Paul D. Numrich
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195386219
- eISBN:
- 9780199866731
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195386219.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter focuses on the efforts of nonimmigrant churches to resettle (and evangelize) non-Christian immigrants and refugees from across the globe by partnering with World Relief, the humanitarian ...
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This chapter focuses on the efforts of nonimmigrant churches to resettle (and evangelize) non-Christian immigrants and refugees from across the globe by partnering with World Relief, the humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals. As in the previous chapter, “friendship evangelism” plays an important role but crosses both religious and ethnic boundaries here. Friendship evangelists from Wheaton Bible Church, the main case study of the chapter, take their cue from biblical passages on showing kindness to aliens and strangers in the land and attach no strings to their relationships. “I make it clear that my friendship is not based on anything that they need to do or say,” explains a veteran of overseas missions, “that I will be their friend one way or the other.”Less
This chapter focuses on the efforts of nonimmigrant churches to resettle (and evangelize) non-Christian immigrants and refugees from across the globe by partnering with World Relief, the humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals. As in the previous chapter, “friendship evangelism” plays an important role but crosses both religious and ethnic boundaries here. Friendship evangelists from Wheaton Bible Church, the main case study of the chapter, take their cue from biblical passages on showing kindness to aliens and strangers in the land and attach no strings to their relationships. “I make it clear that my friendship is not based on anything that they need to do or say,” explains a veteran of overseas missions, “that I will be their friend one way or the other.”
Wyatt Moss-Wellington
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781474454315
- eISBN:
- 9781474476683
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474454315.001.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
How can stories function as expressions of kindness to others, and how might the narratives we live by then affect our behaviour in the world? Is there such a thing as a ‘humanistic drama’? This book ...
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How can stories function as expressions of kindness to others, and how might the narratives we live by then affect our behaviour in the world? Is there such a thing as a ‘humanistic drama’? This book attempts to clarify the narrative conditions of humanism, asking how we can use stories to complicate our understanding of others, and questioning the ethics and efficacy of attempts to represent human social complexity in fiction. With case studies of films like Parenthood (1989), Junebug (2005), Little Miss Sunshine (2006) and The Kids Are All Right (2010), this original study synthesises leading discourses on media and cognition, evolutionary anthropology, literature and film analysis into a new theory of the storytelling instinct.Less
How can stories function as expressions of kindness to others, and how might the narratives we live by then affect our behaviour in the world? Is there such a thing as a ‘humanistic drama’? This book attempts to clarify the narrative conditions of humanism, asking how we can use stories to complicate our understanding of others, and questioning the ethics and efficacy of attempts to represent human social complexity in fiction. With case studies of films like Parenthood (1989), Junebug (2005), Little Miss Sunshine (2006) and The Kids Are All Right (2010), this original study synthesises leading discourses on media and cognition, evolutionary anthropology, literature and film analysis into a new theory of the storytelling instinct.
Bernard Gert
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195176896
- eISBN:
- 9780199835300
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195176898.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter distinguishes between personality traits and character traits, and between moral virtues, personal virtues, and social virtues. It presents analyses of individual moral virtues, e.g., ...
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This chapter distinguishes between personality traits and character traits, and between moral virtues, personal virtues, and social virtues. It presents analyses of individual moral virtues, e.g., truthfulness, fairness, honesty, and kindness; and individual personal virtues, e.g., prudence, temperance, and courage. It also provides an account of humility and arrogance.Less
This chapter distinguishes between personality traits and character traits, and between moral virtues, personal virtues, and social virtues. It presents analyses of individual moral virtues, e.g., truthfulness, fairness, honesty, and kindness; and individual personal virtues, e.g., prudence, temperance, and courage. It also provides an account of humility and arrogance.
Melissa L. Caldwell
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520285835
- eISBN:
- 9780520961210
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520285835.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This book examines what it means to be a compassionate, caring person in a place like Russia, which has become a country of stark income inequalities and political restrictions.Through vivid ...
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This book examines what it means to be a compassionate, caring person in a place like Russia, which has become a country of stark income inequalities and political restrictions.Through vivid ethnography about a thriving Moscow-based network of religious and secular charitable service providers, the book explores how assistance providers’ efforts to “do the right thing” for their communities produce new modes of social justice and civic engagement. As the experiences and perspectives of the assistance workers, government officials, recipients, and supporters documented here reveal, their work and beliefs are shaped by a practical philosophy of goodness and kindness. Despite the hardships, injustices, and despair these individuals witness on a regular basis, there is a pervasive sense of optimism that human kindness will ultimately prevail over poverty, injury, and injustice. Ultimately, what connects members of this diverse group of individuals and organizations is a shared concern that caring for others is not simply either a practical matter or an idealistic, even utopian vision, but a project of faith and hope. Together care-seekers and care-givers destabilize and remake the meaning of “faith” and “faith-based” by putting into practice a vision of humane-ness and humanitarianism that transcends such boundaries between “state” and “private,” “religious” and secular.”Less
This book examines what it means to be a compassionate, caring person in a place like Russia, which has become a country of stark income inequalities and political restrictions.Through vivid ethnography about a thriving Moscow-based network of religious and secular charitable service providers, the book explores how assistance providers’ efforts to “do the right thing” for their communities produce new modes of social justice and civic engagement. As the experiences and perspectives of the assistance workers, government officials, recipients, and supporters documented here reveal, their work and beliefs are shaped by a practical philosophy of goodness and kindness. Despite the hardships, injustices, and despair these individuals witness on a regular basis, there is a pervasive sense of optimism that human kindness will ultimately prevail over poverty, injury, and injustice. Ultimately, what connects members of this diverse group of individuals and organizations is a shared concern that caring for others is not simply either a practical matter or an idealistic, even utopian vision, but a project of faith and hope. Together care-seekers and care-givers destabilize and remake the meaning of “faith” and “faith-based” by putting into practice a vision of humane-ness and humanitarianism that transcends such boundaries between “state” and “private,” “religious” and secular.”
Joanne Begiato
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781526128577
- eISBN:
- 9781526152046
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7765/9781526128584.00011
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Gender Studies
This chapter examines representations of working men’s bodies. Section one explores the nobility assigned to the muscular body, interrogated through the imagined blacksmith and navvy. The second ...
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This chapter examines representations of working men’s bodies. Section one explores the nobility assigned to the muscular body, interrogated through the imagined blacksmith and navvy. The second section addresses the role of heroism, another appealing quality, primarily through miners, firemen, and life-boat men. Such strong and appealing working-men offered a more comforting vision of working-class masculinity than that in which they were politically and socially dangerous. Kindness was attributed to both brawn and brave stereotypes, taming the muscular and reckless body. This was not their only function for a middle-class audience, since the same combination of alluring physical and emotional qualities also rendered the working-class male body desirable as a manly ideal. The chapter then shows that the working classes created and disseminated their own highly emotional and material manifestation of working-class manliness on the material culture of trades unions and friendly societies. However, the emotions associated with them were subtly different and deployed in different ways. For middle-class men, the attractive working man was reassuring and admirable, for working-class men he was a measure of their right to be included in the civic polity. (185 words)Less
This chapter examines representations of working men’s bodies. Section one explores the nobility assigned to the muscular body, interrogated through the imagined blacksmith and navvy. The second section addresses the role of heroism, another appealing quality, primarily through miners, firemen, and life-boat men. Such strong and appealing working-men offered a more comforting vision of working-class masculinity than that in which they were politically and socially dangerous. Kindness was attributed to both brawn and brave stereotypes, taming the muscular and reckless body. This was not their only function for a middle-class audience, since the same combination of alluring physical and emotional qualities also rendered the working-class male body desirable as a manly ideal. The chapter then shows that the working classes created and disseminated their own highly emotional and material manifestation of working-class manliness on the material culture of trades unions and friendly societies. However, the emotions associated with them were subtly different and deployed in different ways. For middle-class men, the attractive working man was reassuring and admirable, for working-class men he was a measure of their right to be included in the civic polity. (185 words)
Robert Wuthnow
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195096514
- eISBN:
- 9780199853380
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195096514.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
If Mother Teresa and other contemporary saints all embody the individualistic ethos prevalent in our culture, they still outshine what any of us are ever likely to accomplish, or even aspire to, in ...
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If Mother Teresa and other contemporary saints all embody the individualistic ethos prevalent in our culture, they still outshine what any of us are ever likely to accomplish, or even aspire to, in bravery and devotion. In an era of so-called lite heroes, whose small deeds of virtue are overplayed in the media one day and are gone from view the next, these giants of compassion necessarily stand out as the genuine exemplars of high ethics and lasting goodness. Indeed, their example is a clear step removed from the valor we associate with ordinary acts of kindness and charity. It is not just to honor the courage and dedication of those who display exceptional compassion, though, that causes us to set them apart. We feel ambivalent about them, as we do with all heroes and villains. To understand further how ethical role models may serve American culture in the future, this chapter examines the nature of this ambivalence and how thoughtful people actually learn to benefit from the role models they love and hate at the same time.Less
If Mother Teresa and other contemporary saints all embody the individualistic ethos prevalent in our culture, they still outshine what any of us are ever likely to accomplish, or even aspire to, in bravery and devotion. In an era of so-called lite heroes, whose small deeds of virtue are overplayed in the media one day and are gone from view the next, these giants of compassion necessarily stand out as the genuine exemplars of high ethics and lasting goodness. Indeed, their example is a clear step removed from the valor we associate with ordinary acts of kindness and charity. It is not just to honor the courage and dedication of those who display exceptional compassion, though, that causes us to set them apart. We feel ambivalent about them, as we do with all heroes and villains. To understand further how ethical role models may serve American culture in the future, this chapter examines the nature of this ambivalence and how thoughtful people actually learn to benefit from the role models they love and hate at the same time.
Dagmar Wujastyk
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199856268
- eISBN:
- 9780199950560
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199856268.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
This chapter looks at that relationship between a doctor and his patients under the aspect of their emotional link and the limitations of a doctor's care. It describes and discusses the reasons the ...
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This chapter looks at that relationship between a doctor and his patients under the aspect of their emotional link and the limitations of a doctor's care. It describes and discusses the reasons the ayurvedic texts give why a physician should not treat certain patients, and what happens if a patient is hurt or dies under a physician's care.Less
This chapter looks at that relationship between a doctor and his patients under the aspect of their emotional link and the limitations of a doctor's care. It describes and discusses the reasons the ayurvedic texts give why a physician should not treat certain patients, and what happens if a patient is hurt or dies under a physician's care.
Jeff Wilson, Tomoe Moriya, and Richard M. Jaffe (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520269170
- eISBN:
- 9780520965355
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520269170.003.0020
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter contains an essay by D. T. Suzuki in which he discusses the significance of “hands” in a contemplative, poetic manner using parables from Zen literature and ideas from the poet and ...
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This chapter contains an essay by D. T. Suzuki in which he discusses the significance of “hands” in a contemplative, poetic manner using parables from Zen literature and ideas from the poet and painter William Blake that oppose the “mechanization” of human minds. Suzuki explains how hands and consciousness function together. He argues that hands communicate the essence of spirit whereas machines are functions of the intellect. Suzuki concludes this essay by focusing on the goddess of mercy, Kannon, who possesses one thousand arms representing loving kindness and helps sentient beings; this emphasizes the loving and creative function of the hands.Less
This chapter contains an essay by D. T. Suzuki in which he discusses the significance of “hands” in a contemplative, poetic manner using parables from Zen literature and ideas from the poet and painter William Blake that oppose the “mechanization” of human minds. Suzuki explains how hands and consciousness function together. He argues that hands communicate the essence of spirit whereas machines are functions of the intellect. Suzuki concludes this essay by focusing on the goddess of mercy, Kannon, who possesses one thousand arms representing loving kindness and helps sentient beings; this emphasizes the loving and creative function of the hands.
Arménio Rego, Miguel Pina e Cunha, and Stewart Clegg
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199653867
- eISBN:
- 9780191742057
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199653867.003.0004
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies, HRM / IR
This chapter focuses on how amiability and citizenship virtues (justice and humanity) allow global leaders to develop positive human relationships with a wide range of constituencies (e.g. employees, ...
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This chapter focuses on how amiability and citizenship virtues (justice and humanity) allow global leaders to develop positive human relationships with a wide range of constituencies (e.g. employees, customers, communities, governments, NGOs), and to act as responsible citizens of the world. The chapter starts by explaining the meaning of the virtue and its corresponding character strengths. References to the opposites and the excess of the strength are also made. Then the chapter explains how the strength contributes to the global leaders’ positive performance. Examples are provided to support the arguments. As in in the previous chapter, it shows that virtuosity requires balance: just as a tenor who hits too many high Cs unnecessarily shows off a wonderful attribute just a little too often, so does a leader whose excessive display of a single virtue hides a lack of facility in others.Less
This chapter focuses on how amiability and citizenship virtues (justice and humanity) allow global leaders to develop positive human relationships with a wide range of constituencies (e.g. employees, customers, communities, governments, NGOs), and to act as responsible citizens of the world. The chapter starts by explaining the meaning of the virtue and its corresponding character strengths. References to the opposites and the excess of the strength are also made. Then the chapter explains how the strength contributes to the global leaders’ positive performance. Examples are provided to support the arguments. As in in the previous chapter, it shows that virtuosity requires balance: just as a tenor who hits too many high Cs unnecessarily shows off a wonderful attribute just a little too often, so does a leader whose excessive display of a single virtue hides a lack of facility in others.
Wendy Iredale and Mark van Vugt
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199586073
- eISBN:
- 9780191731358
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199586073.003.0011
- Subject:
- Psychology, Evolutionary Psychology, Developmental Psychology
In this chapter we discuss whether altruism towards genetic strangers may have evolved because of its reputation benefits – altruism as showing off. Traditional explanations for the evolution of ...
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In this chapter we discuss whether altruism towards genetic strangers may have evolved because of its reputation benefits – altruism as showing off. Traditional explanations for the evolution of altruism towards genetic strangers suggests we help others who will help us back; however, this restricted tit-for-tat scoring is not representative of most human altruism. Recent theories of costly signalling argue that altruism does not need to work directly as a process of 'I'll scratch your back and you scratch mine', but that it may have evolved because it signals underlying qualities about the individual that are important to others. Those who signal altruism may therefore increase their fitness through prestige and mating opportunities. We highlight real examples of how important it is for humans to be seen (and to compete to be seen) as altruistic. We show that there are preferences towards altruistic individuals as mates, especially by females. Finally, we discuss how signaling theory could be applied to promote environmental conservation and charity giving.Less
In this chapter we discuss whether altruism towards genetic strangers may have evolved because of its reputation benefits – altruism as showing off. Traditional explanations for the evolution of altruism towards genetic strangers suggests we help others who will help us back; however, this restricted tit-for-tat scoring is not representative of most human altruism. Recent theories of costly signalling argue that altruism does not need to work directly as a process of 'I'll scratch your back and you scratch mine', but that it may have evolved because it signals underlying qualities about the individual that are important to others. Those who signal altruism may therefore increase their fitness through prestige and mating opportunities. We highlight real examples of how important it is for humans to be seen (and to compete to be seen) as altruistic. We show that there are preferences towards altruistic individuals as mates, especially by females. Finally, we discuss how signaling theory could be applied to promote environmental conservation and charity giving.
Ralph Hertwig, Urs Fischbacher, and Adrian Bruhin
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780195388435
- eISBN:
- 9780199950089
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195388435.003.0002
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
The dominant behavior observed in social games such as the ultimatum game, the dictator game, and public good games violates the classical assumption in economics of purely selfish preferences. To ...
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The dominant behavior observed in social games such as the ultimatum game, the dictator game, and public good games violates the classical assumption in economics of purely selfish preferences. To account for this behavior, economists have proposed social preference models, which introduce nonselfish motives as additional arguments and parameters in the utility function. Like classical utility models, social preference models focus on behavior at the expense of describing underlying cognitive processes, contenting themselves with being “as-if” models. This approach unnecessarily limits the models' psychological realism and forgoes the empirical benefits of describing the processes that produce behavioral outcomes. As an alternative, the chapter proposes fast and frugal classification trees. Designed to describe deliberations and decisions in the mini-ultimatum game, the trees spell out the possible cognitive processes of four distinct types of respondents. The chapter derives response-time predictions from these trees as well as from a process interpretation of an influential social preference model, the Fehr and Schmidt model of inequity aversion, and test the predictions empirically. The observed response times suggest that a substantial proportion of respondents in the mini-ultimatum game take several distinct social considerations into account and process them sequentially, consistent with the proposed classification trees. The chapter discusses the implications of these findings for theories of economic behavior.Less
The dominant behavior observed in social games such as the ultimatum game, the dictator game, and public good games violates the classical assumption in economics of purely selfish preferences. To account for this behavior, economists have proposed social preference models, which introduce nonselfish motives as additional arguments and parameters in the utility function. Like classical utility models, social preference models focus on behavior at the expense of describing underlying cognitive processes, contenting themselves with being “as-if” models. This approach unnecessarily limits the models' psychological realism and forgoes the empirical benefits of describing the processes that produce behavioral outcomes. As an alternative, the chapter proposes fast and frugal classification trees. Designed to describe deliberations and decisions in the mini-ultimatum game, the trees spell out the possible cognitive processes of four distinct types of respondents. The chapter derives response-time predictions from these trees as well as from a process interpretation of an influential social preference model, the Fehr and Schmidt model of inequity aversion, and test the predictions empirically. The observed response times suggest that a substantial proportion of respondents in the mini-ultimatum game take several distinct social considerations into account and process them sequentially, consistent with the proposed classification trees. The chapter discusses the implications of these findings for theories of economic behavior.
Hugh Cunningham
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781526146380
- eISBN:
- 9781526152077
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7765/9781526146397.00007
- Subject:
- History, Social History
The theme of this chapter is that historians of philanthropy have started out with a definition of what ‘philanthropy’ is, even if the word was never used in their centuries, and proceeded from ...
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The theme of this chapter is that historians of philanthropy have started out with a definition of what ‘philanthropy’ is, even if the word was never used in their centuries, and proceeded from there. Prime examples are the two major histories of philanthropy in England, dating from the 1950s and 1960s, W.K. Jordan’s Philanthropy in England 1480-1660 and David Owen’s English Philanthropy 1660-1960. For the nineteenth century there is one history that excludes anything where the gifting of private money was not vital, another that includes social reform movements, and yet another that defines philanthropy simply as ‘kindness’. None of them are alert to what contemporaries thought of ‘philanthropy’. I go on to consider the ways in which in recent years historians have turned to the anthropological model of gift relationships to understand philanthropy and how concepts of ‘civil society’ have generated new thinking.Less
The theme of this chapter is that historians of philanthropy have started out with a definition of what ‘philanthropy’ is, even if the word was never used in their centuries, and proceeded from there. Prime examples are the two major histories of philanthropy in England, dating from the 1950s and 1960s, W.K. Jordan’s Philanthropy in England 1480-1660 and David Owen’s English Philanthropy 1660-1960. For the nineteenth century there is one history that excludes anything where the gifting of private money was not vital, another that includes social reform movements, and yet another that defines philanthropy simply as ‘kindness’. None of them are alert to what contemporaries thought of ‘philanthropy’. I go on to consider the ways in which in recent years historians have turned to the anthropological model of gift relationships to understand philanthropy and how concepts of ‘civil society’ have generated new thinking.
Wyatt Moss-Wellington
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781474454315
- eISBN:
- 9781474476683
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474454315.003.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
A brief introduction describes the centrality of narrative in our lives, and across human history, before foregrounding the key themes of the book and indicating its structure. It covers some basic ...
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A brief introduction describes the centrality of narrative in our lives, and across human history, before foregrounding the key themes of the book and indicating its structure. It covers some basic definitions of humanism before proceeding. One of the key features of humanism is an exploratory vulnerability that seeks to find new ways to describe the complexities of human interaction, both in stories and in scholarship around stories – the introduction explains how this book will provide resources for achieving open listening to human otherness.Less
A brief introduction describes the centrality of narrative in our lives, and across human history, before foregrounding the key themes of the book and indicating its structure. It covers some basic definitions of humanism before proceeding. One of the key features of humanism is an exploratory vulnerability that seeks to find new ways to describe the complexities of human interaction, both in stories and in scholarship around stories – the introduction explains how this book will provide resources for achieving open listening to human otherness.
Wyatt Moss-Wellington
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781474454315
- eISBN:
- 9781474476683
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474454315.003.0011
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
A brief postscript covers the current ethical and political implications of narrative humanism; it seeks to situate the theory in present global politics, and show how narrative humanism might guide ...
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A brief postscript covers the current ethical and political implications of narrative humanism; it seeks to situate the theory in present global politics, and show how narrative humanism might guide us through some contemporary problems, in particular our responses the rise of the alt-right. It concludes with some suggestions for further research in these areas.Less
A brief postscript covers the current ethical and political implications of narrative humanism; it seeks to situate the theory in present global politics, and show how narrative humanism might guide us through some contemporary problems, in particular our responses the rise of the alt-right. It concludes with some suggestions for further research in these areas.
Elliott Sober
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195130430
- eISBN:
- 9780199847327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195130430.003.0004
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
Human nature is intriguing in such that it can express both negative and positive emotions, as in kindness and cruelty. The question is whether both are a natural part of our nature as human beings, ...
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Human nature is intriguing in such that it can express both negative and positive emotions, as in kindness and cruelty. The question is whether both are a natural part of our nature as human beings, or is one produced to serve as the alternate of the other. Another question that is brought to the table in this chapter is how does one determine what is natural and what is not, being its true definition? The chapter attempts to answer these questions based on evolution theory, whether events earlier in history served as a promoter for the emotions of today. Was the nature of kindness and caring inherent in a human being at the beginning of time, or is it only through the changes and events over time that it has developed? The chapter aims to aid the reader in understanding our human tendencies.Less
Human nature is intriguing in such that it can express both negative and positive emotions, as in kindness and cruelty. The question is whether both are a natural part of our nature as human beings, or is one produced to serve as the alternate of the other. Another question that is brought to the table in this chapter is how does one determine what is natural and what is not, being its true definition? The chapter attempts to answer these questions based on evolution theory, whether events earlier in history served as a promoter for the emotions of today. Was the nature of kindness and caring inherent in a human being at the beginning of time, or is it only through the changes and events over time that it has developed? The chapter aims to aid the reader in understanding our human tendencies.
Robert H. Frank
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195130430
- eISBN:
- 9780199847327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195130430.003.0009
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
In some situations, conflicts arise between acts of charity and how society views charity. The world has been tainted by political and cultural differences, and it is not uncommon that most of the ...
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In some situations, conflicts arise between acts of charity and how society views charity. The world has been tainted by political and cultural differences, and it is not uncommon that most of the political campaigns hide behind the curtain of humanitarian acts. This can pose some difficulty for those people who indeed have a pure intent to help and assist, without any other agenda. Yet in spite of the stigma that is placed on such acts of kindness, people are still urged to provide assistance during times of disaster and trouble. This chapter tries to discuss these two conflicting factors: the preservation of self-interest and the selfless acts of kindness driven by compassion. This is one subject on which philosophers and scientists have spent years of research.Less
In some situations, conflicts arise between acts of charity and how society views charity. The world has been tainted by political and cultural differences, and it is not uncommon that most of the political campaigns hide behind the curtain of humanitarian acts. This can pose some difficulty for those people who indeed have a pure intent to help and assist, without any other agenda. Yet in spite of the stigma that is placed on such acts of kindness, people are still urged to provide assistance during times of disaster and trouble. This chapter tries to discuss these two conflicting factors: the preservation of self-interest and the selfless acts of kindness driven by compassion. This is one subject on which philosophers and scientists have spent years of research.
Catherine Richardson
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719065446
- eISBN:
- 9781781701164
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719065446.003.0006
- Subject:
- Literature, 16th-century and Renaissance Literature
Thomas Heywood's A Woman Killed With Kindness is a very different kind of domestic tragedy from Arden of Faversham or Two Lamentable Tragedies. It is not based on a historical narrative, and its only ...
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Thomas Heywood's A Woman Killed With Kindness is a very different kind of domestic tragedy from Arden of Faversham or Two Lamentable Tragedies. It is not based on a historical narrative, and its only gestures towards geographical particularity are a few mentions of York and Yorkshire. There is no murder, and hence none of the accompanying tense frustrations of murder's prelude or aftermath and little of the temporal tightness with which long hours of anticipation are stretched in the other plays. Neither are the social tensions of competition between men quite the same in Heywood's play. The prologue sets up both the strictures of representation and the privations of low status, making suggestive comparison between the way material culture negotiates both types of difference. The insistence on the interrelationship of domestic spaces gives the play its strong sense of a physically coherent household, one that contains and gives significance to the events which take place within it.Less
Thomas Heywood's A Woman Killed With Kindness is a very different kind of domestic tragedy from Arden of Faversham or Two Lamentable Tragedies. It is not based on a historical narrative, and its only gestures towards geographical particularity are a few mentions of York and Yorkshire. There is no murder, and hence none of the accompanying tense frustrations of murder's prelude or aftermath and little of the temporal tightness with which long hours of anticipation are stretched in the other plays. Neither are the social tensions of competition between men quite the same in Heywood's play. The prologue sets up both the strictures of representation and the privations of low status, making suggestive comparison between the way material culture negotiates both types of difference. The insistence on the interrelationship of domestic spaces gives the play its strong sense of a physically coherent household, one that contains and gives significance to the events which take place within it.
Catherine Richardson
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719065446
- eISBN:
- 9781781701164
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719065446.003.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 16th-century and Renaissance Literature
This opening chapter explores some of the arguments about the connection between dramaturgy and the imagination in order to introduce considerations of method. First, however, it seems important to ...
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This opening chapter explores some of the arguments about the connection between dramaturgy and the imagination in order to introduce considerations of method. First, however, it seems important to explain the choice of plays on which the following chapters will focus, and how they relate to the various definitions of the genre of domestic tragedy to this project of reconstructing domestic imagination. Lena Orlin describes domestic tragedies as plays that concern ‘property owners’. This chapter is very much in sympathy with this focus upon property. It looks at four plays: A Woman Killed With Kindness, Arden of Faversham, A Yorkshire Tragedy and the English narrative of Two Lamentable Tragedies. These plays are chosen for the novelty of their presentation of the domestic, in order to expand as far as possible the significances of an approach that considers the intersection of representations of, and attitudes to, house and household.Less
This opening chapter explores some of the arguments about the connection between dramaturgy and the imagination in order to introduce considerations of method. First, however, it seems important to explain the choice of plays on which the following chapters will focus, and how they relate to the various definitions of the genre of domestic tragedy to this project of reconstructing domestic imagination. Lena Orlin describes domestic tragedies as plays that concern ‘property owners’. This chapter is very much in sympathy with this focus upon property. It looks at four plays: A Woman Killed With Kindness, Arden of Faversham, A Yorkshire Tragedy and the English narrative of Two Lamentable Tragedies. These plays are chosen for the novelty of their presentation of the domestic, in order to expand as far as possible the significances of an approach that considers the intersection of representations of, and attitudes to, house and household.
J. Robert Maguire
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199660827
- eISBN:
- 9780191748929
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199660827.003.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century and Victorian Literature
Carlos Blacker was Oscar Wilde’s ‘best friend’, according to a long-time friend of both. In contrast to his intimate friendship with Blacker, based on a rare compatibility of intellect and ...
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Carlos Blacker was Oscar Wilde’s ‘best friend’, according to a long-time friend of both. In contrast to his intimate friendship with Blacker, based on a rare compatibility of intellect and temperament, Wilde came in time to view his ‘unintellectual friendship’ with Alfred Douglas as ‘intellectually degrading’ to him. The never-to-be-reconciled breakup of the idyllic friendship with Blacker in the course of their involvement in the Dreyfus affair was devastating to both of them. For Blacker, the anguish and humiliation suffered in the course of his extraordinary role in the affair prompted a self-imposed silence rigidly maintained to the time of his death regarding the bitter experience as well as the equally painful breakup with Wilde.Less
Carlos Blacker was Oscar Wilde’s ‘best friend’, according to a long-time friend of both. In contrast to his intimate friendship with Blacker, based on a rare compatibility of intellect and temperament, Wilde came in time to view his ‘unintellectual friendship’ with Alfred Douglas as ‘intellectually degrading’ to him. The never-to-be-reconciled breakup of the idyllic friendship with Blacker in the course of their involvement in the Dreyfus affair was devastating to both of them. For Blacker, the anguish and humiliation suffered in the course of his extraordinary role in the affair prompted a self-imposed silence rigidly maintained to the time of his death regarding the bitter experience as well as the equally painful breakup with Wilde.
Lloyd Ridgeon
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748641826
- eISBN:
- 9780748653249
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748641826.003.0006
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
This chapter translates the Treatise of Hatim, and discusses the content of the treatise that focuses on Hatim،s life. It particularly discusses Hatim's manifestation of his jamanwardi to the poor ...
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This chapter translates the Treatise of Hatim, and discusses the content of the treatise that focuses on Hatim،s life. It particularly discusses Hatim's manifestation of his jamanwardi to the poor and the lowly members of the society; his humility, kindness, and recognition of how to achieve a tranquil life; how his life was remembered in posterity; and how, even after his death, his ethical values resulted in miracles around his grave. The treatise also discusses the ethic of hospitality and generosity offered for both altruistic and self-interested purposes. This form of generosity does not sit well with the Sufi،s ideals of selflessness. The treatise also touches on the positive portrayal of women, even to the extent of getting the better of men.Less
This chapter translates the Treatise of Hatim, and discusses the content of the treatise that focuses on Hatim،s life. It particularly discusses Hatim's manifestation of his jamanwardi to the poor and the lowly members of the society; his humility, kindness, and recognition of how to achieve a tranquil life; how his life was remembered in posterity; and how, even after his death, his ethical values resulted in miracles around his grave. The treatise also discusses the ethic of hospitality and generosity offered for both altruistic and self-interested purposes. This form of generosity does not sit well with the Sufi،s ideals of selflessness. The treatise also touches on the positive portrayal of women, even to the extent of getting the better of men.
