Bücher veröffentlicht von Palgrave Pivot

This book interprets the concepts, philosophies and cultural traditions of lunli (roughly construed as ¿relationships and rationality¿) from the perspective and domain of ¿dialogue civilization.¿ On the conceptual level, it expounds the common reference and different tenets of the Chinese lunli and the Western ¿ethic¿, exploring the characteristics of lunli and "ethic" in civilization history, considering notably the difference between unification of family and state and division of the two at the embryonic stage of civilization. The book draws on the lunli-oriented culture and religion-based culture to demonstrate the difference between Chinese lunli and Western ¿ethic¿ in their respective top design and ultimate care, by exploring the issue ¿What the world would be like, if there were no lunli¿ for the Chinese and ¿What the world would be like, if there were no God¿ for westerners. Since lunli is the most prominent feature of ¿being Chinese¿, or the most symbolic and interpretative Chinese cultural concept, this pivot provides a key introduction for Western readers not only to the concept itself, but also to modern day Chinese culture.

This Palgrave Pivot examines the history of the largely urban offence once known as vitriol throwing because the substance most commonly used was strong sulphuric acid, oil of vitriol. A relatively rare form of assault, it was motivated largely by revenge or jealousy and, because it was specifically designed to blind and mutilate, commonly targeted the victim's face. The incidence of what was thus widely acknowledged to be an exceptionally cruel crime plateaued in the period 1850-1930 amid a sometimes surprisingly lenient legal response, before declining as a result of post-war social changes. In examining the factors that influenced both the crime and its punishment, the book makes an important contribution to criminal justice history by illuminating the role of gender, law and emotion from the perspective of both victim and perpetrator.

The original text of this work was published in the French journal Revue d'Histoire et de Philosophie Religieuses. This English translation presents Kojève's attempt to unify the religious philosophy of Vladimir Solovyov into a metaphysical system that Solovyov strived for but was never able to fully articulate in his lifetime.