Ideal Illusions

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Ideal Illusions

Author : James Peck
Publisher : Metropolitan Books
ISBN 13 : 1429991569
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

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Book Synopsis Ideal Illusions by : James Peck

Download or read book Ideal Illusions written by James Peck and published by Metropolitan Books. This book was released on 2011-03-15 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From a noted historian and foreign-policy analyst, a groundbreaking critique of the troubling symbiosis between Washington and the human rights movement The United States has long been hailed as a powerful force for global human rights. Now, drawing on thousands of documents from the CIA, the National Security Council, the Pentagon, and development agencies, James Peck shows in blunt detail how Washington has shaped human rights into a potent ideological weapon for purposes having little to do with rights—and everything to do with furthering America's global reach. Using the words of Washington's leaders when they are speaking among themselves, Peck tracks the rise of human rights from its dismissal in the cold war years as "fuzzy minded" to its calculated adoption, after the Vietnam War, as a rationale for American foreign engagement. He considers such milestones as the fight for Soviet dissidents, Tiananmen Square, and today's war on terror, exposing in the process how the human rights movement has too often failed to challenge Washington's strategies. A gripping and elegant work of analysis, Ideal Illusions argues that the movement must break free from Washington if it is to develop a truly uncompromising critique of power in all its forms.

The Illusion of Conscious Will

Author : Daniel M. Wegner
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262290553
Total Pages : 725 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (622 download)

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Book Synopsis The Illusion of Conscious Will by : Daniel M. Wegner

Download or read book The Illusion of Conscious Will written by Daniel M. Wegner and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2003-08-11 with total page 725 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A novel contribution to the age-old debate about free will versus determinism. Do we consciously cause our actions, or do they happen to us? Philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, theologians, and lawyers have long debated the existence of free will versus determinism. In this book Daniel Wegner offers a novel understanding of the issue. Like actions, he argues, the feeling of conscious will is created by the mind and brain. Yet if psychological and neural mechanisms are responsible for all human behavior, how could we have conscious will? The feeling of conscious will, Wegner shows, helps us to appreciate and remember our authorship of the things our minds and bodies do. Yes, we feel that we consciously will our actions, Wegner says, but at the same time, our actions happen to us. Although conscious will is an illusion, it serves as a guide to understanding ourselves and to developing a sense of responsibility and morality. Approaching conscious will as a topic of psychological study, Wegner examines the issue from a variety of angles. He looks at illusions of the will—those cases where people feel that they are willing an act that they are not doing or, conversely, are not willing an act that they in fact are doing. He explores conscious will in hypnosis, Ouija board spelling, automatic writing, and facilitated communication, as well as in such phenomena as spirit possession, dissociative identity disorder, and trance channeling. The result is a book that sidesteps endless debates to focus, more fruitfully, on the impact on our lives of the illusion of conscious will.

Green Illusions

Author : Ozzie Zehner
Publisher : U of Nebraska Press
ISBN 13 : 0803243367
Total Pages : 462 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (32 download)

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Book Synopsis Green Illusions by : Ozzie Zehner

Download or read book Green Illusions written by Ozzie Zehner and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We don’t have an energy crisis. We have a consumption crisis. And this book, which takes aim at cherished assumptions regarding energy, offers refreshingly straight talk about what’s wrong with the way we think and talk about the problem. Though we generally believe we can solve environmental problems with more energy—more solar cells, wind turbines, and biofuels—alternative technologies come with their own side effects and limitations. How, for instance, do solar cells cause harm? Why can’t engineers solve wind power’s biggest obstacle? Why won’t contraception solve the problem of overpopulation lying at the heart of our concerns about energy, and what will? This practical, environmentally informed, and lucid book persuasively argues for a change of perspective. If consumption is the problem, as Ozzie Zehner suggests, then we need to shift our focus from suspect alternative energies to improving social and political fundamentals: walkable communities, improved consumption, enlightened governance, and, most notably, women’s rights. The dozens of first steps he offers are surprisingly straightforward. For instance, he introduces a simple sticker that promises a greater impact than all of the nation’s solar cells. He uncovers why carbon taxes won’t solve our energy challenges (and presents two taxes that could). Finally, he explores how future environmentalists will focus on similarly fresh alternatives that are affordable, clean, and can actually improve our well-being. Watch a book trailer.

Imperial Illusions

Author : Kristina Kleutghen
Publisher : University of Washington Press
ISBN 13 : 0295805528
Total Pages : 400 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (958 download)

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Book Synopsis Imperial Illusions by : Kristina Kleutghen

Download or read book Imperial Illusions written by Kristina Kleutghen and published by University of Washington Press. This book was released on 2015-06-17 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the Forbidden City and other palaces around Beijing, Emperor Qianlong (r. 1736-1795) surrounded himself with monumental paintings of architecture, gardens, people, and faraway places. The best artists of the imperial painting academy, including a number of European missionary painters, used Western perspectival illusionism to transform walls and ceilings with visually striking images that were also deeply meaningful to Qianlong. These unprecedented works not only offer new insights into late imperial China�s most influential emperor, but also reflect one way in which Chinese art integrated and domesticated foreign ideas. In Imperial Illusions, Kristina Kleutghen examines all known surviving examples of the Qing court phenomenon of �scenic illusion paintings� (tongjinghua), which today remain inaccessible inside the Forbidden City. Produced at the height of early modern cultural exchange between China and Europe, these works have received little scholarly attention. Richly illustrated, Imperial Illusions offers the first comprehensive investigation of the aesthetic, cultural, perceptual, and political importance of these illusionistic paintings essential to Qianlong�s world. For more information: http://arthistorypi.org/books/imperial-illusions

The Illusions of Egalitarianism

Author : John Kekes
Publisher : Cornell University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780801473395
Total Pages : 244 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (733 download)

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Book Synopsis The Illusions of Egalitarianism by : John Kekes

Download or read book The Illusions of Egalitarianism written by John Kekes and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this systematic and scathing attack on the dominant contemporary version of liberalism, John Kekes challenges political assumptions shared by the majority of people in Western societies. Egalitarianism, as it's widely known, holds that a government ought to treat all citizens with equal consideration. Kekes charges that belief in egalitarianism rests on illusions that prevent people from facing unpleasant truths.Kekes, a major voice in modern political thought, argues that differences among human beings in the areas of morality, reasonability, legality, and citizenship are too important for governance to ignore. In a rigorous criticism of prominent egalitarian thinkers, including Dworkin, Nagel, Nussbaum, Rawls, Raz, and Singer, Kekes charges that their views present a serious threat to both morality and reason. For Kekes, certain "inegalitarian truths" are obvious: people should get what they deserve, those who are good and those who are evil should not be treated as if they had the same moral worth, people should not be denied what they have earned in order to benefit those who have not earned it, and individuals should be held responsible for their actions. His provocative book will compel many readers to question their faith in liberalism.

Ideals and Illusions

Author : Thomas McCarthy
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 9780262631457
Total Pages : 268 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (314 download)

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Book Synopsis Ideals and Illusions by : Thomas McCarthy

Download or read book Ideals and Illusions written by Thomas McCarthy and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1993 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These lucid and closely reasoned studies of the thought of Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, J�rgen Habermas, and Richard Rorty provide a coherent analysis of major pathways in recent critical theory. They defend a position analogous to Kant's - that ideas of reason are both unavoidable presuppositions of thought that have to be carefully reconstructed and persistent sources of illusions that have to be repeatedly deconstructed.McCarthy examines the critique of impure reason from the complementary viewpoints of the attackers and defenders of Enlightenment rationality. He first analyzes the work of Rorty, Foucault, and Derrida to determine what these radical critics have contributed to our understanding of reason and where they have gone wrong. He explores Habermas's theory of communicative rationality, focusing on the attempt to go beyond hermeneutics, the incorporation of systems theory, the implications of discourse ethics for our understanding of political debate and collective decision making, and the relation of political theology to critical social theory.Thomas McCarthy is Professor of Philosophy at Northwestern University and the editor of The MIT Press series Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought. The analysis and assessment of Habermas's recent work in Ideals and Illusions serves as a sequel to his earlier study The Critical Theory of J�rgen Habermas.

Epidemic Illusions

Author : Eugene T Richardson
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262045605
Total Pages : 223 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (62 download)

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Book Synopsis Epidemic Illusions by : Eugene T Richardson

Download or read book Epidemic Illusions written by Eugene T Richardson and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2020-12-22 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A physician-anthropologist explores how public health practices--from epidemiological modeling to outbreak containment--help perpetuate global inequities. In Epidemic Illusions, Eugene Richardson, a physician and an anthropologist, contends that public health practices--from epidemiological modeling and outbreak containment to Big Data and causal inference--play an essential role in perpetuating a range of global inequities. Drawing on postcolonial theory, medical anthropology, and critical science studies, Richardson demonstrates the ways in which the flagship discipline of epidemiology has been shaped by the colonial, racist, and patriarchal system that had its inception in 1492. Deploying a range of rhetorical tools and drawing on his clinical work in a variety of epidemics, including Ebola in West Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo, leishmania in the Sudan, HIV/TB in southern Africa, diphtheria in Bangladesh, and SARS-CoV-2 in the United States, Richardson concludes that the biggest epidemic we currently face is an epidemic of illusions—one that is propagated by the coloniality of knowledge production.

Puzzling Optical Illusions

Author : Thomas Crawford
Publisher : Courier Corporation
ISBN 13 : 9780486401515
Total Pages : 68 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (15 download)

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Book Synopsis Puzzling Optical Illusions by : Thomas Crawford

Download or read book Puzzling Optical Illusions written by Thomas Crawford and published by Courier Corporation. This book was released on 1998-02-06 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A rich assortment of visual mind-bogglers, including "impossible objects" — constructions that look fine on paper but can't possibly exist in reality — as well as pulsating patterns, vanishing spots, pictures that suddenly change into other configurations as you're looking at them, and much more. 60 black-and-white illustrations.

Political Visions & Illusions

Author : David T. Koyzis
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
ISBN 13 : 083087206X
Total Pages : 339 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (38 download)

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Book Synopsis Political Visions & Illusions by : David T. Koyzis

Download or read book Political Visions & Illusions written by David T. Koyzis and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2019-05-07 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What you believe about politics matters. The decades since the Cold War, with new alignments of post–9/11 global politics and the chaos of the late 2010s, are swirling with alternative visions of political life, ranging from ethnic nationalism to individualistic liberalism. Political ideologies are not merely a matter of governmental efficacy, but are intrinsically and inescapably religious: each carries certain assumptions about the nature of reality, individuals and society, as well as a particular vision for the common good. These fundamental beliefs transcend the political sphere, and the astute Christian observer can discern the ways—sometimes subtle, sometimes not—in which ideologies are rooted in idolatrous worldviews. In this freshly updated, comprehensive study, political scientist David Koyzis surveys the key political ideologies of our era, including liberalism, conservatism, nationalism, democracy, and socialism. Koyzis gives each philosophy careful analysis and fair critique, unpacking the worldview issues inherent to each and pointing out essential strengths and weaknesses, as well as revealing the "narrative structure" of each—the stories they tell to make sense of public life and the direction of history. Koyzis concludes by proposing alternative models that flow out of Christianity's historic engagement with the public square, retrieving approaches for both individuals and the global, institutional church that hold promise for the complex political realities of the twenty-first century. Writing with broad international perspective and keen analytical insight, Koyzis is a sane and sensible guide for Christians working in the public square, culture watchers, political pundits, and all students of modern political thought.

Dangerous Illusions (Code of Honor Book #1)

Author : Irene Hannon
Publisher : Revell
ISBN 13 : 1493411012
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (934 download)

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Book Synopsis Dangerous Illusions (Code of Honor Book #1) by : Irene Hannon

Download or read book Dangerous Illusions (Code of Honor Book #1) written by Irene Hannon and published by Revell. This book was released on 2017-10-03 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Trish Bailey is on overload trying to deal with a demanding job, an ailing mother, and a healing heart. When a series of unsettling memory lapses leads to a tragic death--and puts Trish under police scrutiny--her world is once again thrown into turmoil. Detective Colin Flynn isn't certain what to think of the facts he uncovers during his investigation. Did Trish simply make a terrible mistake or is there more to the case than meets the eye? As he searches for answers, disturbing information begins to emerge--and if the forces at work are as evil as he suspects, the situation isn't just dangerous . . . it's deadly. Bestselling and award-winning author Irene Hannon captures readers with a mind-bending story that will have them doubling back to retrace their steps--and figure out what they missed!

The Knowledge Illusion

Author : Steven Sloman
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0399184341
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (991 download)

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Book Synopsis The Knowledge Illusion by : Steven Sloman

Download or read book The Knowledge Illusion written by Steven Sloman and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2017-03-14 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The Knowledge Illusion is filled with insights on how we should deal with our individual ignorance and collective wisdom.” —Steven Pinker We all think we know more than we actually do. Humans have built hugely complex societies and technologies, but most of us don’t even know how a pen or a toilet works. How have we achieved so much despite understanding so little? Cognitive scientists Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach argue that we survive and thrive despite our mental shortcomings because we live in a rich community of knowledge. The key to our intelligence lies in the people and things around us. We’re constantly drawing on information and expertise stored outside our heads: in our bodies, our environment, our possessions, and the community with which we interact—and usually we don’t even realize we’re doing it. The human mind is both brilliant and pathetic. We have mastered fire, created democratic institutions, stood on the moon, and sequenced our genome. And yet each of us is error prone, sometimes irrational, and often ignorant. The fundamentally communal nature of intelligence and knowledge explains why we often assume we know more than we really do, why political opinions and false beliefs are so hard to change, and why individual-oriented approaches to education and management frequently fail. But our collaborative minds also enable us to do amazing things. The Knowledge Illusion contends that true genius can be found in the ways we create intelligence using the community around us.

Colour Illusions

Author : Kindersley Dorling
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781409347941
Total Pages : 32 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (479 download)

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Book Synopsis Colour Illusions by : Kindersley Dorling

Download or read book Colour Illusions written by Kindersley Dorling and published by . This book was released on 2014-09-24 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mindbending, interactive colour illusions that will boggle your mind! Everything is not what it seems in Colour Illusions. From the third dimension to camouflage and a spectacular 3D rainbow - get ready to really open your eyes to how colour can bend and boggle your mind! Plus a multi-use decoder with inbuilt 3D glasses means you can see colour changing and distorting before your very eyes. Stuffed full of interactive flaps, pull-out tabs, and amazing pop-ups you won't believe your eyes asColour Illusions reveals how colour distorts objects, creates illusions and plays with your mind. Even the cover displays an amazing illusion! Each page takes you to another level of colour illusion and reveals why your eyes see what your brain can't understand. Packed with amazing tricks, incredible facts, and mind-boggling puzzles such as spinning circles, the square that isn't there and dithering dots showing colour magically appearing, disappearing and changing on the page. Interactive elements are on every page testing, explaining and proving the latest theories and how colour illusions can fool us all. A fantastic novelty gift for kids at Christmas that'll keep them entertained!

Illusions of Emancipation

Author : Joseph P. Reidy
Publisher : UNC Press Books
ISBN 13 : 1469648377
Total Pages : 519 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (696 download)

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Book Synopsis Illusions of Emancipation by : Joseph P. Reidy

Download or read book Illusions of Emancipation written by Joseph P. Reidy and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2019-01-15 with total page 519 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As students of the Civil War have long known, emancipation was not merely a product of Lincoln's proclamation or of Confederate defeat in April 1865. It was a process that required more than legal or military action. With enslaved people fully engaged as actors, emancipation necessitated a fundamental reordering of a way of life whose implications stretched well beyond the former slave states. Slavery did not die quietly or quickly, nor did freedom fulfill every dream of the enslaved or their allies. The process unfolded unevenly. In this sweeping reappraisal of slavery's end during the Civil War era, Joseph P. Reidy employs the lenses of time, space, and individuals' sense of personal and social belonging to understand how participants and witnesses coped with drastic change, its erratic pace, and its unforeseeable consequences. Emancipation disrupted everyday habits, causing sensations of disorientation that sometimes intensified the experience of reality and sometimes muddled it. While these illusions of emancipation often mixed disappointment with hope, through periods of even intense frustration they sustained the promise that the struggle for freedom would result in victory.

Paper Illusions

Author : Barbara Stoeltie
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 216 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (321 download)

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Book Synopsis Paper Illusions by : Barbara Stoeltie

Download or read book Paper Illusions written by Barbara Stoeltie and published by . This book was released on 2008-10 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Artist and designer Isabelle de Borchgrave creates exquisite paper dresses evoking high fashions from the courts of the Medici to the legendary Fortuny silks of the early twentieth century. She cuts, folds, glues, and paints her paper costumes with imagination and exceptional mastery, creating the illusion of lace from Bruges, Renaissance-era brocade, and delicate silk a la Pompadour. Their historical authenticity, combined with their startling realism, caused an overnight sensation when they were first shown in France in 1998 as "Papiers a la Mode." Since then, the dynamic, light-hearted collection has traveled all over the world to critical and popular acclaim." "Paper Illusions does full justice to de Borchgrave's magical workshop, where humble art materials are transformed into shimmering visions of beautiful clothing and luxurious living. Paper, author Barbara Stoeltie reminds us, possesses "the power to attract and enchant us, to direct our lives and change our course, to teach us, to influence our opinions, and to mark our daily existence with its imposing presence." In Rene Stoeltie's vivid photographs, figures from the history of style made from this magical medium seem to breathe in atmospheric rooms, while details of color, pattern, and form jump off the page. Their book is a celebration of creativity, wit, and elegance."--Jacket.

Illusions of Equality (International Library of the Philosophy of Education Volume 7)

Author : David Cooper
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1135171173
Total Pages : 142 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (351 download)

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Book Synopsis Illusions of Equality (International Library of the Philosophy of Education Volume 7) by : David Cooper

Download or read book Illusions of Equality (International Library of the Philosophy of Education Volume 7) written by David Cooper and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-02-25 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Educational policy and discussion, in Britain and the USA, are increasingly dominated by the confused ideology of egalitarianism. David E. Cooper begins by identifying the principles hidden among the confusions, and argues that these necessarily conflict with the ideal of educational excellence - in which conflict it is this ideal that must be preserved. He goes on to criticize the use of education as a tool for promoting wider social equality, focussing especially on the muddles surrounding 'equal opportunities', 'social mix' and 'reverse discrimination'. Further chapters criticize the 'new egalitarianism' favoured, on epistemological grounds, by various sociologists of knowledge in recent years and 'cultural egalitarianism' according to which standard criteria of educational value merely reflect parochial and economic interests.

Necessary Illusions

Author : Noam Chomsky
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780896083660
Total Pages : 422 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (836 download)

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Book Synopsis Necessary Illusions by : Noam Chomsky

Download or read book Necessary Illusions written by Noam Chomsky and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Argues that the media serves the needs of those in power rather than performing a watchdog role, and looks at specific cases and issues

Visual Illusions in Motion with Moiré Screens

Author : Craig Cassin
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 76 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Visual Illusions in Motion with Moiré Screens by : Craig Cassin

Download or read book Visual Illusions in Motion with Moiré Screens written by Craig Cassin and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By moving the moireacute; screens provided in different ways over these optical designs, artists and illustrators can create an infinite number of fascinating patterns with startling, wavelike effects. Rich source of inspiration and royalty-free material ideal for use in print, film and computer applications. 60 patterns.