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THIS PAPER ARGUES THAT IN POLICY EVALUATION A CRITICALLY REFLECTIVE "PRACTICAL DISCOURSE" IS A VALUABLE REMEDY AGAINST THE TECHNICAL-INSTRUMENTAL BENT OF APPLIED SCIENCE, BUT THAT RECOVERY OF A FULLY NON-INSTRUMENTAL "PRACTICAL" JUDGEMENT PRESUPPOSES AN EVALUATION NOT ONLY OF CONCRETE POLICIES BUT OF THE STATUS OF "POLICY" ITSELF.

"This book follows Chagall's life through his art and his understanding of the role of the artist as a political being. It takes the reader through the different milieus of the nineteenth and the twentieth century - including the World Wars and the Holocaust - to present a unique understanding of Chagall's artistic vision and peace in an age of extremes. At a time when all identities are being subsumed into a 'national' identity, this book makes the case for a larger understanding of art as a way of transcending materiality. The volume explores in Chagall's work the Platonic notions of truth, goodness, and beauty are linked and mutually illuminating. A "spiritual-humanist" interpretation of his life and work renders Chagall's work more transparent and accessible to the general reader. It will be essential reading for students of art and art history, political philosophy, political science, and peace studies"--

This book discusses how the traditional democratic institutions seem to be falling apart or operate in mutual contradiction in the U.S. Guiding "values" no longer serve the common good but give rise to sharp hostility and violence. The same disarray prevails in international politics. A remedy is desperately needed.

"In his latest book, Horizons of Difference: Engaging with Others, Fred Dallmayr argues that the dialogue between religious and secular commitments, between faith and reason, is particularly important in our time because both faith and reason can give rise to dangerous and destructive types of extremism, fanaticism, or idolatry. In this interdisciplinary and cross-cultural synthesis of philosophy, religious thought, and political theory, Dallmayr neither accepts the "clash of cultures" dichotomy nor denies the reality of cultural tensions. Instead, operating from the standpoint of philosophical hermeneutics, he embraces cultural difference as a necessary condition and opportunity for mutual cross-cultural dialogue and learning. In part 1, "Relationality and Difference," Dallmayr explores the emergence of diverse loyalties and attachments in different social and cultural contexts. The assumption is not that different commitments are necessarily synchronized or "naturally" compatible but rather that they are held together precisely by their difference and potential antagonism. Part 2, "Engagement through Dialogue and Interaction," dwells on the major means of mediating between the alternatives of radical separation and radical sameness: the means of dialogue and hermeneutical interpretation of understanding. In this respect, the emphasis shifts to leading philosophers of dialogue such as Gadamer, Bernhard Waldenfels, and Merleau-Ponty. In a world where the absolutizing of the ego encourages selfish egotism that can lead to aggressive war-mongering, Horizons of Difference shows how the categories of "difference" and "relationality" can be used to build a genuine and peaceful democracy based on dialogue and interaction instead of radical autonomy and elitism"--

Introduction: Political theology and Barmen -- Evangelical Synod 1934: Theological Declaration of Barmen -- Presbyterian Church, Book of Order: Barmen Declaration (short version) -- The Barmen Theological Declaration in May 1934: its formulation and significance / Eberhard Busch -- Historical overview of the Barmen Theological Declaration of 1934 / Wolf Krötke -- Democratic faith: Barth, Barmen, and the politics of Reformed confession / Derek Alan Woodard-Lehman -- Confess and resist: Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer in the church struggle / Wolfgang Huber -- Two types of religious faith: a conversation with Martin Buber / Fred Dallmayr -- Thy kingdom come!: the prayer of the church-community for God's kingdom on earth / Dietrich Bonhoeffer -- Conclusion: Political theology again.

This work seeks to lay the groundwork for a new conception of democracy. By contrast to traditional views which located its distinctive character simply in the expansion of the number of rulers, the author presents the rise of modern democracy as a basic 'paradigm shift' involving multiple dimensions of change (including political, metaphysical, and even theological dimensions)

Introduction: reenvisaging freedom and solidarity -- Twilights and new dawns: revaluation and de(con)struction -- Letting-be politically: Heidegger on freedom and solidarity -- The promise of democracy: nonpossessive freedom and caring solidarity -- Markets and democracy: beyond neoliberalism -- Rights and right(ness): humanity at the crossroads -- "Man against the state": community and dissent -- Faith and communicative freedom: a tribute to Wolfgang Huber -- Between holism and totalitarianism: remembering Dimitry Likhachev -- Freedom as engaged social praxis: lessons from D.P. Chattopadhyaya -- Freedom and solidarity (again): reimagining social democracy

Apocalypse Now? : Politics Between Life and Death -- World Order and Abendland : Toward Global Renewal -- Taming Leviathan : Beyond Political "Realism" -- World Maintenance : Loka-samgraha and Tian-Xia -- Relating Heaven and Humanity : Neither One Nor Two -- Humanizing Humanity : For a Post-Secular Humanism -- Farewell and "Ereignis" : Beyond Hard Power and Soft Power -- Dwelling in the World : On Rectifying Names

"A new ethical concept of democracy as the cultivation and practice of civic virtues in a pluralistic setting is presented in this thoughtful and wide-ranging study. Drawing upon such figures as Aristotle, Montesquieu, Hegel, Dewey, Heidegger, Arendt, and Lefort, Fred Dallmayr emphasizes the need for civic education and practical-ethical engagement in all societies aspiring to be democratic. With reference to Middle Eastern societies and especially Iran, Dallmayr explores the possible compatibility between democracy and Islamic faith. In a similar vein, he discusses the strengths of Gandhian and Confucian democracy as possible correctives to current versions of "minimalist" democracy and the cult of laissez-faire liberalism and neoliberalism." "Addressing how to instill a democratic ethos in societies where corporations and elites exercise a great deal of power, The Promise of Democracy presents an inspired vision of democracy as popular "self-rule" in which ethical cultivation and self-transformation make possible a nondomineering kind of political agency. Against this background, Dallmayr casts democracy as a "promise," making room for the unlimited horizons opened up by a new understanding of liberty and equality."--BOOK JACKET