An Early History of Compassion

Erscheinungsjahr 2017
ISBN: 978-1-107-14626-6
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 278 Seiten, Format (B × H): 157 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 560 g

In this book, Françoise Mirguet traces the appropriation and reinterpretation of pity by Greek-speaking Jewish communities of Late Antiquity. Pity and compassion, in this corpus, comprised a hybrid of Hebrew, Greek, and Roman constructions; depending on the texts, they were a spontaneous feeling, a practice, a virtue, or a precept of the Mosaic law. The requirement to feel for those who suffer sustained the identity of the Jewish minority, both creating continuity with its traditions and emulating dominant discourses. Mirguet's book will be of interest to scholars of early Judaism and Christianity for its sensitivity to the role of feelings and imagination in the shaping of identity. An important contribution to the history of emotions, it explores the role of the emotional imagination within the context of Roman imperialism. It also contributes to understanding how compassion has come to be so highly valued in Western cultures.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mirguet, Françoise

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Religionsphilosophie, Philosophische Theologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Sozialphilosophie, Politische Philosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kultur- und Ideengeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsphilosophie, Philosophische Theologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Ethik, Moralphilosophie
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Theorie, Politische Philosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Jüdische Studien Jüdische Studien: Leben & Praxis, Soziale Aspekte
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literaturgeschichte und Literaturkritik
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Christentum/Christliche Theologie Allgemein
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction; 1. Between power and vulnerability; 2. Found in translation; 3. Within the fabric of society; 4. Bonds in flux; 5. In dialogue with the Empire; Conclusion. A discourse of the other.

Über Autor(innen)

Mirguet, Françoise
Françoise Mirguet (Ph.D., Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, 2007) is an Associate Professor of Hebrew and Near Eastern Cultures at Arizona State University, where she is also a member of the Center for Jewish Studies. She has been the recipient of a post-doctoral fellowship from the Belgian Research Council (2007–2010); she has also been a fellow at the Harvard Center for Hellenic Studies (2013), at the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania (2015), and at the Harvard Center for Jewish Studies (2016–2017). Her first book was published in 2009; she has also published several peer-reviewed articles.