Average customer rating:
- One issue you are overlooking is translation
- Are all sons from fatherless homes homosexuals???
- For every man, boy, teenager, son and father
- Excellent!
- The book I'd been looking for all my life
|
Absent Fathers, Lost Sons: The Search for Masculine Identity
Guy Corneau
Manufacturer: Shambhala
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Self-Help
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Psychology & Counseling
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
Social Psychology & Interactions
| Psychology & Counseling
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
Gender
| By Topic
| Psychology & Counseling
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Gender Studies
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Marriage & Family
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Culture
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Fatherhood
| Family Relationships
| Parenting & Families
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Mothers, Sons, and Lovers: How a Man's Relationship with His Mother Affects the Rest of His Life
-
Fire in the Belly: On Being a Man
-
King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine
-
Man enough: fathers, sons and the search for masculinity
-
Longing for Daddy: Healing from the Pain of an Absent or Emotionally Distant Father
Accessories:
-
Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers
-
philosophy hope in a jar daily moisturizer
ASIN: 0877736030
Release Date: 1991-03-27 |
Book Description
An experience of the fragility of conventional images of masculinity is something many modern men share. Psychoanalyst Guy Corneau traces this experience to an even deeper feeling men have of their fathers' silence or absence—sometimes literal, but especially emotional and spiritual. Why is this feeling so profound in the lives of the postwar "baby boom" generation—men who are now approaching middle age? Because, he says, this generation marks a critical phase in the loss of the masculine initiation rituals that in the past ensured a boy's passage into manhood. In his engaging examination of the many different ways this missing link manifests in men's lives, Corneau shows that, for men today, regaining the essential "second birth" into manhood lies in gaining the ability to be a father to themselves—not only as a means of healing psychological pain, but as a necessary step in the process of becoming whole.
Customer Reviews:
One issue you are overlooking is translation.......2007-03-24
The reviews of this book are very intriguing, and they throw some light on Corneau's approach to pscyhology and myth as well as the readers' desire to gain some knowledge. However, no one has mentioned the important fact that the book was translated from French. Most of Corneau's other publications are in his presumedly native language. Any real understanding of the book would have to begin with reading it in the original version. Many cultural differences and assumptions of the translator would show up in the English language version. The opinions of reviewers might change completely were everyone have the chance to read the French text.
Are all sons from fatherless homes homosexuals???.......2005-04-26
A very opinionated book. the author uses jung psychology exclusively. No other views or extrapolations are used. Tunnel vision and too stringent for the 21th century. Usually when a book is written on a well writtten subjest matter---fatherless sons--their are other view points and outcomes that can be discussed. The cover is misleading "The Search for Masculine identity", where does it suggest gender changes or subconscious desires. All in all, it was a negative read-depicting fatherless sons, all fatherless sons to be doomed for many years with problems (at the end of the book he touches upon additional dark issues .There are positive outcomes , not that homosexuality is bad, why not talk about the strengths and positive parenting of the fatherless sons. It could have been touched upon. The theory is stagnant viod or modern thought, and multilinear thinking.
Too much of one trained thinking is not good and no credit to the author. Furthermore,
For every man, boy, teenager, son and father.......2004-06-13
First, it is very important for a male to acknowledge he has masculine "identity issues," moreso than any female, who (in one stage at least, that of maiden) has her monthly cycle as an affirmation of her sexual identity.
Second, he must also recognize the rituals and ceremonies that are performed cross-culturally during puberty as an initiation of the boyhood-to-manhood transition, most importantly along with one's own father or a male role model. Circumcision is one, along with certain Native American rites of him hanging by his hooked chest in the sun until he pulls the hooks out. The male, unlike the female, needs his psyche to be shocked with the impression of maturity, and coming into his own, separate from the mimicked father figure, and at the same time away from the mother (Oedipus complex, as opposed to the woman's Elektra complex). It may not come simply from one act alone, should it be insufficient. Sometimes these may be violent or dangerous, even life-threatening, such as hazing or Russian Roulette.
I do not think that all cases of homosexuality stem from identity and mother/feminine issues - in fact, perhaps a small percentage of the homosexual population. It is a natural phenomenon which has been observed even in animals; that is perhaps my only reservation about this book. The results of incomplete masculinity can result in depression and lack of sociability, among other things described. This book also gives real-life cases as examples.
Aside from the aforementioned reasons as to why there are such issues, I personally am of the opinion that it is also due to the father being away from home (traditional role of working, though it is being reduced, even reversed, or responsibilities shared equally by both parents) or no longer being with his family (divorced, deceased, absentee or broken up). The mother is perhaps with the children more often, and definitely bonds with them first and on a different level. (...)
Excellent!.......2004-03-28
Very well written book about the problems and issues between fathers and sons. Loved it!
The book I'd been looking for all my life.......2002-09-17
The picture on the cover of this book illustrates exactly how I have felt my whole life. This book has been a great help to me for years, and I wonder why more books like this aren't available; I had searched and searched for that book that described exactly what I was experiencing and how to heal from it, and I had all but given up, concluding that such a book had not been written and that no one else had ever experienced what I have. As "fate" would have it, I would soon stumble across ABSENT FATHERS, LOST SONS. I felt vindicated. I have found other books that have been very helpful for me, but this book feels as though it were written specifically for me. And since others have found this book helpful, I realize that I in fact am not alone in what I have experienced.
Guy Corneau has noticed what I have: he opens by saying that males in general have more developmental problems than women, and therefore it is puzzling that more is not being done to help men. Corneau argues that all men live in a kind of hereditary silence and that we fear that any man who speaks out about pain is a threat to male solidarity. The result of not speaking out is that men suffer alone and in silence, and the pain gets channeled in other directions; as Corneau points out, men far outnumber women in the prison systems. Corneau argues that for a man "to not have a father is to not have a backbone," and that the resulting lack of structure often results in anti-social behavior; men with absent fathers (emotionally absent will suffice) often turn to what Corgneau terms the "dark father complex," the clinging to extreme and often violence-based models of masculinity (such is the case with men who join gangs, etc.).
Two things that I found very interesting: Corneau argues that men who have not felt close enough to their fathers, will often be insecure in their sexuality and this will often result in them becoming "seducers"; the logic being that if they seduce enough women, and appear in the eyes of society to be "studs," then they will make up for the emptiness and insecurity they feel from never having been "confirmed" by their fathers, i.e., never having felt that their fathers accepted them as men. Corneau says that often when a man thinks he is running low on women, he is actually running low on men. Another fascinating thing is that Corneau argues that "seducer" men are often highly sensitive men who refuse to acknowledge and accept their sensitivity. These issues are described in my favorite chapter of the book, where the author discusses the various roles men find themselves in: the Hero, the Good Boy, the Eternal Adolescent, the Male Feminist, the Seducer, and the Homosexual. Corneau takes us through each of these roles and describes them step-by-step. Corneau argues that homosexual men are often obeying the unspoken command that they should never belong to any woman but their mother.
This book has been extraordinarily helpful for me for years now. I don't know where I'd be without this book. I would like to meet the author and shake his hand. ABSENT FATHERS, LOST SONS has helped me come to terms with myself, understand myself, and realize that I am not alone; many men suffer from the pain of not having felt close enough to their fathers. This book presents a somewhat revolutionary idea for this day and age: that fathers *are* important.
Customer Reviews:
Do-it-yourself grief counseling..........2006-08-19
This book helped me tremendously in coping with the death of my dog. It addressed every feeling and question I have surrounding the euthanasia. It also has chapters on lost pets and re-homing which would be very helpful for anyone in that circumstance.
If you are reading this, you probably need the book. Good luck to you, I hope you will be able to resolve your grief issues.
Book Description
A spectre is haunting Western academia, the spectre of the Cartesian subject. The Ticklish Subject confronts Deconstructionists and Habermasians, cognitive scientists and Heideggerians, feminists and New Age obscurantists by unearthing a subversive core to this elusive spectre, and finding in this core the indispensable philosophical point of reference of any genuinely emancipatory politics.
Customer Reviews:
Good book in Kant and Hegel but dogmatic in psychoanalysis.......2004-01-28
I just finished the book and I thought the first part as very enlightening in his reading of Kant, Heidegger and Hegel, which in the case of Kant is the standard Lacanian reading on Moral Law. Zizek is critical about everything and his dialectical twists are excellent but psychoanalysis remains untouched and from this absolute premise -"the Unconscious is the discourse of the Other" he makes the most startling and dogmatic remarks of Deleuze and Foucault as philosophers of globalized perversion -that is their dismissal of the Big Other as post-Oedipal and therefore gurus of postmodern narcissistic subjectivity in late capitalism- to an ironic defense of Christianity as the empty place for paternal authority to put things "in place" fictitiously for the sake of socio-symbolic structure that keeps everything in the realm of appearance -appearance as Substance- and keeps us from the Monstrous Real. In the first case, Zizek argues: "Is not Deleuze's critique of Oedipus psychoanalysis an exemplary case of the perverse rejection of hysteria?" by limiting the symbolic authority and therefore imbues himself in an ethics of drive, which unlike of desire, chooses not to fulfill itself consciously in a mourning-loss like the hysteric. That, for Zizek, on his premises is the core of postmodern subjectivity. Like a good Hegelian, Zizek maintains -very nicely- the Unbehangen of the Universals by the act proper which is absolutely singular and arbitrary, but I don't think he understands the Nietzscheanism of Deleuze which transcends the will to Nothingness of the superego concerning the empty Law. For Zizek, that is the only way and ends paradoxically by stating that even if the Law will be always there, do not compromise your desire for anything, which can be read as either a new kind of empty Law or the Act that trascends subjetivity itself which I think it is exactly what Deleuze wants and not the same-old clises on the Anti-Oedipus and Mille Plateaux of fluiding subjectivities. I remember that for Deleuze the problem is not psychoanalysis itself but the familialist reduction of it into a daddy-mommy-me theater, instead of concentrating in extra-familial realities as societal delirium where schizophrenia can be explained. Zizek is great at explaining and dialectizing the topics of the unconscious, desire, law, etc but he does not dialectize its psychanalysis and doesn't even consider the difference as a positive affirmation beyond dialectic negation which Deleuze proved as a new form of thought in Difference and Repetition, Nietzche and Philosophy and Bergsonism. If he criticizes the radical clises Deleuzians, or New Agers, or whatever he should start by criticizing also the worldwide sects of Lacanians that "speak in tongues" and create "perversely" an esoteric "knowldege of the Other". Great book on the interpretation of Kant and Hegel but too dogmatic on psychoanalysis.
Much better written than the last two books.......2000-12-03
If you had pretty much given up on Zizek after Metaseses of Enjoyment and Plague of Fantasies, both of which contain some embarassingly bad writing, you will be happy to rad this book. Routledge finally gave Zizek a new copyeditor, and what a difference she makes! ALthough Zizek's new concept of "the Act" smacks of Chrisitan mysticisim, the book is one of his stngest. It's otfen very insightful about academic trends and as entertaining as ever when it comes to film. he is one of the few theorists who manages to kep thinking, even if he repeats himself over and over again.
Check this Quote out on the Symbolic Institution:.......2000-08-29
Check this quote out from the book on the symbolic institution:) "The mysterious character of this moment can best be illustrated by a funny thing that happened during the last election campaign in Slovenia, when a member of the ruling political party was approached by an elderly lady from his local constituency, asking for help. She was convinced that the street number of her house (not the standard 13, but 23) was bringing her bad luck--the moment her house got this new number, due to some administrative reorganization, misfortunes started to afflict her (burglars broke in, a storm tore the roof off, neighbours began to annoy her), so she asked the candidate to be so kind as to arrange with the municipal authorities for the number to be changed. The candidate made a simple suggestion to the lady: why didn't she do it alone? Why didn't she simply repaint or replace the plate with the street number herself by, for example, adding another number or letter (say, 23A or 231 instead of 23)? The old lady answered: "Oh, I tried that a couple of weeks ago; I myself replaced the old plate with a new one with the number 23A, but it didn't work--my bad luck is still with me; you can't cheat it, it has to be done properly, by the relevant institution." The 'it' which cannot be duped in this way is the Lacanian big Other, the symbolic institution." :)
This book might be a really big deal..........1999-04-26
Slovenian author Slavoj Zizek has been rearing his head for awhile, but this might be his big break-through. In "The Ticklish Subject", he is actually outlining an argument for the return of the Cartesian subject, the universal subject, whose presence he claims is "a spectre haunting Western academia...". He argues that the rejection of this cogito is what unites an astounding array of intellectual thinking just before the milennium. The book consists mainly of three parts, which can be categorized broadly as engagements with German idealism and anti-idealism, then French post-...political thought, then with Anglo-American modes of "cultural studies" and multiculturalism. Specifically, in this last part, he engages with Judith Butler in the most respectable critique of her work I've ever read. In short, I think the publication of this book could mark the first major break with postmodernism in its myriad forms. This feels like an "insider" critique-- there are no kind of typical reactions against postmodern jargon, inaccessability, etc. Zizek comes from a hardcore Lacanian viewpoint, but his major task in this book is to put forth an essentially political standpoint in the era of global capitalism. As always, Zizek is funny and anecdotal, drawing from pop culture enough to incite me to say he's "keepin it real". Good book, likley to become very important.
Book Description
Where Was Daddy When You Needed Him?
The absence of fathers is an epidemic plaguing our society, affecting families from every corner of our world and from all walks of life. Whether our fathers left us entirely during our childhood or were physically present but emotionally distant, those who missed out on an affirming, intimate father-love continue to experience the devastating consequences of that loss.
• Are you angry at the world and don’t know why?
• Do you inadvertently sabotage relationships or smother those closest to you?
• Do you rarely take risks or step out on faith?
• Is there an undercurrent of anxiety in most tasks you perform?
• Do you struggle to connect with God?
• Do you have little or no self-confidence–or minimal self-worth?
For women who answer yes to these questions, the common denominator is often an absent father. Far too many daughters have been stripped of a healthy relationship with their earthly dad. But real healing is within your reach.
Discover how the absence of your father has impacted your entire life–your attitude, your actions, your beliefs, your decisions, and your identity–and learn how you can stop resulting negative behaviors, beak free, and experience a confidence-building, empowering love that will heal your hurts and fulfill your deepest longings.
Customer Reviews:
Sad surprise.......2007-07-13
I dont have anything against religious books, but this one is written with a lack of reallity towards abset fatherhood.
I just got to read a few (awfull) pages, I wouldnt look for answers in this book.
When you can't change the past ... all you can do is move forward.......2007-03-05
You can't rewrite the past or cause your father to be anything other than he is. The only thing you can do is find a way to get the need met that was sorely lacking in your growing up. This book is very much written for those of a Christian perspective and concentrates on the relationship with God the father as a healing one. If you agree with the religious undertones, then this book can help you. I would also caution those who were emotionally scarred by an absent father to get psychological counselling from a licensed therapist trained in abandonment issues. Healing the spirit and the mind is critical and Robinson's book is very strong on soul work.
Fathers matter and sadly not all girls get this benefit of an emotionally loving dad. No matter what the reasons for a father hunger .... there is hope and healing for those committed to turning it all around. You will never get back those years the way you want. You can only consciously learn the tools to cultivate the confidence in another way. Only you can heal you.
Loved it and shared with others.......2007-01-21
I think that this book was great for me. God showed me that I was hurting because I didn't know my father, and it was time to take some steps in the right direction to work through issues. I never thought that my anger, insecurities and more were impacted because of a lack of a father image in my life. I'm not blaming my father, but knowing that it wasn't "just the way God created me" opened my eyes and allowed me to work with Him to correct the problem. I was so blessed I shared with another friend and she loved it too. I don't think we realize how much our parents impact our lives, our beliefs, and so much more about us.
Simple... .......2006-11-06
This book is simplistic. If you already know in your heart that God is your Father and that He is who you need to look to when you miss your earthly dad, then you already know the theme of this book. If you know you need to forgive your dad for his sins against you in order to heal, then you have no need of this book. A pamphlet size would have covered the topic just fine.
As a student of psychology, I was surprised at Monique's assumptions. One shocking example is on page 38 when she asks the reader to pray for God to erase the memories of your past. She says, "...erasing a memory is easy stuff for God." I agree that God can do ANYTHING but He won't always erase a memory. He can give us peace and strength to forgive but those painful memories our dad's have given us all too often continue to linger despite those honest prayers.
In another example of faulty assumptions, she suggests that some dad's are silently sorry for their sins and need forgiveness. Through forgiveness, reconciliation can be made and a new relationship can begin. This may be true in some cases but she doesn't present the flipside. What if your dad ISN'T sorry? What if that relationship, despite MY forgiving, is never going to be restored the way I wish it could be? What if we have to deal with a painful, life long rejection if we confront our fathers about the pain? This is just one instance of many where Monique seems to have neglected looking at some painful realities. Even though I wish there was, there is no easy formula. I am surprised that someone with a degree in Biblical counseling can be this naive.
Overall, the book is very basic and overspiritualizes the issue. Like I mentioned earlier, if you already know God is your Healer and your Helper, you've already mastered the content of this book.
Longing for MY MONEY BACK !.......2006-07-03
I was expecting at least a little meat, and all that I got was some bones.
If you are Fundamentalist Christian, then you will be singing the praises! This is YOUR book!
If you are looking for intellectual discourse on the topic, forget it. This book will be a total waste of your time! This one does not deserve even a star.
I did learn a valuable lesson by ordering this book...READ the Amazon reviews BEFORE you buy!
I'm not Longing for Daddy, I'm longing for my MONEY BACK !
Average customer rating:
- Birthday Present for a reader...
- The Absent Author
- Five thumbs up ( if had all those)
- My new favorite book
- Daughter loved it!
|
The Absent Author (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))
Ron Roy
Manufacturer: Random House Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Mysteries, Espionage, & Detectives
| Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 4-8
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Roy, Ron
| ( R )
| Authors & Illustrators, A-Z
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 4-8
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Roy, Ron
| ( R )
| Authors & Illustrators, A-Z
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Literature
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Mysteries, Espionage, & Detectives
| Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror
| Literature
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Bald Bandit (A to Z Mysteries) (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))
-
The Canary Caper (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))
-
The Deadly Dungeon (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))
-
The Empty Envelope (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))
-
The Falcon's Feathers (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))
ASIN: 0679881689
Release Date: 1997-09-23 |
Book Description
A is for author.... Dink writes to his favorite author, mystery writer Wallis Wallace, and invites him to visit Green Lawn. To Dink's amazement, Wallace says he'll come! But when the big day arrives, Wallace is nowhere to be found. The police think he just missed his plane, but Dink suspects foul play. It's up to Dink and his two best friends, Josh and Ruth Rose, to find the famous writer--before it's too late!
Customer Reviews:
Birthday Present for a reader..........2006-11-03
My eight year old grandson is avid reader. He reads 2 years ahead of his grade level in school. I always think of books for my grandkids as gifts. When his birthday was coming, I came looking for books. I found this series. They are called the A-Z mysteries. I bought the first ten books A-J and they were such a success. He loves everyone of them. I am going to buy more of them to use as gifts for good report cards, etc. I think that books are the most important gift that you can give to a child and these books are great.
The Absent Author.......2006-07-29
I enjoy the adventure in all these books and particularly like the fact that there is a series of books and they have the same characters.
Five thumbs up ( if had all those).......2006-01-06
A famous writer is coming to Green Lawn, but after the writer doesn't show up for a book signing event in the Book Nook, Dink, Josh and Ruth Rose are worried.
Later in Dink's letter it says the the writer was probly kidnapped.
SO they started investingation, was the auther really kidnapped and by whom?
You need to read the book and find out!
My new favorite book.......2005-09-05
I like everything about the kidnapping stuff. I like Dink, Josh and Ruth Rose. I think the pictures should be in color.
It was a good mystery.
Daughter loved it!.......2005-09-05
I wanted to get a beginner's chapter book for my almost 6-year-old daughter. I thought about Junie B. Jones or the Magic Tree House series, but I was turned off by Junie's poor grammar (or at least the author's attempt to make her sound like a "real" 6-year-old), and by the Magic Tree House's female character being "dreamy" while her brother was "logical". This book managed to avoid those caveats, while still being an entertaining read for my daughter. I wasn't sure at first if she could follow a chapter book on her own, with illustrations only appearing every 3 pages or so, so I read her the first two chapters last night. This morning, the first thing she reached for was that book. Instead of getting up and watching Saturday morning cartoons, she sat in bed, ate a banana, and finished her new book. I couldn't ask for anything better.
Book Description
A richly textured work of history and a powerful contribution to contemporary cultural debate, Absent Minds provides the first full-length account of 'the question of intellectuals' in twentieth-century Britain - have such figures ever existed, have they always been more prominent or influential elsewhere, and are they on the point of becoming extinct today? Recovering neglected or misunderstood traditions of reflection and debate from the late nineteenth century through to the present, Stefan Collini challenges the familiar cliche that there are no 'real' intellectuals in Britain. The book offers a persuasive analysis of the concept of 'the intellectual' and an extensive comparative account of how this question has been seen in the USA, France, and elsewhere in Europe. There are detailed discussions of influential or revealing figures such as Julien Benda, T. S. Eliot, George Orwell, and Edward Said, as well as trenchant critiques of current assumptions about the impact of specialization and celebrity. Throughout, attention is paid to the multiple senses of the term 'intellectuals' and to the great diversity of relevant genres and media through which they have communicated their ideas, from pamphlets and periodical essays to public lectures and radio talks. Elegantly written and rigorously argued, Absent Minds is a major, long-awaited work by a leading intellectual historian and cultural commentator, ranging across the conventional divides between academic disciplines and combining insightful portraits of individuals with sharp-edged cultural analysis.
Customer Reviews:
An intellectual's defense of intellectuals .......2006-09-11
Collini among other things sets out to prove that the British have been a bit modest about their own intellectuals, believing that they have not really had any. i.e. The British have thought of themselves as too narrow and practical, as opposed for example to their broad-minded, richly speculative cousins across the Channel. Collini says that this denial too relates to a sense that our world has lost its generalists, and that the ever- increasing specialization of the scientific and academic worlds on one side, and the glitz celebrity culture on the other side have simply left no place for the man of mind who can reach the broader public.
This thesis I must admit , or rather the idea that the British would think themselves without intellectuals surprises me. Even good old non- British me can give a very long list of people professionally qualified in some narrow specialalization who had and have the broader public ear. I think first of all of Sir Isiah Berlin trained as an analytic philosopher and one of the greatest figures in the area known as the 'history of ideas'. Sir Isiah certainly was in his BBC lectures a broad communicator across the academic- wider public divide. But there are others, some of whom such as Orwell and Bertrand Russell Collini gives chapters to in this work. And in fact one of the much discussed people in this work C.P. Snow even when lamenting about the gap between the two cultures, the scientific and the literary was somehow communicating across them both.
All this is not to deride Collini's painstaking research and innumerable insights, but rather to wonder when he has proven a thesis which needs no proof, or disproven one which needs no disproof.
In any case the talk about intellectuals, and about the meanings of being an intellectual are so considerable in this work than anyone who has interest in intellectuals, or aspires to be an intellectuals, or thinks of themselves as an intellectual, will have something to read and learn from here.
And this when I would add one perhaps irrelevant note. Collini does not like Julien Benda's classical 'The Treason of the Intellectuals' too much, nor accept the theory that Intellectuals promoted the between- the- wars totalitarian movements. But one thing Benda does certainly point to is that being an 'intellectual' a person of great specialized skill who can communicate to a wider audience on matters outside his own specialization, is no guarantee of virtue and goodness. The very highest achievements in work of the mind can go with the most abominable values and poorest human judgment.
So one real basic point for the broader public to hold in mind is the fact that someone is an 'intellectual' or 'an authority' does not mean that they are to be blindly followed, or unthinkingly listened to.
A healthy skepticism to even the 'most well- known intellectuals' is in order. This by the way is true today ( Consider Richard Dawkins sweeping negative pronouncements on religion, or the enthusiasm which Noam Chomsky pied- pipers for the most totalitarian regimes in the universe) as it has always been.
I do not know if this means that one should adopt William Buckley's famous recommendation of opening the Boston telephone and choosing the first names that come up, as preferable to relying on the staff of Harvard College, for electing public officials- but it does suggest that each and every layman should be a bit of a skeptic, perhaps a bit of an intellectual , in listening to the 'guidance and wisdom' of those who pronounce from on- high.
More Collini Insights.......2006-07-19
Stefan Collini is one of the leading intellectual historians currently at work, as is well evidenced by his prior books, particularly "English Pasts" and "Public Moralists--1850-1930" (both recently reissued by Oxford). This book is quite long (and even perhaps too long at over 500 pages), and Oxford has selected a compact typeface which can be tiring to read. The title is related to the author's desire to explore what he believes is a misconcenption that intellectuals never have played much of a role in British life. As is to be expected, one problem for an American reader (unless he be quite conversant with British intellectual history of the last several centuries) is lack of familiarity with many of the individuals discussed.
The author tackles this issue in a number of ways. He first studies the evoluton and use of the term "intellectual" in Britain; then compares it with French developments. He then goes back into British intellectual history to demonstrate that more "intellectual" activity was going on than is generally recognized. For example his chapter on two periodicals ("New Age" and "The Nation") during the 1907-22 period very well develops this argument. Along the way, a whole cast of characters appear: Priestley, the Woolfs, Huxley, F.R. Leavis, Laski, Trevelyan, Annan, Berlin and Shils to name just a few. Next, Collini discusses comparable development in several other countries, including Germany (quite a good analysis), France (too many French quotes even though translated tend to disrupt one's concentration), and the USA (where he demonstrates a severe distaste for Judge Posner's "Public Intellectuals").
One interesting section involves profiles of T.S. Eliot, R.G. Collingwood (very well done), Orwell, A.J.P. Taylor (a knockout discussion), and A.J. Ayer (very solid but too short). Collini finishes up with an interesting analysis of the impact of academic specialization and the role of celebrity in pop culture and how these factors have negatively impacted upon the current role of intellectuals in Britain.
A challenging volume, but reflecting the usual Collini traits of unsurpassed research, sparkling insights, and an infectious style.
Book Description
The British empire was a huge enterprise. To foreigners it more or less defined Britain in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Its repercussions in the wider world are still with us today. It also had a great impact on Britain herself: for example, on her economy, security, population, and eating habits. One might expect this to have been reflected in her society and culture. Indeed, this has now become the conventional wisdom: that Britain was steeped in imperialism domestically, which affected (or infected) almost everything Britons thought, felt, and did. This is the first book to examine this assumption critically against the broader background of contemporary British society. Bernard Porter, a leading imperial historian, argues that the empire had a far lower profile in Britain than it did abroad. Many Britons could hardly have been aware of it for most of the nineteenth century and only a small number was in any way committed to it. Between these extremes opinions differed widely over what was even meant by the empire. This depended largely on class, and even when people were aware of the empire, it had no appreciable impact on their thinking about anything else. Indeed, the influence far more often went the other way, with perceptions of the empire being affected (or distorted) by more powerful domestic discourses. Although Britain was an imperial nation in this period, she was never a genuine imperial society. As well as showing how this was possible, Porter also discusses the implications of this attitude for Britain and her empire, and for the relationship between culture and imperialism more generally, bringing his study up to date by including the case of the present-day USA.
Book Description
The body plays a central role in shaping our experience of the world. Why, then, are we so frequently oblivious to our own bodies? We gaze at the world, but rarely see our own eyes. We may be unable to explain how we perform the simplest of acts. We are even less aware of our internal organs and the physiological processes that keep us alive. In this fascinating work, Drew Leder examines all the ways in which the body is absent—forgotten, alien, uncontrollable, obscured.
In part 1, Leder explores a wide range of bodily functions with an eye to structures of concealment and alienation. He discusses not only perception and movement, skills and tools, but a variety of "bodies" that philosophers tend to overlook: the inner body with its anonymous rhythms; the sleeping body into which we nightly lapse; the prenatal body from which we first came to be. Leder thereby seeks to challenge "primacy of perception." In part 2, Leder shows how this phenomenology allows us to rethink traditional concepts of mind and body. Leder argues that Cartesian dualism exhibits an abiding power because it draws upon life-world experiences. Descartes' corpus is filled with disruptive bodies which can only be subdued by exercising "disembodied" reason. Leder explores the origins of this notion of reason as disembodied, focusing upon the hidden corporeality of language and thought. In a final chapter, Leder then proposes a new ethic of embodiment to carry us beyond Cartesianism.
This original, important, and accessible work uses examples from the author's medical training throughout. It will interest all those concerned with phenomenology, the philosophy of mind, or the Cartesian tradition; those working in the health care professions; and all those fascinated by the human body.
Books:
- Across the Dark Islands: The War in the Pacific
- Advances in Behavioral Finance, Volume II (The Roundtable Series in Behavioral Economics)
- Albert Sidney Johnston: Soldier of Three Republics
- Almost Heaven
- American Mourning: The Intimate Story of Two Families Joined by War, Torn by Beliefs
- Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army
- Bring Me That Horizon: (Welcome Book)
- Brother Odd (Odd Thomas Novels)
- Buddha, Volume 8: Jetavana (Buddha)
- Chance and Circumstance: Twenty Years with Cage and Cunningham
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Cat in the Hat
- Kingdom Come: The Final Victory: The Final Victory
- Economics: Making Sense of the Modern Economy, Second Edition
- Funding Your Ministry: Whether You're Gifted or Not
- History: Fiction or Science
- History: Fiction or Science
- Financial Institutions, Investments And Management: An Introduction Study Guide
- Survey of Economics: Principles and Tools
- Investors in Your Backyard: How to Raise Business Capital from the People You Know
- The Sudbury School Murders
