Political Physics

Physics and Politics, or, Thoughts on the application of the principles of "natural selection" and "inheritance" to political society by Walter Bagehot One peculiarity of this age is the sudden acquisition of much physical knowledge. There is scarcely a department of science or art which is the same, or at all the same, as it was fifty years ago. A new world of inventions-of railways and of telegraphs-has grown up around us which we cannot help seeing; a new world of ideas is in the air and affects us, though we do not see it. A full estimate of these effects would require a great book, and I am sure I could not write it; but I think I may usefully, in a few papers, show how, upon one or two great points, the new ideas are modifying two old sciences-politics and political economy. Even upon these points my ideas must be incomplete, for the subject is novel; but, at any rate, I may suggest some conclusions, and so show what is requisite even if I do not supply it. If we wanted to describe one of the most marked results, perhaps the most marked result, of late thought, we should say that by it everything is made 'an antiquity.' When, in former times; our ancestors thought of an antiquarian, they described him as occupied with coins, and medals, and Druids' stones; these were then the characteristic records of the decipherable past, and it was with these that decipherers busied themselves. But now there are other relics; indeed, all matter is become such. Science tries to find in each bit of earth the record of the causes which made it precisely what it is; those forces have left their trace, she knows, as much as the tact and hand of the artist left their mark on a classical gem. It would be tedious (and it is not in my way) to reckon up the ingenious questionings by which geology has made part of the earth, at least, tell part of its tale; and the answers would have been meaningless if physiology and conchology and a hundred similar sciences had not brought their aid. Such subsidiary sciences are to the decipherer of the present day what old languages were to the antiquary of other days; they construe for him the words which he discovers, they give a richness and a truth-like complexity to the picture which he paints, even in cases where the particular detail they tell is not much. But what here concerns me is that man himself has, to the eye of science, become 'an antiquity.' She tries to read, is beginning to read, knows she ought to read, in the frame of each man the result of a whole history of all his life, of what he is and what makes him so, -of all his fore-fathers, of what they were and of what made them so. Each nerve has a sort of memory of its past life, is trained or not trained, dulled or quickened, as the case may be; each feature is shaped and characterised, or left loose and meaningless, as may happen; each hand is marked with its trade and life, subdued to what it works in We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.

Political Physics analyses the work of two of the most influential thinkers of our time - Jacques Derrida and Gilles Deleuze. The book takes the reader on a transversal journey, crossing the boundaries of philosophy and science.Political Physics explores the limits and strengths of Derridean and Deleuzean philosophical approaches. Focussing on their differing approaches to the question of the 'body politic' - in all its registers, from the physical-chemical body, to the economic, the social and the political body - the book reveals a profound difference in ontological commitment. The book argues that the straightforward materialism of Deleuzean philosophy can operate across the range of analysis whereas Derridean deconstruction effectively operates at the level of reason, consciousness and culture.Cross-cutting a Derridean analysis of the history of philosophy with a Deleuzian approach to creative dialogue and complexity theory, Political Physics illuminates the value of both approaches to the analysis of contemporary culture, politics and science and to the rereading of the history of ideas.

Political Physics analyses the work of two of the most influential thinkers of our time - Jacques Derrida and Gilles Deleuze. The book takes the reader on a transversal journey, crossing the boundaries of philosophy and science.Political Physics explores the limits and strengths of Derridean and Deleuzean philosophical approaches. Focussing on their differing approaches to the question of the 'body politic' - in all its registers, from the physical-chemical body, to the economic, the social and the political body - the book reveals a profound difference in ontological commitment. The book argues that the straightforward materialism of Deleuzean philosophy can operate across the range of analysis whereas Derridean deconstruction effectively operates at the level of reason, consciousness and culture.Cross-cutting a Derridean analysis of the history of philosophy with a Deleuzian approach to creative dialogue and complexity theory, Political Physics illuminates the value of both approaches to the analysis of contemporary culture, politics and science and to the rereading of the history of ideas.

Aided by personal documents and institutional archives that were closed for decades, this book recounts the development of physics—or, more aptly, science under stress—in Soviet Russia up to World War II. Focusing on Leningrad, center of Soviet physics until the late 1930s, Josephson discusses the impact of scientific, cultural, and political revolution on physicists' research and professional aspirations. Political and social revolution in Russia threatened to confound the scientific revolution. Physicists eager to investigate new concepts of space, energy, light, and motion were forced to accommodate dialectical materialism and subordinate their interests to those of the state. They ultimately faced Stalinist purges and the shift of physics leadership to Moscow. This account of scientists cut off from their Western colleagues reveals a little-known part of the history of modern physics.

I. THE PRELIMINARY AGE II. THE USE OF CONFLICT III. NATION-MAKING IV. NATION-MAKING V. THE AGE OF DISCUSSION VI. VERIFIABLE PROGRESS POLITICALLY CONSIDERED

This volume intertwines science, history, philosophy, theology, and politics in fresh and fascinating ways to solve the multifaceted riddle of what religion means - and what it means to science.