Sustainable History and the Dignity of Man: A Philosophy of History and Civilizational Triumph - Softcover

Nayef R.F. Al-Rodhan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 3643800053 ISBN 13: 9783643800053

Publisher: LIT Verlag, 2009

Synopsis

Sustainable History and the Dignity of Man is a new philosophy of history. This volume outlines how sustainable history is propelled by good governance, which balances the tension between the attributes of human nature - emotionality, amorality and egoisms - and human dignity needs, such as reason, security, human rights, accountability, transparency, justice, opportunity, innovation and inclusiveness. The author proposes minimum criteria for good governance that are sensitive to local cultures and histories but meet certain common global values to ensure maximum and sustainable moral and political cooperation. Using an ocean model of a single collective human civilisation, the author argues that we should think in terms of a common human story that is comprised of multiple geo-cultural domains and sub-cultures with a history of mutual borrowing and synergies. The author argues that, today, all geo-cultural domains must succeed if humanity as a whole is to triumph. This colle

About this title

About the Author:

NAYEF R.F. AL-RODHAN is Senior Member of St. Antony's College, University of Oxford, UK. He is also Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for the Geopolitics of Globalization and Transnational Security at the Geneva Center for Security Policy, Geneva, Switzerland. He is a philosopher, neuroscientist, and geostrategist. A prize-winning scholar, he has published 21 books proposing many innovative concepts and theories in global politics and security. He was educated at Yale University, the Mayo Clinic and Harvard University. He is best known for several philosophical and analytic books on global politics that include: The Role of the Arab-Islamic World in the Rise of the West; Meta-Geopolitics of Outer Space; Sustainable History and the Dignity of Man; Emotional Amoral Egoism; Neo-Statecraft and Meta-Geopolitics; The Politics of Emerging Strategic Technologies and Symbiotic Realism.

Review:

“Dr. Nayef R.F. Al-Rodhan challenges us to grapple with the meaning of history and how it could lead to the improvement of the human condition. This book presents his views on how a sustainable history based on human dignity could be achieved. In his opinion, this requires good governance, based on “reason, security, human rights, accountability, transparency, justice, opportunity, innovation and inclusiveness.” I agree, and I hope that the path laid out in this book attracts many followers.” -- President Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States     

"No-one seeking to understand the modern condition can afford to ignore Dr. Al-Rodhan's inspiring book, a profound analysis of the core values around which effective global governance can be built and sustained." -- Lord Anthony Giddens, House of Lords, Former President of the London School of Economics, UK

“This book is an exceptionally wide-ranging examination of past and present approaches to the securing of a qualitatively adequate social life on the planet. The need for intercultural dialogue is pressing and stated as a matter of urgency in the text. That argument is well-presented and it is helpfully accompanied by a large amount of empirical evidence. The book is also a strong and ethically attractive humanist statement about the value of human interaction that incorporates a vision of mutual respect based on a mixture of scientific arguments and normative aspirations. Those features are very impressive.” -- Professor Michael Freeden, Professor of Politics, Director of the Centre for Political Ideologies, Professorial Fellow, Mansfield College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom.

About this edition

• Publisher: LIT Verlag
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 3643800053
• ISBN 13: 9783643800053
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 472