OPUS - Böcker

This is the first balanced introduction to Plato's work to bringing Plato himself alive, as well as discussing the importance of his works. In so doing, it allows a better understanding of who he was, what sort of world he inhabited, why his works were important in his own day, and why, two thousand years after his death, they are still regarded as so significant. By also describing the Greek society in which Plato lived, it succeeds in placing his work firmly in context for modern readers.

Discusses Aristotle's views on change, natural science, the mind, logic, philosophical method, metaphysics, and ethics, and suggests why the Greek philosopher still provokes controversy.

This detailed study shows how the medieval tradition of exploration was rooted in Classical ideas of the world, and how the age of the Vikings, Marco Polo, and the crusaders paved the way for the famous voyages of the Renaissance. In the world which saw the great journeys of Marco Polo and Eric the Red it was still believed that the equator was too hot to cross, that distant lands were populated by a breed of men who shaded themselves with one large foot, and that in Asia there lived a Christian king who would help Europe defeat its enemies. Yet this was also an age of expansion for the medieval world, with trade and travel between Europe and other continents flourishing as never before. These were the centuries in which the Vikings reached North America, the crusaders established states in Palestine and Syria, merchants and missionaries travelled to the Asian dominions ofthe Mongol Great Khans, and adventurers were lured by dreams of African gold and the quest for Prester John. In this detailed survey, Dr J.R.S. Phillips draws on a large, often controversial body of evidence to show how the medieval European tradition of exploration was rooted in Classical ideas of the world, and how it in turn paved the way for the great exploratory journeys of the Renaissance. The book includes maps showing the extent of medieval Europe.

The Age of Revolutions and its aftermath is unparalleled in English literature. Its poets include Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, and Keats; its novelists, Jane Austen and Scott. But how is it that some of these writers were apparently swept up in Romanticism, and others not? Studies of Romanticism have tended to adopt the Romantic viewpoint. They value creativity, imagination and originality - ideas which nineteenth-century writers themselves used to promote a new image of their calling. Romantics, Rebels and Reactionaries puts the movement in to its historical setting and provides a new insight in Romanticism itself, showing that one of the most dynamic and stressful periods of modern times fostered a literature that was itself various and contradictory.

A study not of the institution of the Church but of Christianity itself, this book explores the Christian people, their beliefs, and their way of life, providing a new understanding of Western Christianity at the time of the Reformation. Bossy begins with a systematic exposition of traditional or pre-Reformation Christianity, exploring the forces that tended to undermine it, the characteristics of the Protestant and Catholic regimes that superseded it, and the fall-out that resulted from its disintegration.

This book provides an accessible introduction to aesthetics, especially in relation to literature, and is particularly useful for readers new to literary theory and contemporary philosophy. Anne Sheppard discusses what it is that all works of art have in common - what gives them their value as art - and asks, wisely, whether there can ever be one correct interpretation of a work of art. The scope of the book includes chapters on form, beauty and aesthetic appreciation, and the relationship between art and morals.

The period from 1688-1820 was marked throughout with riots and rebellions, seditions and strikes. Yet it began with the welcoming of Prince William of Orange, whose coronation was widely celebrated as a move towards a more democratic state. Parliament and the courts were set to become a central feature of political life. But in 1819, fifteen men, women, and children were killed and over 400 injured when the yeomanry, directed by the magistracy, attacked the mass meeting for parliamentary reform at St Peter's Field, Manchester.The long eighteenth century was characterized by the gradual erosion of consensual politics: the transfer from a cross-class consensus based on the Whig/Tory divide to divisions based instead on the notion that the state privileged the interests of certain social groups over others. This book draws together the implications of recent work on demography, labour, and law to assess their importance for defining those moments and places where class interests met and conflicted. By focusing on the experiences of the eighty percent of the population who made up England's `lower orders', Douglas Hay and Nicholas Rogers accord new significance to food shortages, changes in poor relief, use of the criminal law, and the shifts in social power caused by industrialization which would bring about the birth of working-class radicalism.

The inspiration for this book comes from the words of Adam Smith: `Consumption is the sole end of and purpose of all production....' This book concentrates, in that spirit, on people rather on things; it describes the overall income and wealth of Britain, its growth, and how that income and wealth was produced by and distributed between different people in the population. Population growth has a central place, as do the changes in home and workplace, in the transformation of the lives of successive generations in Victorian and Edwardian Britain. Between 1830 and 1914 Britain became the world's major trading nation, carrier of the majority of the world's goods, by far the largest investor overseas, and the centre of the world's financial system. It was an exceptional time in the history of the country and one to which many look back, even a hundred years later, with nostalgia. This book seeks to describe and assess what was achieved in those eighty-five years.

Why do humans have such diverse cultures and ways of life? Michael Carrithers presents an original and powerful answer to this central problem of anthropology, arguing that it is the ways in which people interact, rather than technological advances, that have been of crucial importance in human history. Lucid and thought-provoking, he draws both on ancient and contemporary examples to show how this perspective forms a firm foundation for the study of culture, society, and history.

Buddhism is a vast and complex religious and philosophical tradition with a history that stretches over 2,500 years, and which is now followed by around 115 million people. In this introduction to the foundations of Buddhism, Rupert Gethin concentrates on the ideas and practices which constitute the common heritage of the different traditions of Buddhism (Thervada, Tibetan, and Eastern) which exist in the world today. From the narrative of the story of the Buddha, through discussions of aspects such as textual traditions, the framework of the Four Noble Truths, the interaction between the monastic and lay ways of life, the cosmology of karma and rebirth, and the path of the bodhisattva, this books provides a stimulating introduction to Buddhism as a religion and way of life, which will also be of interest to those who are more familiar with the subject.

The last 120 years have seen great social change and development in Japan. In the early 1870s Japan was still a third world country - a newly unified island nation with a highly agrarian economy and an insecure and weak government. By 1914 Japan has progressed towards the beginnings of an industrial economy, it had established a small empire for itself and the government had gained full and effective control over the entire country. Now, at the end of the twentieth century, Japan is an economic giant, with a massive export economy and considerable clout in the international world community.Ann Waswo outlines the role of the 'ordinary' Japanese citizen in this extraordinary history. One of the continuous themes in this history has been the steady relationship which the state has had with the people since the late nineteenth century, but this relationship has not been without change. Waswo focuses attention upon these developments, together with the many historical explanations for events in Japanese history - events which have too often been explained by the 'unique and enduring' quality of Japanese cultural traditions.

Irish literature after Yeats and Joyce, from the 1920s onwards, includes texts which have been the subject of much contention. For a start how should Irish literature be defined: as works which have been written in Irish or as works written in Englsih by the Irish? It is a period in which ideas of Ireland--of people, community, and nation--have been both created and reflected, and in which conceptions of a distinct Irish identity have been articulated, defended, and challenged; a period which has its origins in a time of intense political turmoil. `after Yeats and Joyce' also suggests the immense influence of these two writers on the style, stances, and preoccupations of twentieth-century Irish literature. Neil Corcoran focuses his chapter on various themes such as `the Big House', the rural and provincial, with reference to authors from Kinsella and Beckett to William Trevor, Seamus Heaney, and Mary Lavin, providing a lucid and far-reaching introduction to modern Irish writing.

The Modern American Novel is an indispensable handbook for all those interested in the novel and American culture. This new, completely revised and updated edition of Malcolm Bradbury's examination of the modern American novel offers an extensive account of the multiplicity and variety of contemporary American fiction, while providing a clear critical survey of the fictional scene from the 1890s to 1991. In this broad study, Malcolm Bradbury traces the development of naturalism and impressionism, the growth of modernism, the realism of the thirties and forties, to the postmodern experiment of the sixties, and the work of contemporary American writers.

Logic deals with the inevitable - those consequences which follow inescapably from a given set of premisses. This fact has caused it to be seen as different from other more self-questioning branches of philosophy. In this book, Stephen Read sets out to rescue logic from its undeserved reputation as an inflexible, dogmatic discipline by demonstrating that its technicalities and processes are founded on assumptions which are themselves amenable to philosophical investigation.He examines the fundamental principles of consequence, logical truth and correct inference within the context of logic, and shows that the principles by which we delineate consequences are themselves not guaranteed free from error. Central to the notion of truth is the beguiling issue of paradox. Its philosophical value, Read shows, lies in exposing the invalid assumption on which the paradox is built. Thinking About Logic also discusses logical puzzles which introduce questions relating to language, the world, and their relationship.While formal logic often employs its own esoteric language, the achievement of this book is to focus on those issues which raise exciting philosophical questions, and to make them intelligible to readers with no previous knowledge of logic.

The partition of Ireland created two states embodying rival ideologies and representing two hostile peoples. This book concerns the revolution which prompted partition, and the legacies of that revolution for the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland. Though less bloody than the nationalist uprising after 1916, Unionist defiance against Home Rule proved equally effective in wresting concessions from a hostile British government. Despite their mutual antagonism, the two revolutionary movements were strikingly similar in their reliance on fraternal solidarity and intolerance of dissent. Both new states were immediately engulfed by civil war, resulting in the ruthless suppression of dissident southern repulicans and northern Catholics. The power of each revolutionary elite was consolidated at the expense of alienating substantial minorities, although republican opponents of the Free State (unlike northern Catholics) eventually joined the democratic process. This is the first sustained attempt to integrate the political history of the two Irelands in the era of revolution and partition. It provides an unexpected and provocative slant on each individual history.

Defeat and unconditional surrender: these were the foundations on which post-war Germany was built. The overall impact, however, was not apathy, but a mentality which was down to earth, pragmatic, and forward-looking. Democracy, economic liberalism, and European integration were the signposts to the future. Even though the old ruling elite with their power base in the agrarian East had been swept away by the end of the war, the social and industrial fabric of Germany society did not crumble altogether. Crucial structures survived and contributed to West Germany's phenomenal recovery, while the East was forced to submit to a ruthless Soviet leadership. Now, however, following the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the aftermath of German reunification will be long and painful, for never have two economies and societies been fused together which had grown as far apart as West and East Germany. Lothar Kettenacker's book offers a fascinating survey of the fortunes and features of East and West Germany - how the two states drifted apart; the differences between their economies, politics, and cultures; and the problems and events surrounding their unification.

Peter Hunt is a world renowned expert on children's literature. In his new book he combines a history of writing for children with an assessment of its literary, sociological, and pedagogical roles - identifying key characteristics of the genre such as fantasy, nostalgia, nature images, a sense of place or territory, testing and incitation, and the need for warmth and security.

In this new and enlarged edition of a standard introduction to moral philosophy, Professor Raphael shows in clear and simple language the connections between abstract ethics and practical problems in law, government, medicine, and the social sciences in general.

Since philosophy is intended to aspire to timeless, universal truths, what is so special about French twentieth-century philosophy? The focus of French philosophy upon the moral, literary, spiritual, and political have made the subject a core-element in the secondary-school curriculum, and an understanding of French philosophy allows for greater insight in to French literature, drama, cinema, visual arts, and politics.In this chronological survey, Eric Matthews offers some explanations for the enduring popularity of the subject and traces the developments which French philosophy has taken in the twentieth century, from it roots in the thoughts of Descartes to key figures such as Bergson, Sartre, Marcel, Merleau-Ponty, Foucault, Derrida, and the recent French Feminists.

Can human history as a whole be interpreted in any meaningful way? Has there been real progress between stone age and space age? Does history repeat itself? Is there evidence of divine providence? Questions such as these have fascinated thinkers, and some of the greatest philosophers, notably Kant and Hegel, have turned their minds to philosophical history. As a branch of philosophy, however, it has received little attention in the analytical tradition. This pioneering work aims to bring the methods of analytical philosophy to the critical examination of some of these questions. In addition to Hegel and Kant, the discussion ranges over the writings of Augustine, Machiavelli, and Alasdair MacIntyre. The ideas of historical progress, secularization and the decline of religion, cultural cycles, historical rupture and God in history are all subjected to careful analysis. Gordon Graham argues that, although unfashionable, the claim that history is the story of progress under the guidance of providence is one of the most plausible accounts of the shape of the past.

A fruitful, well-established development in literary studies has been the application of ideas drawn from linguistics. Precise analytical methods help the practical criticism of texts, while at the same time the theory of language has illuminated literary theory. Linguistic Criticism is an introduction to the subject by one of its most experienced practitioners. Roger Fowler sets out clearly and simply a variety of analytical techniques whose application he demonstrates in discussion of a wide range of texts drawn from fiction, poetry, and drama. He concentrates on structures which relate literature to ordinary language, stressing the importance of the reader's every day language skills. This second edition gives clarified and expanded sections dealing with the role of the reader in literary criticism, and includes more twentieth-century texts and examples for analysis and discussion.

The law in a modern society is an extremely bulky and complex instrument, with a distracting tendency to become less fixed, less rule-oriented, and more discretionary. An institution made by men for the government of men, the law today can all too readily confuse and dismay us. How and why is so much new law made? By what right does a judge order that a man be sent to gaol? Why is so much law so bad, and why should we, the people, accept the laws made by those who claim the right to govern us? In this lucid, stimulating and completely updated survey, which presupposes no specialist knowledge of the subject, P S Atiyah introduces the reader to a number of fundamental issues about the law, the legal profession, and the adjudicative process. This new edition gives greater emphasis to the effect of membership of the European Community on English law, and gives an expanded account of the European convention on Human Rights with its subsequent effects on English law. Atiyah also looks at the recent controversy over the independence of the judiciary, problems arising from the cost of legal services and legal aid, and the many appalling miscarriages of justice which have disfigured the legal system in the past decade.

`Geldart' has over the years established itself as a standard account of English law, expounding the body of the modern law as set in its historical context. Regularly updated since its first publication, it remains indispensable to student and layman alike as a concise, reliable guide. Since publication of the tenth edition in 1991 there have been considerable developments in English law. Sir David Yardley has taken these developments into account, and substantially rewritten several parts of the book. Particular issues of the past four years include the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice, alterations to the law of manslaughter, and the new twists in laws concerning children, intellectual property, and contract and leasehold reforms.

`This book grew out of the conviction, not in itself strange or startling, that the ordinary person can and should think straight rather than crooked.'Patrick Shaw has written a commonsense introduction to the use of logic in everyday thought and argument. It explains some of the rules of good argument and some of the ways in which arguments can fail, drawing illustrations from a variety of contemporary and international sources, such as the press, radio, and television. Symbols and technicalities are kept to a minimum in this thorough and provocative investigation of the rational approach to thought - and its limitations. Logic and Its Limits emphasizes the use of logic in helping to settle and clarify disputes. It will help the reader to avoid bad arguments, to detect them in others, and so to think and argue more effectively. A wide range of thought-provoking examples and exercises concerned with contemporary social and political issues make this a readable and stimulating guide for the student and general reader alike.

From the end of the eighteenth century, throughout western Europe, the official clergy, champions of privilege and tradition, were challenged by religious dissenters and minorities. Chapel confronted church in Britain and Scandinavia; Catholics struggled against Protestants in Germany and Ireland. The war between anti-clerical and Catholic in France and Spain reached its climax in the Spanish Bloodbath of the 1930s. This book clearly maps out these polarizations and analyses the impact on religion of socialism, capitalism and the growth of cities. It examines the contrasts between the religion of the middle and working classes and between men and women. It discusses the appeal of movements like Methodism, Secularism, and Ultramontane Catholicism, and considers the crisis faced by the churches in many countries in the 1960s. A new concluding chapter examines the role of religion up to 1990, and how it has been affected by modern changes in society and beliefs.

This book provides an overall interpretation of a decisive period in French history, from the chaos of the Wars of Religion to the death of Louis XIV. A clear but economical narrative of the major political events is combined with an analysis of the long-term factors which decisively moulded the evolution of both state and society.

The later years of Elizabeth and the reign of James I were the age of Shakespeare, but the age also of Sidney, Spenser, and Donne, of fellow dramatists Marlowe, Jonson, and Webster, and of the prose writers Nashe, Bacon, and Burton. This book examines the social conditions that produced this uniquely dazzling array of talent, and relates them closely to the literature of the period. Politically, 1580-1625 was a period of comparative stability, but men's lives were constantly threatened by plague, famine, or even casual violence; a sudden population rise added problems of inflation and unemployment. Writers struggling to earn a living needed either to please the court, with its wealthy and influential patrons, or else to score a popular success with London's new theatre-going public. The establishment itself was actively engaged in promoting ideals of order, hierarchy and centralized authority, while religious reformers urged men to heed the promptings of the spirit, and humanist schoolmasters introduced the young to the pagan culture of ancient Rome, its erotic poetry, and its republican sentiments. New ideas were in the air and sceptical, sometimes iconoclastic attitudes were widely expressed: a constant theme in the literature of the age was man's simultaneous greatness and littleness, the dramatic antitheses contained within him and acted out upon what Raleigh called `this stage-play world'. This extensively revised new edition also includes two new chapters which examine the role of women, the family, travellers and `outsiders' within the social and literary contexts of the period. It also contains textual notes and a fully updated bibliography.

The Industrial Revolution has sometimes been regarded as a catastrophe which desecrated the English landscape and brought social opporession and appalling physical hardship to the workers. In this book, however, it is presented as an important and beneficial mark of progress. In spite of destructive wars and a rapid growth of population, the material living standards of most of the British people improved, and the technical innovations not only brought economic rewards but also provoked greater intellectual ingenuity. Innovation is therefore seen by Ashton not just as an economic course but as a social and cultural process influenced by factors such as war and peace and the framework of law and institutions. Lucidly argued and authoritative, this bookplaces the phenomenon of the Industrial Revolution in a stimulating perpsective. A new Preface by Professor Pat Hudson outlines the results of recent research precipitated by Ashton's themes: the true causes of population growth in the eighteenth century, the nature of the supply of capital, and the new approaches to labour studies amongst others. This Preface places The Industrial Revolution in its contemporary context, and a new thoroughly updated bibliography means that fifty years on, Ashton's work can continue to be of value to modern readers.

In this book John Roberts studies the puzzling nature of what came to be called the French Revolution, with its Janus-like aspect, looking to past and future at the same time. The five main sections deal with the beginnings of the Revolution; the Revolution in France seen as a great disruption; the Revolution in France as the vehicle of continuity; the Revolution abroad; and the Revolution as history and as myth. This lively and authoritative book, which will appeal to the general reader and student of history alike, makes a significant and original contribution to our understanding of the French Revolution. This new edition takes into account the recent discoveries in regional and local revolutionary history, and includes a thoroughly updated bibliography.