The Importances of the Past

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The Importances of the Past
A Meditation on the Authority of Tradition

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George Allan - Author

SUNY Series in Philosophy

Price: $53.50
Hardcover - 260 pages

Release Date: November 1985

ISBN10: 0-88706-116-8
ISBN13: 978-0-88706-116-5

Price: $26.95
Paperback - 260 pages

Release Date: November 1985

ISBN10: 0-88706-117-6
ISBN13: 978-0-88706-117-2

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Summary

This book examines tradition, the authority of the past, by tracing the process through which emotion and imagination transform everyday experience into an awareness of one's dependence on the work of predecessors. The King Arthur legend serves as a case study, outlining how this authority of tradition creates and sustains meaningful structures of social order.

“This is a strikingly beautiful piece of philosophical prose, devoted to an issue of overriding importance. It is eminently readable; often quite eloquent! Allan manages competently to incorporate the very latest research and current perspectives in historiography, cultural anthropology, social psychology, linguistics, and critical theory.” — George R. Lucas, Jr., Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Santa Clara

“It is almost spellbinding. The importance of story and myth is not only discussed, it is an integral part of the book itself and of the author's style of exposition. This is the most beautifully written book I've read in a long time.” — Donald Crosby, Professor of Philosophy, Colorado State University

George Allan is Professor of Philosophy and Dean of the College at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

Preface

Chapter 1: Common Ground

Chapter 2: Holy Ground

Chapter 3: Solid Ground

Chapter 4: The Historical Past

Chapter 5: The Mythic Past

Chapter 6: The Eternal Past

Chapter 7: The Arthurian Tradition

Chapter 8: The Unraveling of Tradition

Chapter 9: The End of Tradition

Notes

Related Subjects

Philosophy

22501/23827(//)

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