Synopses & Reviews
In this age of globalization and dissolving borders of national identity, questions about the nature of cultural values and symbolic structures abound, especially for newly integrated communities of political and social power like the European Union. In this international best seller, published for the first time in English, a group of highly acclaimed thinkers and social theorists examine the most important innovations and culturally vital traditions of Europe in order to produce an image of contemporary European self-understanding. Answering important questions on the nature of cultural identity in Europe and whether or not specifically European values exist, these leading European scholars approach topic through both specific cultural traditions (“Athens and Jerusalem”) and the values that they are founded upon (“freedom”). Edited by renowned scholar and University of Chicago professor Hans Joas, the volume features distinguished contributors such as Orlando Patterson, Mark Mazower, and Wolfgang Schluchter, among others, generating an impressively innovative and incisive cultural commentary that is not to be missed by any student of European history, society, and culture.
Review
"A truly informative journey through a homeland that defines each one of us ... an erudite guide for Europeans all over the world."--Die Zeit
Synopsis
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.
About the Author
Hans Joas 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.
Table of Contents
The Cultural Values of Europe: An Introduction
Hans Joas
1. The Axial Age in World History
Shmuel N. Eisenstadt
2. The Judeo-Christian Tradition
Wolfgang Huber
3. The Greco-Roman Tradition
Christian Meier
4. How Europe Became Diverse: On the Medieval Roots of the Plurality of Values
Michael Borgolte
5. Freedom, Slavery, and the Modern Construction of Rights
Orlando Patterson
6. The Value of Introspection
Kurt Flasch
7. Rationality—A Specifically European Characteristic?
Wolfgang Schluchter
8. The Affirmation of Ordinary Life
Wolfgang Reinhard
9. Inner Nature and Social Normativity: The Idea of Self-Realization
Christoph Menke
10. The Status of the Enlightenment in German History
Reinhart Koselleck
11. The Dark Continent—Europe and Totalitarianism
Mark Mazower
12. Value Change in Europe from the Perspective of Empirical Social Research
Helmut Thome
13. The Realities of Cultural Struggles
Dieter Senghaas
14. The Contest of Values: Notes on Contemporary Islamic Discourse
Gudrun Kramer
15. Does Europe Have a Cultural Identity?
Peter Wagner