing with them. Beerbohm questions prevailing theories of democracy for failing to account for our dual position as both citizens and subjects. Showing that the obligation to participate in the democratic process is even greater when we risk serving as accomplices to wrongdoing, Beerbohm argues for a distinctive division of labor between citizens and their representatives that charges lawmakers with the responsibility of incorporating their constituents' moral principles into their reasoning about policy. Grappling with the practical issues of democratic decision making, In Our Name engages with political science, law, and psychology to envision mechanisms for citizens seeking to avoid democratic complicity.
In Our Own Image: Savior or Destroyer? The History and Future of Artificial Intelligence
by George ZarkadakisA timely and important book that explores the history and future, as well as the societal and ethical implications, of Artificial Intelligence as we approach the cusp of a fourth industrial revolution Zarkadakis explores one of humankind's oldest love-hate relationships—our ties with artificial intelligence, or AI. He traces AI's origins in ancient myth, through literary classics like Frankenstein, to today's sci-fi blockbusters, arguing that a fascination with AI is hardwired into the human psyche. He explains AI's history, technology, and potential; its manifestations in intelligent machines; its connections to neurology and consciousness, as well as—perhaps most tellingly—what AI reveals about us as human beings. In Our Own Image argues that we are on the brink of a fourth industrial revolution—poised to enter the age of Artificial Intelligence as science fiction becomes science fact. Ultimately, Zarkadakis observes, the fate of AI has profound implications for the future of science and humanity itself.
In Praise of Copying
by Marcus BoonThis book is devoted to a deceptively simple but original argument: that copying is an essential part of being human, that the ability to copy is worthy of celebration, and that, without recognizing how integral copying is to being human, we cannot understand ourselves or the world we live in. In spite of the laws, stigmas, and anxieties attached to it, the word “copying” permeates contemporary culture, shaping discourse on issues from hip hop to digitization to gender reassignment, and is particularly crucial in legal debates concerning intellectual property and copyright. Yet as a philosophical concept, copying remains poorly understood. Working comparatively across cultures and times, Marcus Boon undertakes an examination of what this word means—historically, culturally, philosophically—and why it fills us with fear and fascination. He argues that the dominant legal-political structures that define copying today obscure much broader processes of imitation that have constituted human communities for ages and continue to shape various subcultures today. Drawing on contemporary art, music and film, the history of aesthetics, critical theory, and Buddhist philosophy and practice, In Praise of Copying seeks to show how and why copying works, what the sources of its power are, and the political stakes of renegotiating the way we value copying in the age of globalization.
In Praise of Disobedience: The Soul of Man Under Socialism and Other Works
by Oscar Wilde Neil BartlettWorks of Wilde's annus mirabilis of 1891 in one volume, with an introduction by renowned British playwright.The Soul of Man Under Socialism draw on works from a single miraculous year in which Oscar Wilde published the larger part of his greatest works in prose -- the year he came into maturity as an artist. Before the end of 1891, he had written the first of his phenomenally successful plays and met the young man who would win his heart, beginning the love affair that would lead to imprisonment and public infamy.In a witty introduction, playwright, novelist and Wilde scholar Neil Bartlett explains what made this point in the writer's life central to his genius and why Wilde remains a provocative and radical figure to this day.Included here are the entirety of Wilde's foray into political philosophy, The Soul of Man Under Socialism; the complete essay collection Intentions; selections from The Portrait of Dorian Gray as well as its paradoxical and scandalous preface; and some of Wilde's greatest fictions for children. Each selection is accompanied by stimulating and enlightening annotations. A delight for fans of Oscar Wilde, In Praise of Disobedience will revitalize an often misunderstood legacy.
In Praise of Doubt: How to Have Convictions Without Becoming a Fanatic
by Peter Berger Anton Zijderveld“A book of great practical wisdom by authors who have profound insight into the intellectual dynamics governing contemporary life.”—Dallas Willard, author of Knowing Christ TodayIn In Praise of Doubt, two world-renowned social scientists, Peter L. Berger (The Homeless Mind, Questions of Faith) and Anton C. Zijderveld (The Abstract Society, On Clichés), map out how we can survive the political, moral, and religious challenges raised by the extreme poles of relativism and fundamentalism. A book that asks and answers Big Questions, In Praise of Doubt offers invaluable guidance on how to have convictions without becoming a fanatic.
In Praise of Failure: Four Lessons in Humility
by Costica BradatanSquarely challenging a culture obsessed with success, an acclaimed philosopher argues that failure is vital to a life well lived, curing us of arrogance and self-deception and engendering humility instead.Our obsession with success is hard to overlook. Everywhere we compete, rank, and measure. Yet this relentless drive to be the best blinds us to something vitally important: the need to be humble in the face of life’s challenges. Costica Bradatan mounts his case for failure through the stories of four historical figures who led lives of impact and meaning—and assiduously courted failure. Their struggles show that engaging with our limitations can be not just therapeutic but transformative.In Praise of Failure explores several arenas of failure, from the social and political to the spiritual and biological. It begins by examining the defiant choices of the French mystic Simone Weil, who, in sympathy with exploited workers, took up factory jobs that her frail body could not sustain. From there we turn to Mahatma Gandhi, whose punishing quest for purity drove him to ever more extreme acts of self-abnegation. Next we meet the self-styled loser E. M. Cioran, who deliberately turned his back on social acceptability, and Yukio Mishima, who reveled in a distinctly Japanese preoccupation with the noble failure, before looking to Seneca to tease out the ingredients of a good life.Gleefully breaching the boundaries between argument and storytelling, scholarship and spiritual quest, Bradatan concludes that while success can make us shallow, our failures can lead us to humbler, more attentive, and better lived lives. We can do without success, but we are much poorer without the gifts of failure.
In Praise of Folly: With Illustrations After Hans Holbein, And A Portrait, Together With A Life Of Erasmus And His Epistle Addressed To Sir Thomas Mor
by Desiderius ErasmusThis sixteenth-century religious satire by a Renaissance critic and theologian is "a masterpiece of humor and wise irony" (Johan Huizinga, Dutch historian). At the onset of his hugely successful satire of medieval European society, Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus invokes the goddess Folly, daughter of Youth and Wealth, who was raised by Drunkenness and Ignorance. She's followed by idolatrous companions, including Self-love, Flattery, Pleasure, and Laziness. Through Folly's wry and humorous speech, Erasmus denounces the superstitions and nonsensical eccentricities of his contemporary theologians and churchmen, monastic life, and the condition of the Catholic Church. An immensely influential humanist text, In Praise of Folly helped lay the groundwork for the Protestant Reformation and marked a transitional time between medieval beliefs and modern ideals.