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E-book
Author Grant, Patrick, author

Title Imperfection / Patrick Grant
Published Edmonton, AB : AU Press, [2012]
©2012
Online access available from:
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Description 1 online resource (240 pages)
Series Cultural dialectics, 1915-8378
Cultural dialectics.
Contents Part 1: Imperfection. Plato and the Limits of Idealism -- The Van Gogh Letters: The Art of the Unfinished -- The Trouble with Visions -- Northern Ireland, Sri Lanka, and Regressive Inversion -- Osama, Theo, and the Burnt Fool's Bandaged Finger -- What the Buddha Didn't Say -- Not So Good News: The Gospel According to Mark -- Part 2: Self. Immortal Souls and State Executions -- The Eyes Have It: Seeing One's Self and Others -- The God of Battles and the Irish Dimension of Shakespeare's Henry V -- Crucifying Harry: Victims, Scapegoats, and the Northern Ireland Troubles -- Talking to the Cyclops: On Violence and Self-Destruction -- Doing Nothing About It: Taoism, Selflessness, and Non-Action -- Cliff Jumpers and Delta Dwellers: On Religious Language and Commitment -- Part 3: Freedom. Dr. Johnson, Freedom, and the Book of Psalms -- Sex, Society, and Romeo and Juliet -- Cartoons from Denmark and the March of the Zombies -- Vergil and the Almighty Dollar -- Endgame in Sri Lanka: Dharmapala's Legacy and Rajapaksa's War -- Jung and The Secret of the Golden Flower -- Kieslowski's Red: Fraternity in the Making
Summary "" ... Aspirations to perfection awaken us to our actual imperfection." It is in the space between these aspirations and our inability to achieve them that Grant reflects upon imperfection. Grant argues that an awareness of imperfection, defined as both suffering and the need for justice, drive us to an unrelenting search for perfection, freedom, and self-determination. The twenty-one brief chapters of Imperfection develop this governing idea as it relates to the present situation of the God debate, modern ethnic conflicts, and the pursuit of freedom in relation to the uncertainties of personal identity and the quest for self-determination. Known for his exploration of the relationship between Buddhism and violent ethnic conflict in modern Sri Lanka, as well as his contribution to the study of Northern Ireland and the complex relationships among religion, literature, and ethnicity, Grant provides the reader with an analysis of the widespread rise of religious extremism across the globe. Referencing Plato, Van Gogh, Jesus, and the Buddha, he enlightens the reader with both succinct and original insights into human society. Imperfection is the result of an important Canadian public intellectual at work."--Publisher's description
Analysis literary criticism
religious studies
history of ideas
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 237-239)
Notes English
Subject Philosophy -- History.
Criticism
Imperfection.
Self.
Philosophical theology.
Ethnic conflict -- Religious aspects.
Ego (Psychology)
Ego
criticism.
literary criticism.
PHILOSOPHY -- Movements -- Humanism.
Ego (Psychology)
Criticism
Ethnic conflict -- Religious aspects
Imperfection
Philosophical theology
Philosophy
Self
Genre/Form Electronic books
History
Form Electronic book
LC no. 2020405280
ISBN 9781926836768
1926836766
9781926836751
1926836758
1280687134
9781280687136
9786613664075
6613664073