1. Native America
Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green
in North American Indians: A Very Short Introduction
Christopher Columbus coined the name ‘Indians’ (los Indios) to describe the people he met when he arrived in the Caribbean. The name stuck. But the people of the Americas had no collective ...
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Conclusion
Darren Oldridge
in The Devil: A Very Short Introduction
The Devil is represented in history, literature and theology as a figure of darkness and malice. He is the — often appealing — excuse for the bad things that happen in life. Just as some ...
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2. Religious superstition
Stuart Vyse
in Superstition: A Very Short Introduction
Under Theodosius I (r. 379–95) Christianity became the Roman Empire’s official religion and the word superstitio was now used against those who once used it against Christians. ‘Religious ...
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4. Possible worlds and fundamental principles
Maria Rosa Antognazza
in Leibniz: A Very Short Introduction
Leibniz’s commitment to the characteristica universalis and the scientia generalis rested on his conviction that logic is a mirror of the structure of reality. In his view, the principles ...
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10. Why medieval philosophy?
John Marenbon
in Medieval Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction
‘Why medieval philosophy?’ considers why anyone should be bothered to learn about medieval philosophy. Very few people—philosophers and non-philosophers alike—do know much about this period ...
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10. Ancient sex
Gary Gutting
in Foucault: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
Towards the end of his life, Foucault’s topic of exploration turned to the ethical formation of the self, which emerged from his analysis of modern power relations. ‘Ancient sex’ looks at ...
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2. New Spain
Alan Taylor
in Colonial America: A Very Short Introduction
At the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Spanish raided the mainland for slaves to work thei mines, ranches, and plantations. The Spanish learned of the rich and populous Aztec empire ...
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6. West Indies and Carolina
Alan Taylor
in Colonial America: A Very Short Introduction
During the 1620s and 1630s, the West Indies evolved from temporary bases for pirates into permanent colonies for planters. Seventeenth-century New England and the English West Indies ...
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6. The best of all possible worlds and Leibniz’s theodicy
Maria Rosa Antognazza
in Leibniz: A Very Short Introduction
‘The best of all possible worlds and Leibniz’s theodicy’ explains that Leibniz’s claim that the world we live in is ‘the best of all possible worlds’ is deceptively simple, but based on ...
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2. Ancient worlds
Belinda Jack
in Reading: A Very Short Introduction
A great deal is known about reading in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, but it is important to remember that a good deal of what we think of as Greek and Roman literature was heard and ...
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1. Confession, conversion, testimony
Laura Marcus
in Autobiography: A Very Short Introduction
While autobiography can be defined as a literary form, it reaches into, and overlaps with, many other kinds of writing and fields of knowledge. This is particularly clear in the case of the ...
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3. The Romans: The Real Meaning of Patriotism
Kenneth Minogue
in Politics: A Very Short Introduction
‘The Romans’ considers the structure of Roman politics, outlining the power and roles of consuls and the Senate. The Romans' moral strength, virtue, freedom, and love of country ...
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10. The Experience of Politics: III. Justice, Freedom, and Democracy
Kenneth Minogue
in Politics: A Very Short Introduction
‘The Experience of Politics: III. Justice, Freedom, and Democracy’ shows that the supreme navigational tool of politics is the thing called ‘justice’ which in Plato's Republic was the ...
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4. Christianity and the Rise of the Individual
Kenneth Minogue
in Politics: A Very Short Introduction
‘Christianity and the Rise of the Individual’ examines the politics of the Middle Ages and the spread of Christianity. Three elements out of which civilization of the high Middle Ages was ...
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5. The last things
Ritchie Robertson
in Kafka: A Very Short Introduction
What did Kafka think about God? Where did his philosophy of life sit? It is hard to tell if he is criticising the values of Christianity in his works or not. He was brought up in a Jewish ...
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8. The weight of glory
James Como
in C. S. Lewis: A Very Short Introduction
‘The weight of glory’ discusses the varying responses to C. S. Lewis. His critics have often railed against him. Even some of his Christian colleagues found his apologetic militancy ...
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2. Contexts, then and now
Helen Morales
in Classical Mythology: A Very Short Introduction
Greek mythology was an essential part of an elite Roman's education. There is no single work that told all the myths. Mythographers wrote handbooks of myths to retell the stories. This ...
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8. The afterlife
Tim Bayne
in Philosophy of Religion: A Very Short Introduction
Speculation on the nature of the afterlife is as old as recorded history. Although the doctrine of an afterlife is not found in all religious traditions, where it does, it is typically ...
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3. Natural beauty
Roger Scruton
in Beauty: A Very Short Introduction
In the 18th century, philosophers and writers became preoccupied with the subject of beauty, focusing on nature and landscape. All rational beings, Kant believed, are capable of aesthetic ...
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9. Concluding thoughts
Roger Scruton
in Beauty: A Very Short Introduction
The reader will have noticed that I have not said what beauty is. I have implicitly rejected the neo-Platonist view of beauty, as a feature of Being itself. God is beautiful; but not for ...
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