The concept that people have of themselves as a 'person' is one of the most intimate notions that they hold. Yet the way in which the category of the person is conceived varies over time and space. In this volume, anthropologists, philosophers, and historians examine the notion of the person in different cultures, past and present. Taking as their starting point a lecture on the person as a category of the human mind, given by Marcel Mauss in 1938, the contributors critically assess Mauss's speculation that notions of the person, rather than being primarily philosophical or psychological, have a complex social and ideological origin. Discussing societies ranging from ancient Greece, India, and China to modern Africa and Papua New Guinea, they provide fascinating descriptions of how these different cultures define the person. But they also raise deeper theoretical issues: What is universally constant and what is culturally variable in people's thinking about the person? How can these variations be explained? Has there been a general progressive development toward the modern Western view of the person? What is distinctive about this? How do one's notions of the person inform one's ability to comprehend alternative formulations? These questions are of compelling interest for a wide range of anthropologists, philosophers, historians, psychologists, sociologists, orientalists, and classicists. The book will appeal to any reader concerned with understanding one of the most fundamental aspects of human existence.

Derek Parfit (1942–2017) was one of the most important and influential moral philosophers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This Element offers a critical introduction to his wide-ranging ethical thought, focusing especially on his two most significant works, Reasons and Persons (1984) and On What Matters (2011), and their contribution to the consequentialist moral tradition. Topics covered include: rationality and objectivity, distributive justice, self-defeating moral theories, Parfit's Triple Theory (according to which consequentialism, contractualism, and Kantian ethics ultimately converge), personal identity, and population ethics.

This book explores the influence of Hannah Arendt's and Leo Strauss' background in pre-World War II Germany on their perception of American democracy. The contributors analyze how their émigré experience both influenced their American work and also impacted on the formation of the discipline of political science in postwar Germany. Arendt's and Strauss' experiences thus aptly illustrate the transfer and transformation of political ideas in the World War II era.

Emmanuel Levinas is now widely recognised alongside Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty and Sartre as one of the most important Continental philosophers of the twentieth century. His abiding concern was the primacy of the ethical relation to the other person and his central thesis was that ethics is first philosophy. His work has also had a profound impact on a number of fields outside philosophy such as theology, Jewish studies, literature and cultural theory, psychotherapy, sociology, political theory, international relations theory and critical legal theory.

Until recently, capitalism has been regarded as unique to Europe and as an organic outgrowth of Western civilization. By examining China in these Eurocentric terms, China has been perceived, by Westerners and Asians alike, to be a failed version of the West. The aim of this collaborative project is to examine how the experience of capitalism as a European social formation, and as a world system, has shaped knowledge of China. In addition the volume seeks to establish new foundations on which a theory of Chinese society might be built.

Many have accepted that the Arrow War (1856-60) was caused by an insult to the British flag belonging to the pirate boat Arrow. Dr. Wong argues that Britain's reliance on the opium trade with China played a far greater role in pushing the diplomatic conflict into war. The war was not a simple diplomatic squabble: it involved vital economic interests in British India, which had to be protected at all costs. Dr. Wong offers penetrating insights into theories of imperialism and how they might be reassessed.
• New interpretations of Chinese foreign policy and of British expansion in the nineteenth century; new interpretation of annexation of Sind in India • Revisionist take on the ‘imperialism of free trade’ theory • New light on British, Indian, and Chinese economy, mid-nineteenth century
Contents
Part I. The Confusion of Imperialism: 1. An attempt to peel the onion of confusion; Part II. The Pretext for Imperialism: 2. An international incident: 'that wretched question of the Arrow'; Part III. The Personalities of Imperialism: 3. Harry Parkes: 'if you would read a little international law.' - Punch; 4. Sir John Bowring: possessed by a monomania; 5. Commissioner Yeh: a 'monster'?; 6. Rule, Britannia and vox populi, vox Dei; Part IV. The Rhetoric of Imperialism: 7. Marx, Punch, and a political press: the debate among the British newspapers; 8. The Arrow incident and international law: the debate in the House of Lords; 9. Triumph of the liberal conscience: the debate in the House of Commons; 10. 'Johnny is on his knees': the 'Chinese Election'; Part V. The Mechanics of Imperialism: 11. Behind the scenes: the diplomacy of imperialism; 12. Behind the scenes: the politics of imperialism; 13. In the wings: the lobbies of imperialism; Part VI. The Economics of Imperialism: 14. Anglo-Chinese trade: the Chinese should buy more; 15. China's maritime trade: the Chinese could buy more; 16. The problem of India: the Chinese should and could buy more; 17. The balance sheet: the Chinese are now buying more; Part VII. The Dynamics of Imperialism: 18. Conclusion.
Reviews
‘… an exhaustively researched and thoroughly documented study that unravels British and Chinese intentions, perceptions, and reactions, their diplomatic and economic agendas, the impact of personalities, popular opinion, and (in the case of Britain) the press, as well as the roles which other powers played. Deadly Dreams should be required reading for historians of modern China, modern imperialism, and modern India.’ Economic History Review
‘The book is a tour de force of evidence and argument … Wong’s book has without doubt, now become the standard work on the Arrow war and will certainly become mandatory reading for students of Chinese and British imperial history … this excellent study is indispensable to all future research on Ottoman economic history.’ Journal of Asiatic Studies
‘Wong’s Deadly Dreams is a masterly piece of research which will set standards for years to come. Wong offers what could be described as an updated version of histoire totale, which starts from the evenementielle and moves towards the larger structures of the global economy. Wong’s book is in some respects reminiscent of Braudel’s Mediterranean, with its exciting mixture of in-depth study of the ‘world system’ of the British empire, and detective-like attention for individuals and details.’ The Historical Journal
‘J. Y. Wong, in this excellent account that left no record unturned, has come out with the clearest statement on why, all said, that war might yet be simply described as the result of opium trading.’ Journal of Oriental Studies
‘Wong’s monumental study and the industry over many years it represents must command respect. it is unlikely that anyone will produce a more comprehensive investigation of the Arrow War or trawl so painstakingly through the awesome mass of sources.’ Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History
"Everyone who wants to understand the connection between internal politics, diplomacy, strategy and economics should read this book." Military Review

There is at present no overall history of English and British political thought and literature in the early modern period, although new approaches to the writing of its history have taken shape in the past forty to fifty years; and during that time British political history has itself been subjected to intensive revision. This volume, written by directors of seminars at the Folger Institute Center for the History of British Political Thought in Washington DC, attempts to review the period from the English Reformation to the French Revolution, to suggest new ways of studying the articulation of political consciousness and the conduct of political argument, and to point out the extraordinary intellectual and linguistic richness of the ongoing English and British political debate.

Poet, painter, and engraver William Blake died in 1827 in obscurity. Yet he has become one of the most anthologized and studied writers in English and one of the most studied and collected British artists. His urge to cast words and images into masterpieces of revelation has left us with complex, sometimes bizarre works of written and visual art that challenge plain understanding. The essays in this Companion, together with a chronology, guides to further reading, and glossary of terms, identify the key points of departure into Blake's multifarious world.

Robin Fox's study of systems of kinship and alliance has become an established classic of the social science literature. It has been praised above all for its liveliness of style and clarity of exposition in an area that students and general readers have found difficult to master. It was the first attempt to produce an overview of this central subject and has maintained its unique position over the years. Fox's reconciliation of 'descent' and 'alliance' theories, and his 'deductive' approach to the logic of kinship systems based on four universal premises, give the book its distinctive flavour and make it not only the best available introductory text but a contribution to theory in its own right. It has been used throughout the world as an introduction for both academic and lay readers and has been translated into numerous languages.

The Cold War between the former Soviet Union and the United States indelibly shaped the world we live in today--especially international politics, economics, and military affairs. This volume shows how the globalization of the Cold War during the 20th century created the foundations for most of today's key international conflicts, including the "war on terror." Odd Arne Westad examines the origins and course of Third World revolutions and the ideologies that drove the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. towards interventionism. He focuses on how these interventions gave rise to resentments and resistance that, in the end, helped to topple one and to seriously challenge the other superpower. In addition, he demonstrates how these worldwide interventions determined the international and domestic framework within which political, social and cultural changes took place in such countries as China, Indonesia, Iran, Ethiopia, Angola, Cuba, and Nicaragua. According to Westad, these changes, plus the ideologies, movements and states that interventionism stirred up, constitute the real legacy of the Cold War. Odd Arne Westad is Professor of International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science. In 2004 he was named head of department and co-director of the new LSE Cold War Studies Centre. Professor Westad is the author, or editor, of ten books on contemporary international history including Decisive Encounters: The Chinese Civil War, 1946-1950 (2003) and, with Jussi Hanhimaki, The Cold War: A History in Documents and Eyewitness Accounts (2003). In addition, he is a founding editor of the journal Cold War History.

Forests play an important role in resolving global challenges such as sustainable development, climate change, biodiversity loss, and food and water security. Stopping deforestation is crucial for the future of our planet. Global efforts to curb deforestation, have been partially successful, but have largely fallen short. At the same time, national level efforts to support human development, reflected in the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals, aim to increase the welfare and wellbeing of populations living in poverty. Meeting these development goals will inevitably have crosscutting effects on initiatives to address deforestation. In balancing these goals, policy makers are confronted with wicked problems – or problems where there are moral considerations and where limited information is available for policy makers. This book is focused on how wicked forest policy problems have been, and can be, addressed.