On Human Worth And Excellence

In On Human Worth and Excellence, celebrated diplomat, historian, philosopher, and scholar Giannozzo Manetti (1396-1459) asks: what are the moral, intellectual, and spiritual capabilities of the unique amalgam of body and soul that constitutes human nature? This I Tatti edition contains the first complete translation into English.

This volume offers theoretical, historical, and legal perspectives on religious freedom, as an experience, value, and right. Drawing on examples from around the world, its essays show how the terrain of religious freedom has never been smooth and how in recent years the landscape of religious freedom has shifted.

A sweeping cultural survey reminiscent of Barzun's From Dawn to Decadence. "At irregular times and in scattered settings, human beings have achieved great things. Human Accomplishment is about those great things, falling in the domains known as the arts and sciences, and the people who did them.' So begins Charles Murray's unique account of human excellence, from the age of Homer to our own time. Employing techniques that historians have developed over the last century but that have rarely been applied to books written for the general public, Murray compiles inventories of the people who have been essential to the stories of literature, music, art, philosophy, and the sciences—a total of 4,002 men and women from around the world, ranked according to their eminence. The heart of Human Accomplishment is a series of enthralling descriptive chapters: on the giants in the arts and what sets them apart from the merely great; on the differences between great achievement in the arts and in the sciences; on the meta-inventions, 14 crucial leaps in human capacity to create great art and science; and on the patterns and trajectories of accomplishment across time and geography. Straightforwardly and undogmatically, Charles Murray takes on some controversial questions. Why has accomplishment been so concentrated in Europe? Among men? Since 1400? He presents evidence that the rate of great accomplishment has been declining in the last century, asks what it means, and offers a rich framework for thinking about the conditions under which the human spirit has expressed itself most gloriously. Eye-opening and humbling, Human Accomplishment is a fascinating work that describes what humans at their best can achieve, provides tools for exploring its wellsprings, and celebrates the continuing common quest of humans everywhere to discover truths, create beauty, and apprehend the good.

Giannozzo Manetti was one of the most remarkable figures of the Italian Renaissance, though today his works are unfamiliar in English. In this authoritative biography, the first ever in English, David Marsh guides readers through the vast range of Manetti’s writings, which epitomized the new humanist scholarship of the quattrocento.

The story in "Inside India" is by an insider, insider in India as well as in Indian bureaucracy for more than thirty-one years at a senior position. This volume is a first hand account of the observations, impressions and experiences of the author as an insider. Naturally, most illustrations in this volume are from Karnataka police where the author served as a senior police officer for nearly three decades. However, this makes no difference to the over all picture of India as situation is not much different elsewhere.In spite of well-known notorieties of the like Nizamuddin, Chopra and of similar ilk in Karnataka police, situation is better there than some of the more notorious state police organizations of India. Their core weakness there lies in sweepingly conforming to the rotten system and bad culture against conscience to cover own tracks. It is mere cowardice of mediocrity and gross selfish interests of ignobility and nothing more. Yet, no way can Karnataka police be called as an efficient, healthy and responsible bureaucratic setup yet. Faithful assessment must precede reconstruction. This volume is an effort in this direction. Complacency leads to stagnation and is a dangerous indulgence in a rottening situation like India's. This volume is intended to breach the vicious indulgence involved and inspire India to its rich potentialities on the way to much dreamed of world leadership.India is a civilization of diversities and a culture of contradictions. India's is an inclusive way of life. Along its long history, it saw umpteen falls and rises without losing its innate vitality and always rose from worst quagmires unscathed. This resilience of India underscores its unique heritage spawned by its thoughts and philosophies that perhaps are nearest to the true nature of the universe that the scientific world of today is engaged in to probe, discover and formulate as the Grand Unification Theory (GUT). This is the secret of the eternal strength of India.This resilience of India gives hope. The present fall is not forever. Time of revival shall come. India shall see a better system replace the present corrupt and incompetent UPSC and a healthy administrative system replace the extant inefficient and rogue bureaucracy. This volume, "Inside India" is a small attempt towards this beginning.

Focused at the theoretical level, this volume seeks to clarify our understanding of various historical and contemporary concepts of human dignity. It examines the various meanings of the term ‘dignity’ before looking at the philosophical sources of dignity and both religious and secular attempts to provide a grounding for the notion. It also compares the merits and defects of older and newer concepts of dignity, including extensions of dignity to groups, animals, and machines.