inspire spiritual wonder? Confrontation between science and religion has defined much public debate about religion in recent years, most lately in bestsellers portraying a clash between scientists and religious believers, such as Richard Dawkins’ ‘The God Delusion ‘and Sam Harris’s ‘The End of Faith ‘or ‘Letter to a Christian Nation.’ But what does this ‘us versus them’ divide mean for society? This collection of essays gives voice to social scientists, natural scientists and theologians whose experience holds direct relevance on these major issues, and clarifies the position of science in the modern debate. Includes contributions by Mary Midgley (University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK), Denis Alexander (Cambridge University, UK), Richard Roberts (Lancaster University, UK), Bob Layton (Durham University, UK), Simon Coleman (Sussex University, UK), Michael Shermer (Executive Director of the Sceptics Society and monthly columnist for ‘Scientific American’), Lewis Wolpert (University College London, UK), Andrew Newberg (University of Pennsylvania), Timothy Taylor (University of Bradford, UK), Steven Mithen (University of Reading, UK), David Sloan Wilson (Binghamton University), Herbert Maschner (Idaho State University), Ian Reader (University of Manchester, UK), Hiroko Kawanami (Lancaster University, UK), Andrian Kreye (Suddeutsche Zeitung), John Hedley Brooke (Oxford University, UK), Gordy Slack (Author of ‘The Battle Over The Meaning Of Everything’), Seth Shostak (Seti Institute), William Calvin (University Of Washington), and David Wilkinson (Durham University, UK).
Thứ Hai, 6 tháng 4, 2015
Chủ Nhật, 15 tháng 3, 2015
The Future of EMU
‘This book brings together the most established experts in the area to provide a comprehensive interdisciplinary perspective on the issues expected to face EMU over the next few decades, and to propose solutions to the challenges which may arise. As well as offering new and insightful contributions to the integration debate, the book is also policy-oriented, and aims to assess the future impact of EMU on various EU policy areas, such as trade policy and fiscal policy, and also its impact on political union and labour markets. With a wealth of fresh and innovative interdisciplinary perspectives on the future of EMU and on the EU integration process as a whole, this fascinating book is an essential companion for all wishing to gain a greater understanding of the challenges facing European integration in the decades to come, and the part which EMU will play in the future of Europe.’
Thứ Tư, 25 tháng 2, 2015
Accident And Design
An examination of different theoretical, methodological and practical approaches towards the management of risk. Seven dimensions of the debate are identified, and the case for each position is put forward, the whole discussion being set in context and perspective. This volume attempts to identify and juxtapose the contested doctrines and underlying assumptions in the field of risk management.
Thứ Hai, 9 tháng 2, 2015
Perspectives on Poverty in India
The book examines India s experience with poverty reduction in a period of rapid economic growth. Marshalling evidence from multiple sources of survey data and drawing on new methods, the book asks how India s structural transformation – from rural to urban, and from agriculture to nonfarm sectors – is impacting poverty.Our analysis suggests that since the early 1990s, urban growth has emerged as a much more important driver of poverty reduction than in the past. We focus in particular on the role of small and medium size conurbations in India, both as the urban sub-sector in which urban poverty is overwhelmingly concentrated, and as a sub-sector that could potentially stimulate rural-based poverty reduction. Second, in rural areas, we focus on the nature of intersectoral transformation out of agriculture into the nonfarm economy. Stagnation in agriculture has been accompanied by dynamism in the nonfarm sector, but there is much debate about whether the growth seen has been a symptom of agrarian distress or a source of poverty reduction.Finally, alongside the accelerating economic growth and the highly visible transformation that is occurring in India s major cities, inequality is on the rise. This is raising concern that economic growth in India has by-passed significant segments of the population. The third theme on social exclusion asks if, despite the dramatic growth, historically grounded inequalities along lines of caste, tribe and gender have persisted.This book would be of interest for policymakers, researchers, non-governmental organizations, and international agencies from India and abroad–who wish to know more about India s experience of the last two decades in reducing poverty.
Thứ Năm, 22 tháng 1, 2015
The Snowden Operation
In his sensational new book, Economist senior editor Edward Lucas lays bare the navet, hypocrisy and sinister background surrounding Edward Snowden, the fugitive American intelligence contractor now living in Moscow. ‘The Snowden Operation’, demolishes Snowden’s claim to be a whistleblower. Drawing on 30 years’ experience observing the world of intelligence, Lucas depicts Snowden as at best reckless and nave, and at worst a saboteur. He stole far more secrets than were necessary to make his case and did so in a deliberately damaging matter. Any benefits to the public debate about issues such as meta-data and encryption are far outweighed by the damage done to the Wests security, diplomacy and economic interests.
Thứ Ba, 13 tháng 1, 2015
Drug Addiction and Related Clinical Problems
The book gives an update on different aspects of drug addiction and AIDS. The first chapters deal with the biological aspects of drug addiction, from cloning of brain opioid receptors to the mechanisms of dependence development. The second part confirms the validity of methadone maintenance treatments in controlling heroin addiction, and shows the spreading of methadone use in different European countries. Methadone maintenance also appears as the most valid strategy in HIV epidemics prevention. The most recent acquisition on AIDS diagnostic criteria and treatment protocols are discussed. The debate on these topics remains unresolved but the authoritative opinions and the significant data reported will help in attenuating emotionality, and will favor a progressively more pragmatic approach.
Economic Growth and the Environment
Economic Growth and the Environment explores the debate on how to reconcile economic growth with protection of the natural environment, and the closely related discussion on whether an increasing scarcity of natural resources will eventually force economic growth to cease. The debate focuses on whether environmental policies will benefit the economy or not, and is divided into growth optimists and growth pessimists. In general, economists have been optimistic and have pointed to the possibilities of technological progress and substitution, yet they also acknowledge that natural resources and environmental concern do restrict economic growth. The difficulty lies in quantifying the constraint to economic growth. Modern growth economists have constructed models to examine to what extent ‘growth pessimism’ is theoretically warranted. This book provides an introduction to some of these models, brings together the discussion between growth optimists and pessimists, and presents the theory behind their arguments. It aims to present models where both sides can meet and where both are able to derive expected results with the parameter values that they deem appropriate. From there, the discussions can turn to the empirical observations about these parameters.
Thứ Hai, 12 tháng 1, 2015
Joseph and Aseneth
This volume is a comprehensive but accessible guide to the major questions raised by the Hellenistic Jewish work, Joseph and Aseneth. Joseph and Aseneth is an excellent example of the controverted issues of text, dating and Sitz im Leben, when such decisions must be largely based on internal evidence. It provides an entre into the vexed question of genre, given the numerous literary links that have been suggested for it. Its mysterious but engaging plot, and its female protagonist, evoke ongoing sociological and feminist debate. It is thus strongly commended for careful study to students and scholars of Judaism, New Testament, sociology and narratology. Intended as a sound basis for such exploration, this guide also offers a fresh narrative reading in which the revelatory character of Joseph and Aseneth is brought to the forefront.
Fascism
In the 1930s fascist parties came to power across Europe. Millions were killed in the war and the Holocaust. Yet, sixty years on, fascism is on the rise once more in all major European states and far right parties are again winning converts.To explain this disturbing trend, Dave Renton surveys the history of modern fascism in Europe, from its prewar origins up to the present day. Renton examines the Marxist response to fascism in the age of Hitler and Mussolini and the writings of political thinkers such as Trotsky and Gramsci, as well as more recent European theorists such as Miliband, Mason and Poulantzas. Focusing on a critical assessment of the current liberal theories of fascism which emerged in the 1980s and 1990s, the author argues that such theories provide an incomplete explanation of what fascism is and was: to understand any political movement it is vital to view it in a historical context. Renton argues that fascism should be understood not through the ‘theory’ of liberal fascism studies, but rather in terms of the brutal practice that fascism brought in its wake. Providing the first new theory of fascism in its historical context to come from the left for over twenty years, this volume makes a key contribution to what is now a wide-ranging and heated debate.
Thứ Ba, 6 tháng 1, 2015
The Therapeutic Use of Ayahuasca
This book presents a series of perspectives on the therapeutic potential of the ritual and clinical use of the Amazonian hallucinogenic brew ayahuasca in the treatment and management of various diseases and ailments, especially its role in psychological well-being and substance dependence. Biomedical and anthropological data on the use of ayahuasca for treating depression, PTSD, and substance dependence in different settings, such as indigenous contexts, neo-shamanic rituals, contemporary therapeutic circles, and in ayahuasca religions, in both South and North America, are presented and critiqued. Though multiple anecdotal reports on the therapeutic use of ayahuasca exist, there has been no systematic and dense reflection on the topic thus far. The book brings the therapeutic use of ayahuasca to a new level of public examination and academic debate. The texts in this volume stimulate discussion on methodological, ethical, and political aspects of research and will enhance the development of this emergent field of studies.
The George Gershwin Reader
George Gershwin is one of the giants of American music, unique in that he was both a brilliant writer of popular songs (‘Swanee,’ ‘I Got Rhythm,’ ‘They Can’t Take That Away From Me’) and of more serious music, including ‘Rhapsody in Blue,’ ‘An American in Paris,’ and ‘Porgy and Bess.’ Now, in The George Gershwin Reader, music lovers are treated to a spectacular celebration of this great American composer. The Reader offers a kaleidoscopic collection of writings by and about Gershwin, including more than eighty pieces of superb variety, color, and depth. There is a who’s who of famous commentators: bandleader Paul Whiteman; critics Robert Benchley, Alexander Woollcott, and Brooks Atkinson; fellow musicians Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Alec Wilder (who analyzes the songs ‘That Certain Feeling’ and ‘A Foggy Day’), Leonard Bernstein, and the formidable modernist composer Arnold Schoenberg (who was Gershwin’s tennis partner in Hollywood). Some of the most fascinating and important writings here deal with the critical debate over Gershwin’s concert pieces, especially ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ and ‘An American in Paris,’ and there is a complete section devoted to the controversies over ‘Porgy and Bess,’ including correspondence between Gershwin and DuBose Hayward, the opera’s librettist (a series of excerpts which illuminate the creative process), plus unique interviews with the original Porgy and Bess–Todd Duncan and Anne Brown. Sprinkled throughout the book are excerpts from Gershwin’s own letters, which offer unique insight into this fascinating and charming man. Along with a detailed chronology of the composer’s life, the editors provide informative introductions to each entry. Here then is a book for anyone interested in American music. Scholars, performers, and Gershwin’s legions of fans will find it an irresistible feast.
Thứ Bảy, 3 tháng 1, 2015
Tonality and Transformation
Tonality and Transformation is a groundbreaking study in the analysis of tonal music. Focusing on the listener’s experience, author Steven Rings employs transformational music theory to illuminate diverse aspects of tonal hearing – from the infusion of sounding pitches with familiar tonal qualities to sensations of directedness and attraction. In the process, Rings introduces a host of new analytical techniques for the study of the tonal repertory, demonstrating their application in vivid interpretive set pieces on music from Bach to Mahler. The analyses place the book’s novel techniques in dialogue with existing tonal methodologies, such as Schenkerian theory, avoiding partisan debate in favor of a methodologically careful, pluralistic approach. Rings also engages neo-Riemannian theory-a popular branch of transformational thought focused on chromatic harmony-reanimating its basic operations with tonal dynamism and bringing them into closer rapprochement with traditional tonal concepts.
Thứ Năm, 1 tháng 1, 2015
Context and the Attitudes Meaning in Context, Volume 1
Context and the Attitudes collects thirteen seminal essays by Mark Richard on semantics and propositional attitudes. These essays develop a nuanced account of the semantics and pragmatics of our talk about such attitudes, an account on which in saying what someone thinks, we offer our words as a ‘translation’ or representation of the way the target of our talk represents the world. A broad range of topics in philosophical semantics and the philosophy of mind are discussed in detail, including: contextual sensitivity; pretense and semantics; negative existentials; fictional discourse; the nature of quantification; the role of Fregean sense in semantics; ‘direct reference’ semantics; de re belief and the contingent a priori; belief de se; intensional transitives; the cognitive role of tense; and the prospects for giving a semantics for the attitudes without recourse to properties or possible worlds. Richard’s extensive, newly written introduction gives an overview of the essays. The introduction also discusses attitudes realized by dispositions and other non-linguistic cognitive structures, as well as the debate between those who think that mental and linguistic content is structured like the sentences that express it, and those who see content as essentially unstructured.