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Understanding Feminism (Understanding Movements In Modern Thought Ser.)
by Peta Bowden Jane Mummery"Understanding Feminism" provides an accessible guide to one of the most important and contested movements in progressive modern thought. Presenting feminism as a dynamic, multi-faceted and adaptive movement that has evolved in response to the changing practical and theoretical problems faced by women, the authors take a problem-oriented approach that maps the complex strands of feminist thinking in relation to women's struggles for equal recognition and rights, and freedom from oppressive constraints of sex, self-expression and autonomy. Each chapter focuses on a different cluster of concerns, demonstrating key moves in second-wave feminist thought, as well as some of the diversity in response-strategies that encompass both socio-economic and cultural-symbolic concerns. This approach not only shows how central feminist insights, theories and strategies emerge and re-emerge across different contexts, but makes clear that far from being 'over', feminism remains a vital response to the diverse issues that women (and men) find pressing and socially important.
Understanding Fifty Years of Bangladesh Politics: Struggles, Achievements, and Challenges
by Harun- Or-RashidThis book studies the first 50 years of Bangladesh politics since independence. It looks at Bangladesh politics as a unique case for study to analyze and understand the role of institutions, political parties, the election commission, election-time government, judiciary, the media, etc. The volume cross-examines the 1971 War of Liberation and the brutal killing of the republic’s founding father in 1975 as the two great divides that crystallized in the political arena between the Awami League on the one side and the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami on the other. Through deep dives on major historical events and key political developments that have since shaped Bangladesh’s entire society and politics, it then delves into topics including the parliament, electoral integrity, civil society, and politics as they take on a confrontational course.An incisive study on major struggles, achievements, and challenges faced by Bangladesh in the 20th century, this volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers in political science, democracy, modern history, and South Asia studies.
Understanding Foucault: A critical introduction
by Tony Schirato Jen Webb Geoff Danaher'An outstandingly good introduction to Foucault's work: lucid, measured, well organised, and covering this complex and in many ways heterogeneous body of work with remarkable thoroughness and ease.' - Professor John Frow, University of MelbourneMichel Foucault is now regarded as one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. He is known for his sensibility of critique and his commitment to movements for social change. His analysis of the ways our notions of truth, meaning, knowledge and reason are shaped by historical forces continues to influence thinkers around the world.Understanding Foucault offers a comprehensive introduction to Foucault's work. The authors examine Foucault's thinking in the context of the philosophies he engaged with during his career, and the events he participated in, including the student protests of 1968. A unique feature of the book is its consideration of the recently published lectures and minor works, and the authors show how these illuminate and extend our understanding of Foucault's major books.Understanding Foucault provides an accessible entree to the world of this extraordinary and challenging philosopher.
Understanding German Development Cooperation: Motivations, Strategies and Perspectives (Contributions to Political Science)
by Wolfgang Gieler Meik NowakThis book outlines the history of German development policy, provides important insights into Germany's motivations for development aid and closes an important research gap in this field. From its beginnings to the present day, German development cooperation has undergone various political and institutional changes. This volume offers a comprehensive analysis of these phases and highlights the milestones that have shaped Germany's approach to international development. It is aimed at academics, students, political decision-makers and anyone seeking an in-depth understanding of the developments and challenges of German development policy.
Understanding German Idealism (Understanding Movements In Modern Thought Ser.)
by Will Dudley"Understanding German Idealism" provides an accessible introduction to the philosophical movement that emerged in 1781, with the publication of Kant's monumental "Critique of Pure Reason", and ended fifty years later, with Hegel's death. The thinkers of this period, and the themes they developed revolutionized almost every area of philosophy and had an impact that continues to be felt across the humanities and social sciences today. Notoriously complex, the central texts of German Idealism have confounded the most capable and patient interpreters for more than 200 years. "Understanding German Idealism" aims to convey the significance of this philosophical movement while avoiding its obscurity. Readers are given a clear understanding of the problems that motivated Kant, Fichte, Schelling and Hegel and the solutions that they proposed. Dudley outlines the main ideas of transcendental idealism and explores how the later German Idealists attempted to carry out the Kantian project more rigorously than Kant himself, striving to develop a fully self-critical and rational philosophy, in order to determine the meaning and sustain the possibility of a free and rational modern life. The book examines some of the most important early criticisms of German Idealism and the philosophical alternatives to which they led, including romanticism, Marxism, existentialism, and naturalism.
Understanding Hegelianism (Understanding Movements In Modern Thought Ser.)
by Robert Sinnerbrink"Understanding Hegelianism" explores the ways in which Hegelian and anti-Hegelian currents of thought have shaped some of the most significant movements in twentieth-century European philosophy, particularly the traditions of critical theory, existentialism, Marxism and poststructuralism. The first part of the book examines Kierkegaard's existentialism and Marx's materialism, which present two defining poles of subsequent Hegelian and anti-Hegelian movements. The second part looks at the contrasting critiques of Hegel by Lukacs and Heidegger, which set the stage for the appropriation of Hegelian themes in German critical theory and the anti-Hegelian turn in French poststructuralism. The role of Hegelian themes in the work of Adorno, Habermas and Honneth are explored. In the third part, the rich tradition of Hegelianism in modern French philosophy is considered - the work of Wahl, Kojeve, Hyppolite, Lefebvre, Sartre, de Beauvoir as well as the radical critique of Hegelianism articulated by Derrida and Deleuze. Although the focus is primarily on German and French appropriations of Hegelian thought, the author also explores some of the recent developments in Anglophone Hegelianism.
Understanding Hegel's Mature Critique of Kant
by John MccumberHegels critique of Kant was a turning point in the history of philosophy: for the first time, the concrete, situated, and in certain senses "naturalistic" style pioneered by Hegel confronted the thin, universalistic, and argumentatively purified style of philosophy that had found its most rigorous expression in Kant. The controversy has hardly died away: it virtually haunts contemporary philosophy from epistemology to ethical theory. Yet if this book is right, the full import of Hegels critique of Kant has not been understood. Working from Hegels mature texts (after 1807) and reading them in light of an overall interpretation of Hegels project as a linguistic, "definitional" system, the book offers major reinterpretations of Hegels views: The Kantian thing-in-itself is not denied but relocated as a temporal aspect of our experience. Hegels linguistic idealism is understood in terms of his realistic view of sensation. Instead of claiming that Kants categorical imperative is too empty to provide concrete moral guidance, Hegel praises its emptiness as the foundation for a diverse society.
Understanding Hermeneutics
by Lawrence Kennedy SchmidtThis series provides short, accessible and lively introduction to the major schools, movements and traditions in philosophy and the history of ideas since the beginning of the Enlightenment. All books in the series are written for undergraduates meeting the subject for the first time. Hermeneutics concerns itself with the theory of understanding and the interpretation of language. The question of how to correctly interpret and understand others remains one of the most contested branches of philosophy. In Understanding Hermeneutics Lawrence Schmidt provides an introduction to modern hermeneutics through a systematic examination of the ideas of its key philosophical proponents. Chapter 1 examines the ideas, of the Protestant theologian, Friedrich Schleiermacher, who argues that misunderstanding is always possible so we must always employ interpretation if we are to understnad correctly. Chapter 2 discusses the ideas of Dilthey, who maintains that understanding in the humanities is fundamentally different from explanation in the natural sciences, and who presents a methodology to judge what another person means or feels by means of their language and also their gestures, facial expressions, and manners of acting. Chapter 3 explores the ideas of Heidegger who radicalizes the concept by shifting its focus from interpreting texts to an existential interpretation of human being. In Chapter 4 the recent ideas of Gadamer are examined, which extend to examining the structures of hermeneutic experience and to question the supremacy of the natural sciences as models for truth. The final chapters consider some of the criticisms and controversies surrounding hermeneutics, including the work of Habermas, Hirsch, Ricoeur and Derrida, and the prospects for the future of hermeneutics.
Understanding History: And Other Essays
by Bertrand RussellEssays on topics from nuclear physics to the role of faith in society from the Nobel Prize–winning philosopher. Originally written in 1943 and published in 1957 by Philosophical Library, Inc, these vigorous essays from one of the most distinguished minds of our time reveal several facets of the English philosopher&’s thought. The title piece exposes the deadliness of the academic approach to the past, and shows how the reading of history can be a vivid intellectual pleasure. In &“The Value of Free Thought,&” Russell once again proves himself a ruthless foe of stifling orthodoxy and a fearless champion of free thought, free action and free speech. Then in a series of articles on a subject near to his heart, he explores the effect of atomic physics on such philosophic concepts as materialism, idealism, determinism and faith. In short, here is a complete banquet of provocative ideas—wise and witty; skeptical and profound—to whet the appetite of every discriminating reader.
Understanding History: And Other Essays
by Bertrand RussellEssays on topics from nuclear physics to the role of faith in society from the Nobel Prize–winning philosopher. Originally written in 1943 and published in 1957 by Philosophical Library, Inc, these vigorous essays from one of the most distinguished minds of our time reveal several facets of the English philosopher&’s thought. The title piece exposes the deadliness of the academic approach to the past, and shows how the reading of history can be a vivid intellectual pleasure. In &“The Value of Free Thought,&” Russell once again proves himself a ruthless foe of stifling orthodoxy and a fearless champion of free thought, free action and free speech. Then in a series of articles on a subject near to his heart, he explores the effect of atomic physics on such philosophic concepts as materialism, idealism, determinism and faith. In short, here is a complete banquet of provocative ideas—wise and witty; skeptical and profound—to whet the appetite of every discriminating reader.
Understanding How Science Explains the World (Understanding Life)
by Kevin McCainAll people desire to know. We want to not only know what has happened, but also why it happened, how it happened, whether it will happen again, whether it can be made to happen or not happen, and so on. In short, what we want are explanations. Asking and answering explanatory questions lies at the very heart of scientific practice. The primary aim of this book is to help readers understand how science explains the world. This book explores the nature and contours of scientific explanation, how such explanations are evaluated, as well as how they lead to knowledge and understanding. As well as providing an introduction to scientific explanation, it also tackles misconceptions and misunderstandings, while remaining accessible to a general audience with little or no prior philosophical training.
Understanding Humanism
by Andrew Copson Luke Donnellan Richard NormanUnderstanding Humanism is an easy-to-read and informative overview of the beliefs, practices, and values of humanism as a non-religious worldview. This short and lively book explores humanism both as a broad historical tradition of thought and as a stance embodied in organised institutions. It sets out clearly and systematically the beliefs and values of humanism as well as the reality and personal experience of living as a humanist today. Questions discussed in this book include: How do humanists see the relation between science and religious belief? Is humanism wedded to science as the only valid form of knowledge? What value do humanists place on the arts, and can they value religious art? Does the emphasis on human responsibility depend on an untenable belief in 'free will', and is this undermined by psychology and neuroscience? Do humanists think that life is sacred? What account would humanists give of the basis of human rights, and why they are important? Does humanism entail that human life is meaningless and pointless? Can humanists meet the challenge of nihilism? Understanding Humanism provides a reliable and easily digestible introduction to the field. By exploring these questions and inviting readers to engage with the arguments, it serves as the ideal textbook for those approaching the topic of humanism for the first time.
Understanding Humanitarian Protection
by Noele CrossleyThis new textbook provides an introduction to humanitarian protection, a field of study concerned with international responses to armed conflict, political violence, and humanitarian crisis. The book engages with a wide range of empirical and normative questions, providing an overview of the academic literature whilst simultaneously discussing the policies and practices associated with protective responses to conflict and humanitarian emergencies that put the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable populations, including civilians, refugees, and minority groups, at risk. Divided into three parts, covering the origins of the humanitarian protection regime, the range of actors involved, and the responsibilities of these actors, the book offers an accessible entry point into the major contemporary debates, providing readers with the conceptual tools for understanding core issues. Key points are reinforced and illustrated through the deployment of selected case studies, and a comprehensive glossary is provided for key terms. Each chapter ends with a summary of key points, questions for further reflection, and a list of recommended reading. This book will be of much interest to students of human protection, humanitarianism, the Responsibility to Protect, human security, peacekeeping, and International Relations in general.
Understanding Ignorance: The Surprising Impact of What We Don't Know (The\mit Press Ser.)
by Daniel R. DenicolaAn exploration of what we can know about what we don't know: why ignorance is more than simply a lack of knowledge.Ignorance is trending. Politicians boast, “I'm not a scientist.” Angry citizens object to a proposed state motto because it is in Latin, and “This is America, not Mexico or Latin America.” Lack of experience, not expertise, becomes a credential. Fake news and repeated falsehoods are accepted and shape firm belief. Ignorance about American government and history is so alarming that the ideal of an informed citizenry now seems quaint. Conspiracy theories and false knowledge thrive. This may be the Information Age, but we do not seem to be well informed. In this book, philosopher Daniel DeNicola explores ignorance—its abundance, its endurance, and its consequences.DeNicola aims to understand ignorance, which seems at first paradoxical. How can the unknown become known—and still be unknown? But he argues that ignorance is more than a lack or a void, and that it has dynamic and complex interactions with knowledge. Taking a broadly philosophical approach, DeNicola examines many forms of ignorance, using the metaphors of ignorance as place, boundary, limit, and horizon. He treats willful ignorance and describes the culture in which ignorance becomes an ideological stance. He discusses the ethics of ignorance, including the right not to know, considers the supposed virtues of ignorance, and concludes that there are situations in which ignorance is morally good.Ignorance is neither pure nor simple. It is both an accusation and a defense (“You are ignorant!” “Yes, but I didn't know!”). Its practical effects range from the inconsequential to the momentous. It is a scourge, but, DeNicola argues daringly, it may also be a refuge, a value, even an accompaniment to virtue.
Understanding Imagination: The Reason of Images
by Dennis L SepperThis book discusses that imagination is as important to thinking and reasoning as it is to making and acting. By reexamining our philosophical and psychological heritage, it traces a framework, a conceptual topology, that underlies the most disparate theories: a framework that presents imagination as founded in the placement of appearances. It shows how this framework was progressively developed by thinkers like Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, and Kant, and how it is reflected in more recent developments in theorists as different as Peirce, Saussure, Wittgenstein, Benjamin, and Bachelard. The conceptual topology of imagination incorporates logic, mathematics, and science as well as production, play, and art. Recognizing this topology can move us past the confusions to a unifying view of imagination for the future.
Understanding Institutional Diversity
by Elinor OstromThe analysis of how institutions are formed, how they operate and change, and how they influence behavior in society has become a major subject of inquiry in politics, sociology, and economics. A leader in applying game theory to the understanding of institutional analysis, Elinor Ostrom provides in this book a coherent method for undertaking the analysis of diverse economic, political, and social institutions.Understanding Institutional Diversity explains the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework, which enables a scholar to choose the most relevant level of interaction for a particular question. This framework examines the arena within which interactions occur, the rules employed by participants to order relationships, the attributes of a biophysical world that structures and is structured by interactions, and the attributes of a community in which a particular arena is placed.The book explains and illustrates how to use the IAD in the context of both field and experimental studies. Concentrating primarily on the rules aspect of the IAD framework, it provides empirical evidence about the diversity of rules, the calculation process used by participants in changing rules, and the design principles that characterize robust, self-organized resource governance institutions.
Understanding Institutions: The Science and Philosophy of Living Together
by Francesco GualaUnderstanding Institutions proposes a new unified theory of social institutions that combines the best insights of philosophers and social scientists who have written on this topic. Francesco Guala presents a theory that combines the features of three influential views of institutions: as equilibria of strategic games, as regulative rules, and as constitutive rules.Guala explains key institutions like money, private property, and marriage, and develops a much-needed unification of equilibrium- and rules-based approaches. Although he uses game theory concepts, the theory is presented in a simple, clear style that is accessible to a wide audience of scholars working in different fields. Outlining and discussing various implications of the unified theory, Guala addresses venerable issues such as reflexivity, realism, Verstehen, and fallibilism in the social sciences. He also critically analyses the theory of "looping effects" and "interactive kinds" defended by Ian Hacking, and asks whether it is possible to draw a demarcation between social and natural science using the criteria of causal and ontological dependence. Focusing on current debates about the definition of marriage, Guala shows how these abstract philosophical issues have important practical and political consequences. Moving beyond specific cases to general models and principles, Understanding Institutions offers new perspectives on what institutions are, how they work, and what they can do for us.
Understanding Iran: Everything You Need to Know, from Persia to the Islamic Republic, from Cyrus to Khamenei
by William R. PolkWilliam R. Polk provides an informative, readable history of a country which is moving quickly toward becoming the dominant power and culture of the Middle East. A former member of the State Department's Policy Planning Council, Polk describes a country and a history misunderstood by many in the West. While Iranians chafe under the yolk of their current leaders, they also have bitter memories of generations of British, Russian and American espionage, invasion, and dominance. There are important lessons to be learned from the past, and Polk teases them out of a long and rich history and shows that it is not just now, but for decades to come that an understanding of Iran will be essential to American safety and well-being.
Understanding Jurisprudence
by Denise MeyersonConsidering general philosophical and theoretical questions about the nature, purpose and operation of law as a whole, this book introduces students to contemporary debates in jurisprudence and encourages them to think in a theoretical and critical way about the nature of law, legal reasoning and adjudication. Discussing wider issues of morality, politics and society with reference to legal cases and examples, it provides as broad a perspective on the law as possible. Key features of this textbook include: introductions to each chapter analysis of how jurisprudential issues can arise in everyday life a wide range of cases to ground the theoretical discussion in-depth discussion of the relationship of law to force, morality and politics, as well as of rights, justice and feminist jurisprudence. The text provides a concise treatment of all the major topics typically covered in an undergraduate course on jurisprudence and succinctly explains the arguments for and against the different approaches to the issues that are raised.
Understanding Kant’s Ethics
by Michael CholbiKant's ethical thought remains one of the most influential, yet notoriously challenging, systems in the history of philosophy. This volume provides a sympathetic but critical reconstruction of the main strands of Kant's ethics, focusing on the most commonly read of Kant's ethical works, the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. Part I outlines Kant's arguments in defense of his Categorical Imperative, as well as elaborating Kant's understanding of dignity and human freedom. Part II addresses the most common objections to Kant's ethics, including challenges to the Formula of Universal Law; Kant's controversial ethical stances on suicide, sex and marriage, and non-human animals; and the place of reason, sentiment, and happiness in Kant's ethics. For scholars and specialists alike, the volume offers a clear and accessible account of what Kantian morality both offers us and asks of us.
Understanding Kant's Groundwork
by Anne Margaret Baxley Tamar Schapiro Kyla Ebels-Duggan Laura Papish Laura Papi BaxleyImmanuel Kant's Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals is widely regarded as one of the most influential works in the history of moral philosophy. Indeed, any student of ethics will soon encounter a translation of the book, although trying to read it is likely to cause bewilderment. What, one may ask, is Kant trying to say? This book provides the answers. Here, seven highly regarded teachers and scholars of Kant's ethics offer remarkably clear explanations of the most important concepts in the Groundwork: the good will, happiness, duty, hypothetical and categorical imperatives, the Formula of Universal Law, the Formula of Humanity, and freedom.
Understanding Korean Public Administration: Lessons learned from practice (Routledge Advances in Korean Studies)
by Wonhee Lee Kwang-Kook Park Seok-Hwan LeeAlthough much has been written about the Korean public administration, the international academic community has little knowledge about it as most of the literature has been written in Korean. This book aims to provide more accessible knowledge internationally by filling that gap, covering both the history and the current status of the Korean public administration. This book is a collaboration of many Korean public administration scholars and would appeal to those interested in the secrets of Korea’s rapid development in such a short span of time. Each chapter covers historical contexts, key to understanding its public administration and an important aspect as Korea is a fast changing society. The book takes on a more pragmatic approach rather than to put the Korean experiences into the western theory. Each chapter therefore provides an extensive discussion on the lessons-learned and practical implications.
Understanding Leadership Perspectives
by Matthew R. Fairholm Gilbert W. FairholmThere is no dearth of popular books on leadership, often extolling the virtues of charismatic, celebrity leaders or offering simplistic formulas for "inspiring the troops" to achieve "extraordinary results". However, empirical research and exploration of leadership and its many elements is in much less supply. Confronted by failures of leadership in all of our major institutions--business, government, educational, cultural, medical, and spiritual--researchers, concerned citizens, and would-be leaders alike are interested in the prospects for achieving effective leadership. This book fills a gap in the literature of Leadership Studies by presenting the Leadership Perspectives Model (LPM), which observes and analyzes leadership through five distinct orientations: scientific management, excellence management, values leadership, trust cultural leadership, and spiritual leadership. Operating from the premise that "leadership" and "management" require fundamentally different sets of tools, behaviors, and approaches, the authors unpack the distinctions and provide empirical, theoretical, and practical insights to improve our understanding of leadership dynamics in a world increasingly defined by complexity, diversity, technology-based communication, and interconnectivity. Presenting a comprehensive review of the field, including a history of the most influential schools of thought, and empirical studies of leadership in the public and private sectors, the authors dispel common myths and misconceptions about leadership and provide greater clarity to its art and science.
Understanding Learning in Virtual Worlds
by Mark Childs Anna PeacheySince the publication of the companion volume Researching Learning in Virtual Worlds in 2010, there has been a growth not only in the range and number of educational initiatives taking place in virtual worlds, but also in the depth of analysis of the nature of that education. Understanding Learning in Virtual Worlds reflects those changes through a collection of chapters that are extended versions of research presented at the second Researching Learning in Virtual Environments conference (ReLIVE 11), an international conference hosted by the Open University UK. Included in this book are chapters that explore the philosophical and methodological underpinnings of understanding learning in virtual worlds, identify and analyse the factors that support learning in these environments, and present case studies that demonstrate some of the various ways in which virtual worlds can be applied to facilitate learning and teaching. The links between learning in a virtual world and learning in the physical world are made apparent throughout, and the authors reveal how understanding learning in one informs the other. Understanding Learning in Virtual Worlds is an important book not only to those who teach in virtual worlds, but to anyone for whom understanding learning, in all its forms, is of interest.
Understanding Life in School: From Academic Classroom to Outdoor Education
by John QuayAttending school is an experience that most people share but this leads us to accept rather than question the experience. Using the philosophies of Heidegger and Dewey, John Quay explores life in schools and juxtaposes the environment of a school camp with that of an academic classroom.