Ben Middleton – författare

The ‘High Treason Incident’ rocked Japanese society between 1910 and 1911, when police discovered that a group of anarchists and socialists were plotting to assassinate the Emperor Meiji. Following a trial held in camera, twelve of the so-called conspirators were hanged, but while the executions officially brought an end to the incident, they were only the initial outcome as the state became increasingly paranoid about national ideological cohesion. In response it deployed an array of new technologies of integration and surveillance, and the subsequent repression affected not only political movements, but the whole cultural sphere. This book shows the far reaching impact of the high treason incident for Japanese politics and society, and the subsequent course of Japanese history. Taking an interdisciplinary and global approach, it demonstrates how the incident transformed modern Japan in numerous and unexpected ways, and sheds light on the response of authoritarian states to radical democratic opposition movements elsewhere. The contributors examine the effects of the incident on Japanese history, literature, politics and society, as well as its points of intersection with broader questions of anarchism, colonialism, gender and governmentality, to underline its historical and contemporary significance.With chapters by leading Western and Japanese scholars, and drawing on newly available primary sources, this book is a timely and relevant study that will be of great interest to students and scholars working in the fields of Japanese history, Japanese politics, Japanese studies, as well as those interested in the history of social movements.

Truth: The Basics is a concise and engaging introduction to philosophical theories about the nature of truth. The two authors – leading philosophers in this field – build the book around a single question: what, if anything, is common to all truths, which makes them true? The book explores five important answers (‘theories’) to the given question: correspondence, semantic, verifiability, transparency, and plurality. For each given theory, the following questions are addressed:What is the theory’s answer to the central question?What is the basic motivation behind that answer?What is a precise argument for that answer?What are the biggest objections to that answer?What are a few good resources for understanding more about the theory?An additional chapter provides an extensive introduction to the notorious liar paradox. Truth: The Basics is an ideal starting point for anyone seeking a lively and accessible introduction to the rich and complex philosophical study of truth.Key Features:Written in a clear and concise fashionClearly explains five major theories of truth for an uninitiated readership of undergraduate students and general readersPrepares the reader to tackle more advanced work in truth studiesMakes connections between truth and other areas of philosophy, including the philosophy of language, semantics, metaphysics, logic and epistemologyIncludes technical appendices for more advanced readers

Truth: The Basics is a concise and engaging introduction to philosophical theories about the nature of truth. The two authors – leading philosophers in this field – build the book around a single question: what, if anything, is common to all truths, which makes them true? The book explores five important answers (‘theories’) to the given question: correspondence, semantic, verifiability, transparency, and plurality. For each given theory, the following questions are addressed:What is the theory’s answer to the central question?What is the basic motivation behind that answer?What is a precise argument for that answer?What are the biggest objections to that answer?What are a few good resources for understanding more about the theory?An additional chapter provides an extensive introduction to the notorious liar paradox. Truth: The Basics is an ideal starting point for anyone seeking a lively and accessible introduction to the rich and complex philosophical study of truth.Key Features:Written in a clear and concise fashionClearly explains five major theories of truth for an uninitiated readership of undergraduate students and general readersPrepares the reader to tackle more advanced work in truth studiesMakes connections between truth and other areas of philosophy, including the philosophy of language, semantics, metaphysics, logic and epistemologyIncludes technical appendices for more advanced readers

The ‘High Treason Incident’ rocked Japanese society between 1910 and 1911, when police discovered that a group of anarchists and socialists were plotting to assassinate the Emperor Meiji. Following a trial held in camera, twelve of the so-called conspirators were hanged, but while the executions officially brought an end to the incident, they were only the initial outcome as the state became increasingly paranoid about national ideological cohesion. In response it deployed an array of new technologies of integration and surveillance, and the subsequent repression affected not only political movements, but the whole cultural sphere. This book shows the far reaching impact of the high treason incident for Japanese politics and society, and the subsequent course of Japanese history. Taking an interdisciplinary and global approach, it demonstrates how the incident transformed modern Japan in numerous and unexpected ways, and sheds light on the response of authoritarian states to radical democratic opposition movements elsewhere. The contributors examine the effects of the incident on Japanese history, literature, politics and society, as well as its points of intersection with broader questions of anarchism, colonialism, gender and governmentality, to underline its historical and contemporary significance.With chapters by leading Western and Japanese scholars, and drawing on newly available primary sources, this book is a timely and relevant study that will be of great interest to students and scholars working in the fields of Japanese history, Japanese politics, Japanese studies, as well as those interested in the history of social movements.