The Militant Intellect

The Militant Intellect
Author: Andrés Fabián Henao Castro
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 271
Release: 2022-10-03
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1538145111

The Militant Intellect offers a way of rethinking the relationship between critical theory and politics. How does critical theory become self-conscious of its own relation to politics? How does it contribute to change the world through its reinterpretation of it? These are some of the questions that drive The Militant Intellect. In this book Andrés Fabián Henao Castro argues that critical theory cultivates the militancy of the general intellect by training that intellect to work towards the intersectional and structural death of the colonist and thus to envision at the same time the materialization of that feminist decolonial communist queer marronage world that constitutes its horizon. Henao Castro borrows and expands on Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s idea of conceptual persona to qualify the intellectual labor of critical theory as an undisciplined field, that performs its labor through the creation of conceptual personae capable of subjectivizing critical thought. Doing so, The Militant Intellect argues for the indispensable reinterpretation of Plato’s Philosopher Sovereign, Karl Marx’s Communist, Frantz Fanon’s Rebel, Jacques Derrida’s Specter, Gayatri Spivak’s Subaltern, Saidiya Hartman’s Wayward Life, Jacques Rancière’s Ignorant Schoolmaster, Judith Butler’s Antigone/Ismene, and Jordy Rosenberg’s Fox as compelling personifications of intellectual militancy for the general intellect to have new scripts capable of cultivating the virtuosity of its more revolutionary performances.

The System of Antichrist

The System of Antichrist
Author: Charles Upton
Publisher: Sophia Perennis
Total Pages: 586
Release: 2005
Genre: Antichrist
ISBN: 9780900588389

The System of Antichrist examines the present religious and cultural scene from the standpoint of traditional metaphysics and critiques the New Age spiritualities within their postmodern context. Its many references to Rene Guenon and Frithjof Schuon also help introduce these important but little-known 'traditionalist' thinkers. The book presents lore relating to the 'latter days' of the present cycle from the vantage point of comparative religion, drawing upon relevant doctrines from Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, and the Native American traditions. It also speculates upon the social, psychic, and spiritual nature of that being known to Christianity, Judaism, and Islam as the Antichrist, presenting him as both an individual and a system and warning those willing to be warned against the spiritual seduction and terror he represents, and against the regime which will be-and is-the social expression of that seduction and that terror. Finally, in tracing the roots of Antichrist in the fallen nature of man, the author sketches the particular quality of spirituality proper to apocalyptic times, the dangers it faces, the unique opportunities open to it. And along the way he describes his own course from the 'spiritual revolution' of the 1960s, through the world of New Age spiritualities, to the threshold of traditional esoterism and metaphysics. As he says, speaking of the angst that characterizes the modern world: 'The specific medicine for the shock of despair is the deeper shock of meaning. Nothing but the weight of eternity, breaking through the thin, brittle shell of the postmodern sky, can set us on our feet.'"

Legends of the End

Legends of the End
Author: Charles Upton
Publisher: Sophia Perennis
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2005-03
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781597310215

Whether the world ends tomorrow or lasts for centuries, we all exist in a 'climate' of the End of Days. As Thomas Merton wrote, 'We live in an age of two superimposed eschatologies: that of secular anxieties and hopes, and that of revealed fulfillment. Sometimes the first is merely mistaken for the second, sometimes it results from complete denial and despair of the second.' The 'end of time' obviously relates to history, but-just as obviously-it cannot be contained within it. Legends of the End have always been with us; every spiritual tradition that has a story of the beginning of things must also have one of their final end-the end of the earth, of the universe, of time itself. And just as all such myths symbolize invisible realities, so every historical event is precisely an invisible reality made visible and tangible. This book takes a look at eight Legends of the End: Hindu, Buddhist, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hopi, and Lakota. When these stories are placed side-by-side, great differences and startling similarities become apparent-similarities both in broad outlines and in minute details. In light of this traditional lore, the author begins and concludes with a penetrating spiritual meditation on the meaning of the End. Without a grasp of this meaning, to date the End is impossible. With such a grasp, even the most accurate dating is irrelevant, for to know the meaning of the End of Days is already to be beyond it. 'Charles Upton is a serious thinker from whom I have learned much. His writing merits close attention.' - Huston Smith, author of The World's Religions, etc.

Radical Intellect

Radical Intellect
Author: Christopher M. Tinson
Publisher: UNC Press Books
Total Pages: 347
Release: 2017-09-11
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1469634562

The rise of black radicalism in the 1960s was a result of both the successes and the failures of the civil rights movement. The movement's victories were inspirational, but its failures to bring about structural political and economic change pushed many to look elsewhere for new strategies. During this era of intellectual ferment, the writers, editors, and activists behind the monthly magazine Liberator (1960–71) were essential contributors to the debate. In the first full-length history of the organization that produced the magazine, Christopher M. Tinson locates the Liberator as a touchstone of U.S.-based black radical thought and organizing in the 1960s. Combining radical journalism with on-the-ground activism, the magazine was dedicated to the dissemination of a range of cultural criticism aimed at spurring political activism, and became the publishing home to many notable radical intellectual-activists of the period, such as Larry Neal, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Harold Cruse, and Askia Toure. By mapping the history and intellectual trajectory of the Liberator and its thinkers, Tinson traces black intellectual history beyond black power and black nationalism into an internationalism that would shape radical thought for decades to come.

Islamism and Intelligence in South Asia

Islamism and Intelligence in South Asia
Author: Prem Mahadevan
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2018-05-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 1838608788

State sponsorship of terrorism is a complex and important topic in today's international affairs - and especially pertinent in the regional politics of the Middle East and South Asia, where Pakistan has long been a flashpoint of Islamist politics and terrorism. In Islamism and Intelligence in South Asia, Prem Mahadevan demonstrates how over several decades, radical Islamists, sometimes with the tacit support of parts of the military establishment, have weakened democratic governance in Pakistan and acquired progressively larger influence over policy-making. Mahadevan traces this history back to the anti-colonial Deobandi movement, which was born out of the post-partition political atmosphere and a rediscovery of the thinking of Ibn Taymiyyah, and partially ennobled the idea of `jihad' in South Asia as a righteous war against foreign oppression. Using Pakistani media and academic sources for the bulk of its raw data, and reinforcing this with scholarly analysis from Western commentators, the book tracks Pakistan's trajectory towards a `soft' Islamic revolution. Envisioned by the country's intelligence community as a solution to chronic governance failures, these narratives called for a re-orientation away from South Asia and towards the Middle East. In the process, Pakistan has become a sanctuary for Arab jihadist groups, such as Al-Qaeda, who had no previous ethnic or linguistic connection with South Asia. Most alarmingly, official discourse on terrorism has been partly silenced by the military-intelligence complex. The result is a slow drift towards extremism and possible legitimation of internationally proscribed terrorist organizations in Pakistan's electoral politics.

Reading Greek Tragedy with Judith Butler

Reading Greek Tragedy with Judith Butler
Author: Mario Telò
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2024-05-30
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 1350323403

Considering Butler's “tragic trilogy”-a set of interventions on Sophocles' Antigone, Euripides' Bacchae, and Aeschylus's Eumenides-this book seeks to understand not just how Butler uses and interprets Greek tragedy, but also how tragedy shapes Butler's thinking, even when their gaze is directed elsewhere. Through close readings of these tragedies, this book brings to light the tragic quality of Butler's writing. It shows how Butler's mode of reading tragedy-and, crucially, reading tragically-offers a distinctive ethico-political response to the harrowing dilemmas of our current moment. Deeply committed both to critical theory and political activism, Judith Butler is one of the most influential intellectuals today. Their ideas have touched the lives of many people, both readers and those who have never heard Butler's name. In encompassing gender performativity and sexual difference, vulnerability and precarity, disidentification and bodily interdependency, as well as the politics of protest, Butler's work is often predicated on a strong engagement with or proximity to Greek tragedy.

The Terrorist Argument

The Terrorist Argument
Author: Christopher C. Harmon
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2018-01-09
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0815732198

From chants and pamphlets to the Internet, terrorist propaganda can be deadly effective Propaganda used by terrorists and armed groups might not always be the most sophisticated or nuanced form of rhetoric, but with the right mix of emotion and logic it can be extremely effective in motivating supporters and frightening opponents. This book examines how terrorist groups in recent history have used propaganda, and how they had adapted to new communications technologies while retaining useful techniques from the past. Harmon and Bowdish trace how armed groups and terrorists around the globe have honed their messages for maximum impact, both on the communities they hope to persuade to support them and on the official state organs they hope to overthrow. Sometimes both the messages and the techniques are crude; others are highly refined, carefully crafted appeals to intellect or emotion, embracing the latest forms of communications technology. Whatever the ideas or methodology, all are intended to use the power of ideas, along with force, to project an image and to communicate—not merely intimidate. The Terrorist Argument uses nine case studies of how armed groups have used communications techniques with varying degrees of success: radio, newspapers, song, television, books, e-magazines, advertising, the Internet, and social media. It is fascinating reading for anyone interested in civil conflict, terrorism, communications theory and practice, or world affairs in general.

The Christian Mind of C. S. Lewis

The Christian Mind of C. S. Lewis
Author: Andrew J. Spencer
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2019-12-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1532661665

C. S. Lewis embodied the Christian mind because he saw the world as a coherent unity. His writing consistently pursued the good, the true, and the beautiful. He used nonfiction to point out the reasonableness of Christianity and used his fiction to create compelling illustrations that make faith in Christ an obvious and attractive conclusion. This book explores the Christian mind of C. S. Lewis across the spectrum of the genres he worked in. With contributors from diverse disciplines and interests, the volume illuminates the many facets of Lewis's work. The Christian Mind of C. S. Lewis assists readers to read Lewis better and also to read other works better. The overarching goal is, just as Lewis would have desired, to help people see Christ more clearly in the world and to be more like Christ.