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On Political Obligation
by Judith N. ShklarA compelling set of lectures on political obligation that contributes to ongoing debates in political theory and intellectual history This stimulating collection of lectures by the late Judith Shklar on political obligation is paired with a scholarly introduction that offers an overview of her life, illuminates the connections among her teaching, research, and publications, and explains why her lectures still resonate with us and contribute to current debates in political theory and intellectual history.
On Politics: From Herodotus to the Present (Liveright Classics Ser. #0)
by Alan RyanThree decades in the making, one of the most ambitious and comprehensive histories of political philosophy in nearly a century. Both a history and an examination of human thought and behavior spanning three thousand years, On Politics thrillingly traces the origins of political philosophy from the ancient Greeks to Machiavelli in Book I and from Hobbes to the present age in Book II. Whether examining Lord Acton's dictum that "absolute power corrupts absolutely" or explicating John Stuart Mill's contention that it is "better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied," Alan Ryan evokes the lives and minds of our greatest thinkers in a way that makes reading about them a transcendent experience. Whether writing about Plato or Augustine, de Toqueville or Thomas Jefferson, Ryan brings a wisdom to his text that illuminates John Dewey's belief that the role of philosophy is less to see truth than to enhance experience. With this unparalleled tour de force, Ryan emerges in his own right as one of the most influential political philosophers of our time.
On Popular Music and Its Unruly Entanglements: Blurring The Lines (Pop Music, Culture and Identity)
by Nick Braae Kai Arne HansenOn Popular Music and Its Unruly Entanglements comprises eleven essays that explore the myriad ways in which popular music is entwined within social, cultural, musical, historical, and media networks. The authors discuss genres as diverse as mainstream pop, hip hop, classic rock, instrumental synthwave, video game music, amateur ukelele groups, and audiovisual remixes, while also considering the music’s relationship to technological developments, various media and material(itie)s, and personal and social identity. The collection presents a range of different methodologies and theoretical positions, which results in an eclecticism that aptly demonstrates the breadth of contemporary popular music research. The chapters are divided into three major sections that address: wider theoretical and analytical issues (“Broad Strokes”), familiar repertoire or concepts from a new perspective (“Second Takes”), and the meanings to arise from music’s connections with other media forms (“Audiovisual Entanglements”).
On Populist Reason (Phronesis Ser.)
by Ernesto LaclauIn this highly original work Ernesto Laclau continues the philosophical and political exploration initiated in Hegemony and Socialist Strategy. Here he focuses on the construction of popular identities and how "the people" emerge as a collective actor. Skillfully combining theoretical analysis with a myriad of empirical references from numerous historical and geographical contexts he offers a critical reading of the existing literature on populism, demonstrating its dependency on the theorists of "mass psychology" such as Taine and Freud. He demonstrates the relation of populism to democracy and to the logic of representation, and differentiates his approach from the work of i ek, Hardt and Negri, and Ranciere. This book is essential reading for all those interested in the question of political identities in present-day societies.
On Power and Ideology: The Managua Lectures (Unica Ser.)
by Noam ChomskyOne of Noam Chomsky's most accessible books, On Power and Ideology is a product of his 1986 visit to Managua, Nicaragua, for a lecture series at Unversidad Centroamericana. Delivered at the height of U.S. involvement in the Nicaraguan civil war, this succinct series of lectures lays out the parameters of Noam Chomsky's foreign policy analysis.The book consists of five lectures on U.S. international and security policy. The first two lectures examine the persistent and largely homogenous features of U.S. foreign policy, and overall framework of order. The third discusses Central America and its foreign policy pattern. The fourth looks at U.S. national security and the arms race. And the fifth examines U.S. domestic policy.These five talks, conveyed directly to the people bearing the brunt of devastating U.S. foreign policy, make historic and exciting reading.
On Power in Architecture: From a Materialistic, Phenomenological, and Post-Structuralist Perspective (Routledge Research in Architecture)
by Mateja KurirArchitecture has always been a decisive manifestation of power. This volume represents an attempt to question and reflect on the relationship between power and architecture from three philosophical perspectives: materialistic, phenomenological and post-structuralist.This collection opens an interdisciplinary investigation that aims to reflect on architecture and its interconnectedness with power within philosophy and cultural theory at large while presenting these concepts using practical examples from the built environment. Internationally recognised authors – philosophers, architectural theorists and historians – Andrew Benjamin, Andrew Ballantyne, Mladen Dolar, Hilde Heynen, Nadir Lahiji, Jeff Malpas, Dean Komel, Elke Krasny, Robert Pfaller, Gerard Reinmuth, Luka Skansi, Douglas Spencer, Teresa Stoppani and Sven-Olov Wallenstein present their reflections in original unpublished essays and interviews. In the presented works, architecture is combined and transgressed by philosophy in a new discussion that focuses only on power. The contributions in this collection open a variety of architectural questions, one of the central among them being the impact of neoliberal capitalism on architecture. Architecture, with its implications on the complex contemporary political and social reality, is severely changing our space and, more globally, our environment. A reflection on the multilayered relation between architecture and power has never been as topical as it is today.This book will, therefore, be of interest to students, researchers and academics or professionals within the fields of architecture, philosophy, sociology, political sciences and cultural sciences.
On Practice and Contradiction
by Mao Tse-TungIn this dazzling new series, philosopher and cultural critic Slavoj Zizek interrogates key writings on revolution. These early philosophical writings underpinned the Chinese revolutions and their clarion calls to insurrection remain some of the most stirring of all time. Drawing on a dizzying array of references from contemporary culture and politics, Zizek's firecracker commentary reaches unsettling conclusions about the place of Mao's thought in the revolutionary canon. "Communism is not love. Communism is a hammer, which we use to crush the enemy." -- Mao Tse-Tung
On Preserving
by Bryson Brown Peter Schotch Raymond JenningsParaconsistent logic is a theory of reasoning in philosophy that studies inconsistent data. The discipline has several different schools of thought, including preservationism, which responds to the problems that arise when human beings continue to reason when faced with inconsistent data. On Preserving is the first complete account of the Preservationist School, which developed in Canada out of the early work of Raymond Jennings, Peter Schotch, and their students. Assembling the previously scattered works of the Preservationist School, this collection contains all of the most significant works on the basic theory of the preservationist approach to paraconsistent logic. With essays both written and rewritten specifically for this volume, the contributors cover topics that include the motivation for the preservationist approach, as well as more technical results of their research. Concise and unified, On Preserving is the ideal introduction to a distinct philosophical field.
On Privacy (Thinking in Action)
by Annabelle LeverThis book explores the Janus-faced features of privacy, and looks at their implications for the control of personal information, for sexual and reproductive freedom, and for democratic politics. It asks what, if anything, is wrong with asking women to get licenses in order to have children, given that pregnancy and childbirth can seriously damage your health. It considers whether employers should be able to monitor the friendships and financial affairs of employees, and whether we are entitled to know whenever someone rich, famous or powerful has cancer, or an adulterous affair. It considers whether we are entitled to privacy in public and, if so, what this might mean for the use of CCTV cameras, the treatment of the homeless and the provision of public facilities such as parks, libraries and lavatories. Above all, the book seeks to understand whether and, if so, why privacy is valuable in a democratic society, and what implications privacy has for the ways we see and treat each other. The ideas about privacy we have inherited from the past are marked by beliefs about what is desirable, realistic and possible which predate democratic government and, in some cases, predate constitutional government as well. Hence, this book argues, although privacy is an important democratic value, we can only realise that value if we use democratic ideas about the freedom, equality, security and rights of individuals to guide our understanding of privacy.
On Public Imagination: A Political and Ethical Imperative
by Michael Curtin Richard Falk Victor FaesselIn this wide-ranging and multidisciplinary volume, leading scholars, activists, journalists, and public figures deliberate about the creative and critical potential of public imagination in an era paradoxically marked by intensifying globalization and resurgent nationalism. Divided into five sections, these chapters explore the social, political, and cultural role of imagination and civic engagement, offering cogent, ingenious reflections that stand in stark contrast to the often grim rhetoric of our era. Short and succinct, the chapters engage with an interconnected ensemble of themes and issues while also providing insights into the specific geographical and social dynamics of each author’s national or regional context. • Part 1 introduces the reader to theoretical reflections on imagination and the public sphere; • Part 2 illustrates dynamics of public imagination in a diverse set of cultural contexts; • Part 3 reflects in various ways on the urgent need for a radically transformed public and civic imagination in the face of worldwide ecological crisis; • Part 4 suggests new societal possibilities that are related to spiritual as well as politically revolutionary sources of inspiration; • Part 5 explores characteristics of present and potentially emerging global society and the existing transnational framework that could provide resources for a more humane global order. Erudite and thought-provoking, On Public Imagination makes a vital contribution to political thought, and is accessible to activists, students, and scholars alike.
On Purpose
by Michael RuseA brief, accessible history of the idea of purpose in Western thought, from ancient Greece to the presentCan we live without the idea of purpose? Should we even try to? Kant thought we were stuck with purpose, and even Darwin’s theory of natural selection, which profoundly shook the idea, was unable to kill it. Indeed, teleological explanation—what Aristotle called understanding in terms of “final causes”—seems to be making a comeback today, as both religious proponents of intelligent design and some prominent secular philosophers argue that any explanation of life without the idea of purpose is missing something essential.In On Purpose, Michael Ruse explores the history of the idea of purpose in philosophical, religious, scientific, and historical thought, from ancient Greece to the present. Accessibly written and filled with literary and other examples, the book examines “purpose” thinking in the natural and human world. It shows how three ideas about purpose have been at the heart of Western thought for more than two thousand years. In the Platonic view, purpose results from the planning of a human or divine being; in the Aristotelian, purpose stems from a tendency or principle of order in the natural world; and in the Kantian, purpose is essentially heuristic, or something to be discovered, an idea given substance by Darwin’s theory of evolution through natural selection.On Purpose traces the profound and fascinating implications of these ways of thinking about purpose. Along the way, it takes up tough questions about the purpose of life and whether it’s possible to have meaning without purpose, revealing that purpose is still a vital and pressing issue.
On Pyrrho and Time
by Jean-Paul MartinonToday’s understanding of time remains mostly Aristotelian and Newtonian/Einsteinian: time is what has been abstracted from the mundane realities of life and reduced to its measurement. Any somatic, psychological, or other experience of time is deemed either irrelevant or secondary. The history of the attempts to provide alternatives to time as measurement is infinite, most of which focuses on understanding time as an inner-temporal phenomenon for which a subject temporalizes him or herself through remembrance, experience, or anticipation (including death). Amidst this vast field, one argument by an enigmatic figure in ancient Greek thought stands out for the way it abides by neither the conventional view that time is clock time nor that it is an inner temporal phenomenon: Aenesidemus’ overlooked way of apprehending time by qualifying it as similar to air. To make sense of such an unusual statement, it is necessary to reconsider what informs such an unusual idea. Aenesidemus’ teacher was Pyrrho (often dubbed the Greek Buddha) who advocated for a non-differential approach to reality, one for which nothing is fixed or stable. With this perspective in mind, Aenesidemus’ idea then becomes clear: time or air knows no differentiae, whether that of the unit of measure or of the subject breathing it and sheltering from it. Both are radically unstable. While these ideas had no purchase for over 2000 years, they can now be revealed in all their magnitude. In the last 120 years, we have indeed become aerial beings. We no longer scuttle around on the ground floor below an unsuspected ocean of air. We no longer aspire to shin a tree or scale a peak. We have now made a habitation of the air. Such a new dwelling has its own unique time, a time that strangely does not agree with the abstracted and/or calculated time that was formulated when we only had sundials and water-clocks at our disposal. Against time as measure and against time as inner-temporal phenomenon comes time as total instability. Can revisiting the few fragments that Pyrrho and his disciple left us help once again articulate our relation to time and give us a renewed sense of reality and who we are within it? This monograph focuses on early Pyrrhonism (as distinguished from the sceptical work of Sextus Empiricus), Pali Buddhism, as well as contemporary interpretations of time and reality in both science and philosophy.
On Quality: An Inquiry into Excellence: Unpublished and Selected Writings
by Robert M Pirsig Wendy K. PirsigFeaturing long-awaited selections from Robert M. Pirsig's unpublished writings, from before and after Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, an original collection illuminating the central theme of Pirsig's thought: “Quality”“The ultimate goal in the pursuit of excellence is enlightenment." —Robert M. Pirsig, 1962More than a decade before the release of the book that would make him famous, Robert M. Pirsig had already caught hold of the central theme that would animate Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: “Quality,” a concept loosely likened to “excellence,” “rightness,” or “fitness” that Pirsig saw as kindred to the Buddhist ideas of “dharma” or the “Tao.” As he later wrote in Zen, “Quality is the Buddha.”Though he was revered by fans who considered him a guru, the famously private Pirsig published only two books and consented to few interviews and almost no public appearances in later decades. Yet he wrote and thought almost continually, refining his “Metaphysics of Quality” until his death in 2017.Now, for the first time, readers will be granted access to five decades of Pirsig’s personal writings in this posthumous collection that illuminates the evolution of his thinking to an unprecedented degree. Skillfully edited and introduced by Wendy K. Pirsig, Robert’s wife of four decades, the collection includes previously unpublished texts, speeches, letters, interviews, and private notes, as well as key excerpts from Zen and the Art of the Motorcycle Maintenance and his second book, Lila.Since its publication in 1974, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance has established itself as a modern classic of popular philosophy; selling millions of copies and inspiring a generation, while serving as a perennial touchstone for the generations that follow. On Quality is a remarkable contribution to our understanding of one of the most influential thinkers and writers of our time.
On Quality in Art: Criteria of Excellence, Past and Present (The A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts #13)
by Jakob RosenbergAn acclaimed art historian explains how to identify excellence in artIn this book, Jakob Rosenberg takes up the timeless problem of how to make a valid judgment about artistic quality. In his search for criteria of excellence in art, Rosenberg examines both the achievements and failures of other critics from the Renaissance to modern times, including Giorgio Vasari, Roger de Piles, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Théophile Thoré, and Roger Fry. Drawing vital lessons from these critics’ writings, Rosenberg charts an effective approach to the challenges of judging quality in works of art by analyzing master drawings from the fifteenth to twentieth centuries and comparing them with examples of followers or minor contemporaries. The result is a set of practical criteria that are applicable across diverse periods and styles. Brimming with insights from a legendary art critic and historian, On Quality in Art sheds invaluable light on drawings by artists ranging from Dürer, Raphael, Leonardo, Rubens, Rembrandt, Watteau, Degas, and van Gogh to Matisse, Picasso, and Marin.
On Quiet
by Nikki GemmellInternationally bestselling author Nikki Gemmell writes on the power of quiet in today's shouty world. Quiet comes as a shock in these troubled times. Quietism means 'devotional contemplation and abandonment of the will ... a calm acceptance of things as they are'. Gemmell makes the case for why quiet is steadily gaining ground in this noisy age: Why we need it now more than ever. How to glean quiet, hold on to it, and work within it.
On Race and Philosophy
by Lucius OutlawOn Race and Philosophy is a collection of essays written and published across the last twenty years, which focus on matters of race, philosophy, and social and political life in the West, in particular in the US. These important writings trace the author's continuing efforts not only to confront racism, especially within philosophy, but, more importantly, to work out viable conceptions of raciality and ethnicity that are empirically sound while avoiding chauvinism and invidious ethnocentrism. The hope is that such conceptions will assist efforts to fashion a nation-state in which racial and ethnic cultures and identities are recognized and nurtured contributions to a more just and stable democracy.
On Rawls, Development and Global Justice
by Huw Lloyd WilliamsJohn Rawls' text The Law of Peoples has inspired extensive scholarly debate in the field of international political theory, since its publication in 1999. Responding to the arguments of cosmopolitan theorists and Amartya Sen's recent critique, this new work presents a fresh appraisal of the debate, and argues that Rawls offers a persuasive and prescient moral perspective on issues of global poverty and development. By elaborating one of Rawls' core ideas, 'the duty of assistance', the book offers a unique theoretical response to the ideal of global justice. The duty is presented as a far-reaching principle of justice, one that advocates increasing the state capability of burdened societies, and aims to compel the most powerful states to reform international structures and provide aid, in a constructive and culturally sensitive manner. The aim of assistance is the strengthening of democratic, or 'decent' indigenous institutions and the promotion of the freedom of peoples. On Rawls, Development and Global Justice is an original contribution to current debates on international redistribution, democracy promotion and global poverty.
On Realism (Routledge Revivals)
by J. P. SternFirst published in 1973, On Realism is a comprehensive introduction to the complex problem of literary realism. Written from both a critical and philosophical perspective, the book brings together the concrete study of literary cases and the conceptual analysis of the terms used in describing them. It uses examples drawn from a wide range of European literature and engages in philosophical discussion to argue for a richer and freer sense of the concept than was more commonly in favour at the time of writing. The book describes the literary forms of realism as an art of the 'middle distance' and sets out its character and value against alternatives and distortions - symbolism, naturalism, socialist realism, faits divers, and the literature of language consciousness. On Realism will appeal to those with an interest in literary history, the history of literary theory, and literature and philosophy.
On Reason: Rationality in a World of Cultural Conflict and Racism
by Emmanuel Chukwudi EzeGiven that Enlightenment rationality developed in Europe as European nations aggressively claimed other parts of the world for their own enrichment, scholars have made rationality the subject of postcolonial critique, questioning its universality and objectivity. In On Reason, the late philosopher Emmanuel Chukwudi Eze demonstrates that rationality, and by extension philosophy, need not be renounced as manifestations or tools of Western imperialism. Examining reason in connection to the politics of difference--the cluster of issues known variously as cultural diversity, political correctness, the culture wars, and identity politics--Eze expounds a rigorous argument that reason is produced through and because of difference. In so doing, he preserves reason as a human property while at the same time showing that it cannot be thought outside the realities of cultural diversity. Advocating rationality in a multicultural world, he proposes new ways of affirming both identity and difference. Eze draws on an extraordinary command of Western philosophical thought and a deep knowledge of African philosophy and cultural traditions. He explores models of rationality in the thought of philosophers from Aristotle, Ren Descartes, Francis Bacon, and Thomas Hobbes to Noam Chomsky, Richard Rorty, Hilary Putnam, and Jacques Derrida, and he considers portrayals of reason in the work of the African thinkers and novelists Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, and Wole Soyinka. Eze reflects on contemporary thought about genetics, race, and postcolonial historiography as well as on the interplay between reason and unreason in the hearings of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He contends that while rationality may have a foundational formality, any understanding of its foundation and form is dynamic, always based in historical and cultural circumstances.
On Reasoning and Argument
by David HitchcockThis book brings together in one place David Hitchcock's most significant published articles on reasoning and argument. In seven new chapters he updates his thinking in the light of subsequent scholarship. Collectively, the papers articulate a distinctive position in the philosophy of argumentation. Among other things, the author: * develops an account of "material consequence" that permits evaluation of inferences without problematic postulation of unstated premises. * updates his recursive definition of argument that accommodates chaining and embedding of arguments and allows any type of illocutionary act to be a conclusion. * advances a general theory of relevance. * provides comprehensive frameworks for evaluating inferences in reasoning by analogy, means-end reasoning, and appeals to considerations or criteria. * argues that none of the forms of arguing ad hominem is a fallacy. * describes proven methods of teaching critical thinking effectively.
On Religion
by John CaputoJohn D. Caputo explores the very roots of religious thinking in this thought-provoking book. Compelling questions come up along the way: 'What do I love when I love my God?' and 'What can Star Wars tell us about the contemporary use of religion?' (are we always trying to find a way of saying 'God be with you'?) Why is religion for many a source of moral guidance in a postmodern, nihilistic age? Is it possible to have 'religion without religion'?Drawing on contemporary images of religion, such as Robert Duvall's film The Apostle, Caputo also provides some fascinating and imaginative insights into religious fundamentalism.
On Religion (Thinking In Action Ser.)
by John CaputoIn a thoroughly updated second edition of his popular and engaging book, John D. Caputo revisits Augustine’s ancient question "what do I love when I love my God?" and presses it into service in the post-modern world. Accessible but without compromising the big ideas, he raises the question of what religion means today in the face of widespread religious violence after 9/11, of spreading secularization, the dazzling discoveries of contemporary cosmology, and the eerie advent of the "post-human" world. All along sculpting the idea of a post-modern, post-secular "religion without religion," which turns on the "mystical element" of our lives, he wonders what the future of traditional religion will be, or whether it even has one. On Religion will fascinate anyone interested in the challenges religion faces in the contemporary world. It offers an ideal starting point from which undergraduate and postgraduate students, teachers, and lecturers can explore religion and philosophy today.
On The Reproduction Of Capitalism
by Louis Althusser Etienne BalibarLouis Althusser's renowned short text 'Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses' radically transformed the concept of the subject, the understanding of the state and even the very frameworks of cultural, political and literary theory. The text has influenced thinkers such as Judith Butler, Ernesto Laclau and Slavoj i ek. The piece is, in fact, an extract from a much longer book, On the Reproduction of Capitalism, until now unavailable in English. Its publication makes possible a reappraisal of seminal Althusserian texts already available in English, their place in Althusser's oeuvre and the relevance of his ideas for contemporary theory. On the Reproduction of Capitalism develops Althusser's conception of historical materialism, outlining the conditions of reproduction in capitalist society and the revolutionary struggle for its overthrow. Written in the afterglow of May 1968, the text addresses a question that continues to haunt us today: in a society that proclaims its attachment to the ideals of liberty and equality, why do we witness the ever-renewed reproduction of relations of domination? Both a conceptually innovative text and a key theoretical tool for activists, On the Reproduction of Capitalism is an essential addition to the corpus of the twentieth-century Left.From the Trade Paperback edition.
On Revolution: Lying In Politics; Civil Disobedience; On Violence; Thoughts On Politics And Revolution (Penguin Twentieth Century Classics Ser.)
by Hannah Arendt Jonathan SchellHannah Arendt’s penetrating observations on the modern world have been fundamental to our understanding of our political landscape, both its history and future. Published in the years between Arendt’s seminal texts The Origins of Totalitarianism and Eichmann in Jerusalem, On Revolution is a unique and fascinating look at violent political change and its relationship to individual freedom, from the eighteenth-century rebellions in America and France to the explosive changes of the twentieth century. Illuminating and prescient, this timeless work will fascinate anyone who seeks to decipher the forces that shape our tumultuous age. .
On Rhetoric: A Theory of Civic Discourse
by George A. Kennedy AristotleThis new edition of George A. Kennedy's highly acclaimed translation and commentary offers the most faithful English version ever published of Aristotle's classic work, On Rhetoric.