Abigail A. Kohn
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195150513
- eISBN:
- 9780199944095
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195150513.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture, Sport and Leisure
Frequenting gun shops and shooting ranges, and devoting particular attention to those whose interest in weaponry extends beyond the casual, this book captures in detail how gun owners actually think ...
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Frequenting gun shops and shooting ranges, and devoting particular attention to those whose interest in weaponry extends beyond the casual, this book captures in detail how gun owners actually think and feel about their guns. Through conversations—with cowboy action shooters at a regional match, sport shooters, hunters, with shooters of all ages and races—we hear of the “savage beauty” of a beautifully crafted long gun, of the powerful historical import owners attach to their guns, of the sense of empowerment that comes with shooting skill, and the visceral thrill of discharging a dangerous weapon. Cutting through the clichés that link gun ownership with violent, criminal subcultures and portray shooters as “gun nuts” or potential terrorists, the book provides us with a lively and untainted portrait of American gun enthusiasts.Less
Frequenting gun shops and shooting ranges, and devoting particular attention to those whose interest in weaponry extends beyond the casual, this book captures in detail how gun owners actually think and feel about their guns. Through conversations—with cowboy action shooters at a regional match, sport shooters, hunters, with shooters of all ages and races—we hear of the “savage beauty” of a beautifully crafted long gun, of the powerful historical import owners attach to their guns, of the sense of empowerment that comes with shooting skill, and the visceral thrill of discharging a dangerous weapon. Cutting through the clichés that link gun ownership with violent, criminal subcultures and portray shooters as “gun nuts” or potential terrorists, the book provides us with a lively and untainted portrait of American gun enthusiasts.
Roy Radner
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199269426
- eISBN:
- 9780191710179
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199269426.003.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies
The ‘Savage’ paradigm of rational decision-making under uncertainty has become the dominant model of human behaviour in mainstream economics and game theory. However, under the rubric of ‘bounded ...
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The ‘Savage’ paradigm of rational decision-making under uncertainty has become the dominant model of human behaviour in mainstream economics and game theory. However, under the rubric of ‘bounded rationality’, this model has been criticized as inadequate from both normative and descriptive viewpoints. This chapter sketches the historical roots and some current developments of this movement, distinguishing between attempts to extend the ‘Savage’ paradigm (costly rationality) and the need for more radical departures (truly bounded rationality).Less
The ‘Savage’ paradigm of rational decision-making under uncertainty has become the dominant model of human behaviour in mainstream economics and game theory. However, under the rubric of ‘bounded rationality’, this model has been criticized as inadequate from both normative and descriptive viewpoints. This chapter sketches the historical roots and some current developments of this movement, distinguishing between attempts to extend the ‘Savage’ paradigm (costly rationality) and the need for more radical departures (truly bounded rationality).
William Bain
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199260263
- eISBN:
- 9780191600975
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199260265.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Examines the internationalization of trusteeship as it arose in the context of British colonial administration in Africa, the Berlin and Brussels Conferences, and the experience of the Congo Free ...
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Examines the internationalization of trusteeship as it arose in the context of British colonial administration in Africa, the Berlin and Brussels Conferences, and the experience of the Congo Free State. It is out of these experiences and events that the idea of trusteeship emerges as a recognized and accepted practice of international society. The chapter has five sections: the first discusses British attitudes towards Africa; the second looks at Lord Lugard's ‘dual mandate’ principle of colonial administration—the proposal that the exploitation of Africa's natural wealth should reciprocally benefit the industrial classes of Europe and the native population of Africa; the third discusses the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 and the Brussels Conference of 1890; the fourth describes trusteeship in relation to the Congo Free State. The fifth section of the chapter points out the progression from the idea of trusteeship in the East India Company's dominion in India—in which the improvement of native peoples would come about rapidly and result in institutional forms and practices that closely resembled those in Europe—to a new incrementalist approach in which societies and people were thought of as occupying different rungs on a progressive ‘ladder of civilization’, and, depending on their stage of development on this ladder, were suited to different forms of constitution.Less
Examines the internationalization of trusteeship as it arose in the context of British colonial administration in Africa, the Berlin and Brussels Conferences, and the experience of the Congo Free State. It is out of these experiences and events that the idea of trusteeship emerges as a recognized and accepted practice of international society. The chapter has five sections: the first discusses British attitudes towards Africa; the second looks at Lord Lugard's ‘dual mandate’ principle of colonial administration—the proposal that the exploitation of Africa's natural wealth should reciprocally benefit the industrial classes of Europe and the native population of Africa; the third discusses the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 and the Brussels Conference of 1890; the fourth describes trusteeship in relation to the Congo Free State. The fifth section of the chapter points out the progression from the idea of trusteeship in the East India Company's dominion in India—in which the improvement of native peoples would come about rapidly and result in institutional forms and practices that closely resembled those in Europe—to a new incrementalist approach in which societies and people were thought of as occupying different rungs on a progressive ‘ladder of civilization’, and, depending on their stage of development on this ladder, were suited to different forms of constitution.
Timothy Fitzgerald
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195300093
- eISBN:
- 9780199868636
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195300093.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Literature
This wide‐ranging chapter introduces key aspects of the argument to be discussed in greater detail in subsequent chapters. The chapter sets out the proposition that the formation of a category ...
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This wide‐ranging chapter introduces key aspects of the argument to be discussed in greater detail in subsequent chapters. The chapter sets out the proposition that the formation of a category “religion” which appears as a distinct and autonomous reality of human experience and practice is a myth serviced by the corresponding formation of special departments for the study of religion. But this process is mirrored in the formation of “nonreligious” categories such as “politics” and “the secular state” which in turn appear as distinct and autonomous domains served by special departments of political science. These rhetorical constructions appear as though they are natural aspects of the world, and their ideological function in the mystification of capitalism and consumerism is disguised by the academic pretensions of secular objectivity. The chapter also makes a distinction between critical thinking that challenges these rhetorical constructions and “critical” thinking that merely recycles them as an undeniable part of the order of things.Less
This wide‐ranging chapter introduces key aspects of the argument to be discussed in greater detail in subsequent chapters. The chapter sets out the proposition that the formation of a category “religion” which appears as a distinct and autonomous reality of human experience and practice is a myth serviced by the corresponding formation of special departments for the study of religion. But this process is mirrored in the formation of “nonreligious” categories such as “politics” and “the secular state” which in turn appear as distinct and autonomous domains served by special departments of political science. These rhetorical constructions appear as though they are natural aspects of the world, and their ideological function in the mystification of capitalism and consumerism is disguised by the academic pretensions of secular objectivity. The chapter also makes a distinction between critical thinking that challenges these rhetorical constructions and “critical” thinking that merely recycles them as an undeniable part of the order of things.
Ken Binmore
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195300574
- eISBN:
- 9780199783748
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195300574.003.0013
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
This chapter is about Bayesian decision theory. It explains why game theorists model players' beliefs using subjective probability distributions, and how these beliefs are updated using Bayes' rule ...
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This chapter is about Bayesian decision theory. It explains why game theorists model players' beliefs using subjective probability distributions, and how these beliefs are updated using Bayes' rule as further information is received during the play of a game. A skeptical assessment of Bayesian decision theory as a solution to the general problem of scientific induction is then offered, suggesting that we stick to Leonard Savage's view that his theory properly applies only in the context of a small world. The chapter ends with a brief review of the common prior assumption and the idea of subjective equilibria.Less
This chapter is about Bayesian decision theory. It explains why game theorists model players' beliefs using subjective probability distributions, and how these beliefs are updated using Bayes' rule as further information is received during the play of a game. A skeptical assessment of Bayesian decision theory as a solution to the general problem of scientific induction is then offered, suggesting that we stick to Leonard Savage's view that his theory properly applies only in the context of a small world. The chapter ends with a brief review of the common prior assumption and the idea of subjective equilibria.
Tim Fulford
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199273379
- eISBN:
- 9780191706332
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199273379.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century Literature and Romanticism
This chapter considers the accounts of Indians made by white historians and theorists, such as Rousseau, Adam Smith, and Adam Ferguson in the 18th century.
This chapter considers the accounts of Indians made by white historians and theorists, such as Rousseau, Adam Smith, and Adam Ferguson in the 18th century.
Derek B. Scott
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195151961
- eISBN:
- 9780199870394
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195151961.003.0004
- Subject:
- Music, Theory, Analysis, Composition
This chapter focuses on representations of the American Indian in popular styles of Western music from the 18th century to the present. The intention is to show how cultural difference is ...
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This chapter focuses on representations of the American Indian in popular styles of Western music from the 18th century to the present. The intention is to show how cultural difference is represented, when little is known or understood about the culture of those being represented, and to consider how shifting perceptions of the Native American can be related to changes in attitude to the “civilized” and the natural world. The emphasis on the popular sharpens the argument, because this kind of representation needs to be widely understood and easily assimilated in order for it to be popular. The ideology embedded in way the American Indian is represented tells us, predictably, about the attitudes of the person who stands outside Native American culture.Less
This chapter focuses on representations of the American Indian in popular styles of Western music from the 18th century to the present. The intention is to show how cultural difference is represented, when little is known or understood about the culture of those being represented, and to consider how shifting perceptions of the Native American can be related to changes in attitude to the “civilized” and the natural world. The emphasis on the popular sharpens the argument, because this kind of representation needs to be widely understood and easily assimilated in order for it to be popular. The ideology embedded in way the American Indian is represented tells us, predictably, about the attitudes of the person who stands outside Native American culture.
Martin Mclaughlin
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264133
- eISBN:
- 9780191734649
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264133.003.0020
- Subject:
- Literature, 16th-century and Renaissance Literature
This chapter documents the extraordinary enthusiasm for biographies of Petrarch in Great Britain in the three-quarters of a century between 1775 and 1850. It explains that during the late eighteenth ...
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This chapter documents the extraordinary enthusiasm for biographies of Petrarch in Great Britain in the three-quarters of a century between 1775 and 1850. It explains that during the late eighteenth century Petrarch was more popular than Dante in Britain but Dante soon eclipsed his successor after the rise of Romanticism. It considers works on Petrarch including those of Ugo Foscolo and Walter Savage Landor and suggests some reasons why Petrarch's popularity died out in Britain so suddenly and so radically in the second half of the nineteenth century.Less
This chapter documents the extraordinary enthusiasm for biographies of Petrarch in Great Britain in the three-quarters of a century between 1775 and 1850. It explains that during the late eighteenth century Petrarch was more popular than Dante in Britain but Dante soon eclipsed his successor after the rise of Romanticism. It considers works on Petrarch including those of Ugo Foscolo and Walter Savage Landor and suggests some reasons why Petrarch's popularity died out in Britain so suddenly and so radically in the second half of the nineteenth century.
Sylvia Jenkins Cook
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195327809
- eISBN:
- 9780199870547
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195327809.003.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, American, 19th Century Literature
This chapter explores how two middle-class women writers shaped early and dramatically different versions of the new female factory worker. The chapter juxtaposes Sarah Savage's 1814 novel, The ...
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This chapter explores how two middle-class women writers shaped early and dramatically different versions of the new female factory worker. The chapter juxtaposes Sarah Savage's 1814 novel, The Factory Girl (about the virtuous Mary Burnam) with Catharine Williams's 1833 account, Fall River, which is an authentic narrative, of the miserable life and gruesome death of Sarah Maria Cornell, an actual factory operative. Cornell's tainted sexual reputation, her history of shoplifting, and her camp meeting predilections contrast starkly with the habits of the self-disciplined and rational Mary Burnam. Significantly, the only quality shared by the factual and the fictional factory worker is that both are readers and writers who aspire to a larger life for both body and mind. Both are, however, equally imaginative constructions, based on a mixture of historical fact and literary invention, created by more affluent writers fascinated with the new realm of wage-earning women. Together, Savage and Williams establish conflicting reputations for the woman worker that anticipate her imminent (and distinctive) written invention of herself.Less
This chapter explores how two middle-class women writers shaped early and dramatically different versions of the new female factory worker. The chapter juxtaposes Sarah Savage's 1814 novel, The Factory Girl (about the virtuous Mary Burnam) with Catharine Williams's 1833 account, Fall River, which is an authentic narrative, of the miserable life and gruesome death of Sarah Maria Cornell, an actual factory operative. Cornell's tainted sexual reputation, her history of shoplifting, and her camp meeting predilections contrast starkly with the habits of the self-disciplined and rational Mary Burnam. Significantly, the only quality shared by the factual and the fictional factory worker is that both are readers and writers who aspire to a larger life for both body and mind. Both are, however, equally imaginative constructions, based on a mixture of historical fact and literary invention, created by more affluent writers fascinated with the new realm of wage-earning women. Together, Savage and Williams establish conflicting reputations for the woman worker that anticipate her imminent (and distinctive) written invention of herself.
Louise A. Breen
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195138009
- eISBN:
- 9780199834006
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195138007.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Analyzes the antinomian controversy of the late 1630s with an eye toward explaining why distinct social constituencies aligned themselves as they did. It examines the wide range of beliefs and people ...
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Analyzes the antinomian controversy of the late 1630s with an eye toward explaining why distinct social constituencies aligned themselves as they did. It examines the wide range of beliefs and people that Massachusetts authorities forced under the “antinomian” umbrella, and analyzes the roles played by individuals on both sides, including John Wheelwright, Israel Stoughton, Thomas Savage, Edward Hutchinson, Edward Gibbons, Thomas Lechford, Thomas Shepard, and John Winthrop. It argues that religious orthodoxy in Massachusetts functioned to affirm the local colonial identity, to privilege the public sphere over the private, and to draw people together toward communal goals in a shared geographic space.Less
Analyzes the antinomian controversy of the late 1630s with an eye toward explaining why distinct social constituencies aligned themselves as they did. It examines the wide range of beliefs and people that Massachusetts authorities forced under the “antinomian” umbrella, and analyzes the roles played by individuals on both sides, including John Wheelwright, Israel Stoughton, Thomas Savage, Edward Hutchinson, Edward Gibbons, Thomas Lechford, Thomas Shepard, and John Winthrop. It argues that religious orthodoxy in Massachusetts functioned to affirm the local colonial identity, to privilege the public sphere over the private, and to draw people together toward communal goals in a shared geographic space.
Joseph Heath
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195370294
- eISBN:
- 9780199871230
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195370294.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Logic/Philosophy of Mathematics
This chapter begins with a summary of the classical sociological solution to the problem of order advanced by Talcott Parsons. The central flaw in the solution is simply that it lacks deliberative ...
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This chapter begins with a summary of the classical sociological solution to the problem of order advanced by Talcott Parsons. The central flaw in the solution is simply that it lacks deliberative microfoundations; it is not clear how social norms interact with beliefs and desires, the two intentional states posited by standard decision theory. A solution is proposed, which involved positing “principles” as a set of intentional states associated direction with actions. A formal representation is developed, and the attractions of the model, from the standpoint of representing a variety of different social interaction types, are then touted.Less
This chapter begins with a summary of the classical sociological solution to the problem of order advanced by Talcott Parsons. The central flaw in the solution is simply that it lacks deliberative microfoundations; it is not clear how social norms interact with beliefs and desires, the two intentional states posited by standard decision theory. A solution is proposed, which involved positing “principles” as a set of intentional states associated direction with actions. A formal representation is developed, and the attractions of the model, from the standpoint of representing a variety of different social interaction types, are then touted.
Robert Launay
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780226575254
- eISBN:
- 9780226575421
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226575421.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Anthropology, Theory and Practice
This book examines the ways in which modern Europeans came to understand themselves as such, in comparison to other peoples who were either not modern (in particular to ancient Geeks and Romans) or ...
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This book examines the ways in which modern Europeans came to understand themselves as such, in comparison to other peoples who were either not modern (in particular to ancient Geeks and Romans) or not European, including American “savages” and Asian “despots”. By the nineteenth century these terms were arranged as a timeline charting the progress from savagery to “Oriental” despotism to ancient and finally modern Europeans. However, from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, the values associated with these terms was far less fixed, and the superiority of modern Europeans was far less self-evident. Accounts of others, sometimes imaginary but sometimes based on real encounters, entered into different, often conflicting, discourses critical of European institutions in the domains of religion, politics, and economy. The French Wars of Religion constituted the impetus for such considerations in the sixteenth century. In the seventeenth century, Jesuit accounts of attempts to convert non-Europeans were central to formulating the terms of such conceptualizations. In the French Enlightenment, accounts of various categories of others figured centrally in debates about natural religion, liberty and political authority, and the social effects of private property. At the end of the eighteenth century, these considerations were synthesized by British thinkers on one hand, contested by German thinkers, particularly Herder, on the other. The book as a whole is a contribution to the history of European ideas about others.Less
This book examines the ways in which modern Europeans came to understand themselves as such, in comparison to other peoples who were either not modern (in particular to ancient Geeks and Romans) or not European, including American “savages” and Asian “despots”. By the nineteenth century these terms were arranged as a timeline charting the progress from savagery to “Oriental” despotism to ancient and finally modern Europeans. However, from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, the values associated with these terms was far less fixed, and the superiority of modern Europeans was far less self-evident. Accounts of others, sometimes imaginary but sometimes based on real encounters, entered into different, often conflicting, discourses critical of European institutions in the domains of religion, politics, and economy. The French Wars of Religion constituted the impetus for such considerations in the sixteenth century. In the seventeenth century, Jesuit accounts of attempts to convert non-Europeans were central to formulating the terms of such conceptualizations. In the French Enlightenment, accounts of various categories of others figured centrally in debates about natural religion, liberty and political authority, and the social effects of private property. At the end of the eighteenth century, these considerations were synthesized by British thinkers on one hand, contested by German thinkers, particularly Herder, on the other. The book as a whole is a contribution to the history of European ideas about others.
Neil Rennie
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198186274
- eISBN:
- 9780191674471
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198186274.003.0005
- Subject:
- Literature, American, 18th Century and Early American Literature
Louis-Antoine Bougainville reached Saint–Malo on March 16, 1769, and was soon with Aotourou in Paris, France. More than a year before the publication of Bougainville's Voyage, the tale of Tahiti was ...
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Louis-Antoine Bougainville reached Saint–Malo on March 16, 1769, and was soon with Aotourou in Paris, France. More than a year before the publication of Bougainville's Voyage, the tale of Tahiti was being told. In Voyage, Bougainville narrated that Aotourou's great passion in Paris was for the opera, that he was very fond of Voltaire's correspondent, the Duchesse de Choiseul, and that his knowledge of French was elementary. But even if Aotourou could not manage ca da fa ga sa za, there were others who would speak for him, and to understand why they said what they did it is necessary to turn from the reality of Aotourou to the theory of ‘l' Homme Sauvage’. This chapter examines in particular the ruminations of Jean-Jacques Rousseau at Saint-Germain in November 1754, focusing on his revolution: to place natural man in a state of nature which was not simply the culture of savages, but ideally natural, and therefore pre-cultural, prehistorical, and — inevitably — hypothetical. This chapter also looks at the story of Omai.Less
Louis-Antoine Bougainville reached Saint–Malo on March 16, 1769, and was soon with Aotourou in Paris, France. More than a year before the publication of Bougainville's Voyage, the tale of Tahiti was being told. In Voyage, Bougainville narrated that Aotourou's great passion in Paris was for the opera, that he was very fond of Voltaire's correspondent, the Duchesse de Choiseul, and that his knowledge of French was elementary. But even if Aotourou could not manage ca da fa ga sa za, there were others who would speak for him, and to understand why they said what they did it is necessary to turn from the reality of Aotourou to the theory of ‘l' Homme Sauvage’. This chapter examines in particular the ruminations of Jean-Jacques Rousseau at Saint-Germain in November 1754, focusing on his revolution: to place natural man in a state of nature which was not simply the culture of savages, but ideally natural, and therefore pre-cultural, prehistorical, and — inevitably — hypothetical. This chapter also looks at the story of Omai.
Neil Rennie
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198186274
- eISBN:
- 9780191674471
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198186274.003.0007
- Subject:
- Literature, American, 18th Century and Early American Literature
As Samuel Taylor Coleridge noticed, the missionaries who came to the South Seas at the end of the 18th century had changed the image of the South Sea savage. This change he understood as fact ...
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As Samuel Taylor Coleridge noticed, the missionaries who came to the South Seas at the end of the 18th century had changed the image of the South Sea savage. This change he understood as fact replacing fiction. The kind of image Coleridge believed to be fact can be represented by the report of an American missionary, Richard Armstrong, who spent eight months in an attempt to establish a mission on the island of Nukuhiva in the Marquesas. Much of Armstrong's own experience could not be given as evidence, because ‘the scenes of licentiousness’ he observed ‘were too shocking ever to be narrated by either pen or tongue’. Even the most mundane facts could not be written or read. In the first half of the 19th century, hoever, savages from the same islands were described very differently. And so fact about the savages replaced fiction — ‘frightful tales’. Herman Melville was aware of an affinity between the Typees and that ‘Red race’ of American Indians whom the Puritans had misread in terms of the Bible, as ‘types’.Less
As Samuel Taylor Coleridge noticed, the missionaries who came to the South Seas at the end of the 18th century had changed the image of the South Sea savage. This change he understood as fact replacing fiction. The kind of image Coleridge believed to be fact can be represented by the report of an American missionary, Richard Armstrong, who spent eight months in an attempt to establish a mission on the island of Nukuhiva in the Marquesas. Much of Armstrong's own experience could not be given as evidence, because ‘the scenes of licentiousness’ he observed ‘were too shocking ever to be narrated by either pen or tongue’. Even the most mundane facts could not be written or read. In the first half of the 19th century, hoever, savages from the same islands were described very differently. And so fact about the savages replaced fiction — ‘frightful tales’. Herman Melville was aware of an affinity between the Typees and that ‘Red race’ of American Indians whom the Puritans had misread in terms of the Bible, as ‘types’.
Patrick Brantlinger
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801450198
- eISBN:
- 9780801462634
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801450198.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century and Victorian Literature
This book unravels contradictions embedded in the racist and imperialist ideology of the British Empire. For many Victorians, the idea of taming cannibals or civilizing savages was oxymoronic: ...
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This book unravels contradictions embedded in the racist and imperialist ideology of the British Empire. For many Victorians, the idea of taming cannibals or civilizing savages was oxymoronic: civilization was a goal that the non-white peoples of the world could not attain or, at best, could only approximate, yet the “civilizing mission” was viewed as the ultimate justification for imperialism. Similarly, the supposedly unshakeable certainty of Anglo-Saxon racial superiority was routinely undercut by widespread fears about racial degeneration through contact with “lesser” races or concerns that Anglo-Saxons might be superseded by something superior—an even “fitter” or “higher” race or species. This book traces the development of those fears through close readings of a wide range of texts—including Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, Fiji and the Fijians by Thomas Williams, Daily Life and Origin of the Tasmanians by James Bonwick, The Descent of Man by Charles Darwin, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, Culture and Anarchy by Matthew Arnold, She by H. Rider Haggard, and The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. Throughout, the book combines the study of literature with sociopolitical history and postcolonial theory in novel ways.Less
This book unravels contradictions embedded in the racist and imperialist ideology of the British Empire. For many Victorians, the idea of taming cannibals or civilizing savages was oxymoronic: civilization was a goal that the non-white peoples of the world could not attain or, at best, could only approximate, yet the “civilizing mission” was viewed as the ultimate justification for imperialism. Similarly, the supposedly unshakeable certainty of Anglo-Saxon racial superiority was routinely undercut by widespread fears about racial degeneration through contact with “lesser” races or concerns that Anglo-Saxons might be superseded by something superior—an even “fitter” or “higher” race or species. This book traces the development of those fears through close readings of a wide range of texts—including Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, Fiji and the Fijians by Thomas Williams, Daily Life and Origin of the Tasmanians by James Bonwick, The Descent of Man by Charles Darwin, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, Culture and Anarchy by Matthew Arnold, She by H. Rider Haggard, and The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. Throughout, the book combines the study of literature with sociopolitical history and postcolonial theory in novel ways.
Christine Gerrard
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198129820
- eISBN:
- 9780191671869
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198129820.003.0008
- Subject:
- Literature, 18th-century Literature
By 1742, Robert Walpole had gone, only to be replaced by ‘politics as usual’, a Whig party reshuffle which in time came to include previous Patriot Whigs who abandoned their commitment to ...
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By 1742, Robert Walpole had gone, only to be replaced by ‘politics as usual’, a Whig party reshuffle which in time came to include previous Patriot Whigs who abandoned their commitment to broad-bottom principles in pursuit of government places. Some of the most scathing definitions of Patriots, patriotism, and Whigs are supplied by Samuel Johnson. Patriot Whiggery and Jacobitism deployed overlapping sets of images and metaphors, especially those of redemptive kingship. But Patriot Whigs were rarely Jacobites. Patriot Whigs were remarkably consistent with their support for the House of Hanover, even if that support focused on the heir to the throne rather than its present occupant. This is not to deny that a few figures involved in Patriot politics later dabbled with Jacobite intrigue. But the fundamental tenet cherished by most opposition Whigs — defence of the Protestant succession — was ultimately irreconcilable with Jacobitism. Johnson's unusual oscillation between Whig Patriot idealism and stubborn Jacobite resentment was also characteristic of Richard Savage, perhaps the dominant influence on the young Johnson during his first years in London.Less
By 1742, Robert Walpole had gone, only to be replaced by ‘politics as usual’, a Whig party reshuffle which in time came to include previous Patriot Whigs who abandoned their commitment to broad-bottom principles in pursuit of government places. Some of the most scathing definitions of Patriots, patriotism, and Whigs are supplied by Samuel Johnson. Patriot Whiggery and Jacobitism deployed overlapping sets of images and metaphors, especially those of redemptive kingship. But Patriot Whigs were rarely Jacobites. Patriot Whigs were remarkably consistent with their support for the House of Hanover, even if that support focused on the heir to the throne rather than its present occupant. This is not to deny that a few figures involved in Patriot politics later dabbled with Jacobite intrigue. But the fundamental tenet cherished by most opposition Whigs — defence of the Protestant succession — was ultimately irreconcilable with Jacobitism. Johnson's unusual oscillation between Whig Patriot idealism and stubborn Jacobite resentment was also characteristic of Richard Savage, perhaps the dominant influence on the young Johnson during his first years in London.
Huw Price
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199560561
- eISBN:
- 9780191721380
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199560561.003.0014
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology, Philosophy of Science
Critics object that the Everett view cannot make sense of quantum probabilities, in one or both of two ways: either it cannot make sense of probability at all, or it cannot explain why probability ...
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Critics object that the Everett view cannot make sense of quantum probabilities, in one or both of two ways: either it cannot make sense of probability at all, or it cannot explain why probability should be governed by the Born rule. David Deutsch has attempted to meet these objections by appealing to an Everettian version of Savage's rational decision theory. Deutsch argues not only that an analogue of classical decision under uncertainty makes sense in an Everett world; but also that under reasonable assumptions, the betting odds of a rational Everettian agent should be constrained by the Born rule. Deutsch's proposal has been defended and developed by David Wallace, and in a different form by Hilary Greaves. This chapter offers some objections to the Deutsch–Wallace–Greaves argument, focussing in particular on the supposed analogy with classical decision under uncertainty.Less
Critics object that the Everett view cannot make sense of quantum probabilities, in one or both of two ways: either it cannot make sense of probability at all, or it cannot explain why probability should be governed by the Born rule. David Deutsch has attempted to meet these objections by appealing to an Everettian version of Savage's rational decision theory. Deutsch argues not only that an analogue of classical decision under uncertainty makes sense in an Everett world; but also that under reasonable assumptions, the betting odds of a rational Everettian agent should be constrained by the Born rule. Deutsch's proposal has been defended and developed by David Wallace, and in a different form by Hilary Greaves. This chapter offers some objections to the Deutsch–Wallace–Greaves argument, focussing in particular on the supposed analogy with classical decision under uncertainty.
Tim Fulford
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199273379
- eISBN:
- 9780191706332
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199273379.003.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century Literature and Romanticism
This chapter considers the history of contact between Indians, Britons, and colonists in the 18th and early-19th century. It investigates the changing forms of representation of each group by the ...
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This chapter considers the history of contact between Indians, Britons, and colonists in the 18th and early-19th century. It investigates the changing forms of representation of each group by the others in the context of empire, war, and colonial encounters. It also considers theoretical debates about white representations of indigenous peoples.Less
This chapter considers the history of contact between Indians, Britons, and colonists in the 18th and early-19th century. It investigates the changing forms of representation of each group by the others in the context of empire, war, and colonial encounters. It also considers theoretical debates about white representations of indigenous peoples.
Tim Fulford
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199273379
- eISBN:
- 9780191706332
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199273379.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century Literature and Romanticism
This chapter describes in detail captivity narratives and soldiers' memoirs from the Seven Years' War and the War of Independence of their encounters with Indians.
This chapter describes in detail captivity narratives and soldiers' memoirs from the Seven Years' War and the War of Independence of their encounters with Indians.
Freya Johnston
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199251827
- eISBN:
- 9780191719080
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199251827.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, 18th-century Literature
Tracing Johnson's pursuit of domestic particulars, this chapter examines the challenges they pose to the dignity of his style. It examines ‘little’ as a complex word which unites the impulses to ...
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Tracing Johnson's pursuit of domestic particulars, this chapter examines the challenges they pose to the dignity of his style. It examines ‘little’ as a complex word which unites the impulses to elevate and depreciate the low detail or character; Johnson's use of the terms ‘elegance’ and ‘inelegance’ as an index of the Scots' advance towards English standards of civility; and his employment of litotes throughout the Journey and the Life of Savage, in order to suspend before his reader a scrupulous indecision about social and intellectual progress. The prevalence of litotes in Johnson's writing indicates his logical fuzziness. It is argued that his powers of description need not resolve themselves into wholehearted truths or falsehoods, exclusions or inclusions, sense or nonsense.Less
Tracing Johnson's pursuit of domestic particulars, this chapter examines the challenges they pose to the dignity of his style. It examines ‘little’ as a complex word which unites the impulses to elevate and depreciate the low detail or character; Johnson's use of the terms ‘elegance’ and ‘inelegance’ as an index of the Scots' advance towards English standards of civility; and his employment of litotes throughout the Journey and the Life of Savage, in order to suspend before his reader a scrupulous indecision about social and intellectual progress. The prevalence of litotes in Johnson's writing indicates his logical fuzziness. It is argued that his powers of description need not resolve themselves into wholehearted truths or falsehoods, exclusions or inclusions, sense or nonsense.
