History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Average customer rating:

Solid common practice period theory text
Important text, but not for beginners
A very strong text teaching the foundations of tonal music
Good, but don't expect it to cover everything
Be Warned!

Harmony and Voice Leading
Edward Aldwell , and Carl Schachter
Manufacturer: Schirmer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0155062425

Book Description

A comprehensive volume spanning the entire theory course, HARMONY AND VOICE LEADING begins with coverage of basic concepts of theory and harmony, and moves into coverage of advanced dissonance and chromaticism. It emphasizes the linear aspects of music as much as the harmonic, and introduces large-scale progressions--linear and harmonic--at an early stage. The first three Units of the book are designed to be taught sequentially, but instructors have the flexibility to teach the latter units in any combination and order they choose.

Customer Reviews:

Solid common practice period theory text.......2005-09-25

I've yet to find an alternative to the Roger Sessions, HARMONIC PRACTICE, which I believe to be the best theory text ever written. However, the teaching of theory has changed over the past forty years since my first "date" with Sessions and his text... and students have changed as well. Hence, I find Messrs Schachter & Aldwell have done a commendable job (a nearly impossible job, I think) in writing this new, single volume edition. Whilst I never expect to find the perfect text, this one will do nicely.

The text clearly cannot stand apart from a good theory teacher. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), a credible do-it-yourself theory text has yet to be written.

Important text, but not for beginners.......2004-12-20

One thing to understand about this book - it was not written with amazon.com beginners in mind. It is a college-level theory textbook, and is probably one of the few books that present basic theory concepts in a coherent, unified fashion. The "restrictions" some reviewers complain about, are actually part of a time-honored approach to teaching theory (think "species counterpoint"). To understand the book, a teacher needs to understand something of the ideas and approach of Heinrich Schenker (Schachter was one of Schenker's students). Unlike many theory books, which are into quick summaries and labels, this book is based on a deep understanding of how western tonal music works (at least from the Schenkerian perspective). Even basic concepts like scale degrees, intervals, and triads, are presented in such a way that important relationships among tones become evident. Chords are not merely chunks of notes that deserve a label, but are part of a larger, contrapuntal whole. Sticking with the early chapters, and especially getting a good grasp of the contrapuntal nature of even the most basic chords (insights gained into the similar "passing chord" functions of the V4/3 and viio6 chords, for example) are well worth the effort. Upon successful completion of the first 10 or 11 chapters, a student should have a new understanding of how tonal music works.

A very strong text teaching the foundations of tonal music.......2004-05-19

When I was a student at the University of Michigan School of Music in the late seventies and early eighties, we used the then brand new first edition of this book. I thought it was quite good then, and I believe this third edition to be an even better book. It treats the subjects of tonal harmony and voice leading quite well. There have been some solid improvements in the way a few things are explained and some changes in the musical examples. However, it is still fundamentally the same sound course for undergraduate music theory it has been since 1978. However, it now comes in one volume instead of the two volumes of the first edition.

The text begins with a quick review of the basics of musical grammar, a brief introduction of the rudiments of musical notation, intervals, rhythm (and meter), chords, and four-part harmony. Part II talks about the powerful relationship between the tonic and dominant chords, chord progressions elaborating that relationship, and even the dominant as a key area (whether you call it tonicization or modulation is up to you). Part III discusses the implications of root position, first inversion, and second inversion chords in elaborating harmonies and in sequences. Part IV is actually about contrapuntal issues, but is framed in a discussion of melodic figuration. Part V introduces chromaticism, modal mixture, and extends the discussion on uses of seventh chords. Part VI extends the discussion of chromaticism and includes ninth and eleventh chords, Phrygian II (Neapolitan chords), augmented sixths, and more types of mixture. There is also important discussion of the implications all this has for voice leading and modulation to other key areas.

Some might wish that it contained some treatments of graphical (Schenkerian notation), and I am one of them, but that is a quibble compared to this book's many strengths. The counter argument is that until the students really have a handle on the basics of harmony and how voice leading is handled through the music of the early twentieth century, there really isn't a way for them to grasp the meaning of the larger structures Schenker's graphical notation was created to represent. I think that is a fair point, but still think there are some basics in notation that could be introduced early in the process when talking about the basic structure of melodies and supporting harmonies and candential formulas.

The explanations are clear and the musical examples apt. In fact, someone could actually work through this book on his own and grasp what is being presented. Of course, an instructor is helpful to check work and explain things that remain unclear in the student's mind, but that is really true for any book on any subject.

There are some wonderful materials to supplement this text. The most important are the two work books (WB I - ISBN 0-15-506226-3 / WB II - ISBN 0-15-506234-4. They are useful exercises that help the student learn the material by actively working through the application of the materials discussed.

Another resource that should not be overlooked is the two-CD set (ISBN 0-534-52216-5) that contains performances of the hundreds of musical examples in the textbook (not the workbooks). It can really help a student to listen to examples that are unclear. If a student can play them herself or hear them in his head, so much the better, but these discs can enrich reading through the textbook and making sure that you understand what is being presented to you.

Kudos to Professors Aldwell and Schachter for this wonderful text and supporting materials.

Good, but don't expect it to cover everything.......2003-11-01

The main reason that I want to write a review here is on the off-chance that any AP music theory teachers or students are coming across this and are considering buying the book. My teacher made the mistake of using this as our primary textbook for the year, hoping that it would cover the AP curriculum. Well, it doesn't. It only helps on about 20% of the test, and for the rest you will be dead in the water.

That said, it does a pretty good job introducing and expanding the concept of basic four-part voice leading. It doesn't expend very many pages teaching the absolute basics like major and minor chords, so it helps to approach the book with some understanding of chords, intervals, and the like.

The progressions and rules that it allows do seem a little bit stringent and antiquated considering the many changes in classical music over the past century, but at least you can voice-lead like Bach after reading this!

Be Warned!.......2003-10-24

This is not a paperback edition of the textbook but rather Workbook I which accompanies the hardcover textbook. I made the mistake of ordering this thinking it was the textbook.

What amazon.ca is calling the 'Workbook' is actually Workbook II, covering the later chapters of the textbook.

Book Description

For most of the twentieth century, the most critical concerns of national security have been balance of power politics and the global arms race. The attacks of September 11, 2001 and the motives behind them, however, demand a radical break with this tradition. If the United States is to prevail in its long-term contest with extremist Islam, it will need to re-examine old assumptions, expand the scope of its thinking to include religion and other "irrational" factors, and be willing to depart from past practice. A purely military response in reaction to such attacks will simply not suffice. What will be required is a long-term strategy of cultural engagement, backed by a deeper understanding of how others view the world and what is important to them. In non-Western cultures, religion is a primary motivation for political actions. Historically dismissed by Western policymakers as a divisive influence, religion in fact has significant potential for overcoming the obstacles that lead to paralysis and stalemate. The incorporation of religion as part of the solution to such problems is as simple as it is profound. It is long overdue. This book looks at five intractable conflicts and explores the possibility of drawing on religion as a force for peace. It builds upon the insights of Religion, the Missing Dimension of Statecraft (OUP,1994)--which examined the role that religious or spiritual factors can play in preventing or resolving conflict--while achieving social change based on justice and reconciliation. The world-class authors writing in this volume suggest how the peacemaking tenets of five major world religions can be strategically applied in ongoing conflicts in which those religions are involved. Finally, the commonalities and differences between these religions are examined with an eye toward further applications in peacemaking and conflict resolution.

Customer Reviews:

Award-Winner, Mind-Altering Information, Useful, Scholarly.......2004-04-30

Let's start with the award. I was so impressed with this book that it received one of the ten Golden Candle Awards for most constructive and innovative work in the Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) field. It represents the second book in a body of work that may eventually be worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize. The citation reads:

To Dr. Douglas M. Johnston, president and founder of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy, for his path-finding efforts with regard to Preventive Diplomacy as well as Religion and Conflict Resolution. Among his many works, two stand out for defining a critical missing element in modern diplomacy: Religion, the Missing Dimension of Statecraft (Oxford University Press, 1994), and Faith-based Diplomacy: Trumping Realpolitik (Oxford University Press, 2003). He has restored the proper meaning of faith qua earnestness instead of faith qua zealotry, and this is a contribution of great importance.

With a foreword by no less than The Honorable Lee H. Hamilton, today a leader of the 9-11 Commission, the book drives a stake in the heart of secular "objective" negotiation and focuses on how faith (not zealotry, but earnest faith) can alter the spiral of violence in such places as Sudan, Kashmir, and the Middle East.

The editor and contributing author has assembled a multi-national and multi-religion cast of experts whose work in the aggregate completely supports the premise of the book: that the 21st Century will be about religion instead of ideology, and that what hopes we might have for reconciling "irreconcilable differences" lie in the balanced integration of religious dialog and conflict prevention, rather than in pre-emptive military action and unilateralist bullying.

I found two core concepts especially relevant to national security: the first is that we need an Office of Religious and Cultural Intelligence within the Central Intelligence Agency, and we need, as the authors suggest, to put religious attaches into every Embassy. The second, and this is a truly core concept, is "The price of freedom is cultural engagement--taking the time to learn how others view the world, to understand what is important to them, and to determine what can realistically be done to help them realize their legitimate aspirations."

This is a brilliant, scholarly, practical, world-changing book. It joins Max Manwaring's various books, but especially "The Search for Security," Joe Nye's earlier books on understanding the world and engaging the world with soft power, and George Soros as well as the several other books on my standard national security reading list. The conclusion of the book lists a number of means by which religion can impact on diplomacy and state-craft, and I for one have become a believer--this book completely altered my perspective on the role of religion as a peacemaker of substance and day-to-day practicality.

Why don't you own this book?!!.......2003-03-12

Faith-based Diplomacy, Trumping Realpolitik offers a fresh perspective on how to deal with religious militancy. It goes beyond traditional notions of power politics to get at the heart and soul of how to deal with religious terrorism, thus superseding in effectiveness Washington-centric notions of guns and missiles. The creativity of the authors offers much grist for policymakers to "think outside the box" of how traditional power politics are conducted and offers new insights into the process of conflict transformation. A very interesting, insightful, and helpful book for the politician, religious leader and educated layperson.

Average customer rating:

Thorough yet accessible

Harmony in Context
Miguel Roig-Francoli
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0697354873

Book Description

Designed for undergraduate music majors, Harmony in Context provides the richest possible musical context for the study of harmony, constantly encouraging students to translate what they are learning into better performances and better listening. The musical examples and anthology encompass a wide variety of different composers and repertoires. Students will particularly appreciate the clarity of the presentation and the attractiveness of the text’s layout, both of which enable a smooth progression through the material.

Customer Reviews:

Thorough yet accessible.......2006-03-18

This is the textbook I wish I would have used as an undergrad - the explanations are thorough yet assessible. Most theory texts often try to teach a bit too much from the historical perspective without enough emphasis on the actual application of theory or fail to go into enough detail to be useful in the long term (Kotska.)
Also, many theory texts often dump undergrads in the middle of part writing and analysis without really showing them where the theorical ideas came from - this is where Theory in Context is the strongest. This is also one of the only texts that gives a detailed yet easy to understand introduction to species counterpoint and relates it to part writing.
Francoli provides a comprehensive view of theory and its application in music ranging from the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and even pop and jazz. He is also excellent at providing a great deal of information about the finer details of harmony while also addressing the bigger picture of analysis by using a modified form of Schenkerian analysis. I cannot say enough good about this text but I do have to give one warning: While the book is very descriptive and thorough, it can initially be a bit wordy for the typical freshman. But, as long as the instructor is at hand to clarify certain ideas, as is in any theory class using any book, the students often remark they vastly preferred his explanations to any of the other texts I have used. My only other complaint is that the book doesn't include nearly enough on 20th/21st century theory, but this this is still my favorite text to date.

After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory, Second Edition

Average customer rating:

Philosophy and History
A feeble effort to justify feudal aristocracy
A Must-Read Groundbreaking Treatise of Our Civilization's Thought
a moral thriller
It comes down to Aristotle or Nietsche

After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory, Second Edition
Alasdair Mac Intyre
Manufacturer: University of Notre Dame Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0268006113

Amazon.com

Morality, according to Alasdair MacIntyre, is not what it used to be. In the Aristotelian tradition of ancient Greece and medieval Europe, morality enabled the transformation from untutored human nature as it happened to be to human nature as it could be if it realized its telos (fundamental goal). Eventually, belief in Aristotelian teleology waned, leaving the idea of imperfect human nature in conflict with the perfectionist aims of morality. The conflict dooms to failure any attempt to justify the claims of morality, whether based on emotion, such as Hume's was, or on reason, as in the case of Kant. The result is that moral discourse and practice in the contemporary world is hollow: although the language and appearance of morality remains, the substance is no longer there. Disagreements on moral matters appeal to incommensurable values and so are interminable; the only use of moral language is manipulative.

The claims presented in After Virtue are certainly audacious, but the historical erudition and philosophical acuity behind MacIntyre's powerful critique of modern moral philosophy cannot be disregarded. Moreover, independently of its principal claims, the book, first published in 1981, helped to stimulate philosophical work on the virtues, to reinvigorate traditionalist and communitarian thought, and to provoke valuable discussion in the history of moral philosophy. It was so widely discussed that MacIntyre added another chapter to the second edition in order to reply to his critics. After Virtue continues to deserve attention from philosophers, historians, and anyone interested in moral philosophy and its history. --Glenn Branch

Book Description

"[I]t is something to have a book, devoted to certain quite central technical philosophical questions, which is likely to produce so passionate a response." —New York Review of Books

"A remarkable synthesis . . . ." —Richard Rorty

"A stunning new study of ethics. . . ." —Newsweek

"The best book of philosophy in years." —John Gardner

"To call this a good book is to be patronizing; it is an important book, one that will have to be followed up or answered. It may be a great one, as are all turning points in a tide of drama whose protagonists have thought their courses inexorable." —Choice, February 1982

When After Virtue first appeared in 1981, it was recognized at once as a significant and potentially controversial critique of contemporary moral philosophy. Now, in a new chapter, Alasdair MacIntyre responds to the questions and considerations raised by the many admirers and critics who made After Virtue such a widely read and discussed work of philosophy. Taking into account the dialogue generated by his book over the past three years, he elaborates his position on the relationship of philosophy to history, the virtues and the issue of relativism, and the relationship of moral philosophy to theology. In doing so, MacIntyre sustains the claims of his central conclusions to rational justification and demonstrates further the accountability of philosophy to the world and times it seeks to describe.

Customer Reviews:

Philosophy and History.......2006-07-23

MacIntyre's book is very clear and well written. Without for a moment slipping into the contemporary trap of "relativism" he explores how an understanding of context is necessary to understanding a philosophers work. This necessary link between history and philosophy forces an acceptance that the development of new philosophical ideas may indicate and/or cause the loss of certain societal characteristics. The title gives this away...

A feeble effort to justify feudal aristocracy.......2005-12-18

Continuing in the line of communitarian know-it-all savants like Karl Marx, who is better at describing a problem than solving it, MacIntyre displays a dazzling grasp of the short comings of the Western liberal tradition that brought us such things as the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. However, once he tries to introduce his alternative, his "traditionalism project" quickly degenerates into logical absurdities and ridiculous posturing.
He should be embarrassed to claim the "good watch" example of clerical logic. Not only is his logic purely instrumental and manipulative, but when he tries to extend it to a "good farmer" he begins to incorporate extraneous standards of value. To say that a good farmer wins lots of prizes at agricultural shows is simply to defer to another judicial body - the ag show judges. To say that a good farmer has the best soil renewal program is the beg the question, "who decides what a good soil renewal program is?" (A soil renewal program could have different levels of effectiveness depending on whether the proposed crop was grapes or tobacco.) Even worse, by the "good watch" instrumental logic, a "good woman" would be, take your pick, (1) the one who has the most babies, (2) the one who has intercourse with the most men, etc.
MacIntyre's implied assertion that Athens had a rational basis for moral analysis flies in the face of "The Trial of Socrates" and the dramas of Sophocles ("Antigone," for example). The truth is that pagan "classical" societies were just as turbulent and roiled as current society.
MacIntyre's pretense at philosophical objectivity based on Aristotelian ethics is thin and transparent. It is clear that MacIntyre's real quarrel would be more honestly directed at Luther, Calvin, Milton and the Protestant Reformation. Like Osama Ben Laden, who raves about the tragedy of Andalucia (where Islam was driven out of Western Europe in the 1490s) MacIntyre secretly longs for a return to the days before Galileo, when the Roman church was the final arbiter of all things - mandating an image of earth as the center of concentric crystaline spheres which separate mankind from heaven.
MacIntyre has a pathetic longing for a life governed by well defined instrumental virtues of inherited social position set in a feudal aristocratic social order. It's too bad that this inclination leads one to spend one's life in a fruitless effort to justify the dark ages of Europe. This book will sell best to readers who prefer a rigid social hierarchy based on a a chicken yard pecking order of physical strength. Following that model for society, it wouldn't be long before we returned of world of warlords, whose violent and vicious sycophants would prowl around in large pickup trucks on which would be mounted 50 caliber machine guns. These vehicles were known as "technicals" in Somalia in 1992 - which I guess is the ideal world of Alasdair MacIntyre.

A Must-Read Groundbreaking Treatise of Our Civilization's Thought.......2005-07-20

Alasdair MacIntyre effectively illustrates the greatest moral problems facing our culture today-- problems hundreds of years in the making and with roots beyond mere partisan debate. Written in relatively clear, necessarily precise philosophical language, one can easily understand MacIntyre's arguments and in so doing will understand why the western world has become what it is today and why it must change. Read it.

a moral thriller.......2005-03-22

I read this book conflicted. On the one hand the book contained sentences, frequent sentences, of such numbing bodilessness as "For beside rights and utility, among the central moral fictions of the age we have to place the peculiarly managerial fiction embodied in the claim to possess systematic effectiveness in controlling certain aspects of social reality." On the other hand the book was so fascinating I could scarcely put it down at points. It felt like masochism.

All this to say: MacIntyre writes a moral thriller of great drama and urgency. He writes it with a tactic used by more conventional suspense novelists like Ruth Rendell: give the end at the beginning, then explain how such a bizarre and catastrophic end came to be. Our moral language assumes a universality we do not believe, he argues at the beginning. How have our moral beliefs become so ruptured from (and so much smaller than) the language we use to describe them? That rupture is the history he traces. The setting is the Western world; the characters are philosophers; the plot is the murder of Aristotle. Who killed him? Was it Hume in the Enlightenment with the candlestick? Was it Machiavelli in the Renaissance? Was it Kierkegaard the Dane with a book: Enten-Eller? Was it the Bloomsbury group with their emotivist approach to ethics? Was it, after all has been said and done, Nietzsche?

And, can Aristotle (and his teleological view of morality) be brought back to life?

MacIntyre's style is that of a perfectly trustworthy guide. He fends off more counter-arguments than I could have generated for him in a lifetime. "How is he going to get out of this scrape he's just identified?" I asked myself, and rested in peace that he would. He manages to tie literature, scientific results, case studies and metaphorical examples to his abstractions, rendering his work not only readable but practical.

The narrative structure of the book (its movement through time) is intricate. For perhaps the first time in my (limited) exposure to philosophy, I found myself in suspense. Knowing what happened, I wanted to know, had to know, why--because it is my story, and yours, and the crux of the plot has been reached, but the end has not yet been written.

It comes down to Aristotle or Nietsche.......2004-01-01

Writing polemics in support of virtue became something of a cottage industry in the '90's. This is one of the texts that drove that trend. Fortunately, its tone is not polemical in the slightest. MacIntyre's argument is measured and well-reasoned, and he gives several useful concepts for addressing moral issues, e.g., institutional *practices* that provide internal rather than external goods, and narratives and stories as constitutive of human existence.

It's an involved argument, and at least partly relies upon a reading of intellectual history for its strength. For MacIntyre, upon investigation there are only two consistent moral viewpoints: one associated with Aristotle that views morality as objectively valid and rational because it's based on a natural teleology and sees that morality exercised through the development of virtues and intricately entwined with them, another, based upon Nietsche, which sees morality only as a mask for irrational power.

Book Description

Theology, Music and Time shows ways in which music can deepen our understanding of the Christian God and his involvement with the world. Without assuming any specialist knowledge of music, the author explores rhythm, meter, resolution, repetition and improvisation, and through them opens up some of the central themes of the Christian faith--creation, salvation, eschatology, time and eternity, eucharist, election and ecclesiology. He shows that music can refresh theology, giving it new ways of coming to terms with God.

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Theology, Music and Time aims to show how music can enrich and advance theology, extending our wisdom about God and God's ways with the world. Instead of asking: what can theology do for music?, it asks: what can music do for theology? Jeremy Begbie argues that music's engagement with time gives the theologian invaluable resources for understanding how it is that God enables us to live 'peaceably' with time as a dimension of the created world. Without assuming any specialist knowledge of music, he explores a wide range of musical phenomena - rhythm, metre, resolution, repetition, improvisation - and through them opens up some of the central themes of the Christian faith - creation, salvation, eschatology, time and eternity, Eucharist, election and ecclesiology. He shows that music can not only refresh theology with new models, but also release it from damaging habits of thought which have hampered its work in the past.

Customer Reviews:

A true surprise.......2005-08-26

Begbie skillfully deals with a much neglected topic. He draws in the reader and expands the way one looks at both theology and music.

She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse

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Theology of Sophia
A must read for any inclusive theology
Interesting for both, men and women, lay-people and clerics.
The world needs She Who Is
Some interesting insights....but based on faulty assumptions

She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse
Elizabeth Johnson
Manufacturer: Herder & Herder
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Feminist Theory | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0824513762

Book Description

As perhaps the best book of feminist theology to date, She Who is is at once thoroughly orthodox, grounded in classical Christian thought, liberating contemporary, and rooted in Women's experience. Library Journal

Customer Reviews:

Theology of Sophia.......2005-09-13

Johnson sets out in this book to articulate metaphors for God that are feminine in nature. This serves to counter-balance prodominantly masculine metaphors received from classical tradition. The term Sophia is particularly important.

Johnson explores this topic in four sections. First, she discusses the importance of speech about God and the impact of a feminist perspective. Second, she outlines three resources from which to draw feminine metaphors: women's experience, Scripture, and classical theology. Third, she articulates her understanding of the persons of the Trinity, beginning with the Spirit. Finally, she turns attention to the unity of God and God's suffering.

This book should be required reading for all men interested in theology. We must be aware of the importance of our speech about God. I have only two concerns. First, although Johnson does not seek to eliminate masculine metaphors for God, she avoids them totally in her book. This creates a tension between two equally exclusive forms of speech. Second, the experience of women is important in the book. This is only a problem if we allow experience to alter the way we understand God rather than allowing our understanding of God to illumine our experience. Johnson comes closer to the former.

This is a thought provoking book. It should be read by all interested in speaking of God faithfully.

A must read for any inclusive theology.......2004-12-31

Over the course of Christian history, women have been disenfranchised and oppressed. Patriarchal systems and androcentric mentalities have marginalized women sociologically and psychologically, even within the Christian community. Elizabeth Johnson believes this oppression stems from the language used for God. Because God is referred to exclusively and literally as a male, women have reduced roles within Christianity. Johnson seeks to use new imagery and metaphors for speech about God, in order to emancipate women from this oppression. Johnson recognizes that all language about God is inadequate, but using feminine imagery for God restores human dignity in women and men and helps with the flourishing of humanity.

Structurally, Johnson achieves this goal in four parts. In Part I, Johnson provides context and background for new speech about God. Because speech about God influences identity and praxis, new language for God must be sought. A solution to this problem can be explored using feminist theology, and Johnson provides basic feminist principles for theology. Lastly, Johnson discusses traditional approaches to speaking inclusively about God, and establishes that it is her intent to use only feminine imagery for God. Moving from the background to the foreground, Johnson builds her methodology, in Part II, by using three resources: experience, scripture, and classical theology. The experience of women is central to her theology, and while scripture is integral, Johnson seeks the reclamation of feminine imagery. Johnson also salvages certain principles in classical theology to use in her theology: the divine incomprehensibility, the need for analogy in God-speak, and the need for many names for God. In Part III, Johnson applies reclaimed feminine imagery to each Person in the Trinity. Beginning with the Spirit, and then moving to Jesus and God, Johnson explores what feminine imagery points to in God. Finally, in Part IV, Johnson uses feminine symbols, culminating in SHE WHO IS, to explain the immanent Trinity, the economic Trinity, and God's relation to the suffering world.

Interesting for both, men and women, lay-people and clerics........2004-03-27

An excellent book that one should take enough time to read slowly and thoroughly.
Elizabeth Johnson starts by looking for an appropriate word in order to refer to the Divine. It is common practice to say that God is Spirit. An interesting thing about this is that the word "Spirit" has gradually shifted from being feminine in Hebrew, to neutral in greek and ultimately masculine in latin. This is not much of a surprise in a male-dominated world. In itself this does not necessarily indicate an improvement in the adequacy of our concept of God. But if we consider this particular history of the word, it may suggest that in order to improve our image of God, we need at least to integrate all three aspects: the feminine, the neutral and the masculine.
This will help us take into consideration the fact that God transcends all categories. It will help us deepen our perception of God as mystery.
The important for all those who try to link with the Absolute is to know that God is, more than to know exactly what she, it, or he, is.
Another interesting fact that the author points out in the same perspective, is that the Spirit as such, has never been given a proper name.
Spirit is considered more often than not as an impersonal power, like a blowing wind or a breath in motion.
The title of the book is a clear indication that the author approaches the mystery of God from a feminine point of view.
This is done in a constructive way, without being too aggressive. Even when she suggests that Christ's ability to be savior does not reside in his maleness, but in his huge and steadfast capability to love.
More challenging are her comments on the suggestion made by a number of authors, that the Spirit was, at least for some time, hypostatically united to Mary.
To my view, this offers a good way of understanding the Christian creed when it claims that Christ was conceived from the Spirit and born from Mary.
Altogether, this book is a good incentive for women, but also a real challenge for men.
As a follow-up I would recommend the reading of her more recent book "Truly our sister". Quite logically, after dealing in the present book, with the feminine in God she focuses in the new one, on Mary as a major symbol of the feminine in humankind who also enjoyed a unique relationship to the feminine in God.

The world needs She Who Is.......2002-05-19

Johnson writes with an ultimate goal in mind, that of a transformation into new community. Her vision is one in which harmony with each other and with the earth are realized; an eschatological dream of a new heaven and a new earth where justice dwells and partnership reigns.
As a first step toward this vision her book offers theologicaly founded evidence for expanding our image of God. Language functions; selling a god of violence,or superiority based on maleness or color is not helping us to realize a vision of the kindom of God put forth by Jesus-one where all are included at God's loving banquet. Without this first step toward expanding God's image we humans will always be in violent dissonance with each other and with the earth.
I have read this book no less than six times, it has infomed my vision of the world and my personal goals in life. The language she uses is poetical and moves to the core of our being linking us with the holy.

Some interesting insights....but based on faulty assumptions.......2001-12-02

I found the book to be an endless and somewhat unnecessary attack on classical theism. Her notions of pauline theology, based on a platonic dualism, have been shown to be baseless. The disparities and divisions of the church and society are not proven in her work to stem from classical theism, but are assumed. The church which she diminishes has worked to bridge culturally created divisions, which she fails to admit to. Her pandering into pantheism and panentheism are also disappointing, for she reveals her true intention of not reforming the church, but espousing a new religion.

The Coming of Lilith: Essays on Feminism, Judaism, and Sexual Ethics, 1972-2003

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The Coming of Lilith: Essays on Feminism, Judaism, and Sexual Ethics, 1972-2003
Judith Plaskow
Manufacturer: Beacon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Ethics & Morality | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Feminist Theory | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Judaism | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Women and Judaism | Judaism | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0807036234

Book Description

In this first collection of her essays and short writings, Judith Plaskow, one of the founders of feminist theology and the founder of Jewish feminist theology, documents her personal and scholarly evolution. From her early days as a graduate student at Yale to her present work on sexual ethics, the essays in this volume trace Plaskow's work in feminist theology, Jewish feminist theology, and sexuality. Covering all of her major essays, including "The Coming of Lilith" and her pioneering work on anti-Judaism in Christian feminism, this book also includes several previously unpublished essays. Intelligently arranged and edited with the help of Donna Berman, this collection is indispensable for religious studies students, fans of Plaskow_s work, and those pursuing a Jewish education.

Cognitive Models and Spiritual Maps : Interdisciplinary Explorations of Religious Experience (Journal of Consciousness Studies,)

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Waiting for a science of religious experience

Cognitive Models and Spiritual Maps : Interdisciplinary Explorations of Religious Experience (Journal of Consciousness Studies,)

Manufacturer: Imprint Academic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Psychology | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Cognitive Psychology | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0907845134

Book Description

This book throws down a challenge to the field of religious studies. It offers new and exciting approaches for our understanding of religious experience, drawn from the methods of cognitive science, neuropsychology, developmental psychology, philosophy of mind, anthropology, and the many other fields that have joined together to investigate the phenomenon of consciousness.

Customer Reviews:

Waiting for a science of religious experience.......2003-03-02

This book is a reprint of the November/December 2000 issue of the Journal of Consciousness Studies. I read it looking for something that I will continue to wait for, a science that goes beyond descriptions and speculation regarding the nature of religious experience. Are those who say cognitive psychology and atheistic assumptions are enough to explain religion correct in that? I don't believe so. Religious experience is data waiting for a way of analysis that would convince a skeptic of that. Maybe the wait will be beyond what anyone can wait. This book does not provide anything new along these lines, but it is a good summary of some areas.

The difficulty is not for lack of effort. Jensine Andresen does a good job summarizing 50 years of research on physical effects of meditation. The autonomic effects are well documented, including how different meditation styles and different degrees of experience can induce relaxation or activation. Brain imaging studies are described, though it remains to be seen if findings noted there are actually adding anything to the meaning of autonomic effects measured peripherally. The greatest obstacle to doing more with this is not anything subjective about the experience. It's a matter of how limited neuroscience remains to answering certain questions. The simplest theory of how meditation lowers blood pressure is easy to state in terms of reducing input to the sympathetic nervous system, but what are the details? What inputs are there as we go about our lives in an ordinary state of consciousness? What aspect of meditation is necessary to change that? What aspects make the effect optimal? How might the benefit of lower blood pressure be extended further into states of normal consciousness? What is actually going on here? This book describes how crude studies relevant to such questions have been done across many types of meditation, but it is neuroscience itself that is still lacking techniques to connect cause and effect in a way that such studies can say anything more than, "There's something there." Maybe more experience with functional brain imaging will change that, but it remains to be seen.

Much of what else is described in this book suffers from the same problem, only more so, because the effects being addressed by other authors include perception, cognition, and motivation, transcendent or otherwise, where it's even harder to talk about brain mechanisms in a detailed way. Other authors are also less systematic than Andresen and prone to speculative models of experience and consciousness that don't necessarily have anything to do with natural or spiritual principles.

Book Description

In November 1996, Catherine Clément and Julia Kristeva began a correspondence exploring the subject of the sacred. In this collection of those letters Catherine Clément approaches the topic from an anthropologist's point of view while Julia Kristeva responds from a psychoanalytic perspective. Their correspondence leads them to a controversial and fundamental question: is there anything sacred that can at the same time be considered strictly feminine?

The two voices of the book work in tandem, fleshing out ideas and blending together into a melody of experience. The result is a dialogue that delves into the mysteries of belief -- the relationship between faith and sexuality, the body and the senses -- which, Clément and Kristeva argue, women feel with special intensity.

Although their discourse is not necessarily about theology, the authors consider the role of women and femininity in the religions of the world, from Christianity and Judaism to Confucianism and African animism. They are the first to admit that what they have undertaken is "as impossible to accomplish as it is fascinating." Nevertheless, their wide-ranging and exhilarating dialogue succeeds in raising questions that are perhaps more important to ask than to answer.

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