Andrew Weeks - Böcker

This is a biography of one of the most original and one of the least understood seminal writers of the Baroque world, Jacob Boehme.In a period tormented by mysteries and controversies, Boehme's visionary mysticism responded to the vexing quandaries confronting his contemporaries. His concerns included the apocalyptic religious disputes of his day, the havoc wrought by the Thirty Years' War in his region, the disintegration of the Old Middle European order, the rise of new cosmic models from avant-garde heliocentrism to obscure esoteric theories, and his endeavor to express by means of codes and symbols a new sense of the human, divine, and natural realms.

This book offers the reader an introduction to the writings of Hildegard of Bingen, Meister Eckhart, Tauler, Nicholas of Cusa, Paracelsus, Jacob Boehme, Angelus Silesius, Novalis and includes the more recent thinkers, such as Schopenhauer and Wittgenstein, who were influenced by the tradition. It is the first study of its scope to take into account the much ignored historical preconditions of German mysticism and the first to trace the thematic evolution of mystical literature from a core of biblical and Augustinian materials. It also follows in the footsteps of recent scholarship in showing how German mysticism interacts with other currents in intellectual history such as the Reformation, Romanticism, or Modernism. Instead of murky generalizations, the reader will find clear discussions of representative literary documents, analyzed with an eye to theme, source, style, function, and influence.

This book offers the reader an introduction to the writings of Hildegard of Bingen, Meister Eckhart, Tauler, Nicholas of Cusa, Paracelsus, Jacob Boehme, Angelus Silesius, Novalis and includes the more recent thinkers, such as Schopenhauer and Wittgenstein, who were influenced by the tradition. It is the first study of its scope to take into account the much ignored historical preconditions of German mysticism and the first to trace the thematic evolution of mystical literature from a core of biblical and Augustinian materials. It also follows in the footsteps of recent scholarship in showing how German mysticism interacts with other currents in intellectual history such as the Reformation, Romanticism, or Modernism. Instead of murky generalizations, the reader will find clear discussions of representative literary documents, analyzed with an eye to theme, source, style, function, and influence.

Paracelsus is regarded as one of the great medical innovators of all time, as a prototype of Goethe's Faust and as a founder of German Renaissance nature philosophy. Recently, his role in the popular "radical Reformation" that coincided with but went beyond Luther's church reform has been recognized as well. A legendary wanderer and rebel, he is an author of undisputed importance, but also one clouded by puzzling ambiguities.Based on a close examination and revised dating of Paracelsus's writings, this book rejects certain myths concerning the author's scientific orientation and experience of nature. The genesis of his thought is traced to his responses to sectarian conflicts of the early Reformation. One can characterize Paracelsus's project as that of a radical theorist who transgressed the boundaries of disciplines and seized upon the irreducible particularities of his phenomena--the transmuted disease or the unrecognized female pathology--to challenge the established order and ideology.

This first English-language consideration of Valentin Weigel, an important but neglected figure in German intellectual history, examines his life and his writings on tolerance.This is the first book-length treatment in English of a central but neglected figure in German intellectual history, Valentin Weigel (1533–1588). Like his great contemporary Michel de Montaigne, Weigel anticipated the advent of a tolerant culture of individual knowledge and conscience. In the wake of the German Reformation, the dissenting Lutheran pastor Weigel argued for the inner autonomy of the lay individual in search of knowledge and salvation. His writing recapitulates the traditions of medieval mysticism (Meister Eckhart, Tauler, the Theologia Germanica), Renaissance philosophy (Cusanus, Paracelsus), and Reformation-era dissent (Sebastian Franck). In Weigel's work, these disparate sources come together in a lucid synthesis that stimulated protest and opposition against intolerance and oppression.Taking into account the latest research and editorial achievements of scholars in Germany, this book summarizes what is known of Weigel's life, characterizes the conflicts of his times, discusses his sources, analyzes his writing work by work, and considers his impact on the emergence of tolerance in Germany.

This first English-language consideration of Valentin Weigel, an important but neglected figure in German intellectual history, examines his life and his writings on tolerance.This is the first book-length treatment in English of a central but neglected figure in German intellectual history, Valentin Weigel (1533–1588). Like his great contemporary Michel de Montaigne, Weigel anticipated the advent of a tolerant culture of individual knowledge and conscience. In the wake of the German Reformation, the dissenting Lutheran pastor Weigel argued for the inner autonomy of the lay individual in search of knowledge and salvation. His writing recapitulates the traditions of medieval mysticism (Meister Eckhart, Tauler, the Theologia Germanica), Renaissance philosophy (Cusanus, Paracelsus), and Reformation-era dissent (Sebastian Franck). In Weigel's work, these disparate sources come together in a lucid synthesis that stimulated protest and opposition against intolerance and oppression.Taking into account the latest research and editorial achievements of scholars in Germany, this book summarizes what is known of Weigel's life, characterizes the conflicts of his times, discusses his sources, analyzes his writing work by work, and considers his impact on the emergence of tolerance in Germany.

Journalists have often put themselves in danger to convey crucial information to the public. Many journalists have even died doing their jobs, investigating crimes or traveling to battle zones--and sometimes documenting events in their own communities. Recently, reporters have been assaulted, mocked and silenced, their reports dubbed "fake news" and them, "enemies of the people." A free press is one of the country's most reliable foundations for ensuring a democracy for current and future generations. With a focus on American journalism, this book tackles issues affecting today's news through profiling journalists killed on the job, whether from violent conspiracy, terrorism or mass shootings.

New essays revealing the enduring significance of the story made famous in the 1587 Faustbuch and providing insights into the forces that gave the sixteenth century its distinct character.The Reformation and Renaissance, though segregated into distinct disciplines today, interacted and clashed intimately in Faust, the great figure that attained European prominence in the anonymous 1587 Historia von D. Johann Fausten. The original Faust behind Goethe's great drama embodies a remote culture. In his century, Faust evolved from an obscure cipher to a universal symbol. The age explored here as "the Faustian century" invested the Faustbuch and its theme with a symbolic significance still of exceptional relevance today.The new essays in this volume complement one another, providing insights into the tensions and forces that gave the century its distinctcharacter. Several essays seek Faust's prototypes. Others elaborate the symbolic function of his figure and discern the resonance of his tale in conflicting allegiances. This volume focuses on the intersection of historical accounts and literary imaginings, on shared aspects of the work and its times, on concerns with obedience and transgression, obsessions with the devil and curiosity about magic, and quandaries created by shifting religious and worldlyauthorities.Contributors: Marguerite de Huszar Allen, Kresten Thue Andersen, Frank Baron, Günther Bonheim, Albrecht Classen, Urs Leo Gantenbein, Karl S. Guthke, Michael Keefer, Paul Ernst Meyer, J. M. van der Laan, Helen Watanabe-O'Kelly, Andrew Weeks.J. M. van der Laan is Professor of German and Andrew Weeks is Professor of German and Comparative Literature, both at Illinois State University.

This book is aimed at everyone who wants to improve the quality of the medical care they provide: nurses, doctors, managers, healthcare assistants, students, laboratory clinicians and so on. The book demonstrates how to examine the quality of the care you provide using simple steps: decide what you should be doing in any circumstance, examine whether or not you are doing it and then look for ways of improving your care until you are doing it correctly. The book contains six lessons, each designed to take around one hour, with exercises to complete. The lessons can be used by individuals or in a group setting. The book will be of interest to anyone working in healthcare practice who is keen to find a better way of working.

Jacob Boehme’s Aurora (Morgen Röte im auffgang, 1612) exercised a vast open or underground influence on popular and mystical religion, poetry, and philosophy from Germany to England to Russia. This beautiful and highly original work containing elements of alchemical, esoteric, and anticlerical thought is a portal to the cultural, scientific, and theological currents on the eve of the Thirty Years' War. Its author heralded the new heliocentrism, opposed intolerance and religious conflict, and entertained an ecstatic vision of order reconciled with freedom. This first modern English translation places the translated text opposite an edition of the German manuscript from the author’s own hand. Also included is the brief, influential Fundamental Report (Gründlicher Bericht, 1620) in a critical edition and translation. An extensive commentary that cites documents of the time offers access to the sources of Boehme’s themes and concepts.