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 10
... such an extent that they became one, almost indistinguishable. The writ- ings of the Fathers of the Church evince this influence, and even though Augustine repudiated “the Platonists,” he could hardly have been 10 introduction.
... such an extent that they became one, almost indistinguishable. The writ- ings of the Fathers of the Church evince this influence, and even though Augustine repudiated “the Platonists,” he could hardly have been 10 introduction.
Page 12
... became available. These works in particular grounded academic culture in its fundamental characteristic and great glory: reliance on solid evidence and close reasoning. If the style of discourse of the prophetic culture is the shout ...
... became available. These works in particular grounded academic culture in its fundamental characteristic and great glory: reliance on solid evidence and close reasoning. If the style of discourse of the prophetic culture is the shout ...
Page 14
... became profoundly learned in the teaching of the Platonists, the Aristotelians, the Stoics, and others, but not so deeply as to lose their grounding in the culture in which they were brought up. The literary culture persisted in ...
... became profoundly learned in the teaching of the Platonists, the Aristotelians, the Stoics, and others, but not so deeply as to lose their grounding in the culture in which they were brought up. The literary culture persisted in ...
Page 16
... became in recent centu- ries ever more relegated to specialists in Latin and Greek, the novel and the play assumed for the heirs of this tradition the status of wisdom literature. They gave aesthetic pleasure, but even as they did so ...
... became in recent centu- ries ever more relegated to specialists in Latin and Greek, the novel and the play assumed for the heirs of this tradition the status of wisdom literature. They gave aesthetic pleasure, but even as they did so ...
Page 20
... became the ideal. Of the four cultures the first three are cultures of words. Except for music, this culture is mute. It communicates, but not in words. Jesus prescribed that his followers perform certain actions such as baptizing and ...
... became the ideal. Of the four cultures the first three are cultures of words. Except for music, this culture is mute. It communicates, but not in words. Jesus prescribed that his followers perform certain actions such as baptizing and ...
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