Ritchie Robertson Knihy

"The Enlightenment is one of the formative periods of Western history, yet more than 300 years after it began, it remains controversial. It is often seen as the fountainhead of modern values such as human rights, religious toleration, freedom of thought, scientific thought as an exemplary form of reasoning, and rationality and evidence-based argument. Others accuse the Enlightenment of putting forward a scientific rationality which ignores the complexity and variety of human beings, propagates shallow atheism, and aims to subjugate nature to so-called technical progress. Answering the question 'what is Enlightenment?' Kant famously urged men and women above all to 'have the courage to use your own understanding'. Robertson shows how the thinkers of the Enlightenment did just that, seeking a rounded understanding of humanity in which reason was balanced with emotion and sensibility. His book goes behind the controversies about the Enlightenment to return to its original texts and to show that above all it sought to increase human happiness in this world by promoting scientific inquiry and reasoned argument. His book overturns many received opinions - for example, that enlightenment necessarily implied hostility to religion (though it did challenge the authority traditionally assumed by the Churches). It is a master-class in 'big picture' history, about one of the foundational epochs of modern times." -- Publisher's description

A short, brilliant analysis of one of Germany's greatest writers.

A concise yet comprehensive critical biography of crucial German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

Zmatky chovance Törlesse jsou románovou prvotinou význačného rakouského spisovatele, literárním plodem jeho pobytu ve vojenské škole v Eisenstadtu a v Hranicích na Moravě. Musil ji napsal, když mu bylo pouhých dvaadvacet let, a poprvé vyšla v roce 1906, přesto jde o dílo neobyčejně zralé, které dodnes uchvacuje nové generace čtenářů subtilní, citlivou a pronikavě přesnou studií duševního i tělesného zrání mladičkého chovance internátní vojenské školy. Na pozadí hrdinova pubertálního procitání autor zároveň vykresluje obraz fungování lidského společenství uvnitř uzavřeného světa, jemuž vládne duch soupeření a konfrontace, a zachycuje mechanismy soužití mezi chovanci, vztahy mezi jedincem a masou, mezi obětí a jejími trýzniteli, mezi diktátory a jejich přisluhovači i spojenci. Prvotina Roberta Musila v novém překladu Radovana Charváta.

Franz Kafka is among the most intriguing and influential writers of the last century. During his lifetime he worked as a civil servant and published only a handful of short stories, the best known being The Transformation . His other three novels, published after his death, helped to found his reputation as a uniquely perceptive interpreter of the twentieth century.Discussing both Kafka's crisis-ridden life and the subtleties of his art, Ritchie Robertson provides an intriguing and accessible look at the life of this fascinating author. Using Metamorphosis as a recurring example, Robertson shows how Kafka's work explores such characteristically modern themes as the place of the body in culture, the power of institutions over people, and the possibility of religion after Nietzsche had proclaimed "the death of God."