Letters To My Grandchildren
eBook - ePub

Letters To My Grandchildren

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Letters To My Grandchildren

About this book

Distinguished Austrian sociologist Reinhold Knoll’s letters to his grandchildren, written daily during the Covid-19 pandemic, evolved into an obituary of European culture, politics, and society. They also embody a gesture of thanks to the United States, which took a different path from Europe and then saved it in World War I and World War II. Like Beethoven’s piano sonatas, some of Professor Knoll’s letters are light and humorous while others plumb the depths of the human psyche. But each brings the past into the present, often enhanced by Viennese ironic wit, with recondite and penetrating observations on enlightenment and revolution, art and music, social thought, the devolution of the museum, the status of the church, migration, fashions in pedagogy, and the role of technology in society. This is the remarkable work of a balanced conscience in troubled times. America owes most of its cultural and spiritual traditions to the erstwhile European stewardship of a legacy that goes back to Athens, Jerusalem, and Rome – the subject, verb, and predicate of our human story, – though Europe now finds itself in a crisis of confidence with profound warnings for the American reader.


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Yes, you can access Letters To My Grandchildren by Reinhold Knoll, Kenneth Quandt in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Politics & International Relations & Politics. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Table of Contents
  5. Foreword
  6. Apology of the Translator
  7. 1. The First Step in Science
  8. 2. How Knowledge Builds
  9. 3. The Reality of Nature and the Reality of Society
  10. 4. Fruitful Doubt
  11. 5. Politics and Philosophy
  12. 6. Between Marxism and Phenomenology
  13. 7. Consciousness a Creature of Technology
  14. 8. What is an Hypothesis?
  15. 9. What is a Theory?
  16. 10. A Plea for Humor
  17. 11. Politics and Philosophy Again
  18. 12. What is Luck?
  19. 13. Are We Still of Any Use?
  20. 14. Non schola sed vita discimus…
  21. 15. Who Teaches Us Human Rights?
  22. 16. A Sketch of Industrial Culture
  23. 17. Enlightenment in a Good Sense
  24. 18. Remembrance and Memory
  25. 19. Does a Theory of History Exist?
  26. 20. On Responsibility
  27. 21. Conceptions of Humanity
  28. 22. History as a Fantasy
  29. 23. What Can Empiricism Resolve?
  30. 24. Were the “Good Old Days” Good?
  31. 25. Signs of an End Time?
  32. 26. Shadows of Modernity
  33. 27. A Crisis of Credibility
  34. 28. On Language and Speaking
  35. 29. De amicitia
  36. 30. The Encounter with Painting
  37. 31. Who Determines our Social Abilities?
  38. 32. The Problem of Comprehensibility
  39. 33. Understanding History through Music
  40. 34. Portrait of an Aunt
  41. 35. Stories about Little Rascals
  42. 36. How History Influences Political Philosophy
  43. 37. What Does Architecture Tell Us?
  44. 38. The Old Relation between Art and Politics
  45. 39. State of Mind as a Virtue
  46. 40. Pedagogy Offsides
  47. 41. “Culture” as a Political Instrument
  48. 42. A Refusal to Look?
  49. 43. A View on the Sociology of Religion
  50. 44. Bruno Kreisky – Politics and Emotion
  51. 45. A Glimpse into My Life-World
  52. 46. Reconstruction of a Family
  53. 47. Cold Feet
  54. 48. Schools and Education Policy
  55. 49. Thoughts on Music
  56. 50. Is Social Integration Failing?
  57. 51. Sociology as a Department
  58. 52. The Fate of Language
  59. 53. Theater and Politics
  60. 54. From Cultural Competence to Knowledge
  61. 55. An Excursion through European History
  62. 56. You Can Always Resist!
  63. 57. Can a University be Reformed?
  64. 58. Science – the “Second Nature”
  65. 59. A Second Gift: Life
  66. 60. A Grotesque
  67. 61. Is Art Prophetic?
  68. 62. What is Consciousness?
  69. 63. … if I may start from myself …
  70. 64. Remarks on Beethoven
  71. 65. On Pitch, Sound, and Silence
  72. 66. What is To Be Painted?
  73. 67. Language between the Dyslexic and the Infantile
  74. 68. Christmas as Rebirth
  75. 69. Troubles with Technology
  76. 70. An Etymology of Peace
  77. 71. The Lodge: a Mysterious Organization
  78. 72. Does Information Change Anything?
  79. 73. Is It All Meaningless?
  80. 74. A Political Miscellany
  81. 75. What Can Be Known?
  82. 76. A Shock in Washington
  83. 77. On the End of Emperors and the Sultan
  84. 78. How Rare is Political Virtue?
  85. 79. Is There Social Politics After All?
  86. 80. Looking Back on a Lecture
  87. 81. Does our Present Have Historical Substance?
  88. 82. What Kind of a Present Do We Have?
  89. 83. Another Look at Vienna
  90. 84. How Prussia Became “Germany”
  91. 85. Social Reality in a Crime Novel
  92. 86. Are Crime Novels Frivolous?
  93. 87. Natura naturans, natura naturata
  94. 88. Why Property Cannot be Theft
  95. 89. The Political Message of Music
  96. 90. A Monument for Johann Strauss
  97. 91. Sociology as a Department in Decline
  98. 92. May One Be a Model Student?
  99. 93. Florence
  100. 94. The Return of Antiquity and the Gods
  101. 95. What Disappears with the Word “modern?”
  102. 96. What Does a “Fail” at School Mean?
  103. 97. The Messages of Music
  104. 98. Thoughts on the Biosphere
  105. 99. The Holy Landscapes: Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome
  106. 100. On Astonishment
  107. 101. “How happy it is still to be a child” – Albert Lortzing
  108. 102. What is Politics? Again
  109. 103. The Church’s Crisis is Also Our Crisis
  110. 104. On the University
  111. 105. On Reading
  112. 106. Hope Against Hopelessness
  113. 107. From Painting to Poetry
  114. 108. What is the Significance of Beauty?
  115. 109. The Calamity of Aesthetics
  116. 110. On the Question of Power
  117. 111. A Closing Cadence
  118. Afterword
  119. Index of Names and Family Tree