In antiquity, it was not only Aristotle who assumed the people are more to be understood in relation to one another than as individual or solitary constructs. This examination considers the changing attitudes to friendship since antiquity.

Although it seems that erotic love generally was the prevailing topic in the medieval world and the Early Modern Age, parallel to this the Ciceronian ideal of friendship also dominated the public discourse, as this collection of essays demonstrates. Following an extensive introduction, the individual contributions explore the functions and the character of friendship from Late Antiquity (Augustine) to the 17th century. They show the spectrum of variety in which this topic appeared ‐ not only in literature, but also in politics and even in painting.

Nahbeziehungen, die über familiäre und verwandtschaftliche Bindungen hinausgehen, haben sich zu einem vielbeachteten Thema interdisziplinärer Forschung entwickelt. Beziehungen wie Freundschaft, Patronage und soziale Netzwerke als Variationen sozialer Bindungen sind das Ergebnis unterschiedlicher historischer wie kultureller Kontexte und stellen deshalb einen wesentlichen, aber immer noch unterrepräsentierten Gegenstand interdisziplinären Forschens dar. Fragen nach sich ändernden Freundschaftssemantiken, historischen und interkulturellen bzw. politischen Praktiken von Freundschaft, Patronage und Loyalität standen im Mittelpunkt einer internationalen Tagung, die eine kritische Diskussion und Neubewertung von Werten und Normen, die z.B. Freundschaft in verschiedenen Kulturen und historischen Epochen konstituieren, sowie der sozialen Umstände, die diese Nahbeziehungen bedingen, vorgenommen hat. Aspekte wie Konstitution und Repräsentation von Körper und Gender und das Entstehen von Vertrauen und Betrug waren dabei ebenso von Interesse wie die kulturell und historisch unterschiedliche Praxis und Semantik von Freundschaft und Patronage sowie deren jeweilige Wahrnehmung in Abhängigkeit von ihrer gesellschaftlichen Situation in verschiedenen sozialen und historischen Kontexten. Die Ergebnisse dieser Tagung werden nun im vorliegenden Band präsentiert.

This unique collection examines the man Utne Reader has called "the greatest social critic of the twentieth century." The essays—all by people Illich has influenced personally—discuss how his life and thought have affected conceptualization, study, and practice of psychotherapy, notions about education, ideas concerning the historical development of the text, perceptions of technology, as well as other topics. All of Illich's books are discussed and his ideas on education, theology, technology, anarchism, and society are examined in relationship to those of René Girard, Karl Polanyi, Emmanuel Levinas, and Jacques Ellul. Illich's previously unpublished paper offering a new view of conspiracy in European history is included.

This ground-breaking volume explores the terrain of friendship against the historical backdrop of early modern Europe. In these thought-provoking essays the terms of friendship are explored - from the most intimate and erotically charged to the reciprocities of village life. This is a rich offering in social and cultural history that is attuned to the pervasive language of religion. A hidden history is revealed - of friendships that we have lost, and of friendships starkly, and movingly, familiar.

Guido de Graaff explores the political dimension and significance of friendship, arguing that its specific contribution lies not only in its theological approach, but also in its particular focus distinguishing the 'political' from the 'social' and/or 'civic'. The book's explorations are framed around a particular story of friendship: the story of Bishop George Bell and German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Drawing on Hannah Arendt and Oliver O'Donovan, de Graaff argues that Bell and Bonhoeffer's story can be read as one of friends assuming the responsibility of political judgment in an emergency situation - their story casts doubts on secular politics as the primary context for interpreting the friends' judgments. Thus the book provides a more comprehensive account of the story, also interpreting it against the background of the life of the church (with special attention to John 15 and Romans 12). De Graaff concludes by showing how a theological account is vital for discerning the distinct politics of the church, including opportunities for Christian engagement in secular politics.

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This book rethinks the anthropology of friendship from the perspective of theology and disability, and suggests the respect for human dignity and the person ́s vulnerability as the criterion in reconsidering such an anthropology. The reality of disability is not only the reality of being in the world, but also concerns the concept of the meaning of otherness and being created as an image of God. The constructive critique that the emergence of disability as a human condition posits to theo-anthropological and ethical concepts is the quest of the renewal of theo-anthropological and ethical knowledge on the meaning of disability, otherness and friendship. The theological and anthropological entities, such as disability and friendship, are interconnected in a sense that the meaning of the one needs to be explained in the light of the other, and vice versa. The renewal of certain anthropological categories in such regard is a search for a deeper understanding of humanity, not apart from, but in light of, the presence of disability. The book examines the anthropological and theological systems regarding the theme of friendship and disability.

Offers comprehensive treatment of Thomas Hobbes’s thought, providing readers with different ways of understanding Hobbes as a systematic philosopher As one of the founders of modern political philosophy, Thomas Hobbes is best known for his ideas regarding the nature of legitimate government and the necessity of society submitting to the absolute authority of sovereign power. Yet Hobbes produced a wide range of writings, from translations of texts by Homer and Thucydides, to interpretations of Biblical books, to works devoted to geometry, optics, morality, and religion. Hobbes viewed himself as presenting a unified method for theoretical and practical science—an interconnected system of philosophy that provides many entry points into his thought. A Companion to Hobbes is an expertly curated collection of essays offering close textual engagement with the thought of Thomas Hobbes in his major works while probing his ideas regarding natural philosophy, mathematics, human nature, civil philosophy, religion, and more. The Companion discusses the ways in which scholars have tried to understand the unity and diversity of Hobbes’s philosophical system and examines the reception of the different parts of Hobbes’s philosophy by thinkers such as René Descartes, Margaret Cavendish, David Hume, and Immanuel Kant. Presenting a diversity of fresh perspectives by both emerging and established scholars, this volume: Provides a comprehensive treatment of Hobbes’s thought in his works, including Elements of Law, Elements of Philosophy, and Leviathan Explores the connecting points between Hobbes’ metaphysics, epistemology, mathematics, natural philosophy, morality, and civil philosophy Offers readers strategies for understanding how the parts of Hobbes’s philosophical system fit together Examines Hobbes’s philosophy of mathematics and his attempts to understand geometrical objects and definitions Considers Hobbes’s philosophy in contexts such as the natural state of humans, gender relations, and materialist worldviews Challenges conceptions of Hobbes’s moral theory and his views about the rights of sovereigns Part of the acclaimed Blackwell Companions to Philosophy series, A Companion to Hobbes is an invaluable resource for scholars and advanced students of Early modern thought, particularly those from disciplines such as History of Philosophy, Political Philosophy, Intellectual History, History of Politics, Political Theory, and English.

When it comes to talking about the activity of directing the church, the language of leadership and leaders is increasingly popular. Yet what is leadership – and how might theological narratives better resource the discourse and practice of leadership in ecclesial contexts? In identifying and critiquing managerialism as a dominant narrative of leadership in the Western church, this book calls for an alternative approach founded on the concept of friendship. Engaging with the wider field of leadership studies, the book establishes an understanding of leadership activity and brings it into conversation with an incarnational ecclesiology. The result is a prophetic reimagining of ecclesial leadership in terms of a relational, kenotic praxis. This praxis of mutuality and love is framed here in the rich language of Christian friendship. The book also wrestles deeply with the embodiment of such a praxis, making explicit the power behaviours typical of friendship-leadership and offering constructive guidance for practitioners in the task of implementation within a complex and fractured world. This book offers a new vision of the centrality of friendship to leadership of a healthy church community. As such, it will be of great use to scholars of practical theology, ecclesiology and leadership, as well as practitioners in church ministry.