The Meaning Of Things

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The Meaning of Things

Author : Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780521287746
Total Pages : 324 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (877 download)

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Book Synopsis The Meaning of Things by : Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Download or read book The Meaning of Things written by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1981-10-30 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The meaning of things is a study of the significance of material possessions in contemporary urban life, and of the ways people carve meaning out of their domestic environment. Drawing on a survey of eighty families in Chicago who were interviewed on the subject of their feelings about common household objects, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Eugene Rochberg-Halton provide a unique perspective on materialism, American culture, and the self. They begin by reviewing what social scientists and philosophers have said about the transactions between people and things. In the model of 'personhood' that the authors develop, goal-directed action and the cultivation of meaning through signs assume central importance. They then relate theoretical issues to the results of their survey. An important finding is the distinction between objects valued for action and those valued for contemplation. The authors compare families who have warm emotional attachments to their homes with those in which a common set of positive meanings is lacking, and interpret the different patterns of involvement. They then trace the cultivation of meaning in case studies of four families. Finally, the authors address what they describe as the current crisis of environmental and material exploitation, and suggest that human capacities for the creation and redirection of meaning offer the only hope for survival. A wide range of scholars - urban and family sociologists, clinical, developmental and environmental psychologists, cultural anthropologists and philosophers, and many general readers - will find this book stimulating and compelling.

The Meaning of Things

Author : A.C. Grayling
Publisher : Hachette UK
ISBN 13 : 1780221169
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (82 download)

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Book Synopsis The Meaning of Things by : A.C. Grayling

Download or read book The Meaning of Things written by A.C. Grayling and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2011-07-21 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A refreshing distillation of insights into the human condition, by one of the best-known and most popular philosophers in the UK. Thinking about life, what it means and what it holds in store does not have to be a despondent experience, but rather can be enlightening and uplifting. A life truly worth living is one that is informed and considered so a degree of philosophical insight into the inevitabilities of the human condition is inherently important and such an approach will help us to deal with real personal dilemmas. This book is an accessible, lively and thought-provoking series of linked commentaries, based on A. C. Grayling's 'The Last Word' column in the GUARDIAN. Its aim is not to persuade readers to accept one particular philosophical point of view or theory, but to help us consider the wonderful range of insights which can be drawn from an immeasurably rich history of philosophical thought. Concepts covered include courage, love, betrayal, ambition, cruelty, wisdom, passion, beauty and death. This will be a wonderfully stimulating read and act as an invaluable guide as to what is truly important in living life, whether facing success, failure, justice, wrong, love, loss or any of the other profound experience life throws out.

The Secret Meaning of Things

Author : Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Publisher : New Directions Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9780811200455
Total Pages : 70 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (4 download)

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Book Synopsis The Secret Meaning of Things by : Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Download or read book The Secret Meaning of Things written by Lawrence Ferlinghetti and published by New Directions Publishing. This book was released on 1969 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Secret Meaning of Things is Lawrence Ferlinghetti's fourth book of poems.

Matt Mullican

Author : Matt Mullican
Publisher : Black Dog Pub Limited
ISBN 13 : 9781908966629
Total Pages : 96 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (666 download)

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Book Synopsis Matt Mullican by : Matt Mullican

Download or read book Matt Mullican written by Matt Mullican and published by Black Dog Pub Limited. This book was released on 2018-07-31 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Matt Mullican is an American artist and a member of the "Pictures Generation" along with such artists as Troy Brauntuch, Jack Goldstein, David Salle, Jim Welling, Sherri Levine, Cindy Sherman, Louise Lawler, Richard Prince and Robert Longo. His practice addresses systems of knowledge, language, meaning, and signification whilst focusing in upon the relationship between perception and reality, in a sense, the seeing of something and its subsequent representation. 'The Meaning of Things' documents the results of Mulligan's summer school at the Fondazione Antonio Ratti in Italy. The exhibition revolves around Untitled, a set of four banners made by Mullican for his solo exhibition at Le Magasin, Grenoble, 1990, and then shown only one more time due to the large size of each element comprising the work. The banners show a repertoire of stylised figures that, following a code elaborated by the artist, summarise key aspects of reality and human experience. The visual language of the banners is extremely immediate, similar to that of commercial logos, urban signage or heraldry. 'The Meaning of Things' contributes to the understanding of the processes engaged in by the artist, by looking at the collaborative nature of the workshops and the collective narrative that is created, forming an invaluable resource for students, curators and artists alike. AUTHOR: Matt Mullican is an American artist whose work has been exhibited internationally since the early 1970s. Mullican has taught and lectured at numerous renowned institutes including Columbia University, The School of Visual Arts, New York, Amsterdam's Rijksakademie and Chelsea College of Art and Design, England. SELLING POINTS: * The fifth in our continuing series with Fondazione Antonio Ratti, 'The Meaning of Things' follows titles on Hans Haacke, Susan Hiller and Liliana Moro, each focusing on the work of a different artist who has contributed to the foundation's Summer School programme and its Advanced Course in Visual Arts. * 'The Meaning of Things' once again contributes to the understanding of the processes engaged in by the artist, looking at the collaborative nature of the workshops and the collective narrative that is created. * The book forms an invaluable resource for students, curators and artists alike. 85 colour and b/w

Stuff

Author : Randy O. Frost
Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN 13 : 0547487258
Total Pages : 309 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (474 download)

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Book Synopsis Stuff by : Randy O. Frost

Download or read book Stuff written by Randy O. Frost and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2010-04-20 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New York Times bestseller. “Gripping . . . By turns fascinating and heartbreaking . . . Stuff invites readers to reevaluate their desire for things.”—Boston Globe “Amazing . . . utterly engrossing . . . Read it.”—The Washington Post Book World What possesses someone to save every scrap of paper that’s ever come into his home? What compulsions drive a person to sacrifice her marriage or career for an accumulation of seemingly useless things? Randy Frost and Gail Steketee were the first to study hoarding when they began their work a decade ago. They didn’t expect that they would end up treating hundreds of patients and fielding thousands of calls from the families of hoarders. Their vivid case studies (reminiscent of Oliver Sacks) in Stuff show how you can identify a hoarder—piles on sofas and beds that make the furniture useless, houses that can be navigated only by following small paths called goat trails, vast piles of paper that the hoarders “churn” but never discard, even collections of animals and garbage—and illuminate the pull that possessions exert over all of us. Whether we’re savers, collectors, or compulsive cleaners, very few of us are in fact free of the impulses that drive hoarders to extremes. “Authoritative, haunting, and mysterious. It is also intensely, not to say compulsively readable.”—Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer Prize-winning author “Fascinating . . . a good mix of cultural and psychological theories on hoarding.”—Newsweek “Pioneering researchers offer a superb overview of a complex disorder that interferes with the lives of more than six-million Americans . . . An absorbing, gripping, important report.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Surprised by Meaning

Author : Alister E. McGrath
Publisher : Westminster John Knox Press
ISBN 13 : 1611640997
Total Pages : 112 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (116 download)

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Book Synopsis Surprised by Meaning by : Alister E. McGrath

Download or read book Surprised by Meaning written by Alister E. McGrath and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 2011-02-01 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We live in an age when the growth of the Internet has made it easier than ever to gain access to information and accumulate knowledge. But information is not the same as meaning, nor is knowledge identical with wisdom. Many people feel engulfed by a tsunami of facts in which they can find no meaning. In thirteen short, accessible chapters McGrath, author of the bestselling The Dawkins Delusion, leads the reader through a nontechnical discussion of science and faith. How do we make sense of the world around us? Are belief in science and the Christian faith compatible? Does the structure of the universe point toward the existence of God? McGrath's goal is to help readers see that science is neither anathema to faith, nor does it supersede faith. Both science and faith help with the overriding human desire to make sense of things. Faith is a complex idea. It is not a blind leap into the dark but a joyful discovery of a bigger picture of wondrous things of which we are all a part.

All Things Shining

Author : Hubert Dreyfus
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 9781439101704
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (17 download)

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Book Synopsis All Things Shining by : Hubert Dreyfus

Download or read book All Things Shining written by Hubert Dreyfus and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-01-04 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In unrelenting flow of choices confronts us at nearly every moment of our lives, and yet our culture offers us no clear way to choose. This predicament seems inevitable, but in fact it’s quite new. In medieval Europe, God’s calling was a grounding force. In ancient Greece, a whole pantheon of shining gods stood ready to draw an appropriate action out of you. Like an athlete in “the zone,” you were called to a harmonious attunement with the world, so absorbed in it that you couldn’t make a “wrong” choice. If our culture no longer takes for granted a belief in God, can we nevertheless get in touch with the Homeric moods of wonder and gratitude, and be guided by the meanings they reveal? All Things Shining says we can. Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance Kelly illuminate some of the greatest works of the West to reveal how we have lost our passionate engagement with and responsiveness to the world. Their journey takes us from the wonder and openness of Homer’s polytheism to the monotheism of Dante; from the autonomy of Kant to the multiple worlds of Melville; and, finally, to the spiritual difficulties evoked by modern authors such as David Foster Wallace and Elizabeth Gilbert. Dreyfus, a philosopher at the University of California, Berkeley, for forty years, is an original thinker who finds in the classic texts of our culture a new relevance for people’s everyday lives. His lively, thought-provoking lectures have earned him a podcast audience that often reaches the iTunesU Top 40. Kelly, chair of the philosophy department at Harvard University, is an eloquent new voice whose sensitivity to the sadness of the culture—and to what remains of the wonder and gratitude that could chase it away—captures a generation adrift. Re-envisioning modern spiritual life through their examination of literature, philosophy, and religious testimony, Dreyfus and Kelly unearth ancient sources of meaning, and teach us how to rediscover the sacred, shining things that surround us every day. This book will change the way we understand our culture, our history, our sacred practices, and ourselves. It offers a new—and very old—way to celebrate and be grateful for our existence in the modern world.

What We Keep

Author : Bill Shapiro
Publisher : Running Press Adult
ISBN 13 : 0762462558
Total Pages : 208 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (624 download)

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Book Synopsis What We Keep by : Bill Shapiro

Download or read book What We Keep written by Bill Shapiro and published by Running Press Adult. This book was released on 2018-09-25 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With contributions from Cheryl Strayed, Mark Cuban, Ta-Nahesi Coates, Melinda Gates, Joss Whedon, James Patterson, and many more--this fascinating collection gives us a peek into 150 personal treasures and the secret histories behind them. All of us have that one object that holds deep meaning--something that speaks to our past, that carries a remarkable story. Bestselling author Bill Shapiro collected this sweeping range of stories--he talked to everyone from renowned writers to Shark Tank hosts, from blackjack dealers to teachers, truckers, and nuns, even a reformed counterfeiter--to reveal the often hidden, always surprising lives of objects.

Compulsive Hoarding and Acquiring

Author : Gail Steketee
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0198041071
Total Pages : 240 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (98 download)

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Book Synopsis Compulsive Hoarding and Acquiring by : Gail Steketee

Download or read book Compulsive Hoarding and Acquiring written by Gail Steketee and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2006-12-07 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The problem of compulsive hoarding and acquiring is more widespread than commonly believed. It often goes undiagnosed, either because sufferers are ashamed of their compulsions or because they dont believe it is a problem that merits professional attention. As much as two percent of the U.S. population suffers secretly from this condition. However, compulsive hoarding can be an emotionally exhausting, uncontrollable, and sometimes dangerous problem. Written by the developers of this groundbreaking treatment, this manual is the first to present an empirically supported and effective CBT program for treating compulsive hoarding and acquiring. This guide gives clinicians the information to understand hoarding and proven tools to help clients overcome their compulsive behaviors. It teaches individuals how to recognize errors in thinking and uses both imagined and real exposures to teach them the skills they need to manage their problem. Home visits by the clinician are a part of the treatment, as well as consultations with other professionals who might assist if necessary. Homework exercises include behavioral experiments to test personal beliefs about possessions, developing an organization plan and filing system, and sorting and organizing items room-by-room. Designed to be used in conjunction with the corresponding workbook, this therapist guide provides numerous assessment and intervention forms to help clients use the methods described in this program. Complete with case examples and strategies for dealing with problems, this user-friendly guide is a dependable resource that no clinician can do without. TreatmentsThatWorkTM represents the gold standard of behavioral healthcare interventions! · All programs have been rigorously tested in clinical trials and are backed by years of research · A prestigious scientific advisory board, led by series Editor-In-Chief David H. Barlow, reviews and evaluates each intervention to ensure that it meets the highest standard of evidence so you can be confident that you are using the most effective treatment available to date · Our books are reliable and effective and make it easy for you to provide your clients with the best care available · Our corresponding workbooks contain psychoeducational information, forms and worksheets, and homework assignments to keep clients engaged and motivated · A companion website (www.oup.com/us/ttw) offers downloadable clinical tools and helpful resources · Continuing Education (CE) Credits are now available on select titles in collaboration with PsychoEducational Resources, Inc. (PER)

The Meaning of It All

Author : Richard P. Feynman
Publisher : Basic Books
ISBN 13 : 0786739142
Total Pages : 59 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (867 download)

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Book Synopsis The Meaning of It All by : Richard P. Feynman

Download or read book The Meaning of It All written by Richard P. Feynman and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2009-04-29 with total page 59 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many appreciate Richard P. Feynman's contributions to twentieth-century physics, but few realize how engaged he was with the world around him -- how deeply and thoughtfully he considered the religious, political, and social issues of his day. Now, a wonderful book -- based on a previously unpublished, three-part public lecture he gave at the University of Washington in 1963 -- shows us this other side of Feynman, as he expounds on the inherent conflict between science and religion, people's distrust of politicians, and our universal fascination with flying saucers, faith healing, and mental telepathy. Here we see Feynman in top form: nearly bursting into a Navajo war chant, then pressing for an overhaul of the English language (if you want to know why Johnny can't read, just look at the spelling of "friend"); and, finally, ruminating on the death of his first wife from tuberculosis. This is quintessential Feynman -- reflective, amusing, and ever enlightening.

The Meaning of Life-- and Other Stuff

Author : Jimmy Gownley
Publisher : Turtleback Books
ISBN 13 : 9780606232678
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (326 download)

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Book Synopsis The Meaning of Life-- and Other Stuff by : Jimmy Gownley

Download or read book The Meaning of Life-- and Other Stuff written by Jimmy Gownley and published by Turtleback Books. This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While trying to figure out the meaning of life, Amelia learns that even when the world is scary and life is as mystifying as ever, some things, such as friends, do last.

Taste

Author : Stephen Bayley
Publisher : Circa
ISBN 13 : 9781911422259
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (222 download)

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Book Synopsis Taste by : Stephen Bayley

Download or read book Taste written by Stephen Bayley and published by Circa. This book was released on 2018-09 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do we define taste? The only certainty is that it shifts and changes - sometimes abruptly. With the explosion of vulgar consumerism in the mid-nineteenth century, the Victorians seized upon the notion of good taste as a way of codifying middle-class mores. A century later, to talk about taste had become almost taboo, since judgments made about dress, manners, food and art can often be painfully revealing. And today? When this classic text was first published in 1991, Stephen Bayley illuminated the nuances and niceties of our mercurial understanding of taste. In this new edition, he ranges far and wide to bring us exquisitely up to date. 'I don't know anybody with more interesting observations about style, taste and contemporary design' Tom Wolfe on Stephen Bayley AUTHOR: Stephen Bayley is an author, critic, columnist, consultant, broadcaster, curator and founding director of the influential Design Museum in London. Over the past thirty years his writing has changed the way the world thinks about design. He is the author of Death Drive, one the most talked about books of 2016. SELLING POINTS: * Design-guru Stephen Bayley approaches the thorny and sometimes elitist topic of 'taste' with typical wit, drawing on his expertise in a number of fields from fashion to food * A new edition of a classic book, brought into the new millennium by Bayley's concise critique of modern design 90 colour images

The Ideas in Things

Author : Elaine Freedgood
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 0226261638
Total Pages : 208 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (262 download)

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Book Synopsis The Ideas in Things by : Elaine Freedgood

Download or read book The Ideas in Things written by Elaine Freedgood and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2010-10-15 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents an analysis of nineteenth-century English fiction, focusing on objects found in three Victorian novels, arguing that these items have meanings the modern reader does not understand, but were clear to the Victorian reader.

The Meaning of Things

Author : A.C. Grayling
Publisher : Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN 13 : 1780221169
Total Pages : 173 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (82 download)

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Book Synopsis The Meaning of Things by : A.C. Grayling

Download or read book The Meaning of Things written by A.C. Grayling and published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. This book was released on 2011-07-21 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A refreshing distillation of insights into the human condition, by one of the best-known and most popular philosophers in the UK. Thinking about life, what it means and what it holds in store does not have to be a despondent experience, but rather can be enlightening and uplifting. A life truly worth living is one that is informed and considered so a degree of philosophical insight into the inevitabilities of the human condition is inherently important and such an approach will help us to deal with real personal dilemmas. This book is an accessible, lively and thought-provoking series of linked commentaries, based on A. C. Grayling's 'The Last Word' column in the GUARDIAN. Its aim is not to persuade readers to accept one particular philosophical point of view or theory, but to help us consider the wonderful range of insights which can be drawn from an immeasurably rich history of philosophical thought. Concepts covered include courage, love, betrayal, ambition, cruelty, wisdom, passion, beauty and death. This will be a wonderfully stimulating read and act as an invaluable guide as to what is truly important in living life, whether facing success, failure, justice, wrong, love, loss or any of the other profound experience life throws out.

The Meaning of Liff

Author : Douglas Adams
Publisher : Pan Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 1447262603
Total Pages : 242 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (472 download)

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Book Synopsis The Meaning of Liff by : Douglas Adams

Download or read book The Meaning of Liff written by Douglas Adams and published by Pan Macmillan. This book was released on 2013-10-10 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Meaning of Liff has sold hundreds of thousands of copies since it was first published in 1983, and remains a much-loved humour classic. This edition has been revised and updated, and includes The Deeper Meaning of Liff, giving fresh appeal to Douglas Adams and John Lloyd's entertaining and witty dictionary. In life, there are hundreds of familiar experiences, feelings and objects for which no words exist, yet hundreds of strange words are idly loafing around on signposts, pointing at places. The Meaning of Liff connects the two. BERRIWILLOCK (n.) - An unknown workmate who writes 'All the best' on your leaving card. ELY (n.) - The first, tiniest inkling that something, somewhere has gone terribly wrong. GRIMBISTER (n.) - Large body of cars on a motorway all travelling at exactly the speed limit because one of them is a police car. KETTERING (n.) - The marks left on your bottom or thighs after sunbathing on a wickerwork chair. OCKLE (n.) - An electrical switch which appears to be off in both positions. WOKING (ptcpl.vb.) - Standing in the kitchen wondering what you came in here for.

Play Anything

Author : Ian Bogost
Publisher : Basic Books
ISBN 13 : 0465096506
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (65 download)

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Book Synopsis Play Anything by : Ian Bogost

Download or read book Play Anything written by Ian Bogost and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2016-09-13 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How filling life with play-whether soccer or lawn mowing, counting sheep or tossing Angry Birds -- forges a new path for creativity and joy in our impatient age Life is boring: filled with meetings and traffic, errands and emails. Nothing we'd ever call fun. But what if we've gotten fun wrong? In Play Anything, visionary game designer and philosopher Ian Bogost shows how we can overcome our daily anxiety; transforming the boring, ordinary world around us into one of endless, playful possibilities. The key to this playful mindset lies in discovering the secret truth of fun and games. Play Anything, reveals that games appeal to us not because they are fun, but because they set limitations. Soccer wouldn't be soccer if it wasn't composed of two teams of eleven players using only their feet, heads, and torsos to get a ball into a goal; Tetris wouldn't be Tetris without falling pieces in characteristic shapes. Such rules seem needless, arbitrary, and difficult. Yet it is the limitations that make games enjoyable, just like it's the hard things in life that give it meaning. Play is what happens when we accept these limitations, narrow our focus, and, consequently, have fun. Which is also how to live a good life. Manipulating a soccer ball into a goal is no different than treating ordinary circumstances- like grocery shopping, lawn mowing, and making PowerPoints-as sources for meaning and joy. We can "play anything" by filling our days with attention and discipline, devotion and love for the world as it really is, beyond our desires and fears. Ranging from Internet culture to moral philosophy, ancient poetry to modern consumerism, Bogost shows us how today's chaotic world can only be tamed-and enjoyed-when we first impose boundaries on ourselves.

Return to Meaning

Author : Mats Alvesson
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0191090786
Total Pages : 176 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Return to Meaning by : Mats Alvesson

Download or read book Return to Meaning written by Mats Alvesson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-06-30 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book argues that we are currently witnessing not merely a decline in the quality of social science research, but the proliferation of meaningless research, of no value to society, and modest value to its authors - apart from securing employment and promotion. The explosion of published outputs, at least in social science, creates a noisy, cluttered environment which makes meaningful research difficult, as different voices compete to capture the limelight even briefly. Older, more significant contributions are easily neglected, as the premium is to write and publish, not read and learn. The result is a widespread cynicism among academics on the value of academic research, sometimes including their own. Publishing comes to be seen as a game of hits and misses, devoid of intrinsic meaning and value, and of no wider social uses whatsoever. Academics do research in order to get published, not to say something socially meaningful. This is what we view as the rise of nonsense in academic research, which represents a serious social problem. It undermines the very point of social science. This problem is far from 'academic'. It affects many areas of social and political life entailing extensive waste of resources and inflated student fees as well as costs to tax-payers. Part two of the book offers a range of proposals aimed at restoring meaning at the heart of social research and drawing social science back address the major problems and issues that face our societies.