Background
Dawson, James Doyne was born on November 27, 1941 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, United States. Son of Ralph Purdy and Velma Inez (Parrish) Dawson.
(Modern studies of classical utopian thought are usually r...)
Modern studies of classical utopian thought are usually restricted to the Republic and Laws of Plato, producing the impression that Greek speculation about ideal states was invariably authoritarian and hierarchical. This book, however, sets Plato in the context of the whole ancient tradition of philosophical utopia. It distinguishes two types of Greek utopia, relating both to the social and the political background of Greece between the fifth and third centuries B.C. There was a lower utopianism, meant for literal implementation, which arose from the Greek colonizing movement, and a higher theoretical form which arose from the practical utopias. Dawson focuses on the higher utopianism, whose main theme was total communism in property and family. He attempts to reconstruct the lost utopian works of the Stoics, arguing that their ideal state was universal and egalitarian, in deliberate contrast to the hierarchical and militaristic utopia of Plato; and that both theories were intended to bring about long-range social reform, though neither was meant for direct implementation. Dawson offers an explanation for the disappearance of the utopian tradition in the later Hellenistic age. A final chapter traces the survival of communistic ideas in early Christianity.
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( What is the source of the uniquely Western way of war, ...)
What is the source of the uniquely Western way of war, the persistent militarism that has made Europe the site of bloodshed throughout history and secured the dominance of the West over the rest of the world? The answer, Doyne Dawson persuasively argues in this groundbreaking new book, is to be found in the very bedrock of Western civilization: ancient Greece and Rome.The Origins of Western Warfare begins with an overview of primitive warfare, showing how the main motivations of prehistoric combatrevenge and honorset the tone for Greek thinking about questions of war and morality. These ideas, especially as later developed by the Romans, ensured the emergence of a distinctive Western tradition of warfare: dynamic, aggressive, and devastatingly successful when turned against non-Western cultures.Dawson identifies key factors that led Western culture down this particular path. First, the Greeks argued that war could be justified as an instrument of human and divine justice, securing the social and cosmic order. Second, war was seen as a rational instrument of foreign policy. This, probably the most original contribution of the Greeks to military thought, was articulated as early as the fifth century b.c. Finally, Greek military thought was dominated by the principle of civic militarism,” in which the ideal state is based upon self-governing citizens trained and armed for war.The Roman version of civic militarism became thoroughly imperial in spirit, and in general, the Romans successfully modified these Greek ideas to serve their expansionist policies. At the end of antiquity, these traditions were passed on to medieval Europe, forming the basis for the just war doctrines of the Church. Later, in early modern Europe, they were fully revived, systematized, and given a basis in natural lawto the benefit of absolute monarchs. For centuries this neoclassical synthesis served the needs of European elites, and echoes of it are still heard in contemporary justifications for war.Providing a careful reconsideration of what the classical sources tell us about Western thinking on fundamental questions of war and peace, The Origins of Western Warfare makes a lasting contribution to our understanding of one of the most persistent and troubling aspects of Western culture.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081333392X/?tag=2022091-20
Dawson, James Doyne was born on November 27, 1941 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, United States. Son of Ralph Purdy and Velma Inez (Parrish) Dawson.
Bachelor in History, University of Minnesota, 1964; Doctor of Philosophy, Princeton University, 1974.
Assistant professor humanities Reed College, Portland, Oregon, 1968-1973, chairman department history, 1970-1972. Editor Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, California, 1975-1977. Senior lecturer in history Boston University, 1980-1988.
Lecturer in history Mount Ida College, Newton, Massachusetts, 1990. Adjunct associate professor Massachusetts College Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences, Boston, 1990-1991. Visiting lecturer High Point (North Carolina) University, 1992-1994.
Instructor North Carolina A&T State University, since 1994. Assistant professor Elon College, North Carolina, since 1994. Adjunct faculty Massachusetts Bay Creative Commons, 1984-1991.
Instructor in history Emerson College Boston, 1989-1990. Adjunct faculty Middlesex Community College, Bedford, Massachusetts, 1988. Instructor military history Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 1986-1987, instructor language education Institute Chosun University, Kwang Ju City, South Korea, since 1998.
Lecturer Northeastern University, Boston, 1984-1987. Associate director Higgins Armory Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts, 1983-1984. Consultant, research associate Massachusetts Institute of Technology Museum, 1984-1986.
Consultant Michael Sands, Inc., 1988, Charles River Museum of Industry, Waltham, Massachusetts, 1988.
( What is the source of the uniquely Western way of war, ...)
(Modern studies of classical utopian thought are usually r...)
(Brand New. In Stock. Will be shipped from US. Excellent C...)
Member of advisory board on peace and foreign policy, coordinator arms control Citizens for Participation in Political Action, Boston, 1984-1990. Active Boston Working Group for Common Security, 1988-1990. Volunteer Boston Regional UnitedCampuses Against Nuclear War, 1988-1990.