Anti‐cosmopolitan liberalism: Isaiah Berlin,Jacob Talmon and the dilemma of national identity

ABSTRACT. The debate between contemporary cosmopolitans and advocates of nationalism is hardly new. Nevertheless, much of it is based on the erroneous assumption that cosmopolitanism should be seen as an outgrowth of liberalism, and that both should be considered as the complete conceptual opposites of nationalism. In this article I focus on two of the post‐war Jewish anglophile intellectuals who took part in this debate during the Cold War years: the Oxonian liberal philosopher Sir Isaiah Berlin (1909–97) and the Israeli historian Jacob L. Talmon (1916–80). I use their examples to argue that the dividing line between cosmopolitans and advocates of nationalism should not be regarded as signifying the distinction between liberals and anti‐liberals; in fact, this debate also took place within the camp of the liberal thinkers themselves. I divide my discussion into three parts. Firstly, I examine Berlin's and Talmon's positions within the post‐war anti‐totalitarian discourse, which came to be known as ‘liberalism of fear’. Secondly, I show how a sense of Jewish identity, combined with deep Zionist convictions, induced both thinkers to divorce anti‐nationalist cosmopolitanism – which they regarded as a hollow, illusionary ideal associated with impossible assimilationist yearnings – from the liberal idea. I conclude by suggesting that, although neither man had ever developed a systematic theoretical framework to deal with the complex interactions between ethno‐nationalism, liberal individualism and multiculturalism, Berlin's vision of pluralism provides the foundations for building such a theory, in which liberalism and nationalism become complementary rather than conflicting notions.     

Palaeolithic archaeology and the evolution of mind

This paper reviews recent archaeological studies concerning the evolution of mind. It is structured around four themes: language, intelligence, symbolism, and social learning. It includes reference to recent work in other disciplines that is either having, or likely to have, considerable impact on archaeological thought. The evolution of mind is a highly contentious subject, plagued by problems of definition and lacking an explicit methodology. This paper argues that the two most positive trends of recent work have been greater attempts at interdisciplinary studies and the integration of the study of cognition with that of hominid lifestyles.     

Lions and birds as literature. Some notes on Isaiah 31 and Hosea 11

Abstract

A certain combination of animal metaphors found in two different texts, Isaiah 31 and Hosea 11, has caused considerable scholarly confusion. Additional similarities as well as dissimilarities between the texts are presented, but the intertextual question is left open. Instead an attempt is made to analyze the metaphors in their context. The analysis is based on modern metaphor theory and the concept of genre allusion (in relation to the theophany Gattung). It is suggested that the metaphors in Isaiah 31 are related to the symbol of the cherubs, while Hosea 11,10–11 contains deliberate reversals of other Hosean passages.     

Brain physiology and the mind in the nineteenth century

This article explores the integration of research and theory in nineteenth-century neurophysiology. Four generalities combine to explain their integration. They are the core beliefs of the neurologists, the pervasive habit of perceiving mind when observing behavior, the criteria for the existence of mind, and mind as an efficient cause. These generalities help explain specific choices made by certain researchers to work within the traditional model of the nervous system, to reject materialism, and to find intelligence and voluntary behaviors in physiological systems.     

Never mind the kudos,join the dialogue

Abstract

This paper reports on the redevelopment of medical geography courses taught to both undergraduate and graduate students in a US university. The author participated in a curriculum development seminar that focused explicitly on the creation of new courses that incorporate perspectives from current research on women and other marginalised, ignored or forgotten groups. The experience and feedback from this seminar led to changes in undergraduate courses in medical geography and to the creation of a new and specific graduate seminar course that critiques medical geography for its gender and colour blindness. The paper includes a commentary on the institutional context that allowed such changes to occur and discussion of issues relating to introducing perspectives on women into the curriculum. Spin‐offs from course redevelopment included the creation of resource materials (a bibliographic database) and a reformulation of teaching strategies.     

Ritual frames of mind

Gesch, Patrick F. Initiative and Initiation: A Cargo‐Cult Type Movement in the Sepik against its Background in Traditional Village Religion. St. Augustin, West Germany: Anthropos Institute, 1985. xv + 347 pp. including appendices, references, plates, and index. DM 68.00 paper.

MacAloon, John J., ed. Rite, Drama, Festival, Spectacle: Rehearsals Toward a Theory of Cultural Performance. Philadelphia: ISHI Publishers, 1984. viii + 280 pp. including chapter reference notes. $32.50 cloth.

Schechner, Richard. Between Theater and Anthropology. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1985. xiv + 342 pp. including chapter reference notes, bibliography, and index. $35.00 cloth.

Volkman, Toby Alice. Feasts of Honor: Ritual of Change in the Toraja Highlands. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 1985. xi + 216 pp. including appendices, glossary, bibliography, and index. $21.50 paper.     

The Holy Road as a Bridge: The Role of Chapter 35 in the Book of Isaiah

This article argues that chapter 35 serves as a bridge between mainly Proto- and Deutero-Isaiah, but partly also to Trito-Isaiah. Its method is to compare intertextually phraseology in chapter 35 with similarities in the other parts of the Book of Isaiah. Outlook is all the way from chapter 35, backwards to Proto- and forwards to Deutero- and Trito-Isaiah. In summary, there are a series of intertextual relations to particular parts of Proto-Isaiah, especially to those parts were blessings predominate over curses, while the intertextual relations to Deutero-Isaiah are closer to the essence of its message, in particular to chapters 40-48. Intertextual relations between chapter 35 and Trito-Isaiah are more sparse. Intertextually these relations are mainly from the “canon-before-canon” stage (cf. Fishbane) of the text, rather than “author intended intertextuality” (cf. Nielsen). But there is also an aspect of “editor intended intertextuality” (cf. Nielsen). The investigation demonstrates how central this chapter is in the Book of Isaiah, but it is intertextually closest related to Deutero-Isaiah.     

DDR Museum Berlin

In the summer of 2006 a new permanent exhibition on East Germanhistory opened its doors on the banks of the river Spree, justa frog's jump away from the Berliner Dom and the slowly disappearingPalast der Republik. The DDR Museum¹ sets out to show all facetsof life and growing up in the German Democratic Republic inbasement premises measuring just 400m². The exhibition is composed of seventeen thematic areas, rangingfrom earnest topics such as ‘border’, ‘statesecurity’ and ‘construction’ to the more diverting‘fashion’, ‘consumer goods’ and ‘holidays’.The whole space is designed as a miniature pre-fabricated housingdevelopment, the facades of which incorporate display cabinetsand drawers inviting visitors to explore their contents. Eachthematic area is given roughly the same space, and consequentlythe GDR's dozen or so popular bands get about as much room asthe Stasi.