7908 results for "Science"

History and fiction: writers, their research, worlds and stories

Polack, Gillian
Shortlisted for the William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism or Review Fiction plays a vital role in describing history and transmitting culture. How writers understand and use history can play an equally important role in how they navigate a novel. This book explores the nature of the author's relationship with history and fiction - often using writers' own words - as well as the role history plays in fiction. Focusing on genre fiction, this study considers key issues in the relationship between history and fiction, such as how writers contextualise the history they use in their fiction and how they incorporate historical research. The book also addresses the related topic of world building using history, discussing the connections between the science fiction writers' notion of world building and the scholarly understanding of story space and explaining the mechanics of constructing the world of the novel. This book places the writing of fiction into a wider framework of history and writing and encourages dialogue between writers and historians.
Peter Lang 2016 191 pages

Selected Short Stories

Gerald Kersh
From the Centipede Press website: "With twenty-five stories, this collection of noir fiction and slice-of-life stories presents a side of Kersh rarely seen. Included is one of Kersh’s finest tales, The Extraordinarily Horrible Dummy and a fine science fiction tale, This Stuff is Like Cigarette Ash. Also included is the rare Blast, a story never before reprinted in book format. This book has a printed cloth front panel with a design by Limehouse Design/Medusa Press, an interior photograph by Jeff Hersch, and a brief introduction by Paul Duncan. Most of the stories in here have been out of print for decades."
Centipede Press 2012 341 pages

Triumph of the image: the media's war in the Persian Gulf : a global perspective

Mowlana, Hamid,Gerbner, George,Schiller, Herbert
The triumph of image over reality and reason is the theme of this book. New communication technologies have made possible the transportation of images and words in real time to hundreds of millions of people around the world. We thought we witnessed the Gulf War as we sat, mesmerized by the imagery. But the studies from the many countries assembled for this book suggest that it was not the war in the Persian Gulf that we witnessed but rather imagery orchestrated to convey a sense of triumph and thus to achieve results that reality and reason could never have achieved.The book offers contributions from thirty-four authors in eighteen countries, including short samplings from the media of several regions. The authors explore the social, economic, and political context of media coverage in their countries, the domination of one image in most of them, and the struggle for alternative perspectives. The authors probe the dynamics of image-making and pose some challenges for the future as well as provide us with a unique glimpse of how the world outside of the United States (as well as many Americans) viewed the war in the Persian Gulf and how the dynamics of image-making and information control operate.Triumph of the Image will be useful to scholars and students in communications and mass media, international relations, political science, cultural studies, propaganda, censorship, and contemporary history as well as to the general public.
Routledge 2019-08-28 269 pages

The way: an ecological world-view

Goldsmith, Edward
First published in 1992, The Way is Edward Goldsmith's magnum opus. In it, he proposes that the stability and integrity of humans depend on the preservation of the balance of natural systems surrounding the individual―family, community, society, ecosystem, and the ecosphere itself. Portraying life processes and ecological thinking as holistic, Goldsmith calls for a paradigm shift away from the reductionist approach of modern science. The basic belief in the whole was at the heart of the worldview of primal, earth-oriented societies, as manifested by the Tao of the ancient Chinese, the R'ta of Vedic India, the Asha of the Avestas, and the Sedaq of the tribal Hebrews. The Way was the path taken to maintain the critical order of the cosmos. Echoing the way of traditional cultures, Goldsmith presents an all-embracing, coherent worldview that promotes more harmonious and sustainable practices capable of satisfying real biological, social, ecological, and spiritual needs.
University of Georgia Press 2008-10-01 541 pages

Love and war in the Jewish quarter

Levy Mossanen, Dora
"A breathtaking journey across Iran where war and superstition, jealousy and betrayal, and passion and loyalty rage behind the impenetrable walls of mansions and the crumbling houses of the Jewish Quarter. Against the tumultuous background of World War II, Dr. Yaran will find himself caught in the thrall of the anti-Semitic Governor General, the most powerful man in the country. Dr. Yaran falls in love with the Governor General's defiant wife, Velvet, upending not only the life of the doctor's beloved daughter, but the entire community. In his quest to save everything and everyone he loves, Dr. Yaran will navigate the intersections of magic, science, lust, and treachery. His sole ally is the Governor General's servant, an exotic eunuch, who will do anything to aid his mistress in her dangerous quest to attain forbidden love." --
Post Hill Press Book 2022-11-08 272 pages

Explaining emotions

Amélie Rorty
The challenge of explaining the emotions has engaged the attention of the best minds in philosophy and science throughout history. Part of the fascination has been that the emotions resist classification. As adequate account therefore requires receptivity to knowledge from a variety of sources. The philosopher must inform himself of the relevant empirical investigation to arrive at a definition, and the scientist cannot afford to be naive about the assumptions built into his conceptual apparatus. The contributors to this volume have approached the problem of characterizing and classifying emotions from the perspectives of neurophysiology, psychology, and social psychology as well as that of philosophical psychology. They discuss the difficulties that arise in classifying the emotions, assessing their appropriateness and rationality, and determining their function in motivating moral action.
University of California Press 1980-05-09 543 pages

Race and photography: racial photography as scientific evidence, 1876 - 1980

Morris-Reich, Amos
'Race and Photography' studies the changing function of photography from the 1870s to the 1940s within the field of the 'science of race', what many today consider the paradigm of pseudo-science. Amos Morris-Reich looks at the ways photography enabled not just new forms of documentation but new forms of perception
The University of Chicago Press 2016 280 pages

A.J. Ayer: memorial essays

Alfred Jules Ayer
A defence of empiricism / A. J. Ayer -- Ayer: the man, the philosopher, the teacher / Richard Wollheim -- Ayer's place in the history of philosophy / Anthony Quinton -- Ayer's attack on metaphysics / D. M. Mackinnon -- Ayer and world views / Frederick Copleston -- Language, newspeak and logic / S. R. Sutherland -- On the relation between common sense, science and metaphysics / Stephan K(c)œrner -- Logical positivism and intentionality / Hilary Putnam -- Probability and the evidence of our senses / D. H. Mellor -- Seeing qualia and positing the world / Ted Honderich -- Three varieties of knowledge / Donald Davidson -- The importance of "if" / John Watlilng -- Ayer's ethical theory: emotivism or subjectivism? / David Wiggins -- Subjectivism and toleration / Bernard Williams -- An interview with A. J. Ayer / Ted Honderich
Cambridge University Press 1991 239 pages

Rebecca's children: Judaism and Christianity in the Roman world

Segal, Alan F.
Renowned scholar Alan F. Segal offers startlingly new insights into the origins of rabbinic Judaism and Christianity. These twin descendants of Hebrew heritage shared the same social, cultural, and ideological context, as well as the same minority status, in the first century of the common era. Through skillful application of social science theories to ancient Western thought, including Judaism, Hellenism, early Christianity, and a host of other sectarian beliefs, Segal reinterprets some of the most important events of Jewish and Christian life in the Roman world. For example, he finds: — That the concept of myth, as it related to covenant, was a central force of Jewish life. The Torah was the embodiment of covenant both for Jews living in exile and for the Jewish community in Israel. — That the Torah legitimated all native institutions at the time of Jesus, even though the Temple, Sanhedrin, and Synagogue, as well as the concepts of messiah and resurrection, were profoundly affected by Hellenism. Both rabbinic Judaism and Christianity necessarily relied on the Torah to authenticate their claim on Jewish life. — That the unique cohesion of early Christianity, assuring its phenomenal success in the Hellenistic world, was assisted by the Jewish practices of apocalypticism, conversion, and rejection of civic ritual. — That the concept of acculturation clarifies the Maccabean revolt, the rise of Christianity, and the emergence of rabbinic Judaism. — That contemporary models of revolution point to the place of Jesus as a radical. — That early rabbinism grew out of the attempts of middle-class Pharisees to reach a higher sacred status in Judea while at the same time maintaining their cohesion through ritual purity. — That the dispute between Judaism and Christianity reflects a class conflict over the meaning of covenant. The rising turmoil between Jews and Christians affected the development of both rabbinic Judaism and Christianity, as each tried to preserve the partly destroyed culture of Judea by becoming a religion. Both attempted to take the best of Judean and Hellenistic society without giving up the essential aspects of Israelite life. Both spiritualized old national symbols of the covenant and practices that consolidated power after the disastrous wars with Rome. The separation between Judaism and Christianity, sealed in magic, monotheism, law, and universalism, fractured what remained of the shared symbolic life of Judea, leaving Judaism and Christianity to fulfill the biblical demands of their god in entirely different ways.
Harvard University Press 1986 207 pages

Poetics and interpretation of biblical narrative

Berlin, Adele
Poetics, the 'science' of literature, makes us aware of how texts achieve their meaning. Poetics aids interpretation. If we know how texts mean, we are in a better position to discover what a particular text means. After an introductory chapter of definition and clarification, Professor Berlin concentrates on two areas of special concern -character and point of view. Analysis of the types of character to be seen in the stories of David's wives leads to a survey of the main techniques which produce characterization (chapter II). We are then shown (chapter III) how the surface structure of the text, the discourse, indicates the various points of view in the narrative and how multiple points of view are integrated in a text. Interpretation comes to the fore again with an analysis of the Book of Ruth (chapter. IV) illustrating concretely the application of these principles of poetics. The literary approach is then related (chapter V) to the major diachronic approaches in biblical studies, source criticism and form criticism. Finally (chapter VI) we return to the idea of biblical narrative as an artistic representation and the author sums up of some of its most important techniques. This book is an invaluable introduction and guide to re searcher, teacher and student-to all who wish to learn more about the discipline of literary study of the Bible.
Almond Press 1983 180 pages

Advanced introduction to nationalism

Greenfeld, Liah
"Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. This updated second edition presents nationalism as the most important social force shaping the ways in which people live their lives. It explains the formative influence of nationalism in the public spheres of politics and the economy, as well as the private spheres of emotional wellbeing and mental illness. In this new edition, Liah Greenfeld adds the discussion of civilization to concepts addressed in the original edition, providing an original, meaningful, logical definition of the concept, and allowing for a reliable delineation of the three civilizations coexisting in the world today: the monotheistic one, the Indic, and the Sinic. She explains how nationalism is modified by the civilizational background. Basing its conclusions on over 35 years of original comparative historical research, this book bears the characteristic Liah Greenfeld imprint: fact-based discussion, logical rigor, unexpected connections, and an exceptionally wide range of issues woven together to explain the way we live now. Key features of the second edition include: - preface addressing the spread of nationalism into China and India - updated reading lists, directing students and scholars towards useful resources for further in-depth study"-- Provided by publisher.
Edward Elgar 2026-02-10 140 pages

Pathways of power: building an anthropology of the modern world

Wolf, Eric R.
"Eric Wolf has literally set the terms for anthropological thinking about peasantries, culture and power, complex societies, and interactions between noncapitalist societies and capitalism. Every item in this excellent collection has stimulated and influenced both my own thought and that of many others in our field, as well as beyond it. "—Katherine Verdery, University of Michigan "This powerful body of work begins ('Anthropology') and ends ('Concepts') in a rather speculative vein, taking us into the ideas of others and then back to Wolf. In these two sections we get a picture of the development of currents in anthropology (and the social sciences more broadly) from the early fifties to the present and the way in which Wolf's intellectual and political development was threaded through those debates and controversies. In the middle two sections ('Connections' and 'Peasants') we get the pathbreaking pieces that made Wolf the major figure he is. "—Gavin Smith, University of Toronto "There is a large audience, to be found in anthropology and in related fields like history, cultural studies, gender studies, etc., who will receive the writings of Eric Wolf with appreciation. . . . His work is fully in the comparative anthropological tradition . . . [and] demonstrates the power of comparative historical analysis. "—Abraham Rosman, Barnard College, Columbia University
University of California Press 2001-01-03 463 pages

Karma and rebirth in classical indian traditions

Wendy Doniger OFlaherty
Karma is perhaps the most famous concept in Indian philosophy, but this is the first comprehensive study of its various meanings and philosophical implications. Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions offers a harmony of approach and an underlying set of methodological assumptions: a corpus of definitions of karma, a dialectic between abstract theory and historical explanation, and an awareness of logical oppositions in theories of karma. No “solution” to the paradox of karma is offered, but the volume as a whole presents a consistent and encompassing approach to the many different, often conflicting, Indian statements of the problem. Broad in scope and richly detailed, this book demonstrates the impossibility of speaking of “ the theory of karma” and supplies the basis for further study. Exploring methodological issues arising in the study of a non-Western system of soteriology and rebirth, the contributors question the interaction of medical and philosophical models of the human body, the incorporation of philosophical theories into practical religions with which they are logically incompatible, and the problem of historical reconstruction of a complex theory of human life. This title is part of UC Press’s Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1980.
University of California Press 2018-05-18 370 pages

The autonomy of reason; A commentary on Kant's groundwork of the metaphysic of morals

Wolff, Robert P.
The Autonomy of Reason reflects Wolff’s determination to get out of Kant’s system what is good and to get out of Kant’s system for good. Readers will certainly benefit from Wolff’s two decades of intense study of Kant. Wolff does not see his task as one of either historical exegesis or philosophical criticism. In the place of both Wolff proposes a “philosophical reconstruction” of the text.
Peter Smith Publisher, Inc 1990 228 pages

Jewish icons: art and society in modern Europe

Cohen, Richard I.
With the help of over one hundred illustrations spanning three centuries, Richard Cohen investigates the role of visual images in European Jewish history. The interaction of Jews with the visual arts takes place, as Cohen says, in a vast gallery of prints, portraits, books, synagogue architecture, ceremonial art, modern Jewish painting and sculpture, political broadsides, monuments, medals, and memorabilia. Pointing to recent scholarship that overturns the stereotype of Jews as people of the text, unconcerned with the visual, Cohen shows how the coming of the modern period expanded the relationship of Jews to the visual realm far beyond the religious context. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, the study and collecting of Jewish art became a legitimate and even passionate pursuit, and signaled the entry of Jews into the art world as painters, collectors, and dealers.
University of California Press 1998-05-11 358 pages