My class was scheduled from ten until noon. Many students came late. Several arrived after 10:30. A few showed up closer to eleven. Two came after that. All of the latecomers wore the relaxed smiles I later came to enjoy. Each one greeted me, and although a few apologized briefly, none seemed terribly concerned about being late. They assumed that I understood. That Brazilians would arrive late …
The introduction to this volume describes the contribution that it makes to scholarship on ancient divinatory practices. It analyses previous and current research, arguing that while this predominantly functionalist work reveals important socio-political dimensions of divination, it also runs the risk of obscuring from view the very people, ideologies, and experiences that scholars seek to unde…
Debates about the possibility of an open culture – or indeed about the possibility of an open debate about the openness of culture – often turn on questions of standards. But since no benchmark can be absolute, judgement is a proliferation of comparisons. Through a series of case studies in everyday and academic comparison (literature, history, politics, philosophy), Haun Saussy calls out t…
Water will undoubtedly become an ever more crucial locus of academic reflection, as Christiana Peppard’s concern that “wars of the future will be fought over water, not oil” (2014) stresses. Increasing water shortages worldwide and global warming of water, in particular the salt water of the oceans, beg further reflection, from natural and agricultural sciences, the legal field, and also …
The Runaway Species is a deep dive into the creative mind, a celebration of the human spirit, and a vision of how we can improve our future by understanding and embracing our ability to innovate. David Eagleman and Anthony Brandt seek to answer the question: what lies at the heart of humanity’s ability—and drive—to create? Our ability to remake our world is unique among all living thin…
When the Nerds Go Marching In shows how digital technology has moved from the margins to the mainstream of campaign and election organization in contemporary democracies. Combining an extensive review of existing literature and comparative data sources with original survey evidence and web content analysis of digital campaign content across four nations—the United Kingdom, Australia, France, …
The present volume does not generally focus on the question of whether thoughts (cognition) or feelings (emotion) are more functional. Rather, this introductory material is sufficient to make the case that, typically, thoughts and feelings are seen to be distinct entities with distinct effects (e.g., Epstein, 1994). Yet, it has become increasingly apparent that cognition and emotion often inter…
How does memory work? How do we understand language, and produce it so that others can understand? How do we perceive our environment? How do we infer from patterns of light or sound the presence of objects in our environment, and their properties? How do we reason, and solve problems? How do we think? These are some of the foundational questions that cognitive psychology examines. They are fou…
The massive disruptions caused by climate change, the Covid-19 Pandemic, war, and ever-rising inequalities have presented the world with challenges across social and economic life, health and education, policy, politics, and community life. Compassion is a central Buddhist value and practice but is also essential to our survival. Defined as feeling genuine concern about the suffering of others …
The majority of authors of Tarot books are content to describe and analyze the cards one by one without imagining the entire deck as a whole. However, the true study of each Arcanum begins with the consistent order of the entire Tarot; every detail, tiny as it may be, begins from the links that connect all seventy-eight cards. To understand these myriad symbols, one needs to have seen the final…