Get 10% - 75% off select eBooks - play our trivia contest today! »

Preview added to your library

In Search of Civilization By: John Armstrong

In Search of Civilization - Remaking a Tarnished Idea

By: John Armstrong

1
2
3
4
5

Rate this book!

( 37 customer ratings)

Average rating includes

In order to rate this item, you must sign in first.

Sign In Cancel

Graywolf Press, March 2011

#654 in Fiction & Literature > Literary Theory & Criticism
#1658 in Religion & Spirituality > Philosophy

Synopsis

“A self-effacing, humane and unparanoid call to change our wealthy yet often barbaric world for the better.” *

In this provocative cri de coeur, the philosopher John Armstrong rescues the idea of civilization from irrelevance and connects it to our search for individual happiness. “Civilization” once referred to a society’s technological prowess, its political development, or its cultural achievement. In the modern era, however, the word became burdened by the legacy of colonialism and connotations of elitism. For it to have value once again, according to Armstrong, we must understand that a society balances material prosperity with spiritual prosperity if it is to merit the term “civilized”—and currently we are impoverished.

In Search of Civilization is his corrective. As he roams from anecdote to aesthetic appreciation—from the banality of an early job at an insurance company to the redemptive wonders of a seventeenth-century church spire visible out an office window, from Adam Smith’s philosophy to the Japanese tea ceremony—Armstrong reminds us that culture lies within us and that its nourishment is essential to a flourishing society.

$10.99

Preview added to your library

In Search of Civilization - Remaking a Tarnished Idea

By: John Armstrong

Graywolf Press, March 2011

1
2
3
4
5

( 37 customer ratings)

#654 in Fiction & Literature > Literary Theory & Criticism
#1658 in Religion & Spirituality > Philosophy

Found In

Found In

eBook Information

Imprint: Graywolf Press

ISBN: 9781555970277

Language: English

Download options: Adobe DRM EPUB

Files Available for Download

If you use one of Kobo's free reading apps you won't need to worry about download options most of the time. Your Kobo reading app can easily add Kobo Store books to your library for a seamless reading experience.

Download options matter when:

You want to read your book on an eReader other than the Kobo eReader (see here for a list of supported eReaders).
The book you want is only available as an Adobe DRM PDF.

In both of these cases you will need to:

Download a copy of your book to your computer.
Open the book using a free application called Adobe Digital Editions.

You can also use Digital Editions to transfer the book to your eReader. See here for more information on Digital Editions.

Read this on:

Desktop More

Kobo Desktop App

You can read this item on your computer using our free Kobo Desktop Application. This application lets you read, manage your library of eBooks, and even shop for new ones. Check out our demo for more information!

Download it now for PC!
Download App!
Mac user? Click here

Download it now for Mac!
Download App!
PC user? Click here

Learn More »
eReaders More

eReading Devices

You can read this item on your Kobo eReader (or other select electronic reading devices). The Kobo eReader lets you carry your whole library with you, so that you can read on the go.
Visit kobo.com/ereaders »
Tablets More

Tablets

You can read this item on select tablets using one of our free Kobo apps. These apps let you read, manage your library of eBooks, and even shop for new ones.
Learn More »
Kobo Vox More

Kobo Vox

You can read this item on your Kobo Vox eReader. The Kobo Vox eReader lets you read books with color, sound or interactive elements. Check out our demo for more information on the Kobo Vox.
Learn More »
Kobo Arc More

Kobo Arc

You can read this item on your Kobo Arc using the Library app. This app lets you read, manage your library of eBooks, and shop for new books.
Learn More »
Android More

Android

You can read this item on any Android device (phone, tablet) with one of our free Kobo apps. These apps let you read, manage your library of eBooks, and even shop for new ones.
Learn More »
iPhone More

iPhone

You can read this item on the free Kobo app for iPhone. This app let you read, manage your library of eBooks, and even shop for new ones.
Download the iPhone App!
Download App!
Learn More »

{1}

By: {2}

Available on: {3}

Coming soon

Secure Transaction

Subtotal

Store Credit

Total

We'll charge your credit card {4} on {3}.

We'll charge your credit card {4} when the book is added to your Library.

Your store credit covers the cost of this purchase, so we don't charge your credit card

Use standard checkout

Have a promo code? Use standard checkout.

Use Quick Buy for all eBook purchases.

{0}

By clicking Buy Now, I agree to Kobo's Terms of Sale. BUY NOW Pre-Order

Thank you for your purchase

Thanks for pre-ordering

{2} is now in your library. You'll receive an email confirming your purchase very soon.

{2} has been pre-ordered. You'll receive a confirmation email confirming your pre-order very soon.

You were charged:

You will be charged: on {3}

You will be charged: when the book is added to your Library

Rakuten Super Points earned: {1}

Rakuten Super Points {1} earned after the book is added to your Library

{0}

Continue shopping