Beyond Pleasure

Beyond Pleasure PDF Author: Evert Peeters
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 1845459873
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
Asceticism, so it is argued in this volume, is a modern category. The ubiquitous cult of the body, of fitness and diet equally evokes the ongoing success of ascetic practices and beliefs. Nostalgic memories of hardship and discipline in the army, youth movements or boarding schools remain as present as the fashionable irritation with the presumed modern-day laziness. In the very texture of contemporary culture, age-old asceticism proves to be remarkably alive. Old ascetic forms were remoulded to serve modern desires for personal authenticity, an authenticity that disconnected asceticism in the course of the nineteenth century from two traditions that had underpinned it since classical antiquity: the public, republican austerity of antiquity and the private, religious asceticism of Christianity. Exploring various aspects such as the history of the body, of aesthetics, science, and social thought in several European countries (Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria and Belgium), the authors show that modern asceticism remains a deeply ambivalent category. Apart from self-realisation, classical and religious examples continue to haunt the ascetic mind.

Beyond Pleasure

Beyond Pleasure PDF Author: Evert Peeters
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 1845459873
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
Asceticism, so it is argued in this volume, is a modern category. The ubiquitous cult of the body, of fitness and diet equally evokes the ongoing success of ascetic practices and beliefs. Nostalgic memories of hardship and discipline in the army, youth movements or boarding schools remain as present as the fashionable irritation with the presumed modern-day laziness. In the very texture of contemporary culture, age-old asceticism proves to be remarkably alive. Old ascetic forms were remoulded to serve modern desires for personal authenticity, an authenticity that disconnected asceticism in the course of the nineteenth century from two traditions that had underpinned it since classical antiquity: the public, republican austerity of antiquity and the private, religious asceticism of Christianity. Exploring various aspects such as the history of the body, of aesthetics, science, and social thought in several European countries (Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria and Belgium), the authors show that modern asceticism remains a deeply ambivalent category. Apart from self-realisation, classical and religious examples continue to haunt the ascetic mind.

Socratic Citizenship

Socratic Citizenship PDF Author: Dana Villa
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 069121817X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 388

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Book Description
Many critics bemoan the lack of civic engagement in America. Tocqueville's ''nation of joiners'' seems to have become a nation of alienated individuals, disinclined to fulfill the obligations of citizenship or the responsibilities of self-government. In response, the critics urge community involvement and renewed education in the civic virtues. But what kind of civic engagement do we want, and what sort of citizenship should we encourage? In Socratic Citizenship, Dana Villa takes issue with those who would reduce citizenship to community involvement or to political participation for its own sake. He argues that we need to place more value on a form of conscientious, moderately alienated citizenship invented by Socrates, one that is critical in orientation and dissident in practice. Taking Plato's Apology of Socrates as his starting point, Villa argues that Socrates was the first to show, in his words and deeds, how moral and intellectual integrity can go hand in hand, and how they can constitute importantly civic--and not just philosophical or moral--virtues. More specifically, Socrates urged that good citizens should value this sort of integrity more highly than such apparent virtues as patriotism, political participation, piety, and unwavering obedience to the law. Yet Socrates' radical redefinition of citizenship has had relatively little influence on Western political thought. Villa considers how the Socratic idea of the thinking citizen is treated by five of the most influential political thinkers of the past two centuries--John Stuart Mill, Friedrich Nietzsche, Max Weber, Hannah Arendt, and Leo Strauss. In doing so, he not only deepens our understanding of these thinkers' work and of modern ideas of citizenship, he also shows how the fragile Socratic idea of citizenship has been lost through a persistent devaluation of independent thought and action in public life. Engaging current debates among political and social theorists, this insightful book shows how we must reconceive the idea of good citizenship if we are to begin to address the shaky fundamentals of civic culture in America today.

Lustful Maidens and Ascetic Kings

Lustful Maidens and Ascetic Kings PDF Author: Roy C. Amore
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195365356
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 211

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Book Description
Includes stories about family and social roles and lay and monastic values.

The Culture of Citizenship

The Culture of Citizenship PDF Author: Thomas Bridges
Publisher: CRVP
ISBN: 9781565181687
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description


Bluebird

Bluebird PDF Author: Ciel Pierlot
Publisher: Watkins Media Limited
ISBN: 0857669672
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
Lesbian gunslinger fights spies in space! Three factions vie for control of the galaxy. Rig, a gunslinging, thieving, rebel with a cause, doesn’t give a damn about them and she hasn’t looked back since abandoning her faction three years ago. That is, until her former faction sends her a message: return what she stole from them, or they’ll kill her twin sister. Rig embarks on a journey across the galaxy to save her sister – but for once she’s not alone. She has help from her network of resistance contacts, her taser-wielding librarian girlfriend, and a mysterious bounty hunter. If Rig fails and her former faction finds what she stole from them, trillions of lives will be lost--including her sister's. But if she succeeds, she might just pull the whole damn faction system down around their ears. Either way, she’s going to do it with panache and pizzazz. File Under: Science Fiction [ Independent Women | Robbing Hood | Keep Your Enemies Close | Guns Don’t Kill People ]

The Citizen

The Citizen PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 562

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Book Description


Social Justice in the Liberal State

Social Justice in the Liberal State PDF Author: Bruce Ackerman
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300158076
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 406

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Book Description
An original and compelling vision of a just society“A ‘new view’ of the theoretical foundations of liberalism that will ‘challenge us to clarify our own implicit notions of liberal democracy.’ ”—The New York Times Book ReviewWinner of a Certificate of Merit for the American Bar Association's 1981 Gavel Award for outstanding public serviceFirst published in 1980 and continuously in print ever since, Bruce Ackerman's classic Social Justice in the Liberal State offers a new foundation for liberal political theory— a world in which each of us may live his or her own life in his or her own way, without denying the same right to others. Full of provocative discussions of issues ranging from education to abortion, it makes fascinating reading for anyone concerned with the future of the liberal democratic state. “Professor Ackerman has tackled age-old problems of social justice with the refreshing technique of a series of dialogues in which the proponent of a position must either confront his opponent with an answer, constrained by the three principles of rationality, consistency, and neutrality, or submit to a checkmate. The author’s ability to combine earthiness with extreme subtlety in framing the dialogues has produced a novel, mind-stretching book.”—Henry J. Friendly, Senior Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit“What limits should we place on genetic manipulation? How many children should we have? How should we regulate abortions and adoptions? What rights does the community have, what rights do parents have in the education of children? What rights do children have? What resources must we leave to future generations? To see all these as questions of distributive justice is to connect them in a new way (and to make) a significant contribution.”—Michael Walzer, The New Republic “The breadth of the attack on the fundamental issues of man and society is impressive.”—Foreign Affairs

Ascetics, Society, and the Desert

Ascetics, Society, and the Desert PDF Author: James E. Goehring
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 9781563382697
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
Through rigorous examination of papyrological documentary sources, archaeology, and traditional literary sources, James Goehring gradually forces a new direction in understanding the evolution of monasticism. He ably transforms these sources into a clear narrative, thereby infusing the history of Egyptian monasticism with renewed energy.

On the Move

On the Move PDF Author: Alejandra Bronfman
Publisher: Zed Books Ltd.
ISBN: 1848137451
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 155

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Book Description
The Caribbean stands out in the popular imagination as a 'place without history', a place which has somehow eluded modernity. Haiti is envisioned as being trapped in an endless cycle of violence and instability, Cuba as a 1950s time warp, Jamaicans as ganja-smoking Rastafarians, while numerous pristine, anonymous islands are simply peaceful idylls. The notion of 'getting away from it all' lures countless visitors, offering the possibility of total disconnect for the world-weary. In On the Move Alejandra Bronfman argues that in fact the opposite is true; the Caribbean is, and has always been, deeply engaged with the wider world. From drugs and tourism to international political struggles, these islands form an integral part of world history and of the present, and are themselves in a constant state of economic and social flux in the face of global transformations.

The Mahabharata of Vyasa

The Mahabharata of Vyasa PDF Author: Dwaipayana Vyasa
Publisher: Enigma Edizioni
ISBN:
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 7695

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Book Description
The Mahabharata, "What is found here, may be found elsewhere. What is not found here, will not be found elsewhere". The ancient story of the Mahabharata casts the readers mind across spiritual and terrestrial vistas and battlefields. Through the experiences of divine incarnations and manifest demons, a great royal dynasty is fractured along fraternal lines, resulting in the greatest war of good and evil ever fought in ancient lands. This most venerable of epics remains profoundly timeless in it teachings of truth, righteousness and liberation. This electronic edition of the Mahabharata is Kisari Mohan Ganguli's 1896 translation and is complete with all 18 parvas in a single ebook. Like other ebook conversions, the text has been sourced but this edition has had additional proofing and a significant number of corrections and rectification of missing or misorded text. The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. It is an epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kauravas and the Pandava princes as well as containing philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four goals of life. Here we have Adi Parva, the first, discusses how the Mahabharata came to be narrated by Sauti to the assembled rishis at Naimisharanya after having been recited at the Sarpasatra of Janamejaya by Vaishampayana at Takṣaśilā. It tells the history of the Bharata race traces history of the Bhrigu race. Vyasa is a revered figure in Hindu traditions. He is a kala-Avatar or part-incarnation of God Vishnu. Vyasa is sometimes conflated by some Vaishnavas with Badarayana, the compiler of the Vedanta Sutras and considered to be one of the seven Chiranjivins. He is also the fourth member of the Rishi Parampara of the Advaita Guru Paramparā of which Adi Shankara is the chief proponent.