|
Showing 1 - 9 of
9 matches in All Departments
This book argues for the centrality of conflict in any notion of
the political. In contrast to many of the attempts to re-think the
political in the wake of the collapse of traditional leftist
projects, it also argues for the logical and/or ontological primacy
of violence over 'peace'. The notion of the political expounded
here is explicitly 'realist' and anti-utopian - in large part
because the author finds the consequences of attempting to think
'the good life' to be far more damaging than thinking 'the
tolerable life'. The political is not thought of as a means to
implement the good life; rather, the political exists because the
good life does not. Indeed, if one sees 'globalization', with its
emphasis on efficiency and economy, as a threat to the autonomy of
the political, then one ought to be wary of political ideologies
that reduce the political to species of moral or legal discourse.
As laudable as the aims of human rights activists or political
theorists like Rawls and Habermas may be, the consequences of their
thought and actions further reduce the scope and possibility of
political activity by, in effect, criminalizing political
opposition. Once 'universal' norms are instantiated, political
opposition becomes impossible. A fully legalized, moralized, and
pacified universe is a thoroughly depoliticized one as well.
Academics and advanced students researching and working in the
areas of political theory, legal theory and international relations
will find this book of great interest.
This important new book places Carl Schmitt's critique of liberal
political theory in a broader historical context than is usually
done. His belief in the centrality of the European state since the
seventeenth century derives from various sources, including
medieval (Scholastic) theology and nineteenth century
(post-Hegelian) social and political theory. Schmitt's famed
'political theology' aims at justifying the necessity of a strong
secular state as the safeguard of a political community against the
encroachment of legally protected interest groups that shield
themselves behind pre-political rights. William Rasch neither
condemns nor champions Schmitt's various attacks on liberalism, but
does insist that the tension between 'society' as the realm of
individual rights to pursue private pleasures and the 'state' as
the placeholder for something traditionally called the common good
is a conundrum that is as important now as it was during the Weimar
era in Germany. Reappraisal of some of the pillars of liberal dogma
are as much in order as are fears of their demise.
This book argues for the centrality of conflict in any notion of
the political. In contrast to many of the attempts to re-think the
political in the wake of the collapse of traditional leftist
projects, it also argues for the logical and/or ontological primacy
of violence over 'peace'. The notion of the political expounded
here is explicitly 'realist' and anti-utopian - in large part
because the author finds the consequences of attempting to think
'the good life' to be far more damaging than thinking 'the
tolerable life'. The political is not thought of as a means to
implement the good life; rather, the political exists because the
good life does not. Indeed, if one sees 'globalization', with its
emphasis on efficiency and economy, as a threat to the autonomy of
the political, then one ought to be wary of political ideologies
that reduce the political to species of moral or legal discourse.
As laudable as the aims of human rights activists or political
theorists like Rawls and Habermas may be, the consequences of their
thought and actions further reduce the scope and possibility of
political activity by, in effect, criminalizing political
opposition. Once 'universal' norms are instantiated, political
opposition becomes impossible. A fully legalized, moralized, and
pacified universe is a thoroughly depoliticized one as well.
Academics and advanced students researching and working in the
areas of political theory, legal theory and international relations
will find this book of great interest.
The essays in this volume by Germany's leading social theorist of
the late twentieth century formulate what he considered to be the
preconditions for an adequate theory of modern society.
The first two essays deal with the modern European philosophical
and scientific tradition, notably the ogy of Edmund Husserl. The
next four essays concern the crucial notion of observation as
defined by Luhmann. They examine the history of paradox as a
logical problem and as a historically conditioned feature of
rhetoric; deconstruct the thinking of Jacques Derrida, especially
his language-centered allegiances; discuss the usefulness of
Spencer Brown's "Laws of Form"; and assess the consequences of
observation and paradox for epistemology.
The following essays present Luhmann's theory of communication and
his articulation of the difference between thought and
communication, a difference that makes clear one of Luhmann's most
radical and controversial theses, that the individual not only does
not form the basic element of society but is excluded from it
altogether, situated instead in the environment of the social
system. The book concludes with a polemic against the critical
thought of the Frankfurt School of postwar German social thought.
This important new book places Carl Schmitt's critique of liberal
political theory in a broader historical context than is usually
done. His belief in the centrality of the European state since the
seventeenth century derives from various sources, including
medieval (Scholastic) theology and nineteenth century
(post-Hegelian) social and political theory. Schmitt's famed
'political theology' aims at justifying the necessity of a strong
secular state as the safeguard of a political community against the
encroachment of legally protected interest groups that shield
themselves behind pre-political rights. William Rasch neither
condemns nor champions Schmitt's various attacks on liberalism, but
does insist that the tension between 'society' as the realm of
individual rights to pursue private pleasures and the 'state' as
the placeholder for something traditionally called the common good
is a conundrum that is as important now as it was during the Weimar
era in Germany. Reappraisal of some of the pillars of liberal dogma
are as much in order as are fears of their demise.
The essays in this volume by Germany's leading social theorist of
the late twentieth century formulate what he considered to be the
preconditions for an adequate theory of modern society.
The first two essays deal with the modern European philosophical
and scientific tradition, notably the ogy of Edmund Husserl. The
next four essays concern the crucial notion of observation as
defined by Luhmann. They examine the history of paradox as a
logical problem and as a historically conditioned feature of
rhetoric; deconstruct the thinking of Jacques Derrida, especially
his language-centered allegiances; discuss the usefulness of
Spencer Brown's "Laws of Form"; and assess the consequences of
observation and paradox for epistemology.
The following essays present Luhmann's theory of communication and
his articulation of the difference between thought and
communication, a difference that makes clear one of Luhmann's most
radical and controversial theses, that the individual not only does
not form the basic element of society but is excluded from it
altogether, situated instead in the environment of the social
system. The book concludes with a polemic against the critical
thought of the Frankfurt School of postwar German social thought.
The rubric of systems theory brings together conceptual models and
approaches in the sciences and social sciences that study
complexity. It attempts to provide a coherent means of describing
all systems, whether organic or inorganic, and offers a theory of
knowledge that can account for the integration of humans in the
social, informational, and ecological systems in which we are
enmeshed. An introduction to the major concepts and foremost
thinkers of systems theory, this book brings systems theory into
interaction with the major figures of postmodern theory. The format
is multiplex and open -- a rich montage, including interviews,
exemplary essays, and staged dialogues. Throughout, the writers'
aim is not to solidity theory but to provide a thorough explication
and an open-ended exploration of how systems theory can address, in
a fresh and productive way, theoretical questions that too often
have led to impasses between different schools of postmodern
theory.
A prosthesis that can communicate with and be controlled by your
brain. A microchip placed in the eye of a person previously blind
that allows the patient to see again. A machine that can tell us
what a person is thinking about. Drugs tailor made for a specific
person to help them deal with emotional issues. The stuff of
science fiction? No. It is reality. The human brain is not only our
most complex organ, but also the most complex entity known to
mankind. We are in an age of fantastic and prolific neurological
research with advances occurring faster than in any other
scientific field. This research promises to help us with our mental
health, social adjustment, satisfaction with life, our ability to
learn, and our ability to remember, (and forget). The brain
contains approximately 90 billion neurons. We are beginning to
understand their functions more and more each day. This three-pound
organ the shape of a cauliflower has fascinated man for centuries.
The study of the brain is now less philosophical and more
scientific. As neurological research becomes more and more
enlightening and practical, a general understanding of the brain
and the major issues of neurological science become more important.
It is not rocket science or brain surgery (pun intended) to have a
basic understanding of the state of our knowledge of the brain
today. This book will acquaint the reader with thirty of the most
important and interesting topics in the study of the brain. The
author will assume that the reader has limited knowledge of the
brain and it's functions, and will present information in every day
language with very limited use of scientific jargon. The brain is
responsible for how we perceive our world and how we behave in it.
Let us begin our journey of understanding it.
|
You may like...
Contraband
Kate Beckinsale, Mark Wahlberg, …
Blu-ray disc
(1)
R62
Discovery Miles 620
Personal Shopper
Kristen Stewart, Nora von Waldstätten, …
DVD
R86
Discovery Miles 860
|