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Rationalität und Egoismus im Recht: Befehl versus Nudging (Schriftenreihe des Instituts für Klimaschutz, Energie und Mobilität)
by Jana MaruschkeDieses Buch fragt danach, wie Recht und Rechtsprechung, Staats- und Rechtstheorie sowie moderne Verhaltensökonomie die Rationalität und den Egoismus des Menschen begreifen und wie dies die Wahl staatlicher Steuerungsinstrumente beeinflusst. Das scheinbar neuartige Instrument Nudging wird mit Blick auf Umweltschutzinstrumente, die Regulierung des Tabakrauchens und der Organspende in den öffentlich-rechtlichen Handlungsformenkatalog eingeordnet, wobei verfassungsrechtliche Grenzen diskutiert werden. Zielgruppe sind die an der "Metaebene" des Rechts und der Verhaltenssteuerung interessierten Leserinnen und Leser.
Rationality in Context: Unstable Virtues in an Uncertain World (Routledge Studies in Epistemology)
by Steven BlandThis book uses the psychological literature on rationality to weigh in on the recent debate between virtue epistemologists and epistemic situationists. It argues that both sides have misconstrued the literature and that an interactionist framework is needed to square epistemic theory with empirical facts about reasoning and inference. The explosion of empirical literature on human rationality has led to seismic shifts across a multitude of academic disciplines. This book considers its implications for epistemology. In particular, it critically evaluates the treatment of the rationality literature within the recent controversy between virtue epistemologists, who attempt to ground knowledge in stable epistemic virtues, and epistemic situationists, who claim that such a project is doomed by empirical evidence of widespread irrationality. It links this foundational controversy to two of the most important debates in psychology: the Rationality Wars and the person-situation debate. The book argues that both virtue theorists and epistemic situationists have misunderstood the implications of these debates, leading them to focus exclusively on personal dispositions and situational factors as two independent sources of epistemic success, failure, and improvement. A more accurate reading of the empirical literature implies that interactions between epistemic agents and their social, informational, and institutional environments are the fundamental drivers of both rational and irrational behaviour. An interactionist framework motivated by this insight conceives of epistemic virtues and vices as both responsive to and responsible for the environments in which they’re manifested and cultivated. The central aim of this book is to present and defend this novel type of virtue epistemology. Rationality in Context will be of interest to scholars and advanced students working in epistemology, philosophy of science, philosophy of psychology, cognitive psychology, and social psychology.
Rationality in Context: Unstable Virtues in an Uncertain World (Routledge Studies in Epistemology)
by Steven BlandThis book uses the psychological literature on rationality to weigh in on the recent debate between virtue epistemologists and epistemic situationists. It argues that both sides have misconstrued the literature and that an interactionist framework is needed to square epistemic theory with empirical facts about reasoning and inference. The explosion of empirical literature on human rationality has led to seismic shifts across a multitude of academic disciplines. This book considers its implications for epistemology. In particular, it critically evaluates the treatment of the rationality literature within the recent controversy between virtue epistemologists, who attempt to ground knowledge in stable epistemic virtues, and epistemic situationists, who claim that such a project is doomed by empirical evidence of widespread irrationality. It links this foundational controversy to two of the most important debates in psychology: the Rationality Wars and the person-situation debate. The book argues that both virtue theorists and epistemic situationists have misunderstood the implications of these debates, leading them to focus exclusively on personal dispositions and situational factors as two independent sources of epistemic success, failure, and improvement. A more accurate reading of the empirical literature implies that interactions between epistemic agents and their social, informational, and institutional environments are the fundamental drivers of both rational and irrational behaviour. An interactionist framework motivated by this insight conceives of epistemic virtues and vices as both responsive to and responsible for the environments in which they’re manifested and cultivated. The central aim of this book is to present and defend this novel type of virtue epistemology. Rationality in Context will be of interest to scholars and advanced students working in epistemology, philosophy of science, philosophy of psychology, cognitive psychology, and social psychology.
The Rationality Project: Across the Millennia
by Lantz MillerRationality has been philosophers’ concern stretching back to ancient times. But just what is rationality? In trying to answer this question, rationality is found to be more complex than supposed. This book investigates this supposition and thereby aspires to bring together the facets of the peculiar phenomenon that is rationality. Rationality is shown to be both more complex than presumed and yet more accessible than many may have feared. One argument concedes the common assumption that those interested in rationality need only rely on intuitions about this phenomenon. Yet, even moderate research reveals the concept’s profound fuzziness. This book aims to set forth a theory, explanation, and unification of the kindred and disparate understandings of this elusive concept, rationality.
Reading Greek Tragedy with Judith Butler (Classical Receptions in Twentieth-Century Writing)
by Professor Mario TelòConsidering Butler's “tragic trilogy”-a set of interventions on Sophocles' Antigone, Euripides' Bacchae, and Aeschylus's Eumenides-this book seeks to understand not just how Butler uses and interprets Greek tragedy, but also how tragedy shapes Butler's thinking, even when their gaze is directed elsewhere. Through close readings of these tragedies, this book brings to light the tragic quality of Butler's writing. It shows how Butler's mode of reading tragedy-and, crucially, reading tragically-offers a distinctive ethico-political response to the harrowing dilemmas of our current moment. Deeply committed both to critical theory and political activism, Judith Butler is one of the most influential intellectuals today. Their ideas have touched the lives of many people, both readers and those who have never heard Butler's name. In encompassing gender performativity and sexual difference, vulnerability and precarity, disidentification and bodily interdependency, as well as the politics of protest, Butler's work is often predicated on a strong engagement with or proximity to Greek tragedy.
Reading Rödl: On Self-Consciousness and Objectivity
Sebastian Rödl's Self-Consciousness and Objectivity is one of the most original and thought-provoking books in analytic philosophy for the last several years. An ambitious defence of absolute idealism, Rödl rejects the idea that we as thinking beings can position ourselves within a given, mind-independent reality, and instead advances the position that the very idea of an ‘objective reality’ coincides with the self-consciousness of thought. In this outstanding collection, a roster of international contributors critically examine the significance of Rödl's arguments and develop them in new directions. Their contributions are organised into the following six sections: Self-Consciousness and Objectivity and naturalism Self-Consciousness and Objectivity and formal idealism Self-Consciousness and Objectivity and quietism Self-Consciousness and Objectivity and absolute idealism Self-Consciousness and Objectivity and the power of judgment Self-Consciousness and Objectivity and the determinacy of the individual. The volume concludes with an extensive response by Sebastian Rödl to his critics. This book constitutes essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary debates at ther intersection of analytic philosophy and philosophical idealism.
Reading Rödl: On Self-Consciousness and Objectivity
by James F. Conant Jesse M. MulderSebastian Rödl's Self-Consciousness and Objectivity is one of the most original and thought-provoking books in analytic philosophy for the last several years. An ambitious defence of absolute idealism, Rödl rejects the idea that we as thinking beings can position ourselves within a given, mind-independent reality, and instead advances the position that the very idea of an ‘objective reality’ coincides with the self-consciousness of thought. In this outstanding collection, a roster of international contributors critically examine the significance of Rödl's arguments and develop them in new directions. Their contributions are organised into the following six sections: Self-Consciousness and Objectivity and naturalism Self-Consciousness and Objectivity and formal idealism Self-Consciousness and Objectivity and quietism Self-Consciousness and Objectivity and absolute idealism Self-Consciousness and Objectivity and the power of judgment Self-Consciousness and Objectivity and the determinacy of the individual. The volume concludes with an extensive response by Sebastian Rödl to his critics. This book constitutes essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary debates at ther intersection of analytic philosophy and philosophical idealism.
Reading the I Ching (Book of Changes): Themes, Imagery, Expressions, and Rhetoric
by Geoffrey RedmondThe 3,000 year old I Ching is the most esteemed of the ancient Chinese classics, yet also the most enigmatic. Reading the I Ching (Book of Changes) incorporates recent advances in scholarship, such as recently excavated texts, and demonstrates how the Zhouyi (the ancient textual layer of the I Ching) was compiled from mostly oral material and how it was organized to serve as an easily consulted compendium of divination responses. In this book Geoffrey Redmond clarifies the meanings of the ancient text by examining use of literary devices such as prognostic terms, imagery from daily life, rhetorical tropes, metaphors, proverbs and set phrases. This provides insight on how the Zhouyi was composed and explains its use for divination. It also shows how, centuries later, the Zhouyi was adapted by the Confucians, who believed it to be the creation of ancient sages, and the source of their metaphysics and cosmology. Redmond also analyzes the Changes through a variety of philological heuristics, such as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, methods of analogy and anomaly, the distinction between argumentative and context dependence, as well as modern approaches such as Jungian psychology, and critical theory. Included are the interlinear Chinese text, and a glossary of key words in English, Chinese, and pinyin, making it essential reading for students studying Chinese philosophy, Chinese religion, and early Chinese history, as well as readers looking for a clear and accessible gloss of this text.
Reading Walter Benjamin: Writing through the catastrophe
by Richard Lane'Reading Walter Benjamin' explores the persistence of absolute in Benjamin's work by sketching-out the relationship between philosphy and theology apparent in his diverse writings, from the early youth-movement essays to the later books, essays and fragments.The book examines Benjamin from two main perspectives: a history-of-ideas approach situating Benjamin in relation to the new German-Jewish thinking at the turn of the twentieth-century, as well as the German youth movements, Surrealism and the 'Georgekreis'; and a conceptual approach examining more critical issues in relation to Benjamin and Kant, modern aesthetics and narrative order.Chapters cover: 'Kulturpessimismus' and the new thinking; metaphysics of youth: Wyneken and 'Rausch'; history: surreal Messianism; Goethe and the 'Georgekreis'; Kant's experience; casting the work of art; disrupting textual order; and exile and the time of crisis. The book uses new translations of Benjamin's essays, fragments and his 'Arcades Project', and makes substantial reference to previously untranslated material.Lane’s text allows the non-specialist entry into complex areas of critical theory, simultaneously offering original readings of Benjamin and twentieth-century arts and literature.
Real Gender: A Cis Defence of Trans Realities
by Constantine Sandis Danièle Moyal-SharrockSocieties around the world are struggling to think clearly about trans realities and understand trans identities. Real Gender is the first book to present a cis defence of what it means to be transgender. Moyal-Sharrock and Sandis delve into the various factors which make many trans people’s experience of their gender (or lack thereof) as natural and unquestionable as that of cis people. While recognising the undeniably social aspects of gender, they find that gender cannot be completely divorced from our biological underpinnings. Contrary to popular opinion, gender self-identification does not require the denial of either biology or sex. What is needed is a more liberal understanding of our gender concepts, which would prevent us from confusing diversity with pathology. Steeped in published and personal trans testimonials, Real Gender does not seek to provoke or attack, but to unequivocally defend trans realities. A powerful exploration of a divisive topic, this book will be of interest to a wide audience of readers.
Reason and Revolution (Routledge Classics)
by Herbert MarcuseFew philosophers have had a more lasting impact on the philosophy of history than Friedrich Hegel. Reason and Revolution is Herbert Marcuse's brilliant interpretation of Hegel's philosophy and the influence it has had on political thought, from the French Revolution to the twentieth century. In a masterpiece of dialectical thought, Marcuse superbly illuminates the implications of Hegel's philosophy, rescuing it from the taint of reactionary thought that distorted or dismissed it for the early part of the twentieth century. After a masterful survey of the main elements of Hegel's philosophical system, Marcuse argues that it is Hegel the rationalist and progressive who stands in contrast to the irrationalism of Nazism, providing the crucial platform on which Marxist thought would later build and take Hegel's thought in a radical and explosive new direction. A vital book in the development of critical theory and for understanding the great battle between liberal and reactionary thought, Reason and Revolution remains essential reading today. This Routledge Classics edition includes a new Foreword by J.M. Bernstein.
Reason and Revolution (Routledge Classics)
by Herbert MarcuseFew philosophers have had a more lasting impact on the philosophy of history than Friedrich Hegel. Reason and Revolution is Herbert Marcuse's brilliant interpretation of Hegel's philosophy and the influence it has had on political thought, from the French Revolution to the twentieth century. In a masterpiece of dialectical thought, Marcuse superbly illuminates the implications of Hegel's philosophy, rescuing it from the taint of reactionary thought that distorted or dismissed it for the early part of the twentieth century. After a masterful survey of the main elements of Hegel's philosophical system, Marcuse argues that it is Hegel the rationalist and progressive who stands in contrast to the irrationalism of Nazism, providing the crucial platform on which Marxist thought would later build and take Hegel's thought in a radical and explosive new direction. A vital book in the development of critical theory and for understanding the great battle between liberal and reactionary thought, Reason and Revolution remains essential reading today. This Routledge Classics edition includes a new Foreword by J.M. Bernstein.
Rebellion: How Antiliberalism Is Tearing America Apart Again
by Robert Kagan'The transformation of the US into an autocracy has advanced. By 2024, it might be irreversible [and] will change almost everything in the world. Nobody has outlined this danger more compellingly than Robert Kagan.' - Martin Wolf, Financial TimesA chilling and clear-eyed warning about the threats to our democracy posed by the increasing radicalization of the Republican Party, from a leading historian and intellectualThe 2024 election could be the last free election held in a unified America. So warns Robert Kagan in this brilliant and terrifying analysis of the perilous state of democracy in the United States today. If Donald Trump loses the upcoming election, as he did in 2020, but refuses to accept the result, as he also did in the last election, he is likely to call on his millions of followers to repudiate the election results. It will be a short step from there to Republican-dominated states rejecting the legitimacy of the federal government and effectively seceding. The United States at that point will cease to be united, with grave consequences for both Americans and the world.In Rebellion, Kagan dives deeper than the op-eds and think pieces to explore the historical forces that have brought us to this moment—in particular the long history of opposition to liberalism, and to government, that has shaped America’s character from the time of the Revolution to today. Trump’s unique capacity to tap into that tradition of dissent and circumvent the American system has brought us to the edge of dissolution—not for the first time in our history but possibly the last. This is an elegant and deeply informed synthesis of history, contemporary politics, and ideas that sheds light on this crucial moment.
The Rebirth of Antisemitism in the 21st Century: From the Academic Boycott Campaign into the Mainstream (Studies in Contemporary Antisemitism)
by David HirshThe Rebirth of Antisemitism in the 21st Century is about the rise of antizionism and antisemitism in the first two decades of the 21st century, with a focus on the UK. It is written by the activist-intellectuals, both Jewish and not, who led the opposition to the campaign for an academic boycott of Israel. Their experiences convinced them that the boycott movement, and the antizionism upon which it was based, was fuelled by, and in turn fuelled, antisemitism. The book shows how the level of hostility towards Israel exceeded the hostility which is levelled against other states. And it shows how the quality of that hostility tended to resonate with antisemitic tropes, images and emotions. Antizionism positioned Israel as symbolic of everything that good people oppose, it made Palestinians into an abstract symbol of the oppressed, and it positioned most Jews as saboteurs of social ‘progress’. The book shows how antisemitism broke into mainstream politics and how it contaminated the Labour Party as it made a bid for Downing Street. This book will be of interest to scholars and students researching antizionism, antisemitism and the Labour Party in the UK.
The Rebirth of Antisemitism in the 21st Century: From the Academic Boycott Campaign into the Mainstream (Studies in Contemporary Antisemitism)
The Rebirth of Antisemitism in the 21st Century is about the rise of antizionism and antisemitism in the first two decades of the 21st century, with a focus on the UK. It is written by the activist-intellectuals, both Jewish and not, who led the opposition to the campaign for an academic boycott of Israel. Their experiences convinced them that the boycott movement, and the antizionism upon which it was based, was fuelled by, and in turn fuelled, antisemitism. The book shows how the level of hostility towards Israel exceeded the hostility which is levelled against other states. And it shows how the quality of that hostility tended to resonate with antisemitic tropes, images and emotions. Antizionism positioned Israel as symbolic of everything that good people oppose, it made Palestinians into an abstract symbol of the oppressed, and it positioned most Jews as saboteurs of social ‘progress’. The book shows how antisemitism broke into mainstream politics and how it contaminated the Labour Party as it made a bid for Downing Street. This book will be of interest to scholars and students researching antizionism, antisemitism and the Labour Party in the UK.
Recognition in the Age of Social Media
by Bruno CampanellaThe desire to be recognized is a basic human trait. In contemporary society, social media platforms play a key role in defining how processes of recognition take shape. To post, to like, or to comment have become daily practices of expressing individual recognition. On the one hand, social media platforms make it easier for individuals to be visible and to be recognized; on the other hand, they control the structure of these dynamics. This timely and original book reflects on processes of recognition on social media platforms. Revisiting traditional discussions on recognition theory, Bruno Campanella investigates how the field of media and communication has used the concept and poses new questions raised by the omnipresence of social media. He argues that existing work does not fully explore the impact of platforms on contemporary processes of recognition. Individuals must learn new skills to make themselves visible online, but how to achieve this changes as a consequence of the role played by platforms: what is seen depends on decisions taken by their algorithms, which impacts how individuals and social groups are valued in society. Recognition in the Age of Social Media is a key contribution to the field, and a must-read for students and scholars of media and communication, sociology, and politics.
Recognition in the Age of Social Media: Race, Gender, And Violence
by Bruno CampanellaThe desire to be recognized is a basic human trait. In contemporary society, social media platforms play a key role in defining how processes of recognition take shape. To post, to like, or to comment have become daily practices of expressing individual recognition. On the one hand, social media platforms make it easier for individuals to be visible and to be recognized; on the other hand, they control the structure of these dynamics. This timely and original book reflects on processes of recognition on social media platforms. Revisiting traditional discussions on recognition theory, Bruno Campanella investigates how the field of media and communication has used the concept and poses new questions raised by the omnipresence of social media. He argues that existing work does not fully explore the impact of platforms on contemporary processes of recognition. Individuals must learn new skills to make themselves visible online, but how to achieve this changes as a consequence of the role played by platforms: what is seen depends on decisions taken by their algorithms, which impacts how individuals and social groups are valued in society. Recognition in the Age of Social Media is a key contribution to the field, and a must-read for students and scholars of media and communication, sociology, and politics.
Recognition theory and contemporary French moral and political philosophy: Reopening the dialogue (Reappraising the Political)
by Miriam Bankovsky Alice Le GoffThe revival of recognition theory has brought new energy to critical theory. In general terms, recognition theory aims to critically evaluate social structures against a standard of social freedom identified with norms of interaction which are freely recognised by all parties. Until now, attention has primarily focused on the categories and forms of recognition theory. However, the influence of contemporary French theory upon the development of theories of recognition has not yet received the consideration it merits. This collection outlines the current state of recognition theory, studies the impact of French theory, and uses French thought to identity aspects of the recognitive process which are often overlooked. Exploring French accounts of agonistic identity construction, vulnerability, power, ethical obligation and reflexive theory construction, this book supports the intentions of critical theory with heightened attentiveness to oppression in all of its forms.
Reconstructing Empedocles' Thought
by null Chiara FerellaTo understand Empedocles' thought, one must view his work as a unified whole of religion and physics. Only a few interpreters, however, recognise rebirth as a positive doctrine within Empedocles' physics and attempt to reconcile its details with the cosmological account. This study shows how rebirth underlies Empedocles' cosmic system, being a structuring principle of his physics. It reconstructs the proem to his physical poem and then shows that claims to disembodied existence, individual identity and personal survival of death(s) prove central to his physics; that knowledge of the cosmos is the path to escape rebirth; that purifications are essential to comprehending the world and changing one's being, and that the cosmic cycle, with its ethical import, is the ideal backdrop for Empedocles' doctrine of rebirth. This title is part of the Flip it Open Programme and may also be available Open Access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.
Redefining Educational Leadership in Central Asia: Selected Cases from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
by MIR AFZAL TAJIK AND TSEDISO MICHAEL MAKOELLEEducational institutions within the post-soviet independent states of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have seen dramatic changes and educational reforms since their independence. Rapid technological changes, economic globalization, and increased migration and mobility of students have led Central Asian states to reform their education systems, within both secondary schools and higher education institutions such as universities. As a result, there is an increasing emphasis on redefining and reconceptualizing the role of leadership to better facilitate and lead the reform process. Providing a research-based account on the educational reforms taking place in these countries, Redefining Educational Leadership in Central Asia brings together the voices, views, experiences, and reflections of educational leaders from both secondary schools and higher education institutions in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The chapters provide useful insights into the fundamental educational reforms shaping school leadership in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, educational leadership policies and practices, the myths and realities of school development planning and university leaders’ performance in the higher education system of Kyrgyzstan. This is a new and unique perspective on educational leadership and the first of its kind to focus on Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan from a non-western perspective. Policymakers, researchers, graduate students, and practitioners will be able to draw from the strategic visions offered while reviewing and revisiting leadership policies and practices in the climate of rapid changes and heightened expectations from these leaders.
Redefining Educational Leadership in Central Asia: Selected Cases from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
by Mir Afzal Tajik Tsediso Michael MakoelleEducational institutions within the post-soviet independent states of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have seen dramatic changes and educational reforms since their independence. Rapid technological changes, economic globalization, and increased migration and mobility of students have led Central Asian states to reform their education systems, within both secondary schools and higher education institutions such as universities. As a result, there is an increasing emphasis on redefining and reconceptualizing the role of leadership to better facilitate and lead the reform process. Providing a research-based account on the educational reforms taking place in these countries, Redefining Educational Leadership in Central Asia brings together the voices, views, experiences, and reflections of educational leaders from both secondary schools and higher education institutions in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The chapters provide useful insights into the fundamental educational reforms shaping school leadership in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, educational leadership policies and practices, the myths and realities of school development planning and university leaders’ performance in the higher education system of Kyrgyzstan. This is a new and unique perspective on educational leadership and the first of its kind to focus on Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan from a non-western perspective. Policymakers, researchers, graduate students, and practitioners will be able to draw from the strategic visions offered while reviewing and revisiting leadership policies and practices in the climate of rapid changes and heightened expectations from these leaders.
Redefreiheit in der Wissenschaft – wo sind ihre Grenzen? (#philosophieorientiert)
by Oliver HallichDie Debatte um Redefreiheit und ihre Grenzen wird lebhaft, teils sehr emotional geführt. Soll man gegen die Äußerungen einer gender-kritischen Philosophin Stellung beziehen, die man im Verdacht hat, transphob zu sein? Darf man politische Agitatoren zu einer Lehrveranstaltung einladen? Sollte man einen renommierten Professor von einer Konferenz ausladen, wenn er einen verschwörungstheoretischen Appell unterzeichnet hat? Der Autor versucht, diese Debatten von Ideologisierungen zu befreien und zu zeigen, wie sich solche Fragen nüchtern und vorurteilsfrei beantworten lassen. Dabei entwickelt er Kriterien, die es ermöglichen, im Einzelfall zu entscheiden, ob eine Einschränkung von Redehandlungen legitim ist. Er unterscheidet verschiedene Formen der Einschränkung von Redehandlungen und verschiedene Formen des Schadens, der durch eine solche Einschränkung verhindert werden soll. So können Argumente statt Ideologien vorgebracht werden, um die Grenzen der Redefreiheit in der Wissenschaft zubestimmen.
Referendums Around the World
by Matt QvortrupDirect Democracy is inexpensive. The average cost per vote is about $ 10. So, maybe we should have more of them? Before you answer that question, you need to know the facts about this type of complementary democracy. Referendums Around the World, is a complete and comprehensive revision of the 2016 edition of Referendums Around the World, which in turn was an updated version of the 2013 edition, the proposed volume is a comprehensive revision and update of the previous book.The previous edition provided overviews of the history, legal basis, and practice of referendums around the world, with chapters on, Africa, Australia, Asia Latin America, Europe, and a special chapter on Switzerland (the sui generis of referendums). In addition, this third edition offers a completely revised introduction by the editor, a wholly revised concluding chapter by the editor, a special chapter on winning referendums including perspectives from neuroscience, as well as a list of all nationwide referendums held to date.
Reflections on Criticality in Educational Philosophy: Critical Traditions, Freire and Wittgenstein (Palgrave Studies in Educational Philosophy and Theory)
by Marc James DeeganThis book navigates global educational policy concerning critical thinking skills and competencies. The author explores the concept of criticality from the perspectives of several critical traditions, and draws on the works of Paulo Freire and Ludwig Wittgenstein. The diverse and intricate ideas, methods and ways of thinking that emerge are examined in the new perspectival space of ‘criticality scholarship’. Pursuing his own political and philosophical aspirations, the author endeavours to link a critical education with the promotion of democracy and social justice. Opportunities for further empirical and theoretical research are signposted. The book will be of interest to scholars in educational philosophy.
Reflections on Play, Sport, and Culture: Introduction to the Play Field Theory (Routledge Research in Sport, Culture and Society #141)
by Felix LebedThe psychological dependence of humanity on playing is huge. Its nature and functional utility are unclear. These linked yet contradictory issues have created the intrigue that has fed philosophical thought for more than two hundred years. During this period, philosophy transferred many of the subjects of its analysis to the aegis of the humanities that it spawned. Each of them pays close attention to human play and studies it with its own methods of theoretical and experimental research. Thus, what was once a general philosophical comprehension of human play has branched out into different directions, definitions, and theories. This new book represents a renewed general view of human play. The unique quality of the volume lies in its fairly rare interdisciplinary methodology, encompassing a broad spectrum of the humanities: philosophy, anthropology, sociology, and the history of play, and behavioral analysis of playing, which have been done by the author. As a result, the volume ends with the proposition of a new general approach to human play that is named by the author “play field theory”. Such an approach makes reflections on play, sport, and culture a source for all scholars studying play, by widening their knowledge through both a new general view and their familiarization with notions from neighboring fields and disciplines.