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Ethical Condition
Ethical Condition
Lambek, Michael
¥247.21
Written over a thirty-year span, Michael Lambek's essays in this collection point with definitive force toward a single central truth: ethics is intrinsic to social life. As he shows through rich ethnographic accounts and multiple theoretical traditions, our human condition is at heart an ethical one-we may not always be good or just, but we are always subject to their criteria. Detailing Lambek's trajectory as one anthropologist thinking deeply throughout a career on the nature of ethical life, the essays accumulate into a vibrant demonstration of the relevance of ethics as a practice and its crucial importance to ethnography, social theory, and philosophy.Organized chronologically, the essays begin among Malagasy speakers on the island of Mayotte and in northwest Madagascar. Building from ethnographic accounts there, they synthesize Aristotelian notions of practical judgment and virtuous action with Wittgensteinian notions of the ordinariness of ethical life and the importance of language, everyday speech, and ritual in order to understand how ethics are lived. They illustrate the multiple ways in which ethics informs personhood, character, and practice; explore the centrality of judgment, action, and irony to ethical life; and consider the relation of virtue to value. The result is a fully fleshed-out picture of ethics as a deeply rooted aspect of the human experience.?
Ancestors and Antiretrovirals
Ancestors and Antiretrovirals
Decoteau, Claire Laurier
¥265.87
In the years since the end of apartheid, South Africans have enjoyed a progressive constitution, considerable access to social services for the poor and sick, and a booming economy that has made their nation into one of the wealthiest on the continent. At the same time, South Africa experiences extremely unequal income distribution, and its citizens suffer the highest prevalence of HIV in the world. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu has noted, "e;AIDS is South Africa's new apartheid."e;In Ancestors and Antiretrovirals, Claire Laurier Decoteau backs up Tutu's assertion with powerful arguments about how this came to pass. Decoteau traces the historical shifts in health policy after apartheid and describes their effects, detailing, in particular, the changing relationship between biomedical and indigenous health care, both at the national and the local level. Decoteau tells this story from the perspective of those living with and dying from AIDS in Johannesburg's squatter camps. At the same time, she exposes the complex and often contradictory ways that the South African government has failed to balance the demands of neoliberal capital with the considerable health needs of its population.
Opera Fanatic
Opera Fanatic
Benzecry, Claudio E.
¥270.76
Though some dismiss opera as old-fashioned, it shows no sign of disappearing from the world's stage. So why do audiences continue to flock to itGiven its association with wealth, one might imagine that opera tickets function as a status symbol. But while a desire to hobnob with the upper crust might motivate the occasional operagoer, for hardcore fans the real answer, according to The Opera Fanatic, is passion-they do it for love.Opera lovers are an intense lot, Claudio E. Benzecry discovers in his look at the fanatics who haunt the legendary Coln Opera House in Buenos Aires, a key site for opera's globalization. Listening to the fans and their stories, Benzecry hears of two-hundred-mile trips for performances and nightlong camp-outs for tickets, while others testify to a particular opera's power to move them-whether to song or to tears-no matter how many times they have seen it before. Drawing on his insightful analysis of these acts of love, Benzecry proposes new ways of thinking about people's relationship to art and shows how, far from merely enhancing aspects of everyday life, art allows us to transcend it.
Philosophy of Pseudoscience
Philosophy of Pseudoscience
Massimo Pigliucci and Maarten Boudry
¥288.41
What sets the practice of rigorously tested, sound science apart from pseudoscienceIn this volume, the contributors seek to answer this question, known to philosophers of science as "e;the demarcation problem."e; This issue has a long history in philosophy, stretching as far back as the early twentieth century and the work of Karl Popper. But by the late 1980s, scholars in the field began to treat the demarcation problem as impossible to solve and futile to ponder. However, the essays that Massimo Pigliucci and Maarten Boudry have assembled in this volume make a rousing case for the unequivocal importance of reflecting on the separation between pseudoscience and sound science. Moreover, the demarcation problem is not a purely theoretical dilemma of mere academic interest: it affects parents' decisions to vaccinate children and governments' willingness to adopt policies that prevent climate change. Pseudoscience often mimics science, using the superficial language and trappings of actual scientific research to seem more respectable. Even a well-informed public can be taken in by such questionable theories dressed up as science. Pseudoscientific beliefs compete with sound science on the health pages of newspapers for media coverage and in laboratories for research funding. Now more than ever the ability to separate genuine scientific findings from spurious ones is vital, and The Philosophy of Pseudoscience provides ground for philosophers, sociologists, historians, and laypeople to make decisions about what science is or isn't.
Plant Sensing and Communication
Plant Sensing and Communication
Karban, Richard
¥288.41
The news that a flowering weed-mousear cress (Arabidopsis thaliana)-can sense the particular chewing noise of its most common caterpillar predator and adjust its chemical defenses in response led to headlines announcing the discovery of the first "e;hearing"e; plant. As plants lack central nervous systems (and, indeed, ears), the mechanisms behind this "e;hearing"e; are unquestionably very different from those of our own acoustic sense, but the misleading headlines point to an overlooked truth: plants do in fact perceive environmental cues and respond rapidly to them by changing their chemical, morphological, and behavioral traits.In Plant Sensing and Communication, Richard Karban provides the first comprehensive overview of what is known about how plants perceive their environments, communicate those perceptions, and learn. Facing many of the same challenges as animals, plants have developed many similar capabilities: they sense light, chemicals, mechanical stimulation, temperature, electricity, and sound. Moreover, prior experiences have lasting impacts on sensitivity and response to cues; plants, in essence, have memory. Nor are their senses limited to the processes of an individual plant: plants eavesdrop on the cues and behaviors of neighbors and-for example, through flowers and fruits-exchange information with other types of organisms. Far from inanimate organisms limited by their stationary existence, plants, this book makes unquestionably clear, are in constant and lively discourse.
Deep Rhetoric
Deep Rhetoric
Crosswhite, James
¥311.96
"e;Rhetoric is the counterpart of logic,"e; claimed Aristotle. "e;Rhetoric is the first part of logic rightly understood,"e; Martin Heidegger concurred. "e;Rhetoric is the universal form of human communication,"e; opined Hans-Georg Gadamer. But in Deep Rhetoric, James Crosswhite offers a groundbreaking new conception of rhetoric, one that builds a definitive case for an understanding of the discipline as a philosophical enterprise beyond basic argumentation and is fully conversant with the advances of the New Rhetoric of Chaim Perelman and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca.Chapter by chapter, Deep Rhetoric develops an understanding of rhetoric not only in its philosophical dimension but also as a means of guiding and conducting conflicts, achieving justice, and understanding the human condition. Along the way, Crosswhite restores the traditional dignity and importance of the discipline and illuminates the twentieth-century resurgence of rhetoric among philosophers, as well as the role that rhetoric can play in future discussions of ontology, epistemology, and ethics. At a time when the fields of philosophy and rhetoric have diverged, Crosswhite returns them to their common moorings and shows us an invigorating new way forward.
America Afire
America Afire
Weisberger, Bernard A.
¥84.16
America Afire is the powerful story of the election of 1800, arguably the most important election in America's history and certainly one of the most hotly disputed. Former allies Adams and Jefferson, president versus vice president, Federalist versus Republican, squared off in a vicious contest that resulted in broken friendships, scandals, riots, slander, and jailings in the fourth presidential election under the Constitution.
The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories: Volume 3
The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories: Volume 3
Gordon-Levitt, Joseph
¥84.16
The universe is not made of atoms; it's made of tiny stories.Featuring 82 contributors from the 35,905 contributions to the Tiny Stories collaboration on hitrecord.org
Untangling the Mind
Untangling the Mind
George, David Theodore
¥83.03
Free yourself from emotional turmoileven when that turmoil is caused by others! We have a much greater understanding of human behavior now than we did just a few decades ago. Yet even with this greater understanding of the human mind, why we do what we do can sometimes seem like a mystery. People are often left with unsettling questions about their own (or others') behavior. We ask ourselves, Why did I make a spectacle of myselfWhy am I so stressedWhy am I constantly so negativeIn his years as a clinician, Dr. Ted George has been struck by how much easier it is for people to say they have a physical illness than it is to admit they feel out of control with an emotion be it anger, fear, or depression. With a physical issue, you have the source of the problem in concrete terms, such as in a lab report, but with an emotional issue, it can be much harder to define what's gone wrong. Untangling the Mind helps make sense of what's happening and why. With knowledge of how the brain translates sensory signals into emotions, you will increase your understanding of your own and others' behaviors. As you learn about your psychological and neurological makeup, you will begin to see new possibilities for optimism, motivation, and well-being. We can control our behavior and our feelings, no matter how much they may have ruled us in the past, and Dr. George helps us know how. Once you understand the deeply rooted instincts that activate your emotions, you can live more peacefully, behave in ways that are more in keeping with the person you'd like to be, and enjoy your life more fully. And you'll be better able to remain unaffected by the drama of other people's emotional storms.
Story Starters
Story Starters
Stanek, Lou W., PhD
¥84.16
What If . . . . . . every classmate passed the bar exam—except one. . . the killer left a calling card—the ace of spades. . . she was a sleeping beauty— but it wasn't prince's kiss that woke her up. . .he had history of obsessive behavior— and then he developed a passion for. . . Thousands of Stories Are Just Waiting to be Told—By You If you have the passion and energy to write fiction, but have trouble finding an idea and getting started, this is the perfect book for you. Lou Willett Stanek has helped scores of new authors in her acclaimed writing workshops—and now she shows you how to look and listen, how to find stories and begin shaping them like a writer. Here's how to find inspiration from neighbors and strangers, reshape classic tales, cull current events and use other tricks of the writing trade so effectively you'll soon find yourself brimming with ideas, your imagination revved to its full potential. Begin with a snippet of overheard conversation, an unexpected event, a simple character trait, a place, a problem—Ms. Stanek teaches you to get past "what really happened" and reinvent reality in ways that will astound and delight you, and hold a reader's attention. Here too are hundreds of "what-ifs," simple situations you can guide to endlessly different conclusions—and use to learn new ways to fashion plot, describe character, develop conflict, paint with language, create a setting, employ flashbacks, build suspense, and much, much more. For every writer who could use a jump-start, from novice to pro, here is a book that will help you keep the faith and. . . Get Started!
The Epidemic
The Epidemic
Shaw, Robert, M.D.
¥84.16
A call for parents to take responsibility for their children and give them what they truly need in order to grow, thrive, and love.Take a good look around you: you can't go into stores or restaurants without seeing joyless children screaming and sulking while their parents ignore them. According to esteemed child psychiatrist Robert Shaw, this epidemic has become so much the norm that we often don't recognize its warning signs. This bold and timely book tells you how to save your child and your family with a commonsense approach that cuts to the core of the problem and shows us the cure. The Epidemic covers: Developing your child's ability to love Managing child care and minimizing the damage Raising cooperative, joyful, and creative children Promoting self-esteem and confidence rather than self-centeredness Avoiding the harmful effects of electronic media Healing angry, contemptuous, withdrawn, and out-of-control children
Bad Kid
Bad Kid
Crabb, David
¥83.03
Discovering George Michael's Faith confirmed for David Crabb what every bully already knew: he was gay. What saved him from high school was finding a group of outlandish friends who reveled in being outsiders. David found himself enmeshed with misfits: wearing black, cutting class, staying out all night, drinking, tripping, chain-smoking, idolizing the Pet Shop Boys and learning lessons about life and love along the way.Richly detailed with nineties pop-culture, and including black-and-white photos throughout, Bad Kid is as laugh-out-loud funny as it is poignant. David Crabb's journey through adolescence captures the essence of every person's struggle to understand his or her true self.
The Mother Tongue
The Mother Tongue
Bryson, Bill
¥95.39
With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson the acclaimed author of The Lost Continent brilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience and sheer fun of the English language. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat (why you can talk but your dog can't), to the fine lost art of swearing, Bryson tells the fascinating, often uproarious story of an inadequate, second-rate tongue of peasants that developed into one of the world's largest growth industries.
The Presumed Alliance
The Presumed Alliance
Vaca, Nicolas C., PhD
¥90.77
As Latino and African Americans increasingly live side by side in large urban centers, as well as in suburban clusters, the idealized concept of a "Rainbow Coalition" would suggest that these two disenfranchised groups are natural political allies. Indeed, as the number of Latinos has increased dramatically over the last ten years, competition over power and resources between these two groups has led to surprisingly antagonistic and uncooperative interactions. Many African Americans now view Latinos, because of their growth in numbers, as a threat to their social, economic, and political gains.Vaca debunks the myth of "The Great Union" and offers the hope he believes each community could learn from, in order to achieve a mutually agreed upon agenda. More than simply unveiling the problem, The Presumed Alliance offers optimistic solutions to the future relations between Latino and Black America.
The Rabbi and the Hit Man
The Rabbi and the Hit Man
Magida, Arthur J.
¥94.10
A fascinating true-crime narrative about the first rabbi ever accused of murder and what the case says about the role of clergy in America.On the evening of November 1, 1994, Rabbi Fred Neulander returned home to find his wife, Carol, facedown on the living room floor, blood everywhere. He called for help, but it was too late. Two trials and eight years later, the founder of the largest reform synagogue in southern New Jersey became the first rabbi ever convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.In a gripping examination of the misuses of the pulpit and the self-delusions of power, Arthur J. Magida paints a devastating portrait of a manipulative man who used his position of trust in the temple to attract several mistresses -- and to befriend a lonely recovering alcoholic, whom he convinced to kill his wife "for the good of Israel."The Rabbi and the Hit Man straddles the juncture of faith and trust, and confronts issues of sex, narcissism, arrogance, and adultery. It is the definitive account of a charismatic clergyman who paid the ultimate price for ignoring his own words of wisdom: "We live at any moment with our total past ... What we do will stay with us forever."
Black Lies, White Lies
Black Lies, White Lies
Brown, Tony
¥94.10
PBS television commentator and syndicated radio talk-show host Tony Brown has been called an "out-of-the-box thinker" and, less delicately, and "equal opportunity ass kicker." Those who attempt to pigeonhole him do so at their own peril. This journalist, media commentator, self-help advocate, entrepreneur, public speaker, film director, and author is a hard man to pin a label on -- and an even more difficult man to fool.In Black Lies, White Lies, Tony Brown does what few high-profile African Americans have done before: He dares to challenge the lies of both Black and White leaders, and he dares to tell the truth. He attacks White racism and Black self-victimization with equal vehemence. He condemns integration as a disastrous policy, not for just Blacks but for the entire country. And he confronts the Black Talented Tenth, White liberals, conservatives, Democrats, Republicans, demagogues, and racists on all sides for their self-serving lies, their failures, and their lack of vision.But Tony Brown does not simply slash and burn. He also offers farsighted, workable solutions to America's problems. He provides a blueprint for American renewal bases on his belief that although we may not have come to this country on the same ship, we are all now in the same boat.
North of Normal
North of Normal
Person, Cea Sunrise
¥88.56
In the late 1960s, Cea Sunrise Person's subversive family fled to the Canadian wilderness to grow pot, embrace free love, and live off the land. A riveting memoir of growing up off the grid amid multiple generations of dysfunction, North of Normal chronicles one woman's journey to reclaim her life on her own terms.Determined to abandon civilization for a hand-to-mouth existence in the wild, Cea Sunrise Person's charismatic grandfather Papa Dick uproots the Person clan from suburban California to the forests of Canada when she is just a baby. Together with her teenage mother, Michelle her father long gone Cea will spend the next decade of her life living in and out of canvas tipis with neither electricity nor running water, at the mercy of fierce storms, food shortages, and an array of grown-ups more interested in having a groovy time than in parenting a child.As a young girl who knows no other world, Cea is happy enough playing in the meadows and snowshoeing behind the grandfather she idolizes. But for Michelle, one crucial element is missing: a man. When Michelle strikes out to look for love, spinning from one boyfriend to the next, Cea is forced along for the ride and into a harsh awakening. Consumed by a desire for a more normal life, she begins to question both her highly unusual world and the hedonistic woman at its center. But the escape she finds, a career as an internationally successful model, brings its own challenges.Shocking, heartbreaking, yet often funny, and infused with warmth toward her damaged family, North of Normal is Person's singular story of her desire to live life on her own terms no matter what it takes. Her journey of self-discovery and acceptance, which comes full circle after she has children of her own, is profoundly moving. Eloquently navigating the minefields of regret, longing, and family, North of Normal celebrates the strength we all carry within us to shape our own destiny.
Happiness on $10 a Day
Happiness on $10 a Day
Wagner, Heather
¥56.15
Money might buy happiness . . . but what if you're on a budget?Forget the $300 therapy bills, the 197 secrets of happy people, the 18 steps to contentment. Happiness on $10 a Day is all you need to rediscover your joie de vivre without breaking the bank. Whether you're into schadenfreude, mooching, or just good old-fashioned fun, this wallet-friendly guidebook offers dozens of contentment-inducing activities. Along the way, handy icons help you find the right activity for your mood and finances.Feeling dramaticTry harassing a telemarketer.Craving cute animalsStalk a puppy.Need a party themeThrow a celebrity sex tape screening.Totally brokeTime for a pub crawl pyramid scheme!Free!Winter or summer, city or country, alone or with friends, you don't need a trust fund to find delight in daily life. If you've got a sense of adventure, a love of mischief, and $10 to buy this book, what are you waiting for?
NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette
NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette
Pyle, Nathan W.
¥72.71
Living in New York City for five years as a transplant from Ohio, illustrator and T-shirt designer Nathan Pyle was fascinated by the unique habits and unspoken customs New Yorkers follow to make life bearable in a city with 8 million people (and seemingly twice the number of tourists). Nathan decided to draw his favorite tips and etiquette lessons and post them on the internet, where his 12 original panels went viral immediately and became the basis for this hilarious illustrated book (check out the fully animated ebook, too!).In NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette, Pyle reveals the secrets and unwritten rules for living in and visiting New York including the answers to such burning questions as, which cabs should I try to hailWhat is a bodegaWhich way is UptownWhy are there so many doors in the sidewalkHow do I walk on an escalatorDo we need to be touching right nowWhere should I inhale or exhale while passing sidewalk garbageHow long should I honk my hornIf New York were a game show, how would I winWhat happens when I stand in the bike laneWho should get the empty subway seatsHow do I stay safe during a trash tornadoEach tip is a little story illustrated in simple black and white drawings.Visitors and newcomers to New York will love it because the advice is smart, funny, and not condescending. New Yorkers will love it for its strategic and humorous approach to mastering the daily chaos of the city.
Battered Woman
Battered Woman
Walker, Lenore E.
¥77.54
"A major contribution to this subject. She is thorough, practical, compassionate, and authoritative. It is a reading must."--Phyllis Chesler
Enough About You
Enough About You
Gotist, Mimi E.
¥67.09
The Complete Narcissist's GuideMimi E. Gotist delivers a gift for our times: practical, simple guidance to help you cope with the self-loving people in your life-while nurturing your own inner narcissist.At once utterly self-absorbed, and charmingly aware of it, Gotist offers advice on: Dating: You're not looking for the person you want to marry -- you're looking for the person you want to change Career: Don't work -- work it Spirituality: Me Here Now Personal Growth: You can't help anyone who won't help you