Four Cultures of the WestHarvard University Press, 2009 M06 30 - 272 pages The workings of Western intelligence in our day--whether in politics or the arts, in the humanities or the church--are as troubling as they are mysterious, leading to the questions: Where are we going? What in the world were we thinking? By exploring the history of four "cultures" so deeply embedded in Western history that we rarely see their instrumental role in politics, religion, education, and the arts, this timely book provides a broad framework for addressing these questions in a fresh way. |
From inside the book
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Page 4
... aspects of Western history, certain modalities of Western intelligence, that have a stunningly long history stretching from ancient times until today. The book, unfashionable in several ways, is in our postmodern era especially ...
... aspects of Western history, certain modalities of Western intelligence, that have a stunningly long history stretching from ancient times until today. The book, unfashionable in several ways, is in our postmodern era especially ...
Page 6
... aspect (only one) of the Judeo-Christian tradi- tion: its insistence on the incomprehensibility, the transcendence, the utter otherness of God. I call this the prophetic culture. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ...
... aspect (only one) of the Judeo-Christian tradi- tion: its insistence on the incomprehensibility, the transcendence, the utter otherness of God. I call this the prophetic culture. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ...
Page 10
... aspects of Athens, the secular city, might have some- thing to do with Jerusalem, the sacred city: What you ... aspect of Athens with which many people today are familiar, at least on a superficial level. No historical survey in ...
... aspects of Athens, the secular city, might have some- thing to do with Jerusalem, the sacred city: What you ... aspect of Athens with which many people today are familiar, at least on a superficial level. No historical survey in ...
Page 11
... aspects be reconciled, even though the former city was this-worldly, the latter other-worldly? Many practitioners in the medieval universities believed reconciliation was possible up to a point. Here, however, I am interested not in how ...
... aspects be reconciled, even though the former city was this-worldly, the latter other-worldly? Many practitioners in the medieval universities believed reconciliation was possible up to a point. Here, however, I am interested not in how ...
Page 15
... two seeks clear-cut definition, this culture, at least in this particular aspect, glories in ambiguity, in rich layers of meaning. Whatever Blake's “Sick Rose” is about, it is not primarily about Athens and Jerusalem 15.
... two seeks clear-cut definition, this culture, at least in this particular aspect, glories in ambiguity, in rich layers of meaning. Whatever Blake's “Sick Rose” is about, it is not primarily about Athens and Jerusalem 15.
Contents
1 | |
culture one Prophecy and Reform | 37 |
culture two The Academy and the Professions | 77 |
culture three Poetry Rhetoric and the Common Good | 127 |
culture four Art and Performance | 179 |
epilogue The Book of Our Experience | 235 |
Notes | 241 |
Further Reading | 249 |
Acknowledgments | 255 |
Index | 257 |
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Common terms and phrases
academic ancient Aquinas Aristotle Aristotle’s artists aspect Athens basic beauty became began Bernard Bible bishops Boethius cathedral Catholic Christ Christian church Cicero Cistercians classical council Council of Nicaea Council of Trent course culture four culture three curriculum decree doctrine early Erasmus especially faculties faith four cultures Garrison genre Golden Legend Greek Gregorian Reform Gregorians Gregory holy human humanists ideal images important institutions Isocrates issue Jerusalem Jesuits justice Karlstadt large number later Latin literary literature liturgy Luther manifested medieval ment Middle Ages one’s Origen pagan paintings Perpetua and Felicity Petrarch philosophy Plato poetry preaching prophetic culture Protestant question reform religious Renaissance rhetoric ritual Roman Rome sacred saints Scholastic schools Scripture seventeenth century sixteenth century society sometimes style of discourse Summa teaching Tertullian texts theologians theology tion took tradition Trent trivium truth ture twelfth century universities vernacular West words worship