A Chaos of Delight

A Chaos of Delight PDF

Author: Geoffrey Dobson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-06-16

Total Pages: 776

ISBN-13: 1315478714

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Humans throughout history have sought ways of understanding their place within the world. Religion, science and myth have been at the forefront of this quest for meaning. A Chaos of Delight examines how various cultures – from the early Sumerians, Egyptians and Greeks to contemporary Western society – have looked at the same phenomena and devised totally different world views. The rise of modern science is examined, alongside questions of evolution and the origins of life. This comprehensive volume is an essential read for students and scholars interested in the history of ideas and the role of religion, science and myth in the development of Western thought.

Chaos of Delight

Chaos of Delight PDF

Author: Eve De Castro-Robinson

Publisher:

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 28

ISBN-13:

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"Chaos of delight III was requested by Karen Grylls for the women of the Auckland University Singers, and was premiered by them in the Music Theatre, University of Auckland, on 17th May 1998 ... Chaos of delight III takes its inspiration from birdsong, with its trills, clicks, coos and warbles. The cicadas of the New Zealand summer are also evoked the the singers' use of metal-tongued clickers, a favourite sound-source of the composer. The title is taken from a passage in "A field guide to the birds of New Zealand by Falla, Gibson and Turbott": --there are still many quiet places far from the madding crowd, where the mind can become, in Darwin's phrase, " a chaos of delight" at the abundance and variety of birds which pass before the eye or perplex the ear"--The composer (inside of front cover).

A Chaos of Delight

A Chaos of Delight PDF

Author: Geoffrey Dobson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-06-16

Total Pages: 489

ISBN-13: 1315478722

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Humans throughout history have sought ways of understanding their place within the world. Religion, science and myth have been at the forefront of this quest for meaning. A Chaos of Delight examines how various cultures – from the early Sumerians, Egyptians and Greeks to contemporary Western society – have looked at the same phenomena and devised totally different world views. The rise of modern science is examined, alongside questions of evolution and the origins of life. This comprehensive volume is an essential read for students and scholars interested in the history of ideas and the role of religion, science and myth in the development of Western thought.

For a Philosophy of Freedom and Strife

For a Philosophy of Freedom and Strife PDF

Author: Günter Figal

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1998-01-01

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 9780791436974

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This first book-length work of the prominent German philosopher Gunter Figal to appear in English offers a radical defense of metaphysical philosophy in the era of postmodern thought. For Figal, metaphysics does not represent an anachronistic and pernicious mode of thought that ought to be overcome but rather is a type of thinking that proceeds from a recognition of the necessary coherence of everything with its opposite. It is this agonistic relationship of opposites that Figal, following Heraclitus, terms strife. Rather than regarding the conflict of opposites as necessarily resulting in the dissolution of meaning and sense, as many contemporary thinkers maintain, Figal contends that sense and meaning can only come into existence metaphysically, that is to say, as a consequence of strife. And, the context within which strife occurs is freedom. Using these concepts of strife and freedom, Figal proposes new and provocative readings of Plato, Hegel, Nietzsche, and Kierkegaard, as well as of some of the most controversial figures of twentieth-century philosophy.

Andy Warhol Was a Hoarder

Andy Warhol Was a Hoarder PDF

Author: Claudia Kalb

Publisher: National Geographic Books

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 1426214669

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Was Andy Warhol a hoarder? Did Einstein have autism? Was Frank Lloyd Wright a narcissist? In this surprising, inventive, and meticulously researched look at the evolution of mental health, acclaimed health and science journalist Claudia Kalb gives readers a glimpse into the lives of high-profile historic figures through the lens of modern psychology, weaving groundbreaking research into biographical narratives that are deeply embedded in our culture. From Marilyn Monroe's borderline personality disorder to Charles Darwin's anxiety, Kalb provides compelling insight into a broad range of maladies, using historical records and interviews with leading mental health experts, biographers, sociologists, and other specialists. Packed with intriguing revelations, this smart narrative brings a new perspective to one of the hottest new topics in today's cultural conversation.

Temples of Delight

Temples of Delight PDF

Author: Barbara Trapido

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2015-04-14

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 1620408775

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Jem McCrail is a fantastical godsend to the timid young Alice Pilling. "Like a dropped acorn,†? she appears halfway through the week, halfway through the term, and halfway through Miss Aldridge's Silent Reading Hour. Through the doorway she barely clears, wearing clothes like the urchin she encountered in her favorite P. G. Wodehouse story, Jem leads the stammering Alice into a world of culture, truancy, and bizarrerie-a world far beyond the dull lessons of school. The girls cultivate a steadfast bond based on a wicked and encircling sense of humor, an impish joy in indelicate literature, and Mozart's The Magic Flute. Then, as abruptly as she came, Jem disappears. The years and schools that follow, as well as the lovers, do not dim the image of the wondrous Jem. The disheartened Alice is almost ready to settle into an ordinary life when an accident and the intervention of a latter-day fallen angel impel her to go on one more wild and extravagant journey. Like the opera it echoes, the result is pure enchantment. "Why did it take me so long to discover the singular joys of Barbara Trapido's novels? Why, for so many years, had I missed these witty, soulful, heartbreaking, expansive, brilliant tales? I have become a literary evangelist on her behalf. On account of my badgering, all my friends now love her, too.I won't rest until everyone in America has read (and fallen in love with) this fabulous author.†? -Elizabeth Gilbert

Herding Hemingway's Cats

Herding Hemingway's Cats PDF

Author: Kat Arney

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2016-01-14

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 1472910060

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The language of genes has become common parlance. We know they make your eyes blue, your hair curly or your nose straight. The media tells us that our genes control the risk of cancer, heart disease, alcoholism or Alzheimer's. The cost of DNA sequencing has plummeted from billions of pounds to a few hundred, and gene-based advances in medicine hold huge promise. So we've all heard of genes, but how do they actually work? There are 2.2 metres of DNA inside every one of your cells, encoding roughly 20,000 genes. These are the 'recipes' that tell our cells how to make the building blocks of life, along with myriad control switches ensuring they're turned on and off at the right time and in the right place. But rather than a static string of genetic code, this is a dynamic, writhing biological library. Figuring out how it all works – how your genes build your body – is a major challenge for researchers around the world. And what they're discovering is that far from genes being a fixed, deterministic blueprint, things are much more random and wobbly than anyone expected. Drawing on stories ranging from six toed cats and stickleback hips to Mickey Mouse mice and zombie genes – told by researchers working at the cutting edge of genetics – Kat Arney explores the mysteries in our genomes with clarity, flair and wit, creating a companion reader to the book of life itself.

Darwin's Psychology

Darwin's Psychology PDF

Author: Ben Bradley

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2020-10-08

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 0191017906

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Darwin has long been hailed as forefather to behavioural science, especially nowadays, with the growing popularity of evolutionary psychologies. Yet, until now, his contribution to the field of psychology has been somewhat understated. This is the first book ever to examine the riches of what Darwin himself wrote about psychological matters. It unearths a Darwin new to contemporary science, whose first concern is the agency of organisms — from which he derives both his psychology, and his theory of evolution. A deep reading of Darwin's writings on climbing plants and babies, blushing and bower-birds, worms and facial movements, shows that, for Darwin, evolution does not explain everything about human action. Group-life and culture are also keys, whether we discuss the dynamics of conscience or the dramas of desire. Thus his treatment of facial actions sets out from the anatomy and physiology of human facial movements, and shows how these gain meanings through their recognition by others. A discussion of blushing extends his theory to the way reading others' expressions rebounds on ourselves — I care about how I think you read me. This dynamic proves central to how Darwin understands sexual desire, the production of conscience and of social standards through group dynamics, and the role of culture in human agency. Presenting a new Darwin to science, and showing how widely Darwin's understanding of evolution and agency has been misunderstood and misrepresented in biology and the social sciences, this important new book lights a new way forward for those who want to build psychology on the foundation of evolutionary biology

Fire in the Crucible

Fire in the Crucible PDF

Author: John Briggs

Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser

Published: 2002-01-01

Total Pages: 415

ISBN-13: 1609256573

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The co-author of Looking Glass Universe probes the nature of creativity and reveals the strategies and tactics of some of our greatest creative minds. What makes geniuses different from the rest of us? What is the difference between a prodigy and a genius? Are geniuses born or made? What is creative vision and where does it come from? What are the secrets of talent? And why do great creators seem to have so many oppositions in their personalities? In this mind-expanding investigation of creativity, John Briggs reveals that there is no special trait of genius. Geniuses are not necessarily smarter or more talented than other people, but they give their attention to subtle nuances, contradictory feelings and perceptions that others experience and ignore. By focusing on sensory nuances, geniuses create themselves. Fire in the Crucible offers a compelling exploration of the roots of creativity and genius. Drawing on the lives and work of extraordinary scientists, artists, writers, composers, and inventors, Briggs shows how creative individuals exploit doubt and uncertainty, and the mental strategies and tactics they employ when they work. “In asking about creativity,” he writes, “we are really asking about what is best, what is deepest in life.” Fire in the Crucible draws the reader into an eye-opening journey through the inner workings of some of the greatest creative minds of all time—and allows us to understand more deeply the nature of creativity in our own lives and work. Praise for Fire in the Crucible “His refreshingly open-ended approach brings us closer to the elusive nature of genius.” —Publishers Weekly “An exuberant voyage through the brains and minds of creative individuals, chock-full of intriguing scientific discoveries and puzzling paradoxes.” —Howard Gardner, Harvard University, author of Multiple Intelligences