Bøger i Great Minds Series serien

In this controversial study Freud applies the theories and evidence of his psychoanalytic investigations to the study of aboriginal peoples and, by extension, to the earliest cultural stages of the human race before the rise of large-scale civilizations. Relying on the reports of ethnographers such as J. G. Frazer, E. B. Tylor, and others, Freud points out the striking parallels between the cultural practices of native tribal groups and the behavior patterns of neurotics. His ultimate aim is to shed light on the psychological factors involved in the development of culture in the same way as he analyzed the unconscious motivations of neurotic individuals.Beginning with a discussion of the incest taboo, which is one of the main features of the totemic tribal structure, he compares the taboo to the infantile stage of individual psychological development, in which the male child experiences incestuous sexual feelings for his mother (and the girl for her father). He draws parallels between some of the elaborate taboo restrictions seen in these early cultures and the scrupulous rituals of compulsion neurotics, who in a similar fashion are wrestling with the ambivalent emotions aroused by the incest taboo. The implication is that many of the ceremonies andrituals of culture develop as a psychological reaction to the incest taboo, which prohibits the acting out of an infantile impulse that would be socially destructive.Freud contends that cultures evolve through three main stages: the animistic, the religious, and the scientific. The earliest stage of animism corresponds to the narcissistic phase of individual development, when the child overvalues the importance and influence of his inner psychic life on the outer world. In the religious stage of culture, humanity realizes that its own conceptions do not have full power to control outer reality and attributes this power to deities, who nonetheless can be manipulated through religious ceremony. This stage of culture corresponds to the individual growth phase of dependence on the parents. The scientific stage is tantamount to the mature phase of individual development, in which the individual recognizes his very limited power to control the universe and accepts the reality of his own death as well as all other natural realities.Freud concludes by invoking his famous Oedipus complex as the key to the development of culture, just as it is the main conflict underlying all neurotic illness in his theory. The repressed psychological urge to kill the father as the rival for the mother's affections is the underlying motive for the symbols and ceremonies of religion with all its many sacrificial rituals of expiation and its notions of angry gods, original sin, and humankind's guilt and need for atonement.Although Freud's theories and life are controversial today, this masterful synthesis and its undeniable influence on later scholars of religion, anthropology, and psychology make it an indispensable work.

In the tradition of "fool literature" produced by the ferment of new ideas that directly preceded the Protestant Reformation, Dutch priest, humanist, and scholar Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536) composed The Praise of Folly in 1509. Under Folly's mask, Erasmus boldly attacked the abuses of church and state, and pilloried the faults of those he saw around him: idle superstition, pedantry, religious hypocrisy, and human foolishness. In this elegant translation from the Latin by John Wilson, the reader can savor a great work of satire, which, in the classical tradition, chastises human beings for their follies and excesses, not with a rod but with a smile.

Michael Faraday (1791-1867) was one of the world's greatest experimental philosophers and popularizers of science. These six extraordinary lectures on gravitation, cohesion, chemical affinity, heat, magnetism, and electricity were intended for young audiences. Together, they offer the reader a fascinating introduction to some of Faraday's most important work on the correlation between the physical forces of the universe.

David Grene, one of the Best known translators of the Greek classics, captures for the first time the peculiar quality of Herodotus, the father of history. Here is the historian, investigating and judging what he has seen, heard, and read, and seeking out the true causes and consequences of the great deeds of the past.

Written originally as the 15th and 16th chapters of his great work, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776-1788), On Christianity joined the growing number of revisionist histories whose authors rejected the view that popular support of Christianity was miraculously preordained. Gibbon interprets the ascendancy of Christianity in terms of natural social causes, laying bare the paucity of evidence for the supernatural guidance of church actions.

Argues that economics is essentially a study of the economic aspects of human culture, which are in a constant state of flux. This book argues that while industry itself demanded diligence, efficiency, and co-operation, businessmen in opposition to engineers and industrialists were only interested in making money and displaying their wealth.

Heavily influenced by the work of David Ricardo, and also taking ideas from Adam Smith and Thomas Malthus, the author demonstrates how important economic concepts could be applied to real-world situations. This work is intended for anyone with an interest in the history of economics or the history of ideas.

Lays the groundwork for the principles of the market economy. This book established the guiding ideas behind the economic concepts of diminishing returns and economic rent.

In contrast to atheism, which asserts that God does not exist, agnosticism holds that reason and the best scientific evidence do not allow one to reach a decisive conclusion regarding the existence of God. This work includes selections of some of the pioneering discussions of agnosticism.

Offers explanations of heart valves and arterial pulse.

A collection of essays, covering a range of fields, from Darwinism and the global population explosion to bird watching, which point out frontiers for scientific research and reaffirm the author's s belief in the intimate connection of the sciences, particularly biology, with the pressing social problems of the present and future.

Voltaire (1694-1778), novelist, dramatist, poet, philosopher, historian, and satirist, was one of the most renowned figures of the Age of Enlightenment. This is a collection of anti-clerical works from the last twenty-five years of his life, where he attacks the philosophical optimism of the deists, and the so-called inspiration of the Bible.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) accomplished many astounding works of art such as "Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper". Featuring anatomical drawings, geometrical illustrations, as well as life of Leonardo, this book aims to serve as a primer for students interested in learning the craft of drawing and painting.

Edward Jenner was a pioneer in demonstrating that vaccination was an effective means of preventing smallpox. This book contains three treatises that summarize his evidence in favour of vaccination. It describes individual cases.

German mathematician Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), revolutionised the Copernican heliocentric theory of the universe with his three laws of motion: that planets move not in circular but elliptical orbits, that their speed is greatest when nearest the sun, and that the sun and planets form an integrated system. This title contains two of his works.

Despite the increasing use of DNA evidence in crime solving, fingerprints still serve as an indispensable tool of modern-day criminal investigation. This book, originally published in 1892, offers an investigation of this anatomical peculiarity and its application in establishing individual identity for use in law enforcement.

Describes how social and sexual disparities between men and women are the result of economics. This book argues that the position of women as the property of men and their inability to earn in proportion to the amount of work they do, tend to the differences between men as 'providers' and 'competitors' and women as 'helpless' and 'unproductive'.