Richard Kearney

Strangers, Gods and Monsters (eBook, ePUB)

Interpreting Otherness

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

Strangers, Gods and Monsters is a fascinating look at how human identity is shaped by three powerful but enigmatic forces. Often overlooked in accounts of how we think about ourselves and others, Richard Kearney skil lfully shows, with the help of vivid examples and illustrations, how the human outlook on the world is formed by the mysterious triumvirate of strangers, gods and monsters.
In the first part of the book, he shows how the figure of stranger - the "barbarian" for ancient Greece, the 'savage' for imperial Europe - defines our own identity by the very idea that it is the Other, not we, who is unknown. He then goes on to examine the image of the monster, and with the aid of powerful examples from ancient Minotaurs to medieval demons and post-modern enemies, argues that human selfhood itself frequently contains a monstrous element. In the final part of the book Richard Kearney shows how many gods are still alive for people today testifying to the human psyche's yearning to slip the shackles of our finitude and death.
Throughout, Richard Kearney shows how strangers, gods and monsters do not merely reside in myths or fantasies but constitute a central part of our cultural unconscious. Above all, he argues that until we understand better that the Other resides deep within ourselves, we can have little hope of understanding how our most basic fears and desires manifest themselves in the external world and how we can learn to live with them.

---

Dieser Download kann aus rechtlichen Gründen nur mit Rechnungsadresse in A, B, BG, CY, CZ, D, DK, EW, E, FIN, F, GR, HR, H, IRL, I, LT, L, LR, M, NL, PL, P, R, S, SLO, SK ausgeliefert werden.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Taylor & Francis eBooks
• Seitenzahl: 304
• Erscheinungstermin: 29. Juni 2005
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781134483877
• Artikelnr.: 42675974

Autorenporträt

Richard Kearney is Professor of Philosophy at Boston College and University College Dublin. His publications include On Stories,Wake of Imagination and Postnationalist Ireland (all published by Routledge), and Sam's Fall (novel).

Inhaltsangabe

List of illustrations
Acknowledgements
Introduction: strangers
gods and monsters
PART I
1. Strangers and scapegoats
2. Rights of sacrifice
3. Aliens and others
4. Evil
monstrosity and the sublime
5. On terror
PART II
6. Hamlet's ghosts: from Shakespeare to Joyce
7. Melancholy: between gods and monsters
8. The immemorial: a task of narrative
9. God or Khora?
10. Last gods and final things: faith and philosophy
Conclusion
Notes
Index

---

Introduction 1. Strangers and Scapegoats 2. Rights of Sacrifice 3. Aliens and Others 4. Evil, Monstrosity and the Sublime 5. On Terror 6. Hamlet's Ghosts: From Shakespeare to Joyce 7. Melancholy: Between Gods and Monsters 8. The Immemorial: A Task of Narrative 9. God or Khora? 10. Last Gods and Final Things Conclusion

Rezensionen

'With a combination of philosophical rigour, clear-headedness, and generosity that we have come to expect from Kearney, Strangers, Gods and Monsters brings to the table many insights and at least as many questions as he invites us to get to know our others and, in the process, ourselves in new and transformative ways.' - The Hedgehog Review

'While the call to pardon monsters must remain open for philosophical argument, Kearney pleasingly and provocatively continues the conversation started by Socrates in The Republic when he asked pious old Cephalus: What is justice?' - Symposium Vol 7

'With a combination of philosophical rigour, clear-headedness, and generosity that we have come to expect from Kearney, Strangers, Gods and Monsters brings to the table many insights and at least as many questions as he invites us to get to know our others and, in the process, ourselves in new and transformative ways.' - The Hedgehog Review

'While the call to pardon monsters must remain open for philosophical argument, Kearney pleasingly and provocatively continues the conversation started by Socrates in The Republic when he asked pious old Cephalus: What is justice?' - Symposium Vol 7