The Antimodern Condition

The Antimodern Condition PDF Author: Peter King
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781315612461
Category : Civilization, Modern
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description

The Antimodern Condition

The Antimodern Condition PDF Author: Peter King
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781315612461
Category : Civilization, Modern
Languages : en
Pages : 128

Get Book Here

Book Description


The Antimodern Condition

The Antimodern Condition PDF Author: Peter King
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317044940
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
Much of social and political thought over the last three centuries has been concerned with transgression and change, with progress and a focus on creating something ’better’ than we have now. But when many of these ideas are put into practice the result has been violence, turmoil and human misery. This, we might say, has been the result of grand ideals taking precedence over the interests of ordinary people. This book presents an alternative view: the antimodern condition. This involves the rejection of change and progress and instead seeks to promote certainty, permanence and settlement. The antimodern condition is where we are in place and settled. It is where we are part of the world around us and not at war with it. It is where we accept our place: we are with those who we care for, and so we are theirs. The antimodern condition is where we recognise that we dwell within traditions, which may evolve and change, but which keep us within the bounds of what is known and what works. This book takes a cross-disciplinary approach, integrating ideas from politics, philosophy, social theory and architecture to present an alternative to progress and other modern conceits.

The Premodern Condition

The Premodern Condition PDF Author: Bruce Holsinger
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226349748
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
Bruce Holsinger identifies and explains an affinity for medievalism and medieval studies among the leading figures of critical theory. His book contains original essays by Bataille and Bourdieu - translated into English - that testify to the strange persistence of medievalisms in French postwar writings.

Occult Imperium

Occult Imperium PDF Author: Christian Giudice
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197610242
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 345

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Book Description
Christian Giudice's Occult Imperium explores Italian national forms of Occultism, chiefly analyzing Arturo Reghini (1878-1946), his copious writings, and Roman Traditionalism. Trained as a mathematician at the prestigious University of Pisa, Reghini was one of the three giants of occult and esoteric thought in Italy, alongside his colleagues Julius Evola (1898-1974) and Giulian Kremmerz (1861-1930). Using Reghini's articles, books, and letters, as a guide, Giudice explores the interaction between occultism, Traditionalism, and different facets of modernity in early-twentieth-century Italy. The book takes into consideration many factors particular to the Italian peninsula: the ties with avant-garde movements such as the Florentine Scapigliatura and Futurism, the occult vogues typical to Italy, the rise to power of Benito Mussolini and Fascism, and, lastly, the power of the Holy See over different expressions of spirituality. Occult Imperium explores the convergence of new forms of spirituality in early twentieth-century Italy.

The Ideology of Political Reactionaries

The Ideology of Political Reactionaries PDF Author: Richard Shorten
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000518418
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
The Ideology of Political Reactionaries offers a new perspective on the beliefs reactionaries share, presenting a theory of reactionary ideology in the process. Rather than taking self-contradictions in the reactionary imagination as a reason for diminishment, complexity is taken as a challenge. The book argues that the features that unite reactionaries lie in rhetoric. Reactionaries make three persuasive appeals: to decadence, conspiracy, and indignation. They also display some recurrent styles. The book’s rhetorical approach entails a critique of the alternative approaches to reactionary politics (dubbed as ‘dispositional’, ‘sociological’, and ‘conceptual’). At the heart of the book is the textual analysis of the writings of a range of figures who are chosen in deliberate diversity and who have interacted with political audiences in different eras and settings: Edmund Burke, Joseph de Maistre, Sarah Palin, Donald Trump, Adolf Hitler, Éric Zemmour, Joe McCarthy, Anders Breivik, and Nigel Farage. Analysis of their writings helps the book to reckon with some particular puzzles of ideologies and rhetoric. These puzzles include the proximity of reactionaries to conservatism, the ambiguity of their nostalgia, the myth of their essential charisma, and the apparent fetishisation of facts. The Ideology of Political Reactionaries ought to interest anyone concerned about current ideological trends and, in particular, students and scholars of politics and history.

Keeping Things Close: Essays on the Conservative Disposition

Keeping Things Close: Essays on the Conservative Disposition PDF Author: Peter King
Publisher: Arktos
ISBN: 1910524425
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 110

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Book Description
We do not love what we do not know. We love what is close to us – the people, objects and memories – and do so because they matter most to us. We trust the things that are familiar and seek to nurture and protect them. Our lives are habitual, based on routine. They have meaning because of regularity, the continuity of known faces, and the ability to exclude others. We depend on a few others who we are committed to, and who are committed to us. We wish to include them in our lives, to be included by them, and to do this we have to be able to exclude others. This book presents a particular vision of conservatism: one that is primarily concerned with just carrying on, for continuing as we are. Most of us, most of the time, live quiet and ordinary lives, and are quite happy that we do. We do not experience great upheaval or flux, nor do we wish to. We do not relish unpredictability and when it does come we hope it is the exception rather than the rule. Likewise, we are not habitual rule-breakers. We are happy to play the game by the rules. We simply want to lead our lives, care for our loved ones, and be able to set our own goals. The essays in this book show how we are able to make sense of a complex world consisting largely of strangers, who, being already preoccupied with their own matters, have little time for us. And the fact that they generally ignore us makes our lives possible. We are nurtured by those things we are able to keep close.

The Evolution of Economic Wellbeing

The Evolution of Economic Wellbeing PDF Author: Zuhayr Mikdashi
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429949707
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
Throughout history, humans have sought to enhance their wellbeing across various domains. Though the spectrum of factors responsible for wellbeing has widened considerably and advances have been realized in scientific-technological fields, significant failures have been encountered in establishing peaceful relations among various communities, and the natural environment has been degraded inconsiderately by humans since the Industrial Revolution. This book identifies the key factors that influence changes in wellbeing – both positively and negatively – within a framework of socio-economic globalization, instantaneous interconnectedness, and rising environmental risks. These 'clusters of progress' comprise essentially the following seven areas: bolstering peace and security; respecting universal fundamental values; satisfying personal and social basic needs; expanding knowledge and managerial-technological skills; promoting arts and culture; husbanding natural resources and protecting the environment; and concerting actions for the global common good. The term 'progress' is used here to mean an all-embracing sustainable advancement towards desirable goals (be they material or non-material), offering higher levels of wellbeing to individuals and to society at large, compared to previous or current conditions. In unravelling the 'progress conundrum', the author draws on his own original research and field work experiences which dovetail with those of other scholars by complementing their findings and/or by offering different appraisals. The author adopts an inter-disciplinary approach that overcomes the 'silo-like compartmentalization' of fields of study. The said approach enables us to reach a better understanding of the complex reality of progress (or regression) in various domains.

Here and Now

Here and Now PDF Author: Peter King
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781910524534
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 110

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Book Description
The world in which we live is all that we have. We may find that there is much wrong with that world and we may look back to better times. This may cause us to dwell on what has been lost and this might make us angry and desperate for change. But we only have one life, and so instead of mourning what we have lost, we should instead celebrate what we still have. Antimodernism may be defined by what it is against, but the case for antimodernism can be stated positively. If modernism can be defined by its emphasis on change and transgression, antimodernism can be characterised as the love of home. It is this beguilingly simple idea that is at the heart of the antimodern condition. Home is a store of memory and a place of comfort and security, a refuge from the world and a place when we can be ourselves. This sense of home, which extends beyond merely the place in which we live, encloses a particular culture and a way of life. This book presents a positive description of the antimodern. It does this not by looking backwards, but by focusing on what we have here and now and how we can live in the only world we have. Peter King (b. 1960) is a social philosopher and writer focusing on antimodernism and conservatism. His recent work focuses on two areas: first, on what it means to be an antimodernist in the world today; and secondly, on the impact of conservative ideas on public policy. Peter is the author of 16 books, most recently Reaction: Against the Modern World (Imprint Academic, 2012); The Antimodern Condition: An Argument Against Progress (Ashgate, 2014); and Keeping Things Close: Essays on the Conservative Disposition. Peter is currently Reader in Social Thought at De Montfort University.

Thoughtlessness and Decadence in Iran

Thoughtlessness and Decadence in Iran PDF Author: Alireza Shomali
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 1438473796
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 482

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Book Description
Bridges Western and non-Western political thought to address the problem of democracy and political decadence in contemporary Iran and, by implication, similar Islamic societies. Political decay in Islamic societies has for the most part been the subject of structural analyses while philosophical studies have been rare, often speculative and deterministic. Thoughtlessness and Decadence in Iran explores from a theoretical perspective the problem of democracy deficit—or, political decadence—in contemporary Iran and, by implication, in present-day Middle Eastern societies. This decadence, the book argues, is in part a religion-based decadence, and deliverance from it requires collective thoughtfulness aboutreligion. Alireza Shomali conceptualizes the Iranian Reality in terms of a lack of not only good life but also thinking of good living. This thoughtlessness means dissolution of critical consciousness and, as such, it heralds escalating decadence. At this moment of rapid decay, the book argues, thought must becomerelevant to society: the communicative practice of thinking must emerge to examine the pathologies of a religiously administrated life. Opening a dialogue between Adorno, Strauss, Farabi, and Razi, among others, Shomali underlines the critical points of similarity and difference between these thinkers and envisions a “local” emancipatory project that, noting the specifics of the Iranian case, takes lessons from the Western experience without blind imitation. “The book is global in its vision, but also clearly local in its immersion in the philosophies, values, and culture of Iran and Iranian Islam. This unique characteristic helps its prescription become local, and simultaneously stay away from nativist, third-worldist and decolonialist discourses.” — Abdolkarim Soroush, author of The Expansion of Prophetic Experience

The Recursive Frontier

The Recursive Frontier PDF Author: Michael Docherty
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 143849713X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 451

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Book Description
The Recursive Frontier is an innovative spatial history of both the literature of Los Angeles and the city itself in the mid-twentieth century. Setting canonical texts alongside underexamined works and sources such as census bulletins and regional planning documents, Michael Docherty identifies the American frontier as the defining dynamic of Los Angeles fiction from the 1930s to the 1950s. Contrary to the received wisdom that Depression-era narratives mourn the frontier's demise, Docherty argues that the frontier lives on as a cruel set of rules for survival in urban modernity, governing how texts figure race, space, mobility, and masculinity. Moving from dancehalls to offices to oil fields and beyond, the book provides a richer, more diverse picture of LA's literary production during this period, as well as a vivid account of LA's cultural and social development as it transformed into the multiethnic megalopolis we know today.