|
Showing 1 - 14 of
14 matches in All Departments
This book offers a new materialist thesis that focuses on the
dynamic biological core of humans, shared with other animals and
the rest of the natural world, to develop a radical theory of human
rights. It therefore makes a unique contribution to literature and
to academic and societal debates both on new materialisms and on
human rights. Many on the political far right deride the concept of
a human right. This has occurred in tandem with a growing contempt
for the rule of law and for obligations to protect land or the
environment, to recognize the rights of minorities, or even to
respect the various mechanisms of democracy. On the other hand,
ccontemporary 'left-wing' inspired literature has also rejected the
concept of a human right as Enlightenment inspired and 'western'.
This has gone hand in hand with a contestation of 'essentialism'
and 'universalism'. These theoretical positions have been variously
critiqued as racist, sexist as well as Eurocentric. Drawing on
metaphysics and ethics, with protagonists drawn from traditions
across analytic and continental philosophy and feminist theory,
Assiter challenges these critics to form a distinctive new
materialist position. Most people - defenders and critics - take
for granted that the concept of human rights and the universal view
of humanity derive from the European Enlightenment. However, this
book develops a different story of its origin, from the earlier
period of both Aristotle and the Zoroastrian Persian Empire, and
locates the concept of a right partly in our biological core, yet
challenges the assumption that this is constructed by language of
any kind specifically including scientific discourse.
The book is a contribution to the literature on refugees, spanning
politics, sociology, philosophy, psychology, psycho-social studies
and also post-colonial studies. Its focus is on the qualitative
research of Armin Danesh on nine political refugees from Iran and
also on his own story as a political refugee. It offers an outline
of a refugee experience which demonstrates their strength and
resilience and their agency in their new country. It therefore
offers a distinct challenge to the literature that tends to
stigmatise refugees as a 'problem' to be pushed to one side or as
victims, to be cared for and helped. Finally its focus on the fight
of these refugees for justice and human rights as well as rights
for women in their country of origin - Iran - challenges those
post-colonial theorists who view the discourse of human rights as a
westo-centric and problematic discourse.
This book offers a new materialist thesis that focuses on the
dynamic biological core of humans, shared with other animals and
the rest of the natural world, to develop a radical theory of human
rights. It therefore makes a unique contribution to literature and
to academic and societal debates both on new materialisms and on
human rights. Many on the political far right deride the concept of
a human right. This has occurred in tandem with a growing contempt
for the rule of law and for obligations to protect land or the
environment, to recognize the rights of minorities, or even to
respect the various mechanisms of democracy. On the other hand,
ccontemporary 'left-wing' inspired literature has also rejected the
concept of a human right as Enlightenment inspired and 'western'.
This has gone hand in hand with a contestation of 'essentialism'
and 'universalism'. These theoretical positions have been variously
critiqued as racist, sexist as well as Eurocentric. Drawing on
metaphysics and ethics, with protagonists drawn from traditions
across analytic and continental philosophy and feminist theory,
Assiter challenges these critics to form a distinctive new
materialist position. Most people - defenders and critics - take
for granted that the concept of human rights and the universal view
of humanity derive from the European Enlightenment. However, this
book develops a different story of its origin, from the earlier
period of both Aristotle and the Zoroastrian Persian Empire, and
locates the concept of a right partly in our biological core, yet
challenges the assumption that this is constructed by language of
any kind specifically including scientific discourse.
There has been a recent revival of interest in reading Kierkegaard
as an ontologist, as a thinker who engages with questions about the
kinds of entity or process that constitute ultimate reality. This
new way of reading Kierkegaard stands alongside a revival of
interest in ontology and metaphysics more generally. This highly
original book concentrates on the claim that Kierkegaard focuses in
part on ontological questions and on issues pertaining to the
nature of being as a whole. Alison Assiter asserts that Being, for
Kierkegaard, following Schelling, can be read in terms of
conceptions of birthing-the capacity to give birth as well as the
notion of a birthing body. She goes on to argue that the story
offered by Kierkegaard in The Concept of Anxiety about the origin
of freedom connects with a birthing body, and that Kierkegaard
offers a speculative hypothesis, in terms of metaphors of birthing,
about the nature of Being.
There has been a recent revival of interest in reading Kierkegaard
as an ontologist, as a thinker who engages with questions about the
kinds of entity or process that constitute ultimate reality. This
new way of reading Kierkegaard stands alongside a revival of
interest in ontology and metaphysics more generally. This highly
original book concentrates on the claim that Kierkegaard focuses in
part on ontological questions and on issues pertaining to the
nature of being as a whole. Alison Assiter asserts that Being, for
Kierkegaard, following Schelling, can be read in terms of
conceptions of birthing-the capacity to give birth as well as the
notion of a birthing body. She goes on to argue that the story
offered by Kierkegaard in The Concept of Anxiety about the origin
of freedom connects with a birthing body, and that Kierkegaard
offers a speculative hypothesis, in terms of metaphors of birthing,
about the nature of Being.
This text uses a case study approach to show how life-skills can be
developed in a range of higher education subject areas. It also
looks at the changes which can be made to the curriculum to
facilitate this sort of learning. The case studies are set against
a more theoretical background.
This text uses a case study approach to show how life-skills can be
developed in a range of higher education subject areas. It also
looks at the changes which can be made to the curriculum to
facilitate this sort of learning. The case studies are set against
a more theoretical background.
This text questions whether in fact we do live in a postmodern age.
Its critique of postmodernist, feminist thought offers a broad
introduction to postmodernist thought and in the process
reconsiders the modernist position. The first half of the book is
critical in focus, offering a critique of some of the most
influential feminist theorists and of postmodernism as a movement.
This section concludes with a defence of "realism" in the theory of
meaning arguing that we should not wholly reject the liberal
humanist subject. The second half of the book is a reassessment of
the notions of essentialism, the humanist subject, and knowledge of
an objective reality. Contrary to some postmodernists, for example,
it argues that some viewpoints can be described as true or false,
right or wrong; and that we can make claims that are universally
true of women. For the student, this text aims to provide an
overview of postmodernism and French feminist thought, giving
pointers to major protagonists and further reading.
This text questions whether in fact we do live in a postmodern age.
Its critique of postmodernist, feminist thought offers a broad
introduction to postmodernist thought and in the process
reconsiders the modernist position. The first half of the book is
critical in focus, offering a critique of some of the most
influential feminist theorists and of postmodernism as a movement.
This section concludes with a defence of "realism" in the theory of
meaning arguing that we should not wholly reject the liberal
humanist subject. The second half of the book is a reassessment of
the notions of essentialism, the humanist subject, and knowledge of
an objective reality. Contrary to some postmodernists, for example,
it argues that some viewpoints can be described as true or false,
right or wrong; and that we can make claims that are universally
true of women. For the student, this text aims to provide an
overview of postmodernism and French feminist thought, giving
pointers to major protagonists and further reading.
For well over a decade, half-baked analysis and phony science have
been used by some feminists to side-track the women's movement into
puritanical campaigns against sexual material and imaginative
sexual exploration. Many feminists would say that this widely
publicised version of feminism is itself sexist, and that the
increasingly vocal anti-pornography campaigns are founded on
theoretical dead-ends that have allowed feminists to deviate
drastically from the basic goals of women's liberation. Bad Girls
& Dirty Pictures puts these anti-sex, anti-porn arguments under
the microscope of a more thorough and considered feminist analysis.
It examines the flaws in the research that purports to prove the
harm of pornography and warns against the continuing use of
censorship by politicians and the moral right, as well as exposing
the dangers of anti-porn feminist arguments. Contributions from a
wide range of women, including sex workers and academics, remind us
that pornography does not have a special place in our oppression,
and that censorship must still be seen as dangerous enemy of women.
Bad Girls & Dirty Pictures is a much-needed antidote to
falsehoods, shabby thinking, and patronising sexism that have
fuelled anti-pornography campaigns and misled the women's movement.
Alison Assiter argues that the notion of the person that lies at
the heart of the liberal tradition is derived from a Kantian and
Cartesian metaphysic. This metaphysic, according to her, is flawed
and it permeates a number of aspects of the tradition.
Significantly it excludes certain individuals, those who are
labelled 'mad' or 'evil'. Instead she offers an alternative
metaphysical image of the person that is derived largely from the
work of Kierkegaard. Assiter argues that there is a strand of
Kierkegaard's writing that offers a metaphysical picture that
recognises the dependence of people upon one another. He offers a
moral outlook, derived from this, that encourages people to 'love'
one another. Inspired by Kierkegaard, Assiter goes on to argue that
it is useful to focus on needs rather than rights in moral and
political thinking and to defend the view that it is important to
care about others who may be far removed from each one of us.
Furthermore, she argues, it is important that we treat those who
are close to us, well.
This title offers a new reading of the work of Kierkegaard in
relation to metaphysics and political theory. Alison Assiter argues
that the notion of the person that lies at the heart of the liberal
tradition is derived from a Kantian and Cartesian metaphysic. This
metaphysic, according to her, is flawed and it permeates a number
of aspects of the tradition. Significantly, it excludes certain
individuals, those who are labelled 'mad' or 'evil'. Instead, she
offers an alternative metaphysical image of the person that is
derived largely from the work of Kierkegaard.Assiter argues that
there is a strand of Kierkegaard's writing that offers a
metaphysical picture that recognises the dependence of people upon
one another. He offers a moral outlook, derived from this, that
encourages people to 'love' one another. Inspired by Kierkegaard,
Assiter goes on to argue that it is useful to focus on needs rather
than rights in moral and political thinking and to defend the view
that it is important to care about others who may be far removed
from each one of us. Furthermore, she argues, it is important that
we treat those who are close to us, well.
A critical assessment of Structuralism and Post-Structuralism and their significance to Marxism and feminism. Assiter challenges commonly held views regarding Althusser's contribution to Marxism and offers an alternative to radical feminism.;The author's books include "Pornography, Feminism and the Individual" and she has edited "Radical Philosophy" for twenty years.
'Assiter's book offers an interesting commentary, explaining what
is wrong with porn, but also illuminating the failure of the
radical feminist critique of porn and the inadequacy of
censorship.' Labour/Le Travail A refreshing critique of liberal and
radical feminist perspectives on pornography.
|
|