Mock Ritual in the Modern Era explores the complex interrelations between ritual and mockery, the latter of which is not infrequently the unofficial face of claims to rationality. McGinnis and Smyth consider how the mocking and parodying of ritual often associated with modern rationalism may itself become ritualized, and other ways in which supposedly sham ritual may survive its "outing." This volume traces the evolution of "mock ritual" in various forms throughout the modern era,...

Lying appears to be ubiquitous, what Franz Kafka called "a universal principle”; yet, despite a number of recent books on the subject, it has been given comparatively little genuinely systematic attention by philosophers, social scientists, or even literary theorists. In The Habit of Lying John Vignaux Smyth examines three forms of falsification—lying, concealment, and fiction—and makes a strong critique of traditional approaches to each of them, and, above all, to the relations a...

This book explains the correct logical approach to analysis of forensic scientific evidence. The focus is on general methods of analysis applicable to all forms of evidence. It starts by explaining the general principles and then applies them to issues in DNA and other important forms of scientific evidence as examples. Like the first edition, the book analyses real legal cases and judgments rather than hypothetical examples and shows how the problems perceived in those cases would have be...

Thorgal, Jolan, Wolfcub and the two children they rescued from the Selkie are sailing home when they come across a drifting ship. The crew is dead, but a strange, obviously magical creature appears suddenly and attacks. That is merely the first in a series of bizarre events that will force Thorgal to return to a place with strong ties to his own past, as much to protect his family as to prevent terrible weapons from falling into the wrong hands …

Thorgal had a chance to destroy the Atlantean spaceship and its weapons, but couldn’t bring himself to do it, as it also meant sacrificing Jolan. His aborted attempts, however, activated Neokora, the onboard artificial intelligence. First contact was immediately hostile, and the two Vikings soon had to flee both the machine … along with the last survivors of the crew, long thought dead but now awakening. Including Slive the Sorceress, who was once Thorgal’s ally, then his enemy …

Trapped in the Master of Justice’s arena, Jolan still believes in the possibility of peace between Vikings and Magnus’s people. But to achieve it, first their rulers need to work together. And that is proving extremely difficult, even with a common enemy … Meanwhile, Kriss must escape from the silver mine once again and resume her ascent of the Mountain of Time in order to catch up to Aniel. No matter the cost to herself …

While the rest of the world thinks she’s dead – again – Kriss is hellbent on rescuing her son Aniel in Bag Dadh. It’s a long trip, though, and the mercenary woman won’t wait. She needs a shortcut. So she decides to climb the legendary Mountain of Time, as it is said it can alter the passage of days. Yet it’s no mere climb she finds, but rather a full-blown quest … Meanwhile, Jolan must continue the war against Magnus alone …

Thorgal’s daughter Wolfcub wakes up inside a cage, in a fisherman’s hut, after being abducted. A strange-looking woman, a mute little girl, her pet lobster and a young boy terrified of his father – the kidnapper – are the only people there, and none of them are willing to free her. Meanwhile, Thorgal and Jolan are already on her trail, but to find her, they will have to brave the curse of the Selkie – the seal woman.

About this Book..."A major and long overdue addition to the America/English psychoanalytic literature. . . . All major concepts—among them the mirror stage, the Name-of-the-Father, metaphor and metonymy, the phallus, the foreclosure of the subject—are developed in depth."-Nicholas Kouretsas, Harvard Medical School

Modern statistics is very different from the dry and dusty discipline of the popular imagination. In its place is an exciting subject which uses deep theory and powerful software tools to shed light and enable understanding. And it sheds this light on all aspects of our lives, enabling astronomers to explore the origins of the universe, archaeologists to investigate ancient civilisations, governments to understand how to benefit and improve society, and businesses to learn how best to prov...

Through the concept of “social choreography” Andrew Hewitt demonstrates how choreography has served not only as metaphor for modernity but also as a structuring blueprint for thinking about and shaping modern social organization. Bringing dance history and critical theory together, he shows that ideology needs to be understood as something embodied and practiced, not just as an abstract form of consciousness. Linking dance and the aesthetics of everyday movement—such as walking, stumbling,...

This book presents the major philosophical doctrines of phenomenology in a clear, lively style with an abundance of examples. The book examines such phenomena as perception, pictures, imagination, memory, language, and reference, and shows how human thinking arises from experience. It also studies personal identity as established through time and discusses the nature of philosophy. In addition to providing a new interpretation of the correspondence theory of truth, the author also explains...