The Worlds Of Maurice Samuel

A study on the psychological and philosophical roots of antisemitism. Analyzes the Jewish conspiracy myth and demoniacal traits attributed to Jews as main features of antisemitism. Gives examples from German literature (e.g. by Hermann Goedsche), the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion, " and Nazi ideology, especially Hitler's and Alfred Rosenberg's writings. Surveys differences between Christian antisemitism and modern antisemitism. Emphasizes the anti-Christian character of Nazi antisemitism and its view of the existence of the Jewish people as a disaster in the history of Western mankind. Discusses, also, Jewish reactions to antisemitism.

First published in 1924, this provocative book is a passionate defense of the Jewish people and their contributions to world culture. The author argues that Gentiles have misunderstood and mistreated Jews throughout history, and that only by recognizing Jewish genius and creativity can humanity truly progress. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Body and World is the definitive edition of a book that should now take its place as a major contribution to contemporary existential phenomenology. Samuel Todes goes beyond Martin Heidegger and Maurice Merleau-Ponty in his description of how independent physical nature and experience are united in our bodily action. His account allows him to preserve the authority of experience while avoiding the tendency towards idealism that threatens both Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty. Todes emphasizes the complex structure of the human body; front/back asymmetry, the need to balance in a gravitational field, and so forth; and the role that structure plays in producing the spatiotemporal field of experience and in making possible objective knowledge of the objects in it. He shows that perception involves nonconceptual, but nonetheless objective forms of judgment. One can think of Body and World as fleshing out Merleau-Ponty's project while presciently relating it to the current interest in embodiment, not only in philosophy but also in psychology, linguistics, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, and anthropology. Todes's work opens new ways of thinking about problems such as the relation of perception to thought and the possibility of knowing an independent reality; problems that have occupied philosophers since Kant and still concern analytic and continental philosophy.