* Hatha yoga is commonly thought to be a pure, ancient Indian spiritual discipline that transcends cultural, temporal and spatial boundaries or a spiritual discipline corrupted by Indians (for export) or Westerners (for import) to accommodate Westerners. Calling these beliefs into question, Max Popov's Radiant Bodies shows how hatha yoga was transformed from sacred practice into a health and fitness regime for middle-class Indians in India in the early and mid-20th century. Popov tells the story of this transformation through the (...) lives and accomplishments of eleven key figures: six Indian yogis (Shri Yogendra, Swami Kuvalayananda, S. Sundaram, T. Krishnamacharya, Swami Sivananda and B. K. S. Iyengar), an Indian bodybuilder (K. V. Iyer), a rajah (Bhavanarao Shrinivasrao), an Indian diplomat (Apa Pant), an American-born English journalist (Louise Morgan), and a Russian-born yogi trained in India (Indra Devi).Their accomplishments are placed within the context of such Western trends as the physical culture movement, the commodification of exercise, militant nationalism, post-World War I anxiety, the mystique of science, jazz age popular entertainment, and the quest for youth and beauty. Through a series of biographical narratives placed in a rich cultural context, Popov not only brings to life the formation of modern hatha yoga as an exercise system in the early 20th century but also its transformation over the course of the 20th century into an embodied spiritual practice. Popov draws on extensive research from rare primary sources to present a cutting edge interpretation of the history of modern hatha yoga. Radiant Bodies is a thoughtful book for the educated general reader that would also be of special interest for religion scholars and yoga professionals and practitioners. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:BOOK REVIEWS 375 7he Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics. Edited by JAMES F. CHILDRESS and J mrn MACQUARRIE. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1986. Pp. xvii + 678. $29.95. This is a second, revised edition of The Dictionary of Christian Ethics, prepared by John Macquarrie and published in 1967. This new edition follows Macquarrie's conception of a dictionary, but expands it. It includes several subject areas, basic ethical concepts, biblical (...) ethics, theological ethics, philosophical ethics, non-Cbistian ethics; psychological, 8ociological, political, and other relevant concepts; and articles on substantial issues such as war and abortion. The criterion for selection, as stated by the editor, was the importance of the topic for Christian ethical reflection. The aim was to indicate both what is agr.eed upon and what is controversial. About 40% of the entries from the first edition have been included. These are generally updated so as to include recent developments. The selection of subjects, the way in which they are treated and the list of contributors, reflect the ecumenical character of contemporary Christian ethics. The dictionary includes a host of valuable contributions. Readers who consults the work will no doubt evaluate the entries in terms of their particular purposes. This reviewer found most useful the entries which expla~ned particular basic concepts, for example Autonomy; those dealing with schools of thought, for example, Platonic Ethics, Marxist Ethics, or the contribution of particular traditions, for example, Jewish Ethics, Puritan Ethics, Official Roman Catholic Social Teaching, Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethics, and the many entries dealing with Biomedical Ethics and peace issues. 'rhere are a number of articles on topics which are most important, but for which it is often difficult to find a succinct and comprehensive treatment; such are the contributions on "Embodiment," and " Feminist Ethics." There are a number of useful entries on urg.ent contemporary questions such as Energy and Environmental Ethics. Practical questions such as the care of the aged and the ethics of counseling are also addressed. Each article has a short bibliography appended. Numerous cross-references to other relevant entries are most helpful in providing complementary information. There is a thorough index of names. The dictionary is not conceived as a compendium of the accepted or " official " ethical teachings of churches or religious traditions. Mention could be made, however, of the entry on " Official Roman Catholic Social Teaching." '¥here such teachings exist, they am usually indicated. There are some cases where the churches and/or traditions clearly differ. The approach which is most helpful to ethical debate is to acknowledge such differences clearly, with an appropriate statement of the relevant teaching. The editor himself (James F. Childress), in his own contributions, fol- 376 BOOK REVIEWS lows this p1'0cedure. Some Roman Catholic readers may find the articles on Abortion and Contraception, while excellent in other ways, less satisfactory in this respect. The general focus seems intended to be " middle of the road "; more conservative or radical groups may find their views insufficiently represented. No doubt some of the positions presented would be disputed by Christian ethicists. But the treatment of difficult points is balanced and fair. There are, unfortunately, some inaccuracies. The following examples deserve mention. In the article on Nullity, the Roman Catholic annulment is wrongly equated with papal dissolution of the marriage bond. In the article on Virtue, it is said that St. Thomas held that along with the infused supernatural virtues there are "infused natural virtues." St. Thomas spoke ratht>r of infused theological virtues and infused moral virtues (I. II, Q.63, 3.) In the article on deterrence, it is stated that the strategy of "mutual assured destruction ", dating from the 1960s, still provides the framework of American deterrence strategy. This point would be challenged by some representat.ives of the military, who claim that M.A.D. has not been policy for some years. The same article interprets the U.S. Bishops' Pastoral Letter, The Challenge of Peace. as basing its (conditional) acceptance of nuclear deterrence on the distinction between threatening to do an immoral aet without intending to do it, and threat coupled with the intent. That is, deterrence is aceepted as a "bluff." This is not a correct reading... (shrink)

Purpose. The purpose of the study is to outline the links between individual and collective dimensions of the human worldview. This purpose requires solving two tasks: to update philosophical ideas formed by reflection on human and community worldview; to identify and generalize the relationship of singular and general in the context of the problem of human worldview. Theoretical basis. The study is based on philosophical reflections about manifestations of singular and general worldviews. Such reflections appeared in European philosophy quite a (...) long time ago. Ukrainian and foreign philosophical discourse considers both measures of the worldview. And a role of the carrier of worldview plays either human or society. We can see that in researches of S. Krymskyi, I. Nadolniy, V. Popov, N. Rozhanska, V. Tabachkovskyi, V. Shynkaruk, V. Poythress, D. Rousseau, D. Billingham, C. Gianolla and others. However the links between individual and collective dimensions of worldview are not clearly outlined. It is possible to note the research of V. Popov who focuses on the problem of socio-collective and individual dimensions of worldview. But the scientist focuses more on the use of the concept of worldview in these two meanings. Human as a social being interacts with worldviews of other individuals. That is why we can speak of two dimensions of the worldview function: individual and collective. This problem became topical due to acuteness of the links between human and society in modern life. Originality. The author outlined key links between individual and collective dimensions of human worldview functioning. The study identified a role of human as a carrier of the worldview in formation of collective worldview. Conclusions. Human as a worldview carrier plays a key role in formation of collective worldview. In philosophical discourse thoughts about links between individual and collective worldviews are different and sometimes conflicting. We have a discussion problem of uniformity and diversity of collective worldview. Collective worldview is showed as a circulation of different ideas and views of individuals. But collective worldview is showed as a whole system of individual views too. Collective worldview manifests as integrated phenomenon because it is based on common worldviews of individuals. At the same time the human is influenced by collective worldview in particularly as a past generation heritage. (shrink)

El presente trabajo conceptualiza la categoría de sufrimiento o dolor social desde un enfoque relacional y constructivista sobre la vida social y escolar. Particularmente, focalizamos en los desarrollos del psicoanálisis de Silvia Bleichmar, la sociología figuracional de Norbert Elias y el interaccionismo simbólico de David Le Breton. Sus perspectivas poseen una serie de puntos de confluencia: a) interpretan al sufrimiento como una emoción que imbrica procesos psico y sociogenéticos; b) conciben que el dolor remite a la relación entre cuerpo y (...) subjetividad; c) sostienen que el debilitamiento o la ausencia de lazos sociales significativos se encuentra en la base de las experiencias de padecimiento. (shrink)

The article discusses a key issue for Russian and international Max Weber Studies: the epistemological possibilities and place of Weberian sociology in modern social theory. Discussion articles by well-known Russian scientists — who sharply criticized the actualizing direction of Weberian studies in general, and the religious, cultural, and sociological orientation in particular — are contrasted with the re-actualization and rethinking of key Weberian themes in the “New Critical Theory” of the influential German sociologist Hartmut Rosa. Such a projection will make (...) it possible, on the one hand, to thematize the axiomatic assertion about the heuristic rather than concrete-content relevance of the classics; on the other hand, it will provide an opportunity to read Weber as a macrosociologist. In the original, criticized, and often rejected sociology of Rosa, Weber appears not only as a predecessor whose mention enhances the relevance of the new theoretical framework, but, above all, as an analyst and diagnostician of early modernity. Weber’s main ideas and theoretical constructions are organically built into Rosa’s methodological framework: analysis-diagnosis-praxis. The analysis of rationalization as a universal historical process of modernity in Weber’s sociology is rethought by Rosa as expansion and acceleration; disenchantment becomes a diagnosis of modernity and is recoded into alienation, while the concept of charisma is transformed into the key concept of resonance. (shrink)

The paper addresses the philosophical presuppositions underlying the concept of the “international system.” It suggests that the international system is not a system in any technical sense of this term, but rather a static order – an international order – founded on international boundaries. Nor is there any place in reality that corresponds to the term “international” or, more broadly, the “international plane.” The international plane is a state analogous to the quantum state in physics – a quantum state writ (...) large. In reality, the international plane is reducible to an international event taking place on an international boundary. The international order of boundaries, in turn, is ultimately rooted in common sense and metaphysics – the two founding positions of modern philosophy. (shrink)

The relevance of the study is that the analysis of education as a factor in the formation and development of a creative personality and the conditions conducive to the emergence of a "new creative class" is done. Formulation of the problem - the conceptualization of education as a factor in the formation and development of a creative personality, its main categories in terms of "creativity" and the demand of man as a creator of an innovative environment, based on a new (...) level of interaction "man-society-education", changing the model of sociality. Analysis of recent research and publications. In the study, we rely on the phenomenon of creativity, which is studied in the works of V. Andruschenko, V. Beh, V. Voronkova, A. Kravchenko, S. Kutsepal, O. Kivlyuk, R. Olexenko. The main focus is on Richard Florida's work "Homo creatives: How the New Class Conquers the World". The matrix of education as a factor in the formation and development of a creative personality focuses attention on the discourse thinking of the relationship "creative personality-education" and the influence of the information society on these relationships. Exemption of unexplored parts of the general problem - conceptualization of the concept of "creative personality" and its role in modern information society. At the heart of the study - the conceptualization of the basic schemes of creativity and this is a scientific novelty. The epistemological character of the statement and the praxeological solution of this problem in favor of a creative person and education show that the society must have the necessary and sufficient resources for the reproduction of a creative person and its effective development that affects the social sphere of man. The basic material. The analysis of formation and development of the creative person as the main factor of education is carried out; the definition of "creative personality" is presented; it is proved that the creative component is the dominant factor necessary for solving problems of efficiency of all spheres of activity, including economic ones; conditions that contribute to the growth of the creative component in the future are analyzed ; It was found that it is a "creative social class" as a new class of information society. The object of research is the concept of a creative personality as a new social and cultural phenomenon. The subject of research is the influence of the information society on the formation and development of a creative personality. Methodology is a method of cultural creation, which provides an opportunity for the formation and development of a creative personality. Conclusions - the concept of education as a factor in the formation and development of a creative personality in the conditions of the information society is formed. (shrink)

The urgency of the study of the interaction of man, culture and education in the information society is gaining momentum, as the information society needs to deepen this interaction. This problem arises because people are beginning to rethink the problem of the context of the interaction of culture and education, which affect the person as a creature. The purpose of the study is to conceptualize the interaction of man, culture and education in an information society that requires conditions under which (...) effective interaction is effected that influences the deployment of essential forces in these areas. Formation of the aims of the article: studying the problems of human interaction, culture and education in the conditions of the information society; Identification of the concept of "educational and informational culture" as the coexistence of educational and information culture; an analysis of the interaction of man, culture and education as a value-mutually determined phenomena of human existence, which saturate, enrich and complement each other. An analysis of recent researches and publications from which the solution to this problem was initiated: the use of articles by the authors of V.Andruschenko, T.Andruschenko, O.Bazaluk, A. Boyko, V.Vashkevich, V.Voronkova, L.Gorbunova, O.Kivlyuk, S. Klepko, A. Kravchenko, S. Kutsepal, O. Punchchenko, I. Radionova, N. Skotnoy. Among the Belarusian scientists, we distinguish works by P. Vodopianov, A. Zelenkov, A. Lazarevich, V. Starginsky, V. Tsepkalo. Among the foreign ones are works by Carol Dvec, Richard Florida, Mary Furst and Jurgen Trinks, Eric Brignolfsson and Andrew Macafi, and others. Research methodology is a method of cultural creativity, which contributes to the construction of a model of cultural and innovative education and polity as the main drivers of sustainable development. Scientific novelty - identification of problems of interaction of man, culture and education in the conditions of the information society, contributing to the formation of a new cultural and educational policy as a policy of sustainable development. The results of the research: the interaction of man, culture and education - it is a valuable inter-deterministic phenomena of human existence, which saturate, enrich and complement each other. Therefore, the emergence of the concept of educational culture, and sometimes there is a scientific and educational culture, or educational and information culture, is not accidental in the information age. It is also complemented by the concept of "cultural and educational policy". Conclusion - we formed the concept of interaction of man, culture and education in the information society, based on a new cultural and educational policy that contributes to the formation of a policy of sustainable development. (shrink)

Treatise on the Advaita school in Hindu philosophy.

Russkai︠a︡ t︠erkovʹ i drugie statʹi -- V temnykh religioznykh luchakh.

An attempt to deal with "the fundamental philosophical problem of the Absolute" in an original way. Absolute Being is interpreted as "the act of total existence," and is taken to include all that is or can be, as well as what "exists" negatively or is not.--V. C. C.

The purpose of this book is purely expository, but within its limits it is perhaps the best account of existentialism yet to appear in English. Its virtues are clarity, balance, accuracy, and an objectivity of tone which is maintained even in the treatment of emotionally charged subject-matter. Mr. Grimsley summarizes the views of Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre, Jaspers, and Marcel in separate chapters of fairly extensive scope, mainly through direct exposition of their major works. In a short introduction, and again in (...) a shorter postscript, he attempts to characterize existentialism and the existential attitude as a whole; his success makes one wish he had done more in this direction.--V. C. C. (shrink)

A short, not too technical introduction to the existentialist movement. The first half of the book presents five basic themes which existentialists treat in a distinctive way: the problems of knowledge, reality, existence, communication, and transcendence. The second half of the book gathers together five independent lectures on Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Jaspers, Sartre and Marcel. The book is useful for those unacquainted with the men and their ideas.--V. G. P.

This collection of essays is concerned with the present world struggle between totalitarianism and the western heritage of freedom. Its contributors are well-known economists, sociologists, philosophers and political scientists from the United States and Europe. It is dedicated "to the moral and intellectual struggle against communism and an analysis of our own democratic institutions." The purpose of the book is both clarification and inspiration. The essays cover such subjects as the nature of freedom in the West, the common patrimony of (...) America and Europe, the role of the masses in representative democracy, intellectualism and political impotence.--V. G. P. (shrink)

An exceptionally lucid account, intended for students and the "general" reader, of the "new ways of theology." Mr. Hutchinson declares himself in sympathy with the work of the Protestant "existential" or "dialectical" theologians, including Barth, Brunner, Tillich, and Niebuhr, but he also sets contemporary problems in traditional contexts and defends his own views in the light of their significant alternatives, both ancient and modern. Religion, he maintains, is primarily a matter of faith, but the rational or philosophical articulation of faith, (...) far from being irrelevant to religion, is actually required, since faith by itself is not autonomous. In this Mr. Hutchinson sets himself against the "radicals" like Brunner and Barth, as well as against sceptics, rationalists, and Thomists. The book as a whole is sound, comprehensive, balanced, and informed.--V. C. C. (shrink)

An effort to account for the discrepancy between modern man's technological skill and his understanding of moral and social values, which has made human self-destruction a very real threat. The author's conclusions are familiar and not too illuminating.--V. C. C.

The second part of the work described above, covering, in 3 volumes, the period from the first Patristic thinkers to the fourteenth century. The texts in these volumes, as in those on classical thought, are organized by topics, and are designed to express fundamental assumptions, principles and definitions of their various authors. --V. C. C.

An historical survey of the inquiry into the foundations of mathematics, presented in a series of original texts connected by the author's introductions and analyses. The source material, ranging from Egyptian surveyors' papyri to Lorenzen's "Konstructive Begründung der Mathematik," is well chosen, and the author's commentaries are clear and illuminating. The selections are often shorter than might be desired, but the book is extremely useful as a summary and introductory survey. A short bibliography is included.--V. C. C.

The distinctive feature of this new edition is its inclusion of the handwritten marginal notes in Hegel's own copy of the Rechtsphilosophie. These were published separately by Lasson in 1914 and again in 1930, but have been re-edited for the present volume, with a number of mistakes corrected. A second volume, now in preparation, is to contain a re-edited set of the Zusätze to Hegel's lectures on Rechtsphilosophie, gathered from the notes of his students. The two volumes together will certainly (...) stand as the definitive source of Hegel's teaching in this area for a long time to come.--V. C. C. (shrink)

A reprint of the English version of Croce's illuminating essays on history and historiography. The Italian edition was published in 1938.--V. C. C.

Mr. Berlin offers, with characteristic brilliance and insight, a compelling indictment of the modern tendency to deny the relevance of moral considerations to history: to minimize the influence of human individuals upon--and their responsibility for--historical events, as well as to eliminate evaluation and moral judgment from the writing of history. History, it is maintained, neither can be nor should try to be "objective," i.e., free from evaluations, in the way that physics is "objective." Mr. Berlin's points are not always clearly (...) organized, but they are sensible and telling; his running critique of the prevalent naive "scientism" of contemporary social scientists is especially effective.--V. C. C. (shrink)

An elementary textbook in Thomistic Metaphysics designed for use in Catholic colleges and seminaries. Strictly traditional in content and terminology, the book attempts nevertheless to argue its points in ways convincing to beginning students.--V. C. C.

This textbook of Thomistic metaphysics is based on the author's conviction that metaphysics is founded in sense experience. Fidelity to Aristotle and Aquinas on this point entails, according to the author, certain departures from the more usual presentation of systematized Thomism. This second edition is more readable, adds to the English bibliography, and amends the presentation of the doctrine of analogy, presenting it in a less rigid and over-refined way.--V. G. P.

Though intended as an introductory textbook of Thomistic metaphysics, this work offers a fairly detailed treatment of a number of important problems, presented in systematic and well-ordered fashion. Father Klubertanz rejects the a priori procedure of some recent Thomists, and endeavors to reconstruct the Thomistic synthesis by beginning with immediate sense experience. This and other "departures from systematized Thomism" give the book a certain originality, and raise it somewhat above the usual textbook level.--V. C. C.

The life and thought of the sixteenth-century Flemish humanist Justus Lipsius provide the author of this valuable monograph with a convenient point of departure for studying the development of Stoicism in the later Renaissance. Lipsius was the first scholar thoroughly to examine the original Greek as well as the later Roman sources of the Stoic ethical doctrines which owing to the influence of the Latin humanists, were so widespread in Renaissance thought. As a result of his researches, Lipsius recognized the (...) importance of, and revived interest in, the distinctive physical and metaphysical doctrines underlying Stoic ethical theory. It is upon Lipsius' formulation of these doctrines, and his struggle to reconcile them with their Christian counterparts, that Mr. Saunders concentrates his attention. The result is a lively and informative contribution to the understanding of Renaissance thought.--V. C. C. (shrink)

An attempt to present Kant's Critical Philosophy in a non-technical and up-to-date manner. The author is largely successful in translating complex doctrines into simple language and in relating Kant's thought to contemporary developments in philosophy, science, morals and theology. He stresses the continuity of Kant's thinking with our own, and expounds the Kantian position in the light of the criticisms which have been directed against it, in our and other times. Despite the simplicity of its language, however, the book is (...) not always as clear in meaning or content as one might wish, and some of the interpretations--as when, in Chapter 2, space and time are made out to be "particulars"--are decidedly strange.--V. C. C. (shrink)