James B. Salazar
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814741306
- eISBN:
- 9780814786536
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814741306.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Cultural Studies
From the patricians of the early republic to post-Reconstruction racial scientists, from fin de siècle progressivist social reformers to post-war sociologists, character, that curiously formable yet ...
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From the patricians of the early republic to post-Reconstruction racial scientists, from fin de siècle progressivist social reformers to post-war sociologists, character, that curiously formable yet equally formidable “stuff,” has had a long and checkered history giving shape to the American national identity. This book reconceives this pivotal category of nineteenth-century literature and culture by charting the development of the concept of “character” in the fictional genres, social reform movements, and political cultures of the United States from the mid-nineteenth to the early-twentieth century. By reading novelists such as Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Pauline Hopkins, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman alongside a diverse collection of texts concerned with the mission of building character, including child-rearing guides, muscle-building magazines, libel and naturalization law, Scout handbooks, and success manuals, the book uncovers how the cultural practices of representing character operated in tandem with the character-building strategies of social reformers. The book offers a radical revision of this defining category in U.S. literature and culture, arguing that character was the keystone of a cultural politics of embodiment, a politics that played a critical role in determining—and contesting—the social mobility, political authority, and cultural meaning of the raced and gendered body.Less
From the patricians of the early republic to post-Reconstruction racial scientists, from fin de siècle progressivist social reformers to post-war sociologists, character, that curiously formable yet equally formidable “stuff,” has had a long and checkered history giving shape to the American national identity. This book reconceives this pivotal category of nineteenth-century literature and culture by charting the development of the concept of “character” in the fictional genres, social reform movements, and political cultures of the United States from the mid-nineteenth to the early-twentieth century. By reading novelists such as Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Pauline Hopkins, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman alongside a diverse collection of texts concerned with the mission of building character, including child-rearing guides, muscle-building magazines, libel and naturalization law, Scout handbooks, and success manuals, the book uncovers how the cultural practices of representing character operated in tandem with the character-building strategies of social reformers. The book offers a radical revision of this defining category in U.S. literature and culture, arguing that character was the keystone of a cultural politics of embodiment, a politics that played a critical role in determining—and contesting—the social mobility, political authority, and cultural meaning of the raced and gendered body.
M.V. Nadkarni
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780198073864
- eISBN:
- 9780199082162
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198073864.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
This chapter examines the relevance of Gandhian thought to the connection between ethics and economic development. It discusses how development as a goal can be meaningful and satisfying only when it ...
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This chapter examines the relevance of Gandhian thought to the connection between ethics and economic development. It discusses how development as a goal can be meaningful and satisfying only when it has significant ethical or humanist content. It shows that the integration between ethics and development promotes a reciprocal or mutually reinforcing impact and argues that the means of development should be ethical or morally acceptable. This chapter also discusses an interpretation of Gandhi which held that he believed the tendency of development to be towards non-violence and he emphasized moral development and character building.Less
This chapter examines the relevance of Gandhian thought to the connection between ethics and economic development. It discusses how development as a goal can be meaningful and satisfying only when it has significant ethical or humanist content. It shows that the integration between ethics and development promotes a reciprocal or mutually reinforcing impact and argues that the means of development should be ethical or morally acceptable. This chapter also discusses an interpretation of Gandhi which held that he believed the tendency of development to be towards non-violence and he emphasized moral development and character building.
Laura W. Ekstrom
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- March 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780197556412
- eISBN:
- 9780197556443
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780197556412.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter launches a new investigation of the question of God’s existence, examining it against the reality of human suffering and bringing to the fore contentious presuppositions concerning ...
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This chapter launches a new investigation of the question of God’s existence, examining it against the reality of human suffering and bringing to the fore contentious presuppositions concerning agency and value at the core of the debate. When we survey the world, we observe an enormous amount of pain, including virtually unspeakable kinds of maltreatment and agony, many instances of which seem patently unfair, unearned, and pointless. This chapter initiates the book’s argument that, in light of these observations, it is reasonable to conclude that God does not exist. The chapter critically examines and extends the work of William Rowe, John Hick, and Alvin Plantinga, taking up apparently pointless instances of suffering and the proposed justifying goods of character-building and free will.Less
This chapter launches a new investigation of the question of God’s existence, examining it against the reality of human suffering and bringing to the fore contentious presuppositions concerning agency and value at the core of the debate. When we survey the world, we observe an enormous amount of pain, including virtually unspeakable kinds of maltreatment and agony, many instances of which seem patently unfair, unearned, and pointless. This chapter initiates the book’s argument that, in light of these observations, it is reasonable to conclude that God does not exist. The chapter critically examines and extends the work of William Rowe, John Hick, and Alvin Plantinga, taking up apparently pointless instances of suffering and the proposed justifying goods of character-building and free will.
M.V. Nadkarni
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199450534
- eISBN:
- 9780199083022
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199450534.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter examines the relevance of Gandhian thought to the connection between ethics and economic development. It discusses how development as a goal can be meaningful and satisfying only when it ...
More
This chapter examines the relevance of Gandhian thought to the connection between ethics and economic development. It discusses how development as a goal can be meaningful and satisfying only when it has significant ethical or humanist content. It shows that the integration between ethics and development promotes a reciprocal or mutually reinforcing impact and argues that the means of development should be ethical or morally acceptable. This chapter also discusses an interpretation of Gandhi which held that he believed the tendency of development to be towards non-violence and he emphasized moral development and character building.Less
This chapter examines the relevance of Gandhian thought to the connection between ethics and economic development. It discusses how development as a goal can be meaningful and satisfying only when it has significant ethical or humanist content. It shows that the integration between ethics and development promotes a reciprocal or mutually reinforcing impact and argues that the means of development should be ethical or morally acceptable. This chapter also discusses an interpretation of Gandhi which held that he believed the tendency of development to be towards non-violence and he emphasized moral development and character building.
