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"We are now undergoing a historic transformation in the destiny of mankind that is in many ways as decisive as any of those in the historic past, perhaps as far back as the Neolithic Revolution. For the very first time in history mankind has come together in a global society that some have called a technological civilization. It is certainly thanks to technology that this unification of previously separated human groups - whether they be tribes, nations or civilizations - has been made possible. Will this result in a truly global civilization? This is still a moot point, which it will be our concern to investigate. But undeniably the conditions of human living have become more alike all over the globe, and these are certainly utterly unlike those of any of the previous civilizations. In short, we are entering a new age in the development of the whole of humanity"--

Quintessence of Dust' by Harry Redner argues for a science of matter and a philosophy of mind based on emergence. Mind emerges from matter through five essential stages - "quintessence" (Hamlet). Human mind is differentiated from animal mind primarily by reference to art (Homo ludens). This approach draws support from Donald, Edelman and other palaeoanthropologists, psychologists and neurologists. 0The emergent relation between two entities is defined as an indissoluble non-identity. The "mind as machine" thesis, artificial intelligence and cognitivism are criticised. The alternative emergentist approach comes close to Spinoza. The book attempts a synthesis of the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities based on philosophic premises

Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Preface -- About the Contributors -- Introductory Comment: The Pattern in the Work -- PART ONE Studies in Llndblomian Theory -- 1 Bold Critic, Cautious Reformer, Skeptical but Hopeful Rationalist -- 2 Knowledge, Power, and Democracy: Lindblom, Critical Theory, and Postmodernism -- 3 Impairments Come from Cultures: The Anti-Gramsci, or the Confessions of a Culturally Biased Social Scientist -- 4 From Pluralism to Multiplism: The Theory of Representative Democracy from Hamilton to Lindblom -- 5 Time and Purpose in the Language of Social Science -- PART TWO Studies in Policy-Making -- 6 Incrementalism, Intelligent Trial-and-Error, and the Future of Political Decision Theory -- 7 Authority and Public Policy: Solving the Political Problem -- 8 The Good Society and the Commercial Republic -- 9 The Interplay of Social Science and Prior Knowledge in Policy and Practice -- 10 Market Versus State-Centred Approaches to American Education: Does Either Make Much Sense? -- PART THREE Studies in Polity and Economy -- 11 Lindblom on Business Power and Public Policy -- 12 Ideas, Interests and Policy Change -- 13 What Is Modern Capitalism? -- 14 Failure of the Logic of Collective Action: "Rational" Work Avoidance and Social Loafing -- Concluding Comment: A Case Study of the Practice of Social Science -- Bibliography of Lindblom's Scholarly Publications.

This book deals with representation in science, politics and art both in its historical dimensions and in its contemporary expression. It aims to reveal the current trends of culture and guide these towards the goal of a future culture for the coming global technological civilization.

part I The Old World -- chapter 1 Totalitarianism and Civilization -- chapter 2 Ideology -- chapter 3 The Metamorphoses of Totalitarianism -- chapter 4 The State and Fate of Europe -- part II II e New World -- chapter 5 America Comes of Age -- chapter 6 The Destruction of American Civilization -- part III III e ird World -- chapter 7 East and West -- chapter 8 China -- chapter 9 Islam -- chapter 10 India.

part Part I: Evil and the Tragedy of the Intellectuals -- chapter 1 How Intellectuals Arrived at Radical Evil -- chapter 2 The Psychology and Sociology of Radical Evil -- chapter 3 On How to Judge Radical Evil Doers -- part Part II: Enlightenment and the Triumph of the Intellectuals -- chapter 4 The Varieties of Intellectuals in Europe -- chapter 5 The Intellectualization of the World -- chapter 6 The Fall of the Intellectuals in Europe and America -- part Part III: Death and Afterlife -- chapter 7 Death in History -- chapter 8 De-demonization and Democracy -- chapter 9 The Many Faces of Death -- chapter 10 The Return of the Intellectuals.

"The century that began in 1914 with the outbreak of the First World War was catastrophic. Over the course of that one-hundred-year span, civilizations were destroyed in the Old World, the New World, and the Third World, the latter represented by China, India, and Islam.In Europe the main agent of destruction was totalitarianism; in America it was globalization, ushered in by modernity; and in the non-Western world it was colonialism, followed later by totalitarianism and globalization. Harry Redner examines each of these processes, providing theoretical and historical accounts of their emergence. He considers the effects of Nazism and Bolshevism on the morale and morals of Europe; studies the effects on the United States of the nation's emergence as a major world power; and describes the impact of modernization on China, India, and Islam as they underwent Europeanization, Sovietization, and Americanization.Redner confronts us with a paradox: in the midst of unprecedented material affluence and organizational efficiency, one that uses advanced technologies and cutting-edge scientific knowledge, we are also sinking into an unprecedented cultural, moral, intellectual, and spiritual decline. He locates the origins of this condition in the violently contradictory processes of the twentieth century."--Provided by publisher.

The century that began in 1914 with the outbreak of the First World War has been catastrophic. Over the course of that one-hundred year span, civilizations were destroyed in the Old World, the New World, and the Third World, the latter represented by China, India, and Islam. In Europe the main agent of destruction was totalitarianism; in America it was globalization, ushered in by modernity; and in the non-Western world it was colonialism, followed later by totalitarianism and globalization. Harry Redner examines each of these processes, providing theoretical and historical accounts of their emergence. He considers the effects of Nazism and Bolshevism on the morale and morals of Europe; studies the effects on the United States of the nation's emergence as a major world power; and describes the impact of modernization on China, India, and Islam as they underwent Europeanization, Sovietization, and Americanization. Redner confronts us with a paradox: in the midst of unprecedented material affluence and organizational efficiency, one that uses advanced technologies and cutting-edge scientific knowledge, we are also sinking into an unprecedented cultural, moral, intellectual, and spiritual decline. He locates the origins of this condition in the violently contradictory processes of the twentieth century.