Catherine Porter Pořadí knih (chronologicky)

Ancient Greek thought serves as a foundational source for Western intellectual, ethical, and political civilization, influencing contemporary reflections. This volume features over sixty essays by international scholars, examining the scope of Greek thought, including their knowledge, beliefs, inventions, and understanding of knowledge itself. It highlights the reflexivity inherent in Greek thought, reminding us of our intellectual debts to them. Divided into sections on philosophy, politics, the pursuit of knowledge, major thinkers, and schools of thought, the work illustrates how the Greeks engaged in self-examination, defining the frameworks for understanding life, language, production, and action. The authors focus not just on historical facts but on the narratives the Greeks created about their history, their poetic expressions, and rhetorical practices. Essays cover a range of topics, from political and philosophical ideas to specific fields like Astronomy, History, Mathematics, and Medicine. They provide fresh insights on key figures from Anaxagoras to Zeno of Elea and explore core traditions from the Milesians to various interpretations of Platonism. Collectively, these contributions reflect the Greeks' insatiable thirst for knowledge, a trait Aristotle deemed universal among humans. Accompanied by thirty-two pages of color illustrations, this work captures the richness and dynamism of the Greek intellectual journey

How can we understand cultures different from our own? In the early modern period, Europeans viewed human diversity through a lens of assumed superiority. However, the eighteenth century marked a shift, as thinkers began to recognize that other peoples possessed reason and deserved respect. Despite this progress, Enlightenment beliefs in universal human nature have faced criticism, particularly for their role in the prejudices and atrocities of the twentieth century. Tzvetan Todorov seeks to rehabilitate Enlightenment ideals, arguing that they can inspire humane thought and action today. He poses critical questions about how to navigate the dangers of distorted universalism and relativism. Focusing on the French intellectual tradition, Todorov analyzes key figures from Montaigne to Lévi-Strauss, illustrating how theories of human diversity emerged and were later misappropriated. The virtues of Enlightenment thought turned into vices due to the influences of racism, nationalism, and exoticism. Todorov advocates for a renewed acceptance of human diversity through a "critical humanism," echoing the ideas of Rousseau and Montesquieu. This work offers profound insights and a synthesis that can enhance our understanding of contemporary racial and ethnic tensions.

With the rise of science, modern society believes it has irrevocably separated from its primitive ancestors. Bruno Latour challenges this notion, exploring what the world would look like if we reconsidered this belief. His anthropology of science reveals that much of modernity is rooted in faith. He questions what it truly means to be modern and the significance of the scientific method, highlighting our distinctions between nature and society, human and object—distinctions that our ancestors did not make in their worlds of alchemy and astrology. However, alongside this purifying practice of modernity exists a contrary one: the blending of politics, science, technology, and nature. Latour analyzes hybrid issues like the ozone debate, global warming, and deforestation, suggesting that as these hybrids multiply, maintaining separate categories for nature and culture becomes increasingly untenable. Instead of striving to keep them apart, he advocates for rethinking our distinctions and redefining modernity. His work offers a new perspective on science that acknowledges the connections between nature and culture, as well as between our culture and others, both past and present. Ultimately, it aims to preserve the valuable aspects of modernity while fostering a broader, more inclusive understanding of possibility.

In this collection of eleven insightful essays, Luce Irigaray expands on key themes from her earlier work, addressing the status of women in Western philosophical and psychoanalytic discourse. She reexamines female sexuality across various contexts relevant to current feminist theory and practice. Topics include the implications of Freud and Lacan for understanding womanhood, the significance of differences between male and female sex organs, and the experiences of erotic pleasure in both genders. Irigaray also addresses the economic exploitation of women, presenting a nuanced interpretation of Marx that highlights how women's subjection has been institutionalized through their reduction to objects of economic exchange. Throughout her work, she challenges male-centered structures of language and thought, advocating for a woman's discourse that counters the phallocentrism embedded in Western culture. This volume, translated skillfully by Catherine Porter and Carolyn Burke, makes the subversive arguments of her earlier work more accessible and will be essential for those engaged with contemporary feminist issues.

Providing the breadth of a dictionary and the depth of an encyclopaedia, this book offers a study of language and its functions. It covers such major trends in the development of modern linguistics as general grammars and Saussurianism, as well as methodological and descriptive concepts.