Towards Universality

Towards Universality
Author: Richard Padovan
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 254
Release: 2013-07-04
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 113641276X

There is no shortage of books about Le Corbusier, or Mies van der Rohe, or De Stijl. However, this book considers them in relation to each other, observing how a study of one can illuminate the works of the others. Going beyond a superficial look at the end-products of these architects, this book examines the philosophical foundations of their work, taking as its central theme the aim of universality, as opposed to the individual and the particular. Each of these three aimed at universality, but for each this concept took on a different form. The universality of De Stijl and artists like Van Doesburg and Mondrian resembled that of the universe itself: it was boundless, going beyond the limits of the canvas and seeking to abolish the wall as the boundary between interior and exterior space. In contrast, each of Le Corbusier’s creations was a self-contained universe within a clear frame, while Mies fluctuated between these two perspectives.

Cassirer’s Transformation: From a Transcendental to a Semiotic Philosophy of Forms

Cassirer’s Transformation: From a Transcendental to a Semiotic Philosophy of Forms
Author: Jean Lassègue
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2020-03-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3030429059

This book presents the transformation of Cassirer’s transcendental point of view. At an early stage, Cassirer was confronted with a scientific crisis triggered by the emergence of various forms of objective knowledge, such as the plurality of geometric axiom systems and non-Euclidean geometry in relativistic physics. He finally developed a solution to the problematic unity of objective knowledge by replacing the overarching notion of objectivity with that of forms of objectification. This led him to consider the notion of “symbolic forms” as the driving force in the objectification process. This concept would become instrumental in demonstrating that the objective and human sciences are not adversaries; they merely differ in their modes of semiotic construction. These modes cannot be summarized in a fixed list of symbolic forms but operate transversally, at a level where Cassirer distinguishes between three specific operators: Expression, Evocation and Objectification. The last part of the book investigates how the relationships between these three operators stabilize specific symbolic forms. Four of these forms are then studied as examples: Myth and Ritual, Language, Scientific Knowledge, and Technology.

How to Fix the Welfare State

How to Fix the Welfare State
Author: Paul Spicker
Publisher: Policy Press
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2022-02-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1447364619

The British welfare state is traditionally understood to be comprised of five main services: health, housing, social security, education and the ‘personal social services’, such as social care and child protection. In this book, Paul Spicker offers an original take on the role of the state in relation to these services, along with three other areas where institutional services have been developed: employment services, equalities and public services, such as roads, parks, libraries and rescue services. Dismissing false and misleading narratives, this book profiles the real problems that need to be addressed and offers inspiration for a better path forward.

The Structure of the Mind

The Structure of the Mind
Author: Francesco Belfiore
Publisher: University Press of America
Total Pages: 408
Release: 2004
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780761827870

This book represents a unique attempt to restore a 'new-classical' aspiration towards a philosophical system able to provide some certainties. Using the distinctive feature of presenting an original and complete philosophical system, author Francesco Belfiore diverges from the philosophical literature of the last decades, which has been ever more focused upon specific fields. Belfiore shows how failure to recognize this fundamental requirement of any philosophical inquiry has led to difficulties and misunderstandings in interpretation. Through his novel approach, Belfiore offers novel solutions in the fields of ontology, knowledge, language, esthetics, politics and ethics.

Baudrillard Dictionary

Baudrillard Dictionary
Author: Richard G. Smith
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2010-07-05
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0748642919

This is the first dictionary dedicated to the work of Jean Baudrillard (1929-2007). It explains and contextualises more than a hundred key concepts, terms, influences and topics within his thought. An essential reference for students and scholars of Baudrillard, it also serves as an authoritative overview of how his ideas have shaped a broad range of disciplines, from art, architecture, film and photography to sociology, philosophy, human geography, media studies and cultural studies. The entries are written by 35 leading Baudrillard specialists from around the world, including Rex Butler, Mike Gane, Gary Genosko, Victoria Grace, Diane Rubenstein and Andrew Wernick.

Studies of the Paris Manuscripts

Studies of the Paris Manuscripts
Author: Lixin Han
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 379
Release: 2020-02-22
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9813296186

This book is devoted to the studies of Karl Marx’s Paris Manuscripts and presents a new interpretation of early Marx, arguing that his transition to maturity can be found in these manuscripts, and specifically in Comments on James Mill, which was drafted between the First Manuscript and the Second Manuscript. In Comments on James Mill, Marx succeeds in transferring his theoretical framework from the isolated individual to the society and establishes his basic goal, i.e., to explicate the nature of humans and society from the perspective of external economic relations, marking the advent of historical materialism. This study reopens the possibility of interpreting the Paris Manuscripts from the perspective of Hegel. According to the author, it was during the Paris Manuscripts period that Marx shifted his theoretical foundations from Feuerbach to Hegel. On the basis of Hegel’s alienation concept, Marx constructs a new form of alienation theory with “alienation of intercourse” at its core. The theoretical challenge tackled by this book is to restore the authority of alienation theory, and strengthen the position of the Paris Manuscripts in the history of Marx thought, so as to rearrange the traditional landscape of research on early Marx thought.This interpretation, proposed and published for the first time in the world, could compete with the theses of Louis Althusser and Hiromatsu Wataru, which consider Die deutsche Ideologie to be the turning point of Marx. Further, it represents a significant contribution by a Chinese scholar to the international research on Marx.

How To Be a Geek

How To Be a Geek
Author: Matthew Fuller
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2017-05-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1509517197

Computer software and its structures, devices and processes are woven into our everyday life. Their significance is not just technical: the algorithms, programming languages, abstractions and metadata that millions of people rely on every day have far-reaching implications for the way we understand the underlying dynamics of contemporary societies. In this innovative new book, software studies theorist Matthew Fuller examines how the introduction and expansion of computational systems into areas ranging from urban planning and state surveillance to games and voting systems are transforming our understanding of politics, culture and aesthetics in the twenty-first century. Combining historical insight and a deep understanding of the technology powering modern software systems with a powerful critical perspective, this book opens up new ways of understanding the fundamental infrastructures of contemporary life, economies, entertainment and warfare. In so doing Fuller shows that everyone must learn ‘how to be a geek’, as the seemingly opaque processes and structures of modern computer and software technology have a significance that no-one can afford to ignore. This powerful and engaging book will be of interest to everyone interested in a critical understanding of the political and cultural ramifications of digital media and computing in the modern world.

OPCW: The Legal Texts

OPCW: The Legal Texts
Author: Organisation for the Prohibition
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 795
Release: 2014-12-03
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9462650446

The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction (CWC), which entered into force on 29 April 1997, bans an entire category of weapons of mass destruction. The CWC has now been in force for almost twenty years and having 190 States Parties as at July 2014, has almost achieved universal adherence. To achieve its objectives, the CWC established the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). This third edition of 'OPCW: The Legal Texts' brings together the text of the Convention, the interpretative decisions and understandings reached by the organs of the OPCW, policies, rules of procedure, regulations, the conclusions of the three reviews undertaken by the States Parties of the operation of the Convention and key background texts. The volume provides a comprehensive overview of the Convention regime, as it has developed over the past seventeen years. Useful for national authorities responsible for the operation of the Convention in their countries, governmental and non-governmental entities engaged in disarmament issues, legal advisers, practitioners and academics engaged either in disarmament matters, general public international law and treaty law.

Latin America and international investment law

Latin America and international investment law
Author: Sufyan Droubi
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Total Pages: 372
Release: 2022-04-12
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1526155060

Latin America has been a complex laboratory for the development of international investment law. While some governments and non-state actors have remained true to the Latin American tradition of resistance towards the international investment law regime, other governments and actors have sought to accommodate said regime in the region. Consequently, a profusion of theories and doctrines, too often embedded in clashing narratives, has emerged. In Latin America, the practice of international investment law is the vivid amalgamation of the practice of governments sometimes resisting and sometimes welcoming mainstream approaches; the practice of lawyers assisting foreign investors from outside and within the region; and the practice of civil society, indigenous peoples and other actors in their struggle for human rights and sustainable development. Latin America and international investment law describes the complex roles that governments have played vis-à-vis foreign investors and investments; the refreshing but clashing forces that international organizations, corporations, civil society, and indigenous peoples have brought to the field; and the contribution that Latin America has made to the development of the theory and practice of international investment law, notably in fields in which the Latin American experience has been traumatic: human rights and sustainable development. Latin American scholars have been contributing to the theory of international investment law for over a century; resting on the shoulders of true giants, this volume aims at pushing this contribution a little further.