Full Description
What is the cultural identity of Europe? Are there specifically European values? Questions like these are at the centre of a considerable number of political and scholarly debates in contemporary Europe. In this international best-seller, a group of acclaimed thinkers - including Orlando Patterson, S. N. Eisenstadt, Mark Mazower and Wolfgang Schluchter - examine the most important innovations and culturally vital value traditions of Europe to produce an image of contemporary European self-understanding. The volume combines two possible approaches, examining both specific cultural traditions ('Athens and Jerusalem') and specific values ('freedom'; 'rationality'). Boasting some of the leading thinkers in Europe and edited by Hans Joas and Klaus Wiegandt, The Cultural Values of Europe will be required reading for anyone hoping to understand the common cultural ground in Europe.
Contents
List of Figures and TablesNotes on ContributorsForewordHans Joas and Klaus WeigandtThe Cultural Values of Europe: An IntroductionHans Joas1. The Axial Age in World HistoryShmuel N. Eisenstadt2. The Judeo-Christian TraditionWolfgang Huber3. The Greco-Roman TraditionChristian Meier4. How Europe Became Diverse: On the Medieval Roots of the Plurality of ValuesMichael Borgolte5. Freedom, Slavery, and the Modern Construction of RightsOrlando Patterson6. The Value of IntrospectionKurt Flasch7. Rationality - A Specifically European Characteristic?Wolfgang Schlutchter8. The Affirmation of Ordinary LifeWolfgang Reinhard9. Inner Nature and Social Normativity: The Idea of Self-RealizationChristoph Menke10. The Status of the Enlightenment in German HistoryReinhart Koselleck11. The Dark Continent - Europe and TotalitarianismMark Mazower12. Value Change in Europe from the Perspective of Empirical Social ResearchHelmut Thome13. The Realities of Cultural StrugglesDieter Senghaas14. The Contest of Values: Notes on Contemporary Islamic DiscourseGudrun Kramer15. Does Europe Have a Cultural Identity?Peter WagnerGlossaryAfterwordKlaus Wiegandt
