A Wisdom Archive on Weber

In the Apocryphon of John, found in the Nag Hammadi library, Samael is the third name of the evil demiurge, whose other names are Yaltabaoth and Saklas. In this context, Samael means "the blind god", the theme of blindness running throughout gnostics. He is born out of the error of Sophia, who desires to create offspring of her own without the Spirit. His appearance is that of a lion-faced serpent. In On the Origin of the World in the Nag Ha ...

Read more here: » Samael: Encyclopedia II - Samael - Samael in other traditions

One of Romanticism's key ideas and most enduring legacies is the assertion of nationalism, which became a central theme of Romantic art and political philosophy. From the earliest parts of the movement, with their focus on development of national languages and folklore, and the importance of local customs and traditions, to the movements which would redraw the map of Europe and lead to calls for "self-determination" o ...

Read more here: » Romanticism: Encyclopedia II - Romanticism - Nationalism

Read more here: » Romanticism: Encyclopedia II - Romanticism - Art and literature

The term 'Romanticism' derives ultimately from the fictional romances written during the Middle Ages ("romance" being the medieval term for works in the vernacular Romance languages rather than in Latin). These each involved the episodic adventures of a single individual, though long digressive inner narratives might follow a secondary figure for a time, and they revolved around some central figure: Charlemagne, Alexander the Great and King Arthur were each central figures in such "cycles" of romances, which were notable for their use ...

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All art forms have a social context, and opera likewise cannot exist in a vacuum. A string quartet exists in manuscript and printed score, and a truly musical person, playing one part, or seated at a keyboard, can hear the intent of the music, but the printed score for an opera must be realized in a production, even a slender one, for its impact. Thus there exists a "sociology of opera", which would be as interesting to general social historians (who are unaware of it, on the whole) as it is to opera buffs. Operas have always been written wi ...

Read more here: » Opera: Encyclopedia II - Opera - Sociology of opera

In Ancient Judaism, Weber deals specifically with the following ares: Ancient Judaism book - Types of Asceticism and the Significance of Ancient Judaism. Weber noted that some aspects of Christianity sought to conquer and change the world, instead of withdrawing form its imperfections. This fundamental distinctiveness of Christianity (when compared to Far East religions) stems originally from the ancient Jewish prophecy. Weber ...

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Hermeneutics in the Western world, as a general science of text interpretation, can be traced back to two separate sources. One source was the ancient Greek rhetoricians' study of literature, which came to fruition in Hellenistic Alexandria. The other source has been the contemporary Midrash traditions of Biblical exegesis, that were contemporary with Hellenistic culture. Scholars in antiquity expected a text to be coherent, consistent in grammar, style and outlook, and they emended obscure or "decadent" readings to comply with their codified rules. By extending the perception of inherent logic of texts, Gre ...

Read more here: » Hermeneutics: Encyclopedia II - Hermeneutics - Hermeneutic traditions

There are a wide range of theories about the reasons for establishing governments. The four major ones are briefly described below. Note that they do not always fully oppose each other - it is possible for a person to subscribe to a combination of ideas from two or more of these theories. Government - Greed and oppression. Many political philosophies that are opposed to the existence of a government (such as Anarchism, and to a lesser extent Marxism), as well as others, emphasize the historical roots of go ...

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Medieval interpretations of text incorporated exegesis in a fourfold mode that emphasized the distinction between the letter and the spirit of the text. This handy scheme of various ways of interpreting the text was handed down from Patristic programs of Late Antiquity. The literal sense (sensus historicus) of Scripture denotes what the text states or reports directly. The allegorical sense (sensus allegoricus) explains the text with regard to the doctrinal content of church dogma, as a manifestation in which each literal eleme ...

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Main articles: government ownership, government spending The scale to which government should exist and operate in the world is a matter of debate. Government spending in developed countries varies considerably but generally makes up between about 30% and 70% of their GDP. One major exception is the United States, where government spending takes up less than 20% of GDP. ...

Read more here: » Government: Encyclopedia II - Government - Scale of government