by Christophe Jaffrelot (1996)
Although the peaceful, inward-looking doctrine of the Hindu religion hardly seems to lend itself to ethnic nationalism, a phenomenal surge of militant Hinduism has taken place over the last ten years in India, precipitating a wave of Hindu-Muslim riots in India in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Indeed, the electoral success of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has proven beyond a doubt that these fundamentalists now pose a significant threat to India's secular government. In a historically rich, detailed account of the Hindu nationalist movement in India since the 1920s, Christophe Jaffrelot explores how rapid changes in the political, social, and economic climate have made India fertile soil for the growth of the primary arm of Hindu nationalism, a paramilitary-style group known as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), together with its political offshoots. Jaffrelot argues that political uneasiness, created by real and imagined threats of colonialism and the presence of minority groups, paved the way for militant Hinduism on the Indian subcontinent. He shows how the Hindu movement uses religion to enter the political sphere, and argues that the ideology they speak for has less to do with Hindu philosophy than with ethnic nationalism, borrowing from modern European models. Using techniques similar to those of nationalist groups in other nations, Jaffrelot contends, the Hindu movement polarizes Indian society by stigmatizing minorities - chiefly Muslims and Christians - and by promoting a sectarian Hindu identity. Jaffrelot's close empirical research informs his case studies of party-building at the local level and strengthens his incisive interpretations of the past failures and Hindu nationalism, as well as recent successes beginning in the 1980s. This analysis takes into account the subtle interaction between long-term strategies for changing a country's culture and short-term tactics of political accommodation.
John F. Crosby ... [et al
"Expressed in the encyclicals and books, in speeches and sermons, the thought of Pope John Paul II has enriched the Church in many ways. In this volume, scholars examine central aspects of the thought of John Paul II and explore its significance for the contemporary Church."--BOOK JACKET.
David d'Avray
"Inspired by the social theories of Max Weber, David d'Avray asks how far medieval religion was rational and, in doing so, proposes a new approach to the study of the medieval past. Applying ideas developed in his companion volume on Rationalities in History, he explores how values, instrumental calculation, legal formality and substantive rationality interact and the ways in which medieval beliefs were strengthened by their mutual connections, by experience, and by mental images. He sheds new light on key themes and figures in medieval religion ranging from conversion, miracles and the ideas of Bernard of Clairvaux to Trinitarianism, papal government and Francis of Assisi's charismatic authority. This book is unique in showing how values and instrumental calculation affect each other in practice and demonstrating the ways in which the application of social theory can be used to generate fresh empirical research as well as new historical insights"-- "Inspired by the social theories of Max Weber, David D'Avray asks in what senses medieval religion was rational and, in doing so, proposes a new approach to the study of the medieval past. Applying ideas developed in his companion volume on Rationalities in History, he explores how values, instrumental calculation, legal formality and substantive rationality interact and the ways in which medieval beliefs were strengthened by their mutual connections, by experience and by mental images. He sheds new light on key themes and figures in medieval religion ranging from conversion, miracles and the ideas of Bernard of Clairvaux to Trinitarianism, papal government and Francis of Assisi's charismatic authority. This book is unique in showing how values and instrumental calculation affect each other in practice and demonstrates the ways in which the application of social theory can be used to generate fresh empirical research as well as new insights"--
Arkady Plotnitsky
The book offers an exploration of the relationships between epistemology and probability in the work of Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, and Erwin SchrÃœdinger; in quantum mechanics; and in modern physics as a whole. It also considers the implications of these relationships and of quantum theory itself for our understanding of the nature of thinking and knowledge in general. These implications are radical and controversial. While they have been seen as scientifically productive and intellectually liberating to some, Bohr and Heisenberg among them, they have been troublesome to many others, beginning with SchrÃœdinger and, most famously, Einstein, who refused to believe that God would resort to playing dice, as quantum theory appeared to demand.^ The situation led to an intense debate, in particular the great confrontation between Einstein and Bohr, which began around the time of the discovery of quantum mechanics by Heisenberg and SchrÃœdinger in 1920s and has overshadowed the history of the debate concerning quantum mechanics ever since. The controversy itself surrounding quantum theory and the intensity of the debate concerning it have remained undiminished. No end appears to be in sight. At the same time, in spite of the enormous and ever proliferating amount of commentaries in all genres (technical, philosophical, and popular), some of the deeper philosophical aspects of quantum mechanics and of the philosophical thought of the figures considered in this study often remain explored. The main aim of this book is to contribute to a better understanding of the nature of quantum-theoretical thinking and of the reasons for this extraordinary impact and controversy.^ Philosophically, the book pursues this task by bringing together in a new way the relationships between epistemology and probability in quantum theory and beyond. Historically, it does so by engaging comprehensively and in a mutually illuminating way with the work of all three key figures responsible for the birth of quantum mechanics - Heisenberg, SchrÃœdinger, and, as concerns quantum epistemology, Bohr - which has not be previously done in literature on quantum mechanics.^ Among other key contributions of the book is an analysis of the role of mathematics in quantum theory and in the thinking of Bohr, Heisenberg, and SchrÃœdinger; a new treatment of the famous experiment of Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen (EPR) and of the Bohr-Einstein exchange concerning it; and an exploration of the implications of the epistemological problematics considered by the book for new developments of quantum mechanics itself, such as quantum information theory, on the one hand, and, on the other, for higher-level physical theories, from quantum field theory to string/brane theories and new cosmological theories.
Joel A. Carpenter
Skillfully blending painstaking research, telling anecdotes, and astute analysis, Carpenter - a scholar who has spent twenty years studying American evangelicalism reveals that, contrary to the popular opinion of the day, fundamentalism was alive and well in America in the late 1920s, and used its isolation over the next two decades to build new strength from within. The book describes how fundamentalists developed a pervasive network of organizations outside of the church setting and quietly strengthened the movement by creating their own schools and oragnizations, may of which are prominent today, including Fuller Theological Seminary and the publishing and radio enterprises of the Moody Bible Institute. Fundamentalists also used youth movements, missionary work and, perhaps most significantly, the burgeoning mass media industry to spread their message, especially through the powerful new medium of radio. Indeed, starting locally and growing to national broadcasts, evangelical preachers reached millions of listeners over the airwaves, in much the same way evangelists preach through television today. All this activity received no publicity outside of fundamentalist channels until Billy Graham burst on the scene in 1949. Carpenter vividly recounts how the charismatic preacher began packing stadiums with tens of thousands of listeners daily, drawing fundamentalism firmly back into the American consciousness after twenty years of public indifference. Alongside this vibrant history, Carpenter also offers many insights into fundamentalism during this period, and he describes many of the heated internal debates over issues of scholarship, separatism, and the role of women in leadership. Perhaps most important, he shows that the movement has never been stagnant or purely reactionary. It is based on an evolving ideology subject to debate, and dissension: a theology that adapts to changing times.