Using his background in political theory and philosophical anthropology, Barry Cooper is the first political scientist to propose new interpretations of some of the most famous extant Paleolithic art and artifacts in Paleolithic Politics. This book is inspired by Eric Voegelin, one of the major political scientists of the last century, who developed an interest in the very early symbolism associated with the caves and rock shelters of the Upper Paleolithic, but never finished his ...

History ended, according to Hegel according to Kojève, with the establishment and proliferation in Europe of states organized along Napoleonic lines: rational, bureaucratic, homogenous, atheist. This state lives in some tension with the popular slogan that helped give it birth: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. But there is now also totalitarianism – the only new kind of regime, according to Arendt, created since the national state. Man is now in charge of nature, technology, and society; muc...

Influenced by Kojève's interpretation of Hegel as well as his direct political experience of the second world war, Maurice Merleau-Ponty abandoned the religious and philosophical position he had assumed in the 1930s and turned to Marxism. This is the first critical study of the French philosopher's political ideas and the context in which they evolved.In its origin and its development, Merleau-Ponty's political thought expressed a subtle dialectic between ongoing political events a...

In New Political Religions, or an Analysis of Modern Terrorism, Barry Cooper applies the insights of Eric Voegelin to the phenomenon of modern terrorism. Cooper points out that the chief omission from most contemporary studies of terrorism is an analysis of the “spiritual motivation” that is central to the actions of terrorists today. When spiritual elements are discussed in conventional literature, they are grouped under the opaque term religion. A more conceptually adeq...

SHRUNK: Crime and Disorders of the Mind is a collection of powerful stories by Canadian and international forensic psychologists and psychiatrists who write about the many complex mental health issues they face and the care involved in dealing with them.Unlike any other book within the genre of True Crime, Shrunk forms a unique bridge between mental health and law. Chapters focus on cases where judges and juries call upon the opinions of forensic experts when dealing with the menta...

Manchester Beethoven studies presents ten original chapters by scholars with close ties to the University of Manchester. It throws new light on many aspects of Beethoven’s life and works, with a special emphasis on early or little-known compositions such as his concert aria Erste Liebe, his String Quintet Op. 104 and his folksong settings. Biographical elements are prominent in a wide-ranging reassessment of his religious attitudes and beliefs, while Charles Hallé, founde...

Social work has laboured too long under a 'deficit' model that focuses on failings and problems of practice. Emphasising best practice, strengths and collaborative partnership this ambitious book seeks to redress the balance. Undergraduate and post-qualifying social work students alike will find it a useful resource.

The connections between a great artist's life and work are subtle, complex, and often highly revealing. In the case of Beethoven, however, the standard approach has been to treat his life and his art separately. Now, Barry Cooper's new volume incorporates the latest international research on many aspects of the composer's life and work and presents these in a truly integrated narrative. Cooper employs a strictly chronological approach that enables each work to be seen against the musical a...

The connections between a great artist's life and work are subtle, complex, and often highly revealing. In the case of Beethoven, however, the standard approach has been to treat his life and his art separately. Now, Barry Cooper's new volume incorporates the latest international research on many aspects of the composer's life and work and presents these in a truly integrated narrative. Cooper employs a strictly chronological approach that enables each work to be seen against the musical a...

If natural law arguments struggle to gain traction in contemporary moral and political discourse, could it be because we moderns do not share the understanding of nature on which that language was developed? Building on the work of important thinkers of the last half-century, including Leo Strauss, Eric Voegelin, John Finnis, and Bernard Lonergan, the essays in Concepts of Nature compare and contrast classical, medieval, and modern conceptions of nature in order to better understand how an...

Social work practice with children, young people and families is complex, highly skilled - and fascinating. Writing about social work increasingly acknowledges the complexities and uncertainties of practice but rarely features the voice of the social worker themselves. This book takes a different approach, that of Critical Best Practice: a constructive, realistic and strengths-based approach that takes as its starting point the telling and analysing of in depth stories about 'live' practic...

The Bible makes big claims for itself. But do those claims stand up?Aren’t the stories just legends? Hasn’t the information been corrupted over time? Isn’t the Bible full of mistakes? And isn’t it culturally outdated?In this absorbing little book, Barry Cooper explores these questions - and many others - with warmth, wit and integrity.Part of the Questions Christians Ask series: a range of short, simple books designed to help Christians understand what God ...