Paths Through Mankind's PerplexitiesIn our personal and public life we encounter many perplexing problems: How to make a living? How to divide the national wealth among the population? Are our political institutions perfect, or are they flawed? Has modern democracy resolved once and for all the problem of a good government? Is human dignity preserved and cherished in the chaos of pursuits of the modern man? And what about our cultural life? Is every loud noise music? Is each bestseller a worthy book? Is modern painting true art? In order to comprehend the ways of our so-called Western civilization, Paths through Mankinds Perplexities explores the nature of its antecedents, namely the Hellenic heritage and the Israelite legacy. The meaning of each of these and their symbiosis is examined in a substantive way. This reveals that the present has some deep roots in the past, even if in many ways it is new. Yet this study is not merely historical. It looks at the present and to the future. In the past there has been a variety of approaches on how to guide our lives and humanitys way of life. There were Greek approaches and there were biblical judgments focused on moral guidance. There were skeptical approaches often motivated by moral concerns. And there was the Faustian attitude that centered on the quest of adventure, exploring the limits of man and looking incessantly for new experiences. The right path through this dark wood is cautiously explored in this remarkable book. |
Contents
A PATHFINDING | 5 |
Material Existence | 7 |
Division of Wealth 3 Political Institutions 4 Modern Democracy | 29 |
Business and Politics Authority 7 International Relations | 61 |
Social Institutions | 76 |
The Quest of Beauty | 84 |
B HUMAN SEARCHLIGHTS Introduction | 93 |
The Sources of Western Civilization | 95 |
The Hellenic Heritage | 102 |
The Israelite Legacy | 108 |
The Interplay of the Two Cultures | 117 |
JUDGMENTS AND SOLUTIONS Introduction | 132 |
Greek Judgments and 2 The Biblical Judgment 3 The Christian 4 The Caustic Perspective 5 The Faustian Ideal 6 Morality Autonomous 7 The Hope a... | 146 |
7 15 21 29 43 59 67 76 84 93 95 102 108 117 132 135 141 146 150 | 157 |
Common terms and phrases
accepted actual aesthetic American ancient ancient Greek Antigone approach argument Aristotle artistic assertion authority basic belief Bible Biblical century Christianity citizens clearly concern conduct Constitution countries creation culture Democracy democratic democratic regimes direct democracy distinction diverse divine dominant economic elected eschatological essentially established ethical Europe European civilization evil existence expression Faust Faustian followed Greek Greek philosophy Gulliver’s Travels Hebrew Hellenic Hobbes human ideal individual institutions Israel Israelite Judaism judgment justice linked majority man’s manifestation mankind Market Economy Marxism matter means ment modern monotheism moral Mordecai Roshwald Moreover nature nomic offered one’s opinion organization party peace perfect philosophers Plato political population practical present President principle problem pursuit quest reality reason religion religious remain Representative Democracy rule ruler sense sion social society Socrates Sophocles soul Soviet Soviet Union tion truth United various wealth Western Civilization wisdom