Georg Lukacs: The Fundamental Dissonance of Existence: Aesthetics, Politics, Literature
Author: Timothy Bewes File Type: pdf The end of the Soviet period, the vast expansion in the power and influence of capital, and recent developments in social and aesthetic theory, have made the work of Hungarian Marxist philosopher and social critic Georg Lukacs more vital than ever.The very innovations in literary method that, during the 80s and 90s, marginalized him in the West have now made possible new readings of Lukacs, less in thrall to the positions taken by Lukacs himself on political and aesthetic matters. What these developments amount to, this book argues, is an opportunity to liberate Lukacss thought from its formal and historical limitations, a possibility that was always inherent in Lukacss own thinking about the paradoxes of form. This collection brings together recent work on Lukacs from the fields of Philosophy, Social and Political Thought, Literary and Cultural Studies. Against the odds, Lukacss thought has survived as a critique of late capitalism, as a guide to the contradictions of modernity, and as a model for a temperament that refuses all accommodation with the way things are.
Author: John Curl
File Type: pdf
Seeking to reclaim a history that has remained largely ignored by most historians, this dramatic and stirring account examines each of the definitive American cooperative movements for social change farmer, union, consumer, and communalist that have been all but erased from collective memory. Focusing far beyond one particular era, organization, leader, or form of cooperation, the expansive analysis documents the multigenerational struggle of the American working people for social justice. With an expansive sweep and breathtaking detail, the chronicle considers Native American times and follows the American worker from the colonial workshop to the modern mass-assembly line, ultimately painting a vivid panorama of those who built the United States and those who will shape its future.
Author: Anthony Aguirre
File Type: pdf
The prize-winning essays in this book address the fascinating but sometimes uncomfortable relationship between physics and mathematics. Is mathematics merely another natural science? Or is it the result of human creativity? Does physics simply wear mathematics like a costume, or is math the lifeblood of physical reality? The nineteen wide-ranging, highly imaginative and often entertaining essays are enhanced versions of the prize-winning entries to the FQXi essay competition Trick or Truth, which attracted over 200 submissions. The Foundational Questions Institute, FQXi, catalyzes, supports, and disseminates research on questions at the foundations of physics and cosmology, particularly new frontiers and innovative ideas integral to a deep understanding of reality, but unlikely to be supported by conventional funding sources. **
Author: Michiel Hofman
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The 2014-2015 Ebola epidemic in West Africa was an unprecedented medical and political emergency that cast an unflattering light on multiple corners of government and international response. Fear, not rational planning, appeared to drive many decisions made at population and leadership levels, which in turn brought about a response that was as uneven as it was unprecedented entire populations were decimated or destroyed, vaccine trials were fast-tracked, health staff died, untested medications were used (or not used) in controversial ways, humanitarian workers returned home to enforced isolation, and military was employed to sometimes disturbing ends. The epidemic revealed serious fault lines at all levels of theory and practice of global public health national governments were shown to be helpless and unprepared for calamity at this scale the World Health Organization was roundly condemned for its ineffectiveness the US quietly created its own African CDC a year after the epidemic began. Amid such chaos, Medecins sans Frontieres was forced to act with unprecdented autonomy -- and amid great criticism -- in responding to the disease, taking unprecedented steps in deploying services and advocating for international aid. The Politics of Fear provides a primary documentary resource for recounting and learning from the Ebola epidemic. Comprising eleven topic-based chapters and four eyewitness vignettes from both MSF- and non-MSF-affiliated contributors (all of whom have been given access to MSF Ebola archives from Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia for research), it aims to provide a politically agnostic account of the defining health event of the 21st century so far, one that will hopefully inform current opinions and future responses. **
Author: Brian Davies
File Type: pdf
Herbert McCabe OP was one of the most intelligent Roman Catholic thinkers of the 20th century, whose writings have enjoyed enormous and welcome success. A significant influence on philosophers such as Anthony Kenny and Alasdair McIntyre, McCabe also counted amongst his friends Seamus Heaney and Terry Eagleton, and moved amongst the literary elite. His wide personal interests are reflected in his writings, which cover a broad range of topics. In this reader we glimpse an insight into the workings of a brilliant mind occupied by topics including the philosophy of God and Christian doctrine, ethics and moral theology, and Thomas Aquinas, the problem of evil, the philosophical theology of St Thomas Aquinas, the traditional catholic concern for prayer, liturgy, Mary and St Dominic. Further musings reflect on issues that interested McCabe the most - philosophy of God, Christology, fundamental and sacramental theology, and ethics. Edited by Brian Davies and Paul Kucharski, two well known McCabe specialists, the selection is a gem which will be of use to any reader interested in comprehending they key issues for a thoughtful life, and also includes some of McCabes most dazzling sermons. **
Author: Matthew L. Levy
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This book undertakes a critical reappraisal of Minimalism through an examination of three key painters Robert Mangold, David Novros, and Jo Baer. By establishing their substantive engagements with Minimalist discourse, as well as their often overlooked artistic exchanges with their sculptor peers, it demonstrates that painting crucially informed the movements development, serving not only as an object of critique but also as a crucible for its most central tenets. It also poses broader disciplinary implications as it historicizes and challenges Minimalisms death of painting critiques that have been so influential to theories of modernism and postmodernism in the visual arts. **