Tétel adatlapja
CÍMLAP
Segesváry Viktor
Dialogue of civilizations

CONTENTS, PREFACE, ABOUT THE AUTHOR



Contents

Publisher's preface

Preface

First part
Why Is a Dialogue of Civilizations Needed in Our Age?

The Nature of a Pluralistic World
The Definition of Pluralism
Relativism As a Corollary to Pluralism
The Causes of Civilizational Pluralism
The De-Colonization Process
Global Culture or Cultural Globalization?
Why Does Civilizational Dialogue Necessitate Civilizational Analysis?

Second part
What Is Civilization?

The Concepts of Culture and Civilization
The Evolutionary Background
Conceptual Varieties
Meaning and Ethos
Creation of Meaning: Explanation of Life and Cosmos
Ethos
Religion: The Foundation of Cultures
Symbolism
Myth, Ritual, and Magic

Myth
Ritual and Ritualization
Magic
Contemporary Western Myths, Rituals, and Magic
Temporal Dimension and Tradition
Dimensions of Time
Time and Traditions
Individual and Community

Third part
Modernization and Civilizational Practices

Culture and Social Worlds
Culture and Society
Society and Modernization
Culture and Political Order
The Territorially Based Modern Nation-State
The Liberal, Participative Democracy
Culture and Economic Activity

Fourth part
The Methodology of Civilizational Analysis

The Method of Dialogue: Understanding Others
Understanding and Interpretation
Pattern Recognition and Analysis

Annex

Tehran Declaration on Dialogue Among Civilizations

A select list of readings
Index



Publisher's preface

The author was one of the guest speakers of the 44th Study Week of the Hollandiai Mikes Kelemen Kör (Association for Hungarian Art, Literature and Science in the Netherlands), held 11-14 September 2003 in Elspeet, the Netherlands. The theme of the conference was: NEW ATLANTIS - Our Present and Future in the Perspective of Our Cultures -. The paper presented by Mr Segesvary can be read in the October-December 2003 issue of the Mikes International periodical (in Hungarian, http://www.federatio.org/mikes_per.html).

At the conference an agreement was reached between Mr Segesvary and MIKES INTERNATIONAL to publish his reach ouvre within Bibliotheca Mikes International. Present volume is the first result of this agreement.

The "Dialogue of Civilizations" was first published in 2000 by the University Press of America. We publish electronically this volume with their permission.

In the same time we also publish the Hungarian translation of the entire volume. The author himself performed the translation.

The Hague (Holland), January 27, 2004



About the author

Born in Hungary, country he left after the 1956 Revolution, Victor Segesvary worked during 25 years with the United Nations in the field of economic and social development. His experiences in Asia and Africa familiarized him with the existence of different human worlds and taught him the necessity of understanding and tolerance in human relations. He obtained a PhD in Political Science and International Relations from the Gradute School for International Studies, and a D.D. from the Faculty of Protestant Theology, both at the University of Geneva (Switzerland). His vast knowledge covers such diverse fields as political science, sociology, economics, history, and philosophy as well as the "new" science of comparative analysis of civilizations. He published many books and articles, among them Inter-Civilizational Relations and the Destiny of the West : Dialogue or Confrontation?, reflecting his lifelong experience in the interface of great civilizations; From Illusion to Delusion : Globalization and the Contradictions of Late Modernity, linking the phenomenon of globalization to the dialogue of civilizations; as well as Existence and Transcendence: An Anti-Faustian Study in Philosophical Anthropology, exploring the relationship between biological and cultural developments. Victor Segesvary is chronicled in Marquis' WHO IS WHO IN AMERICA and WHO IS WHO IN THE WORLD.


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