Barnes and Noble
03 September 2008, 1900
Both of the authors at the book reading event tonight have written multiple, critically acclaimed books, have worked in various universities as professors of sociology and philosophy, have lectured all over the world, and seem to have completely different opinions on almost everything.
Slavoj Žižek spoke about his book Violence. Violence examines different perceptions of violence and the different forms it can take depending on the source. He questions whether or not actions should be taken in the form of demonstrations or rallies, or if it would be better to take no action and instead contemplate the situations. If you want to get the Slovenia-born sociologist and philosopher going, just ask for his views on Capitalism. Using his acerbic wit and years of study, his books reflect his strong opinions on just about every social group.
Steven Lukes spoke about his book Moral Relativism. Moral Relativism asks if people can share viewpoints and standards even if from different social strata. Do different groups have the same opinion on what constitutes good and evil or virtue and vice? Can we find common ground? Lukes is a much more soft spoken speaker as compared to the very animated Žižek, but he makes his points clear. He is in favor of demonstrating and shared his experience as a part of the anti-Iraq war demonstration, much to the chagrin of Žižek. Steven Lukes is currently a professor of sociology at NYU.
No comments:
Post a Comment