Tradition is a central concept in the social sciences, but it is commonly treated as unproblematic. Dr. Boyer insists that social anthropology requires a theory of tradition, its constitution and transmission. He treats tradition "as a type of interaction which results in the repetition of certain communicative events," and therefore as a form of social action. Tradition as Truth and Communication deals particularly with oral communication and focuses on the privileged role of licensed speakers and the ritual contexts in which certain aspects of tradition are characteristically transmitted. Drawing on cognitive psychology, Dr. Boyer proposes a set of general hypotheses to be tested by ethnographic field research. He has opened up an important new field for investigation within social anthropology.

This book articulates a theory of Catholic tradition that departs from previous understandings. Drawing on the medieval concept of the four-fold sense of scripture, John Thiel proposes four interpretive senses of tradition. He also offers a theory of doctrinal development that reconciles Catholic belief in apostolic authority and continuity of tradition with a critical approach to the evidence of history.

Winner of the 2003 Trillium Book Award "Stories are wondrous things," award-winning author and scholar Thomas King declares in his 2003 CBC Massey Lectures. "And they are dangerous." Beginning with a traditional Native oral story, King weaves his way through literature and history, religion and politics, popular culture and social protest, gracefully elucidating North America's relationship with its Native peoples. Native culture has deep ties to storytelling, and yet no other North American culture has been the subject of more erroneous stories. The Indian of fact, as King says, bears little resemblance to the literary Indian, the dying Indian, the construct so powerfully and often destructively projected by White North America. With keen perception and wit, King illustrates that stories are the key to, and only hope for, human understanding. He compels us to listen well.

Gadamer's Hermeneutics and the Art of Conversation covers the nature of dialogue and understanding in Hans-Georg Gadamer's lingually oriented hermeneutics and its relevance for contemporary philosophy. This timely collection of essays stresses the fundamental significance of the other for a further development of Heidegger's analytics of Dasein. By recognizing the priority of the other over oneself, Gadamerian hermeneutics founds a culture of dialogue sorely needed in our multi-cultural globalized community. The essays solicited for this volume are presented in three thematic blocks: "Hermeneutic Conversation," "Hermeneutics, Aesthetics, and Transcendence," "Hermeneutic Ethics, Education, and Politics." The volume proposes a dynamic understanding of hermeneutics as putting into practice the art of conversation.

What should we believe, and why should we believe it? This book addresses these questions through a critical exposition of the work of the contemporary philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre and of the theologian George Lindbeck, the father of postliberal theology. The book argues that MacIntyre's philosophical development can be seen as a response to the question of how belief in a comprehensive metaphysical system can be justified. Such a system provides its believers with an account of the nature of the universe and human nature, and a basis for their ethical reasoning and action. The book draws on Lindbeck's cultural-linguistic account of religion to argue that such a system is primarily a way of interpreting the world and the place of humanity within it, rather than a speculative theory. The justification of belief in such systems can be understood in terms of MacIntyre's account of tradition-constituted rationality, provided that this notion of rationality is made more specific by the incorporation of elements of Lindbeck's theology. Equally, the book argues that Lindbeck's theology can be strengthened by the incorporation of elements drawn from MacIntyre's work. This book will be of value to students of philosophy and theology and to the general reader who is interested in the question of the grounds of belief.

Two fish are swimming in a pond. 'Do you know what?' the fish asks his friend. 'No, tell me.' 'I was talking to a frog the other day. And he told me that we are surrounded by water!' His friend looks at him with great scepticism: 'Water? Whats that? Show me some water!' International lawyers often find themselves focused on the practice of the law rather than the underlying theories. This book is an attempt to stir up 'the water' that international lawyers swim in. It analyses a range of theoretical approaches to international law and invites readers to engage with different ways of legal thinking in order to familiarize themselves with the water all around us, of which we hardly have any perception. The main aim of this book is to provide interested scholars, practitioners, and students of international law and other disciplines with an introduction to various international legal theories, their genealogies, and possible critiques. By providing an analytical approach to international legal theory, the book encourages readers to enhance their sensitivity to these different approaches and to consider how the presuppositions behind each theory affect analysis, research, and practice in international law. International Law Theories is intended to assist students, scholars, and practitioners in reflecting more generally about how knowledge is formed in the field.