Traditions, Tyranny and Utopias: Essays in the Politics of Awareness (Oxford India Paperbacks)

By Michael Spivak

Book Overview

These six essays present an outsider's view of Western norms of progress, rationality, and maturity, and offer an alternate perspective on oppression in modern times. Well-known psychologist and social theorist Ashis Nandy stresses the importance of considering world views held by the "non-modern" cultures of the Third World in formulating a more humane and less technologically preoccupied vision of progress. Institutionalized oppression is seen as a process which co-opts the physical and psychological worlds of its victims and destroys the basis of all dissenting visions of a just world. Concluding with an essay on Gandhi and his critical reaction to Western civilization, this book is an important contribution to political science, sociology, psychology, and South Asian studies.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195619889
• ISBN13: 9780195619881
• Release Date: March 1988
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 180 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.8" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Untangling the web

"Culture and Value" is a fascinating compilation of tidbits on art, religion and culture by the great 20th century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Wittgenstein grew up in the culture milieu of Vienna. The Austro-Hungarian Empire had self-destructed in WWI, but Vienna was still a center of culture and philosophy. Wittgenstein absorbed culture readily- Brahms had played for his family, Freud and Jung debated psychoanalysis...

Smarter Than Einstein

I read Wittgenstein's commentary found in this Culture & Value shortly after reading Einstein's The World As I see It, and there were obvious similarities to be found-- but what else could one expect from such creative intellects? The commentaries of both are priceless, and truly help the reader in [i]seeing[/i] the world as these mammoth intellects did in the time on earth they shared. For there was much to be found akin...

Just A Tip

Pay close attention to Witt's writings on religion. Not systematic or consistent, but some of what he says is really informative.

Brilliant overview of the man's concerns...

This collection of Wittgenstein's "remarks" written over a time period of forty years was first published as "Vermischte Bemerkungen" in the original German in 1977. These remarks are taken from his private manuscripts and diaries, which were finally translated into English in 1980. As a vast majority of Wittgenstein's manuscripts or notebooks were written with no intent by the author for publication, it makes one wonder...

Great little bag of thoughts and quotations

I read this book because I heard that it was the most accessible of his books: I was not dissapointed. Accessible, wise, insightful, could all be used to describe this book. There are plenty of banal remarks not worthy of Wittgenstein's genius, but overall I enjoyed his comments on Shakespeare, Mendolsohn, Judaism, and anything else he felt like writing about. I particularly liked his comments on his personal torments...