English world rights (Oxford UP), Spanish world rights (Loyola)
How do the history of religion and the history of political freedom relate to one another? The diversity of opinions on this in the fields of philosophy, the humanities and social sciences and in the public is vast and confusing. And yet, the sublime synthesis in which Hegel once united Christianity and political freedom is still of enormous guiding power for many – despite or maybe because of Friedrich Nietzsche’s influential provocations.
However, a different way of looking at...
How do the history of religion and the history of political freedom relate to one another? The diversity of opinions on this in the fields of philosophy, the humanities and social sciences and in the public is vast and confusing. And yet, the sublime synthesis in which Hegel once united Christianity and political freedom is still of enormous guiding power for many – despite or maybe because of Friedrich Nietzsche’s influential provocations.
However, a different way of looking at this complex of questions evolved within the religious thought of the 20th century, as Hans Joas shows in his new book. It is based on a concept of history that is more open to the future and on an understanding of freedom that is richer than it is in Hegel’s thought. By reference to sixteen selected thinkers, Joas carves out this new understanding of religion and freedom that is neither intellectualistic nor Eurocentric. This creates a decisive plea for a global history of moral universalism.
»... it is a pleasure, almost a comfort, to follow a scholar in making traditions he cares about deeply come to life clearly and comprehensibly and in arguing fairly and constructively with those who have different opinions.« Johann Hinrich Claussen, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
»[An] extensive and very erudite study.« Otfried Höffe, Frankfurter Rundschau
»A challenging but important read for understanding religion and freedom – in Europe and beyond.« André Behr, Falter
»... it is a pleasure, almost a comfort, to follow a scholar in making traditions he cares about deeply come to life clearly and comprehensibly and in arguing fairly and constructively with those who have different opinions.« Johann Hinrich Claussen, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
»[An] extensive and very erudite study.« Otfried Höffe, Frankfurter Rundschau
»A challenging but important read for understanding religion...
Hans Joas, born in 1948, is the Ernst Troeltsch Professor for the Sociology of Religion at the Humboldt University of Berlin and professor of sociology and social thought at the University of Chicago.
Hans Joas, born in 1948, is the Ernst Troeltsch Professor for the Sociology of Religion at the Humboldt University of Berlin and professor of...
»Disenchantment is a key term in the self-understanding of modernity. But what exactly does this concept mean? What was its original meaning when Max Weber introduced it? And can the...
English world rights (Oxford UP), Spanish world rights (Herder), France (Seuil), Netherlands (Lemniscaat), Hungary (Gondolat)
»What are the origins of the idea of human rights and universal human dignity? How can we most fully understand—and realize—these rights going into the future? In The...
English world rights (Georgetown UP), Chinese simplex rights (Shanghai People’s Publishing House), France (Labor et Fides), Italy (Franco Angeli), Croatia (Breza)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Spanish rights Latin America (UNSAM), Brazilian Portuguese rights (UNESP)
»Public and intellectual debates have long struggled with the concept of values and the difficulties of defining them. With The Genesis of Values, renowned theorist Hans Joas...
English world rights (University of Chicago Press), Spanish world rights (Pólvora), Russia (Aletheia), France (Calmann-Lévy), Italy (Quodlibet), Poland (Oficyna Naukowa)
»Hans Joas is one of the foremost social theorists in Germany today. In this outstanding book he outlines the fundamentals of a new theory of action, drawing on philosophical pragmatism. The...
English world rights (Polity), Russia (Aletheia)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Spanish world rights (CIS), France (Cerf), Korea (Hanul)
»This major study reassesses the work of the American pragmatist George Herbert Mead (1863-1931), which had a significant impact in fields ranging from metaphysics and ethics to...
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: English world rights (MIT Press), France (Economica)