The increase in the visibility of autobiographies and fiction recounting suffering has gone hand-in-hand with an emphasis on the possibilities and limits of empathy. Contemporary French women's writing interrogates the imperative to witness and respond to another subject's pain and raises questions about the relation between empathy and reading.
The Animal That Therefore I Am is the long-awaited translation of the complete text of Jacques Derrida's ten-hour address to the 1997 Cérisy conference entitled "The Autobiographical Animal," the third of four such colloquia on his work. The book was assembled posthumously on the basis of two published sections, one written and recorded session, and one informal recorded session. The book is at once an affectionate look back over the multiple roles played by animals in Derrida's work and a profound philosophical investigation and critique of the relegation of animal life that takes place as a result of the distinction--dating from Descartes--between man as thinking animal and every other living species. That starts with the very fact of the line of separation drawn between the human and the millions of other species that are reduced to a single "the animal." Derrida finds that distinction, or versions of it, surfacing in thinkers as far apart as Descartes, Kant, Heidegger, Lacan, and Levinas, and he dedicates extended analyses to the question in the work of each of them. The book's autobiographical theme intersects with its philosophical analysis through the figures of looking and nakedness, staged in terms of Derrida's experience when his cat follows him into the bathroom in the morning. In a classic deconstructive reversal, Derrida asks what this animal sees and thinks when it sees this naked man. Yet the experiences of nakedness and shame also lead all the way back into the mythologies of "man's dominion over the beasts" and trace a history of how man has systematically displaced onto the animal his own failings or bêtises. The Animal That Therefore I Am is at times a militant plea and indictment regarding, especially, the modern industrialized treatment of animals. However, Derrida cannot subscribe to a simplistic version of animal rights that fails to follow through, in all its implications, the questions and definitions of "life" to which he returned in much of his later work.
Traces the spiritual journey of the author, as he learns to view the world as a network of multiple, diverse relationships. René Descartes' famous maxim 'I think, therefore, I am' considers the world in terms of dualism, division and separation. Yet the Sanskrit dictum, So Hum, is well known across India but not in the West, and can be translated as 'You are, therefore I am'. A journey of the mind, You are Therefore I am examines the sources of inspiration which formed child monk, peace pilgrim, ecological activist and educator Satish Kumar's understanding of the world as a network of diverse yet interconnected relationships. Written in four parts, the book begins with Satish's memories of conversations with his mother, his teacher and his Guru, all of whom were deeply religious. The second part recounts his discussions with the Indian sage Vinoba Bhave, J. Krishnamurti, Bertrand Russell, Martin Luther King, and E. F. Schumacher. These five great activists and thinkers encouraged him to engage with social, ecological and political issues. In the third part Satish narrates his travels in India, which have continued to nourish his mind and reconnect him with his roots. The final part brings together Satish' world-view, which is based in relationships and the connections between all things. You are, Therefore I am is an inspiring and deeply moving look at how we can re-connect with the world and find peace within ourselves by embracing Satish' emergent world-view.
Back in the early 1600s, Rene Descartes, the father of modern philosophy was struggling with the meaning of life, and wondering if he really existed, or if he was just some kind of awareness fl oating around in the universe. He fi nally resolved that he really did exist. His proof was stated, I think, therefore I am. Too bad for him there werent any old time cowboys around yet, or they could have saved him all that soul searching. Very early in the life of a cowboy, as he picks himself up out of a pile of rocks after being bucked off his horse, he knows for absolute certain of his existence. In the words of author and old time cowboy, Jon Garate, I HURT, THEREFORE I AM. Who would ever believe that growing up as a wild cowboy in the Old West would nurture the developing mind of a self-made philosopher? Herein, a reader can harvest-in-full, or glean piece-meal, nuggets ofhorse sense (country wisdom), feasting on the thoughts and ideas presented throughout this work of art.
A Workbook of Therapeutic Self-Empowerment. Learn to invoke Power Modes of Self when experiencing Weak Modes of Self. Produce rapid changes in the sense of self that have far-reaching effects on behavior, mood, and thought processes.
Twilight of the Idols presents a vivid, compressed overview of many of Nietzsche’s mature ideas, including his attack on Plato’s Socrates and on the Platonic legacy in Western philosophy and culture. Polt provides a trustworthy rendering of Nietzsche’s text in contemporary American English, complete with notes prepared by the translator and Tracy Strong. An authoritative Introduction by Strong makes this an outstanding edition. Select Bibliography and Index.
Stepping within the mysteries of perception, we find three interwoven but separate powers of perception: consciousness, awareness and emptiness. Through developing and refining these powers we have the opportunity to enter new ways of living. Empowering, refining and exciting, this book is perfect to all seekers who until now believed that there was little to be found in the one that is seeking. Through these fascinating methods, we find we are able to be not just a human doing, not just a human being, but truly a human living.
Twenty years ago Ulrich Beck published Risk Society, a book that called our attention to the dangers of environmental catastrophes and changed the way we think about contemporary societies. During the last two decades, the dangers highlighted by Beck have taken on new forms and assumed ever greater significance. Terrorism has shifted to a global arena, financial crises have produced worldwide consequences that are difficult to control and politicians have been forced to accept that climate change is not idle speculation. In short, we have come to see that today we live in a world at risk. A new feature of our world risk society is that risk is produced for political gain. This political use of risk means that fear creeps into modern life. A need for security encroaches on our liberty and our view of equality. However, Beck is anything but an alarmist and believes that the anticipation of catastrophe can fundamentally change global politics. We have the opportunity today to reconfigure power in terms of what Beck calls a 'cosmopolitan material politics’. World at Risk is a timely and far-reaching analysis of the structural dynamics of the modern world, the global nature of risk and the future of global politics by one of the most original and exciting social thinkers writing today.
This book is the last in a series of seven books. Because humans are far better at making comparisons rather than at making direct objective assessments, chapters 1 and 2 present a rearranged prcis of The Human Situation by W. MacNeile Dixon, published in 1937. The contents of these two chapters seem remarkably relevant to our situation today. Chapter 3 tells us what we are not going to talk about, what we are going to talk about, and then introduces Life Chemistry that comprises a large part of organic chemistry, i.e., the chemistry of carbon. Now chapter 2 predicts that individual personalities will become more important as society develops in the future. Accordingly, chapter 4 deals with the origin of our personalities, how we can describe them, and how far we have come in trying to prove how valid these descriptions are. Chapter 5 shows how personality descriptions can be produced and then suggests uses to which they can be put. Finally, chapter 6 addresses various points from chapters 1 and 2 as they appear to us today, as well as answering several questions raised there. Chapter 6 ends by indicating how we should proceed collectively into our long-term future.