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Historians and President of the German Academy for Language and Literature in Darmstadt and in 2003 received thee prestigious Jacob Grimm prize for German literature. culture so special? A Culture of Freedom attempts to answer this question - to find the key to the 'miracle' of ancient Greece. The book takes us on a tour through the rich spectrum of Greek life and culture, from their epic and lyric poetry, political thought and philosophy, to their social life, military traditions, sport, and religious festivals, and finally to the early stages of Greek democracy. Running as a connecting thread throughout is a people's attempt to create a society based upon the freedom rather than power. It is this which, Meier argues, is the distinctive key to Greek culture, marking it out from all that had gone before, including the ancient societies of the Middle East from which the Greeks otherwise borrowed so much. The ancient Greeks managed to build a society founded on the concept of freedom - and by doing so helped mould the Europe that we live in today.
Why the Greeks? How did it happen that these people--out of all Mediterranean societies--developed democratic systems of government? The outstanding German historian of the ancient world, Christian Meier, reconstructs the process of political thinking in Greek culture that led to democracy. He demonstrates that the civic identity of the Athenians was a direct precondition for the practical reality of this form of government. Meier shows how the structure of Greek communal life gave individuals a civic role and discusses a crucial reform that institutionalized the idea of equality before the law. In Greek drama--specifically Aeschylus' Oresteia--he finds reflections of the ascendancy of civil...
This biography situates Julius Caesar within the wider context of the crisis of the Roman Republic. The author begins his account with an exposition of the upbringing and education of Caesar, demonstrating how limitations were deliberately imposed on the development of talent and the growth of personality of Romans. But early on, Caesar marked himself out as one whose self-confidence and energy would one day bring him into conflict with institutions obsessed with the denial of the individual. He was the first outside to challenge the Senate - and he got away with it. It was not that he wanted to destroy the Republic; rather, he believed strongly in the rights of individuals and their rights to freedom of speech.
This standard introduction to psychology and counseling offers an explanation of classic theory and a holistic Christian view of humanity and counseling. The book includes over one hundred "spotlights" (brief essays featuring persons, ideas, and applications relevant to Christian counseling), copious illustrations, a glossary explaining technical terms, and thorough indexes. The text, organized according to the way introductory counseling courses are taught, serves as a helpful reference tool of enduring value. Subject areas include: • personality • classic psychological theory • the biological basis of behavior • emotions and motivation • memory, cognition, self-concept • child and adult development • sensation and perception • social psychology • individual and family counseling • psychology of religion • abnormal psychology • individual and group therapy
Power is the essence of politics. Whoever seeks to understand and master it must understand its logic. Drawing on two decades of international experience in political consulting, Dominik Meier and Christian Blum give profound and honest insights into the inner workings of power. Introducing their Power Leadership Approach, the authors provide a conceptual analysis of power and present the tools to successfully exercise it in the political domain. "Power and its Logic" is a guidebook for politicians, business leaders, civil society pioneers, public affairs consultants and for every citizen who wants to understand the unwritten rules of politics.
The conflict in Ukraine has deep domestic roots. A third of the population, primarily in the East and South, regards its own Russian cultural identity as entirely compatible with a Ukrainian civic identity. The state’s reluctance to recognize this ethnos as a legitimate part of the modern Ukrainian nation, has created a tragic cycle that entangles Ukrainian politics. The Tragedy of Ukraine argues that in order to untangle the conflict within the Ukraine, it must be addressed on an emotional, as well as institutional level. It draws on Richard Ned Lebow’s ‘tragic vision of politics’ and on classical Greek tragedy to assist in understanding the persistence of this conflict. Classical Greek tragedy once served as a mechanism in Athenian society to heal deep social trauma and create more just institutions. The Tragedy of Ukraine reflects on the ways in which ancient Greek tragedy can help us rethink civic conflict and polarization, as well as model ways of healing deep social divisions.
The "treasure" of full sexual expression in marriage can be found by following the advice and practical information in thes pages. The authors identify psychological, religious, and medical hindrances and suggest ways they can be resolved.
The story of one of the most brilliant, flamboyant and historically important men who ever lived. 'A superb achievement' LITERARY REVIEW 'Combines scholarship with storytelling to bring the ancient world to life: in his masterly new CAESAR he shows us the greatest Roman as man, statesman, soldier and lover' Simon Sebag Montefiore 'Magnificent' DAILY TELEGRAPH From the very beginning, Caesar's story makes dazzling reading. In his late teens he narrowly avoided execution for opposing the military dictator Sulla. He was decorated for valour in battle, captured and held to ransom by pirates, and almost bankrupted himself by staging games for the masses. As a politician, he quickly gained a reput...
"Meier sees an "absence" of history in contemporary Europe and throughout the West - an absence he attributes to the way modern historians have written about history and, more important, to the dramatic transformations of the twentieth century. He argues for the central legacy of Western civilization. He tackles the difficulty of reconciling a historical perspective with our era of extreme acceleration, when experience is shaped less by inheritance and legacy than by the novelty of changes wrought by science and globalization. Finally, Meier contemplates the enormity of the Holocaust, which he sees as a test of "understanding" history. If it is part of the whole arc of the Western legacy, how do we fit it with the rest?"