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.
In the history of Western thought, men have persistently asked three questions concerning the habitable earth and their relationships toit. From the time of the Greeks to our own, answers to these questions have been and are being given so frequently and so continually that we may restate them in the form of general ideas.
This is the first of two volumes in which Christopher Bigsby offers extended critical readings of the work of the leading dramatists and theatre groups in twentieth-century America. In this century drama has emerged as one of the most exciting expressions of American creativity, and during the 1930s became a primary means of addressing the cultural, political and economic changes of the period. But it has received surprisingly little attention. This is a chronological and selective study related to American culture as a whole and providing a picture of a vigorous theatre in the process of discovering its own special strengths. Volume 1 begins with the companies who first broke away from the stifling world of melodrama and naturalism - the Provincetown and Washington Square Players. Christopher Bigsby describes the emergence of important individuals and companies throughout the period to 1940, giving extended critical accounts of some playwrights, particularly Eugene O'Neill, Elmer Rice, Clifford Odets. Thornton Wilder and Lillian Hellman, and distinguishing between the aims and policies of the various companies, including the Theatre Guild and the Group Theatre. The development of left-wing theatre from 1914 is separately discussed, followed by a chapter on the brief flowering of the Federal Theatre which popularised theatre for a mass audience via its successful Living Newspaper productions. A chapter on black drama includes works by and about black Americans during this period. Some of the important figures and productions are illustrated, and there are useful appendices listing performances by major theatre companies.
He was a veteran of the Greek War of Independence, a fervent abolitionist, and the founder of both the Perkins School for the Blind and the Massachusetts School for Idiotic and Feeble-Minded Children. Married to Julia Ward Howe, author of "Battle Hymn of the Republic," he counted among his friends Senator Charles Summer, public school advocate Horace Mann, and poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. A committed reformer, Howe believed in the perfectibility of human beings and spoke out in favor of progressive services for disabled Americans. He embraced a notion of manliness that included heroism under fire but also compassion for the underdog and the oppressed. Though hardly a man without flaws and failures, he nevertheless represented the optimism that characterized much of antebellum American reform. The first full-length biography of Howe in more than fifty years, The Manliest Man offers an original view of his personal life, his association with social causes of his time, and his efforts to shape those causes in ways that allowed for the greater inclusion of devalued people in the mainstream of American life. Book jacket.
This 1995 book by Pierre Macherey was his first dealing with literature and theory since his seminal A Theory of Literary Production. Continuing the project of Althusserian theory, Macherey engages in a series of close exegeses of classical texts in French literature and philosophy, from the late eighteenth century down to the 1970s, that explore the historically variable but thematically similar ways in which literary texts represent philosophical ideas. Rejecting the simple notion that literature deploys philosophical topoi in an unmediated manner, Macherey shows the conceptual sophistication - and broad intellectual influence - that literary art has displayed in the modern period. At once a theoretical meditation of great originality and a historical work of scrupulous scholarship, The Object of Literature will entrench Pierre Macherey's already considerable reputation as one of the most significant contemporary theoreticians of literature.
The world’s population is now 7.4 billion people, placing ever greater demands on our natural resources. As we stand witness to a possible reversal of modernity’s positive trends, Malthus’s pessimism is worth full reconsideration. This Norton Critical Edition includes: · An introduction and explanatory annotations by Joyce E. Chaplin. · Malthus’s Essay in its first published version (1798) along with selections from the expanded version (1803), which he considered definitive, as well as his Appendix (1806). · An unusually rich selection of supporting materials thematically arranged to promote classroom discussion. Topics include “Influences on Malthus,” “Economics, Population, and Ethics after Malthus,” “Malthus and Global Challenges,” and “Malthusianism in Fiction.” · A Chronology and a Selected Bibliography.
Novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and artist, D. H. Lawrence had an immense influence on twentieth century literature, in spite of his short and often persecuted life. His novels represent an extended reflection on the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation, establishing his name as one of the great imaginative novelists of his generation. For the first time in publishing history, this comprehensive eBook presents Lawrence’s complete works, with numerous illustrations, rare texts, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 10) * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Lawrence’s life and works * Concise introductions to the novels and other texts * All 12 novels, with individual contents tables * Includes the rare ‘lost’ novel MR NOON – appearing for the first time in digital print * Images of how the books were first published, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts * Excellent formatting of the texts * All 68 short stories, with many rare stories appearing in digital print for the first time * Special chronological and alphabetical contents tables for the poetry and the short stories * Easily locate the poems or short stories you want to read * All the plays, with separate contents tables * All the travel writing books * 7 poetry collections, including rare books available in no other digital collection * Includes many rare non-fiction essays and collections * Also includes “A STUDY OF THOMAS HARDY” – explore Lawrence’s critique of the famous author * The rare school textbook Lawrence wrote when struggling financially * Includes Part I and Part II of PHOENIX: THE POSTHUMOUS PAPERS OF D. H. LAWRENCE – spends hours exploring this collection of literary papers that chart Lawrence’s genius * Features a bonus biography by Lawrence’s wife’s – first time in digital print– explore the great writer’s literary life! * Lawrence’s translations of Italian novels and short stories * Also features Lawrence’s paintings * UPDATED with corrections, PHOENIX II, rare translations and more images * Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genres Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles CONTENTS: The Novels THE WHITE PEACOCK THE TRESPASSER SONS AND LOVERS THE RAINBOW WOMEN IN LOVE THE LOST GIRL MR NOON AARON’S ROD KANGAROO THE BOY IN THE BUSH THE PLUMED SERPENT LADY CHATTERLEY’S LOVER The Novellas THE LADYBIRD THE FOX THE CAPTAIN’S DOLL ST. MAWR THE VIRGIN AND THE GIPSY THE ESCAPED COCK The Short Stories LIST OF SHORT STORIES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER LIST OF SHORT STORIES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER The Plays THE MARRIED MAN THE FIGHT FOR BARBARA DAVID THE DAUGHTER-IN-LAW THE WIDOWING OF MRS HOLROYD A COLLIER’S FRIDAY NIGHT THE MERRY-GO-ROUND TOUCH AND GO The Poetry Collections D .H. LAWRENCE’S POETRY: A BRIEF INTRODUCTION LOVE POEMS AND OTHERS AMORES LOOK! WE HAVE COME THROUGH! NEW POEMS BAY: A BOOK OF POEMS BIRDS BEASTS AND FLOWERS IMAGIST POETRY PANSIES NETTLES LAST POEMS MORE PANSIES The Poems LIST OF POEMS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER LIST OF POEMS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER The Travel Writing TWILIGHT IN ITALY SEA AND SARDINIA MORNINGS IN MEXICO SKETCHES OF ETRUSCAN PLACES The Non-Fiction A STUDY OF THOMAS HARDY MOVEMENTS IN EUROPEAN HISTORY PSYCHOANALYSIS AND THE UNCONSCIOUS FANTASIA OF THE UNCONSCIOUS STUDIES IN CLASSIC AMERICAN LITERATURE REFLECTIONS ON THE DEATH OF A PORCUPINE AND OTHER ESSAYS A PROPOS OF LADY CHATTERLEY’S LOVER APOCALYPSE AND THE WRITINGS ON REVELATION PHOENIX: THE POSTHUMOUS PAPERS OF D. H. LAWRENCE PHOENIX II: UNCOLLECTED, UNPUBLISHED AND OTHER PROSE WORKS The Translations THE GENTLEMAN FROM SAN FRANCISCO by Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin MASTRO-DON GESUALDO by Giovanni Verga LITTLE NOVELS OF SICILY by Giovanni Verga CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA AND OTHER STORIES by Giovanni Verga The Paintings THE PAINTINGS OF D. H. LAWRENCE The Biography NOT I, BUT THE WIND... by Frieda Lawrence Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles
John Locke is one of the great minds in educational history. Drawing on his perceptive observations of families and children he saw the importance of adapting learning to the child's dispositions. Critical of schools, he is the fountainhead of home tutoring, child-centred learning, and the importance of enjoyable learning. But for Locke learning was not about facts: a good education produced gentlemen who could in turn adapt themselves to commerce and politics. Locke's philosophy helped provide rigour to the scientific revolution, the impetus for the expansion of schools for the poor (which should be profitable) and child psychology. Alexander Mosely sets Locke's educational writings in their context with a sensitive reading of what Locke understood by 'education' and highlights the relevance of the study of Locke's work to our understanding of education today.
Around 1796, Mr. Malthus, an English gentleman, had finished reading a book that confidently predicted human life would continue to grow richer, more comfortable and more secure, and that nothing could stop the march of progress. He discussed this theme with his son, Thomas, and Thomas ardently disagreed with both his father and the book he had been reading, along with the entire idea of unending human progress. Mr. Malthus suggested that he write down his objections so that they could discuss them point-by-point. Not long after, Thomas returned with a rather long essay. His father was so impressed that he urged his son to have it published. And so, in 1798, appeared An Essay on Population, by British political economist and demographer THOMAS ROBERT MALTHUS (1766-1834). Though it was attacked at the time and ridiculed for many years afterward, it has remained one of the most influential works in the English language on the general checks and balances of the world's population and its necessary control. This is a replica of the 1826 sixth edition. Volume 2 includes: Book III: "Of the Different Systems, Which Have Been Proposed or Have Prevailed in Society, As They Affect the Evils Arising from The Principle of Population" and Book IV: "Of our future Prospects respecting the Removal or Mitigation of the Evils arising from the Principle of Population."
Originally published in 1963, this classic book is a rethinking of the history of Western political philosophy. Charles N. R. McCoy contrasts classical-medieval principles against the "hypotheses" at the root of modern liberalism and modern conservativism.In Part I, "The Classical Christian Tradition from Plato to Aquinas," the author lays the foundation for a philosophical "structure" capable of producing "constitutional liberty." Part II, "The Modern Theory of Politics from Machiavelli to Marx," attempts to show, beginning with Machiavelli, the reversal and destruction of the pre-modern "structure" postulated in Part I.McCoy stresses the great contributions of Aristotle to political thought found in his more familiar Ethics and Politics, but also includes key insights drawn from Metaphysics and Physics. These contributions are developed and perfected, McCoy argues, by Augustine and Aquinas. Two other important features include McCoy's epistemological insights into Plato's work that will be new to many readers and the author's juxtaposition of traditional natural law with "the modernized theory of natural law." The modern account of autonomous natural law, in McCoy's view, helps explain the totalitarian direction of key aspects of modern political thought. This classic volume on the origins of modern philosophical thought remains a standard in the field.
