Seeing Like a State

Seeing Like a State PDF Author: James C. Scott
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300252986
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 462

Get Book Here

Book Description
“One of the most profound and illuminating studies of this century to have been published in recent decades.”—John Gray, New York Times Book Review Hailed as “a magisterial critique of top-down social planning” by the New York Times, this essential work analyzes disasters from Russia to Tanzania to uncover why states so often fail—sometimes catastrophically—in grand efforts to engineer their society or their environment, and uncovers the conditions common to all such planning disasters. “Beautifully written, this book calls into sharp relief the nature of the world we now inhabit.”—New Yorker “A tour de force.”— Charles Tilly, Columbia University

Seeing Like a State

Seeing Like a State PDF Author: James C. Scott
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300252986
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 462

Get Book Here

Book Description
“One of the most profound and illuminating studies of this century to have been published in recent decades.”—John Gray, New York Times Book Review Hailed as “a magisterial critique of top-down social planning” by the New York Times, this essential work analyzes disasters from Russia to Tanzania to uncover why states so often fail—sometimes catastrophically—in grand efforts to engineer their society or their environment, and uncovers the conditions common to all such planning disasters. “Beautifully written, this book calls into sharp relief the nature of the world we now inhabit.”—New Yorker “A tour de force.”— Charles Tilly, Columbia University

Planning Wild Cities

Planning Wild Cities PDF Author: Wendy Steele
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 9780367551575
Category : City planning
Languages : en
Pages : 148

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book critically engages with the contemporary challenges of planning wild cities in a climate of change and will be of particular interest to students and scholars of planning, urban studies and sustainable development.

Action Versus Contemplation

Action Versus Contemplation PDF Author: Jennifer Summit
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022603237X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 253

Get Book Here

Book Description
“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone,” Blaise Pascal wrote in 1654. But then there’s Walt Whitman, in 1856: “Whoever you are, come forth! Or man or woman come forth! / You must not stay sleeping and dallying there in the house.” It is truly an ancient debate: Is it better to be active or contemplative? To do or to think? To make an impact, or to understand the world more deeply? Aristotle argued for contemplation as the highest state of human flourishing. But it was through action that his student Alexander the Great conquered the known world. Which should we aim at? Centuries later, this argument underlies a surprising number of the questions we face in contemporary life. Should students study the humanities, or train for a job? Should adults work for money or for meaning? And in tumultuous times, should any of us sit on the sidelines, pondering great books, or throw ourselves into protests and petition drives? With Action versus Contemplation, Jennifer Summit and Blakey Vermeule address the question in a refreshingly unexpected way: by refusing to take sides. Rather, they argue for a rethinking of the very opposition. The active and the contemplative can—and should—be vibrantly alive in each of us, fused rather than sundered. Writing in a personable, accessible style, Summit and Vermeule guide readers through the long history of this debate from Plato to Pixar, drawing compelling connections to the questions and problems of today. Rather than playing one against the other, they argue, we can discover how the two can nourish, invigorate, and give meaning to each other, as they have for the many writers, artists, and thinkers, past and present, whose examples give the book its rich, lively texture of interplay and reference. This is not a self-help book. It won’t give you instructions on how to live your life. Instead, it will do something better: it will remind you of the richness of a life that embraces action and contemplation, company and solitude, living in the moment and planning for the future. Which is better? Readers of this book will discover the answer: both.

The Space of Appearance

The Space of Appearance PDF Author: George Baird
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262523431
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 428

Get Book Here

Book Description
George Baird probes into the conceptual lineage and current expressions of postmodernism and the critique of postmodern architecture over the past four decades.

Motor Vehicles, the Environment, and the Human Condition

Motor Vehicles, the Environment, and the Human Condition PDF Author: Hans A. Baer
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 9781793604880
Category : Automobiles
Languages : en
Pages : 258

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book explores the political ecology of motor vehicles in an era of growing social disparities and environmental crises. Humanity needs to move beyond motor vehicles as much as possible as part and parcel of the larger process of radical social structural changes.

Planning and the Human Condition

Planning and the Human Condition PDF Author:
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 0595226523
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 150

Get Book Here

Book Description


The Human Condition

The Human Condition PDF Author: Gregory Loew
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781643070957
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 196

Get Book Here

Book Description
Evolution has produced an incomplete miracle: Homo, a species that can love, think, remember, talk, gain insight into reality, plan for the future, and produce amazing scientific knowledge and art. Unfortunately Homo still suffers from dismal weaknesses and is not yet wise enough to protect its species from ultimate demise. To become wiser, humanity cannot count on natural selection or a revolution. Social and political institutions depend on a system of education that is imperfect. Economic development, while remarkable, is neither steady nor equitable. Technological development is often blind and burdened with unintended consequences. History is chaotic at both the national and international levels. Representative democracy, the best system of government we have invented, is fragile, vulnerable and often subject to paralysis.

Cooperating with Nature

Cooperating with Nature PDF Author: A Joseph Henry Press book
Publisher: Joseph Henry Press
ISBN: 0309063620
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 367

Get Book Here

Book Description
This volume focuses on the breakdown in sustainabilityâ€"the capacity of the planet to provide quality of life now and in the futureâ€"that is signaled by disaster. The authors bring to light why land use and sustainability have been ignored in devising public policies to deal with natural hazards. They lay out a vision of sustainability, concrete suggestions for policy reform, and procedures for planning. The book chronicles the long evolution of land-use planning and identifies key components of sustainable planning for hazards. Stressing the importance of balance in land use, the authors offer principles and specific reforms for achieving their visions of sustainability.

The Routledge International Handbook of Talcott Parsons Studies

The Routledge International Handbook of Talcott Parsons Studies PDF Author: A. Javier Treviño
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000475166
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 368

Get Book Here

Book Description
Talcott Parsons was the leading theorist in American sociology—and perhaps in world sociology—from the 1940s to the 1970s. He created the dominant school of thought that made "Parsonian" a standard description of a theoretical attempt to unify social science, as reflected in the fact that his contributions to the discipline cover a range of issues, including medicine, the family, religion, law, the economy, race relations, and politics—to name but a few. This volume brings together leading scholars working in the field of "Parsonian Studies" to explore the background of Parsons’s work, the content of his oeuvre, and his subsequent influence. Thematically organized, it covers Parsons’s contributions and impacts in areas including the philosophy and methodology of the social sciences; cultural sociology; personality, mental illness, and psychoanalysis; and economics and political and economic sociology. In addition, it considers his influence in different areas of the world and on particular students, and offers insights into the Parsonian tradition’s practical application to contemporary social issues. An authoritative, comprehensive, and in-depth critical assessment of the Parsonian legacy, The Routledge International Handbook of Talcott Parsons Studies will appeal to scholars across the social sciences and in sociology and social theory in particular, with interests in the history of sociology and the enduring relevance of Talcott Parsons.

The Laws of Human Nature

The Laws of Human Nature PDF Author: Robert Greene
Publisher: Robert Greene
ISBN:
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 73

Get Book Here

Book Description
SUMMARY: This book is If you’ve ever wondered about human behavior, wonder no more. In The Laws of Human Nature, Greene takes a look at 18 laws that reveal who we are and why we do the things we do. Humans are complex beings, but Greene uses these laws to strip human nature down to its bare bones. Every law that he presents is supported by a real-life historical account, with an insightful twist to drive the point home. As you read the book, don’t be surprised if you get the feeling that everyone you know, including yourself, is described in the book! DISCLAIMER: This is an UNOFFICIAL summary and not the original book. It is designed to record all the key points of the original book.