Human Sciences All books
André Miquel, Jamel Eddine Bencheikh
Of Arabia and Islam
Two French specialists on Islam, one Algerian, the other a native Frenchman, discuss Islam and its confrontation with the Western world. Interweaving references to the past and present, they recount a long history of cultural confrontation, marked by continuous debate and violent conflict, repulsion and fascination. Resolutely optimistic, yet painfully aware of the religious intransigence which enshrouds their subject, their conversations shed new light on the conceptions of power and unity within the Muslim world.
André Miquel
The Event The Koran: Surate LVI
Translation and commentary of one of the most famous surates of the Koran, the fundamental book of Islam, that of The Event or "the key to the door of riches" which teaches of the gifts given to man by God. André Miquel is a professor at the Collège de France.
Norbert Rouland
The Confines of the Law
How did law come about? How do different societies answer to the same need for justice? N. Rouland invites us to explore the many aspects of law. Through various societies, a constant question emerges: can Africans, Asians and Westerners all adhere to the same norms? Norbert Rouland is a professor at the University of Aix-Marseille-III, where he teaches judicial anthropology and the history of law.
Michel Henry
From Communism to Capitalism : A Theory of Disaster
Communist totalitarianism is breaking apart because it rejected reality in favour of abstractions and falsely universal principles. Those who now rush West from Prague or Bucarest cannot imagine what awaits them: the levelling of values and individuality. M. Henry s work is a meditation against everything which undermines these disoriented refugees, whether it be spiritual starvation, creative thirst, or physical hunger.
Max Gallo
The Left is Dead. Long Live the Left!
Max Gallo, a man of conviction and a socialist to the core, assesses ten years of Socialist power in France: lost illusions, betrayed hopes, problems left unsolved . This critical picture of contemporary France forgoes personal attacks and concession in an attempt to revive the leftist spirit of progress and reform.
Étienne-Émile Baulieu
The Generation of the Pill
After meeting Gregory Pincus, the inventor of the pill, E. Baulieu, a young researcher and hormone specialist, found himself at the heart of one of society s most burning controversies: contraception. This is his story; his own contribution to contraception, RU 486, the first contragestive pill, and his reflections on the ethical debate it provoked.
Anna Rasa
The Ideal Family The Social Life of Mongeese
Queen mother, the political leader, the prince consort, the military leader and guardian of the moral standards of their offspring, in turn warriors, baby-sitters, peacekeepers and brave troopers- such is the composition of the ideal mongoose family, those intelligent and appealing predators. A masterpiece of observation, analysis and description, by an ethnologist trained by Konrad Lorenz.
Catherine Bonnet
A Gesture of Love Giving birth anonymously
Why do some women give birth anonymously so that their child is instantly adopted? A pedopsychoanalyst, Catherine Bonnet recounts the heart-breaking testimonies of these suffering women whose single gesture of love is to protect their child from the violence within themselves. A fresh look at the foundations of maternity and of filiation. Catherine Bonnet is a pedopsychoanalyst.
François Dagognet
Reflections on the Body
A philosophy for our times, devised through an understanding of modernity in all its forms: artistic, scientific and medical. This work is a rigorous and exacting treatment of the ethical and political choices facing mankind at a moment when the power over matter and living are coming to be declared unlimited. In short, the engaged and stimulating observations of François Dagognet, a professor of philosophy at the Université de Paris I, medical doctor, and heir worthy of Bachelard.