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In Defense of Things

In Defense of Things PDF Author: Bjørnar Olsen
Publisher: Rowman Altamira
ISBN: 0759119325
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Book Description
In much recent thinking, social and cultural realms are thought of as existing prior to—or detached from—things, materiality, and landscape. It is often assumed, for example, that things are entirely 'constructed' by social or cultural perceptions and have no existence in and of themselves. Bjornar Olsen takes a different position. Drawing on a range of theories, especially phenomenology and actor-network-theory, Olsen claims that human life is fully mixed up with things and that humanity and human history emerge from such relationships. Things, moreover, possess unique qualities that are inherent in our cohabitation with them—qualities that help to facilitate existential security and memory of the past. This important work of archaeological theory challenges us to reconsider our ideas about the nature of things, past and present, demonstrating that objects themselves possess a dynamic presence that we must take into account if we are to understand the world we and they inhabit.

In Defense of Things

In Defense of Things PDF Author: Bjørnar Olsen
Publisher: Rowman Altamira
ISBN: 0759119325
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Book Description
In much recent thinking, social and cultural realms are thought of as existing prior to—or detached from—things, materiality, and landscape. It is often assumed, for example, that things are entirely 'constructed' by social or cultural perceptions and have no existence in and of themselves. Bjornar Olsen takes a different position. Drawing on a range of theories, especially phenomenology and actor-network-theory, Olsen claims that human life is fully mixed up with things and that humanity and human history emerge from such relationships. Things, moreover, possess unique qualities that are inherent in our cohabitation with them—qualities that help to facilitate existential security and memory of the past. This important work of archaeological theory challenges us to reconsider our ideas about the nature of things, past and present, demonstrating that objects themselves possess a dynamic presence that we must take into account if we are to understand the world we and they inhabit.

In Defense of Elitism

In Defense of Elitism PDF Author: William A. Henry, III
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 1101912413
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 226

Book Description
From the Pulitzer Prize-winning culture critic for Time magazine comes the tremendously controversial, yet highly persuasive, argument that our devotion to the largely unexamined myth of egalitarianism lies at the heart of the ongoing "dumbing of America." Americans have always stubbornly clung to the myth of egalitarianism, of the supremacy of the individual average man. But here, at long last, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic William A. Henry III takes on, and debunks, some basic, fundamentally ingrained ideas: that everyone is pretty much alike (and should be); that self-fulfillment is more imortant thant objective achievement; that everyone has something significant to contribute; that all cultures offer something equally worthwhile; that a truly just society would automatically produce equal success results across lines of race, class, and gender; and that the common man is almost always right. Henry makes clear, in a book full of vivid examples and unflinching opinions, that while these notions are seductively democratic they are also hopelessly wrong.

The End of All Things

The End of All Things PDF Author: C. Jonathin Seraiah
Publisher: Canon Press & Book Service
ISBN: 9781885767530
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 208

Book Description
The easiest way to deal with false doctrine is to affirm its absolute opposite. Unfortunately, this opposite affirmation is often no less erroneous than the false doctrine against which it reacts -- sometimes, it is worse. Most conservative Christians in the twentieth century have been obsessed with "the last days." An absolute opposite answer has recently emerged in the form of what C. Jonathin Seraiah terms "pantelism," the view that all final events had taken place by the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D.70. With one feel swoop, this viewpoint eviscerates dispensationalism. Unfortunately, it also undermines orthodox Christianity. In the present work, C. Jonathin Seraiah ferrets out the leading flaws of pantelism (the so called "consistent preterism") and reinforces the accuracy of the orthodox understanding of eschatology-the future physical Second Advent of Christ, physical resurrection of just and unjust, and final judgment. The author shows that the leading biblical texts that pantelists employ to buttress their position do not in fact support it and that other texts flatly refute it. He observes, moreover, that pantelism is not a marginally falwed interpretation; rather, it subverts and restructures the Faith itself. This book is essential reading for those interested in a biblically grounded and historically informed eschatology.

In Defense of Philosophy

In Defense of Philosophy PDF Author: Josef Pieper
Publisher: Ignatius Press
ISBN: 1681492555
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 132

Book Description
This book is an engagement between a great modern philosopher defending classical philosophy against an army of challengers to the very notion of philosophy as classically conceived. It is written very much in the spirit of the scholastic disputations in the medieval universities, which produced the great Summas: a mutual search for truth, a philosophical laboratory, a careful winnowing of each objection. Such objectivity is lamentably rare in contemporary philosophy. In order to combat modern misunderstandings of challenges to the classical concept of philosophy, Pieper shows us the unique and uniquely valuable thing philosophy is as conceived by his masters: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and above all, Aquinas. Along this path he scatters gems of insight, such as: art and religion as Philosophy's defenders; the relationship between philosophy and science; philosophy as "seeing and saying"; and philosophy as rooted in meditation and loving contemplation. Pieper emphasizes that philosophy is something all human beings do, and should be the better for doing.

Pretentiousness

Pretentiousness PDF Author: Dan Fox
Publisher: Coffee House Press
ISBN: 156689428X
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 170

Book Description
Pretentiousness is the engine oil of culture; the essential lubricant in the development of all arts, high, low, or middle.

In Defence of Food

In Defence of Food PDF Author: Michael Pollan
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141908513
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 243

Book Description
'A must-read ... satisfying, rich ... loaded with flavour' Sunday Telegraph This book is a celebration of food. By food, Michael Pollan means real, proper, simple food - not the kind that comes in a packet, or has lists of unpronounceable ingredients, or that makes nutritional claims about how healthy it is. More like the kind of food your great-grandmother would recognize. In Defence of Food is a simple invitation to junk the science, ditch the diet and instead rediscover the joys of eating well. By following a few pieces of advice (Eat at a table - a desk doesn't count. Don't buy food where you'd buy your petrol!), you will enrich your life and your palate, and enlarge your sense of what it means to be healthy and happy. It's time to fall in love with food again. For the past twenty years, Michael Pollan has been writing about the places where the human and natural worlds intersect: food, agriculture, gardens, drugs, and architecture. His most recent book, about the ethics and ecology of eating, is The Omnivore's Dilemma, named one of the ten best books of 2006 by the New York Times and the Washington Post. He is also the author of The Botany of Desire, A Place of My Own and Second Nature.

In Defense of Looting

In Defense of Looting PDF Author: Vicky Osterweil
Publisher: Bold Type Books
ISBN: 1645036677
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 262

Book Description
A fresh argument for rioting and looting as our most powerful tools for dismantling white supremacy. Looting -- a crowd of people publicly, openly, and directly seizing goods -- is one of the more extreme actions that can take place in the midst of social unrest. Even self-identified radicals distance themselves from looters, fearing that violent tactics reflect badly on the broader movement. But Vicky Osterweil argues that stealing goods and destroying property are direct, pragmatic strategies of wealth redistribution and improving life for the working class -- not to mention the brazen messages these methods send to the police and the state. All our beliefs about the innate righteousness of property and ownership, Osterweil explains, are built on the history of anti-Black, anti-Indigenous oppression. From slave revolts to labor strikes to the modern-day movements for climate change, Black lives, and police abolition, Osterweil makes a convincing case for rioting and looting as weapons that bludgeon the status quo while uplifting the poor and marginalized. In Defense of Looting is a history of violent protest sparking social change, a compelling reframing of revolutionary activism, and a practical vision for a dramatically restructured society.

Archaeology

Archaeology PDF Author: Bj¿rnar Olsen
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520274164
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 266

Book Description
“This book exhorts the reader to embrace the materiality of archaeology by recognizing how every step in the discipline’s scientific processes involves interaction with myriad physical artifacts, ranging from the camel-hair brush to profile drawings to virtual reality imaging. At the same time, the reader is taken on a phenomenological journey into various pasts, immersed in the lives of peoples from other times, compelled to engage their senses with the sights, smells, and noises of the publics and places whose remains they study. This is a refreshingly original and provocative look at the meaning of the material culture that lies at the foundation of the archaeological discipline.”—Michael Brian Schiffer, author of The Material Life of Human Beings “This volume is a radical call to fundamentally rethink the ontology, profession, and practice of archaeology. The authors present a closely reasoned, epistemologically sound argument for why archaeology should be considered the discipline of things, rather than its more commonplace definition as the study of the human past through material traces. All scholars and students of archaeology will need to read and contemplate this thought-provoking book.”—Wendy Ashmore, Professor of Anthropology, UC Riverside "A broad, illuminating, and well-researched overview of theoretical problems pertaining to archaeology. The authors make a calm defense of the role of objects against tedious claims of 'fetishism.'"—Graham Harman, author of The Quadruple Object

In Defense of Elitism

In Defense of Elitism PDF Author: Joel Stein
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ISBN: 1455591467
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 268

Book Description
From Thurber finalist and former star Time columnist Joel Stein comes a "brilliant exploration" (Walter Isaacson) of America's political culture war and a hilarious call to arms for the elite. "I can think of no one more suited to defend elitism than Stein, a funny man with hands as delicate as a baby full of soft-boiled eggs." —Jimmy Kimmel, host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! The night Donald Trump won the presidency, our author Joel Stein, Thurber Prize finalist and former staff writer for Time Magazine, instantly knew why. The main reason wasn't economic anxiety or racism. It was that he was anti-elitist. Hillary Clinton represented Wall Street, academics, policy papers, Davos, international treaties and the people who think they're better than you. People like Joel Stein. Trump represented something far more appealing, which was beating up people like Joel Stein. In a full-throated defense of academia, the mainstream press, medium-rare steak, and civility, Joel Stein fights against populism. He fears a new tribal elite is coming to replace him, one that will fend off expertise of all kinds and send the country hurtling backward to a time of wars, economic stagnation and the well-done steaks doused with ketchup that Trump eats. To find out how this shift happened and what can be done, Stein spends a week in Roberts County, Texas, which had the highest percentage of Trump voters in the country. He goes to the home of Trump-loving Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams; meets people who create fake news; and finds the new elitist organizations merging both right and left to fight the populists. All the while using the biggest words he knows.

Rise of the Mages

Rise of the Mages PDF Author: Scott Drakeford
Publisher: Tor Books
ISBN: 1250180074
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 375

Book Description
“This book commits almost every crime against heroic fantasy that I can imagine ... and I have not been able to put it down.” —Glen Cook, bestselling author of The Black Company A young warrior and his improbable band of allies face impossible odds as they seek to rescue his brother from the servants of the Fallen God. Emrael Ire is a student of war with lofty ambitions, despite being so poor his boots are more hole than leather. He and his talented younger brother Ban work hard to build themselves a better life at the Citadel, a school that specializes in both infusori Crafting and military arts. Their lives are upended when the power-hungry Lord Governor of the neighboring province invades the school with the help of a sinister sect of priests devoted to the newly awakened Fallen God of Glory. Many of the infusori Crafter students are captured—Including Ban. Though Emrael stands little chance against the Lord Governor and his armies, he’s desperate to save his brother—even if that means accepting the help of allies with uncertain motives, or becoming a practitioner of a forbidden magic. There is nothing he won't sacrifice to save his brother, but what happens when the cost of success is not his to pay? At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.