The Perfectibility of Man
Title | The Perfectibility of Man PDF eBook |
Author | John Arthur Passmore |
Publisher | |
Pages | 560 |
Release | 2000 |
Genre | Law |
ISBN |
Beginning with an analytic discussion of the various ways in which perfectibility has been interpreted, Professor Passmore traces its long history from the Greeks to the present day, by way of Christianity, orthodox and heterodox, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, anarchism, utopias, communism, psychoanalysis, and evolutionary theories of man and society. Both in its broad sweep and in countless supporting reflections, it is a journey through spiritual scenery of the most majestic and exhilarating kind. Thoroughly and elegantly, Passmore explores the history of the idea of perfectibility -- manifest in the ideology of perfectibilism -- and its consequences, which have invariably been catastrophic for individual liberty and responsibility in private, social, economic, and political life.
The Perfectibility of Man
Title | The Perfectibility of Man PDF eBook |
Author | John Arthur Passmore |
Publisher | |
Pages | 408 |
Release | 1971 |
Genre | Human beings |
ISBN |
A careful examination and critique of various forms of the search for perfection in Western history from a liberal humanistic point of view which values diversity and caring.
John Passmore, The Perfectibility of Man
Title | John Passmore, The Perfectibility of Man PDF eBook |
Author | James Munro Cameron |
Publisher | |
Pages | 11 |
Release | 1976 |
Genre | |
ISBN |
Creating the New Man
Title | Creating the New Man PDF eBook |
Author | Yinghong Cheng |
Publisher | University of Hawaii Press |
Pages | 282 |
Release | 2008-12-31 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 0824830741 |
The idea of eliminating undesirable traits from human temperament to create a "new man" has been part of moral and political thinking worldwide for millennia. During the Enlightenment, European philosophers sought to construct an ideological framework for reshaping human nature. But it was only among the communist regimes of the twentieth century that such ideas were actually put into practice on a nationwide scale. In this book Yinghong Cheng examines three culturally diverse sociopolitical experiments—the Soviet Union under Lenin and Stalin, China under Mao, and Cuba under Castro—in an attempt to better understand the origins and development of the "new man." The book’s fundamental concerns are how these communist revolutions strove to create a new, morally and psychologically superior, human being and how this task paralleled efforts to create a superior society. To these ends, it addresses a number of questions: What are the intellectual roots of the new man concept? How was this idealistic and utopian goal linked to specific political and economic programs? How do the policies of these particular regimes, based as they are on universal communist ideology, reflect national and cultural traditions? Cheng begins by exploring the origins of the idea of human perfectibility during the Enlightenment. His discussion moves to other European intellectual movements, and then to the creation of the Soviet Man, the first communist new man in world history. Subsequent chapters examine China’s experiment with human nature, starting with the nationalistic debate about a new national character at the turn of the twentieth century; and Cuban perceptions of the new man and his role in propelling the revolution from a nationalist, to a socialist, and finally a communist movement. The last chapter considers the global influence of the Soviet, Chinese, and Cuban experiments. Creating the "New Man" contributes greatly to our understanding of how three very different countries and their leaders carried out problematic and controversial visions and programs. It will be of special interest to students and scholars of world history and intellectual, social, and revolutionary history, and also development studies and philosophy.
Perfection and Disharmony in the Thought of Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Title | Perfection and Disharmony in the Thought of Jean-Jacques Rousseau PDF eBook |
Author | Jonathan Marks |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 212 |
Release | 2005-10-06 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 9780521850698 |
Publisher description
Studies in Classic American Literature
Title | Studies in Classic American Literature PDF eBook |
Author | D. H. Lawrence |
Publisher | Penguin |
Pages | 200 |
Release | 1990-12-01 |
Genre | Literary Criticism |
ISBN | 9780140183771 |
“Nobody ever read [the great old books] like Lawrence did—as madly, as wildly or as insightfully. . . . You will be jolted awake.” —A. O. Scott, The New York Times A Penguin Classic Lawrence asserted that 'the proper function of a critic is to save the tale from the artist who created it'. In these highly individual, penetrating essays he has exposed 'the American whole soul' within some of that continent's major works of literature. In seeking to establish the status of writings by such authors as Poe, Melville, Fenimore Cooper and Whitman, Lawrence himself has created a classic work. Studies in Classic American Literature is valuable not only for the light it sheds on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American consciousness, telling 'the truth of the day', but also as a prime example of Lawrence's learning, passion and integrity of judgement. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
A Study of the Idea of the Perfectibility of Man in the Works of Gotthold Ethraim [sic] Lessing
Title | A Study of the Idea of the Perfectibility of Man in the Works of Gotthold Ethraim [sic] Lessing PDF eBook |
Author | Jackson Wright Waldrip |
Publisher | |
Pages | 72 |
Release | 1953 |
Genre | Personality |
ISBN |