Jung's Dangerous Methods

For those considering watching A Dangerous Method coming to theaters next month consider Jung For Beginner.

Carl Gustav Jung, second only to Freud in the world of psychoanalysis, is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung recommended the use of spirituality as a cure for alcoholism and is considered to have an indirect role in Alcoholics Anonymous. Jung also proposed the use of art therapy to alleviate trauma and emotional distress. He taught us that psychology and religion can not only coexist peacefully together, but that they can enhance us, inspire us, and help us complete ourselves.

Freud, for all of his brilliance, reduced us to little more than vessels of hormones with high IQs. Jung, for all of his flaws, gave us back our souls. Learn more about Jung and his works with Jung For Beginners.

Check out our updated website www.forbeginnersbooks.com that showcases our December releases.

Dante and his Inferno

Born in Florence Italy, Dante Alighieri was a poet, literary theorist, moral and political philosopher. During his life, Dante belonged to a political group called the White Guelphs who were at disagreement with the Black Guelphs over the influence of the Papal who where consequently exiled. The Black Guelphs however soon returned to power and exiled the White Guelphs along with Dante who were ordered to stay away from Florence and pay a fine. Dante conversely refused to pay the fine. While other White Guelphs where eventually granted permission to return to Florence, Dante wasn’t.  Dante went on to personally slander Pope Boniface VIII with his famous epic poem The Divine Comedy.

Even without the utility of a printing press, Dante's rhyming style assured that everyone would hear his side of the story. He put those responsible for his exile in an ironic literary interpretation of Hell, reserving a special spot for Pope Boniface VIII.  Dante died and remains in Ravenna still serving his seven century long exile. In 2008, the city of Florence pardoned Dante and awarded him the Golden Florine, the city’s highest honor, sparking the argument again. As a result, Dante’s last inheritor, Serego Alighieri, boycotted the ceremony.

Learn more about Dante and his works with Dante For Beginners also check out our updated website www.forbeginnersbooks.com that showcases our December releases.

Picasso turns 130

Born on October 25^th 1881, Pablo Picasso - painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer - is one of the most paramount and influential artists of the 20^th century. Picasso started his career in Paris where he was given an exhibition at a gallery on Paris’ rue Lafitte. He won favorable reviews and remained in Paris through periods of his career. His work is comprised of some 50,000 works of art which are divided into different series, his most notable the “blue period.” He continued to work through the Nazi occupation of France, joining the French Resistance Movement. Picasso still remains one of the top ranked artists, and more of his paintings have been stolen than those of any other artist.

Learn more about Picasso and art theory with Art Theory For Beginners.

An Ever Going Dream

The memorial dedicated to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on October 16^th saw an array of speakers ranging from the President and Vice President to civil rights leaders such as Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III. During his speech, President Barack Obama proclaimed “I know we will overcome, I know this because of the man towering over us.” His speech focused on Dr. King’s broad themes of equality, justice and peaceful protests. Obama urged Americans to harness the energy of the civil rights movement for today's challenges and to remain committed to King's philosophy of peaceful resistance. 

Learn more about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., President Barack Obama and the civil rights movement with Black History For Beginners, Barack Obama For Beginners and Malcolm X For Beginners

Foucault's 85th birthday by guest blogger Lydia Fillingham

Foucault's 85th birthday would be today, and alas because of AIDS he will not see it.

I thought I would take the opportunity of this day to say a few words about what matters to me about Foucault, what led me to write Foucault for Beginners, and still draws me to his works.

Foucault was a French philosopher and historian who worked particularly to understand the workings of power and knowledge and how people are regulated within society.  He thought we should look beyond narrow definitions of government to a "wider sense of techniques and procedures designed to direct the behaviour of men."  He looked for instance in The Birth of the Prison at how social science around criminology worked to develop prisons, starting in the 18th century, where the prisoners were subjected to ever greater discipline, and were made ever more visible to the eye of the guards.  This was happening at a time when the same could be said of the new position of workers in factories as they developed.  He thought that the views of people developed in social science had significant power over how people live their lives. In The History of Sexuality, Vol. 1 he proposed that the very existence of people called homosexuals is a result of developments in social science, again mainly in the 19th century.  Prior to that there were homosexual acts, which the church might disapprove of, but not a separate kind of person, different from others.

I also deeply enjoy reading Foucault, and always find it mind-expanding, leading me to look at things in a new way.  I hope that my book might make that experience a little easier to understand, by giving a general framework of Foucault's thought.  On his birthday, we can look around us and speculate at what he would have made of matters since his death.  I think, for example, he would have had a fascinating understanding of the interplay of knowledge and legislated non-knowledge involved in the Don't Ask Don't Tell regime, for instance, where any knowledge about a person could get him or her expelled from the army, and the soldier had to fight to keep no knowledge the official stance--and what that said about the kind of people the army defined "homosexuals" as being.  I would love to hear other practices people think he might have been interested in, through comments on this blog.

The New Deal…With a #Hashtag

The plight of the middle and lower class families are nothing new to American politics. As #Occupywallstreet roars into its fourth week, spreading throughout major US cities and even different countries, you can almost hear the voice of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. “For too many of us” he bellows, “the political equality we once had won was meaningless in the face of economic inequality.” The same harsh realities of the Great Depression can be seen in today’s protests. The fight for economic equality, the end of corporate greed and the prosecution of those responsible for the economic collapse of 2008 almost coincides with the violent street protests seen during the Great Depression. What would FDR say about the protests? How would he reconcile with the downtrodden? “I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people.” Learn more about our 32^nd president and his New Deal with FDR and The New Deal For Beginners.

How to Have a Dada Birthday

The problem is that the whole idea of writing a “Happy birthday” blog about Dada is that it is against Dada.

Dadas did not want pretty birthdays. They preferred spontaneity, sweeping out of the old, downright ugliness (especially if it shocked the bourgeosis) and simultaneous happenings.

Still, if “the spirit of Dada is always in man,” any day can be a birthday of Dada.

So the guests to the Dada party, birthday or not, might look like this:

http://www.marcelduchamp.net/L.H.O.O.Q.php

or this:

http://www.english.emory.edu/DRAMA/HugoBall.gif

or this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HansArp-CloudShepher1953.JPG

There would be sound poems, performed simultaneously by different artists (you’re not supposed to “get it,” by the way)

http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2006/dada/techniques/sound.shtm

And perhaps music by John Cage (a kindred spirit)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUJagb7hL0E

Then something would have to be destroyed. http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=81209

And someone would be pelted with a steak.

Guest blog by Elsa M. Bell, author of Dada and Surrealism For Beginners, in honor of the beginning of Dadaism, believe to have taken root at the Cabaret Voltaire in 1916.

The Big 1.6.7 for Friedrich Nietzsche!

A big happy birthday for 19th century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist Friedrich Nietzsche! Nietzsche who will be turning 167 next week is best known for his views in the realm of existentialism, nihilism and postmodernism. He was appointed chair of classical philology at the University of Basel at the age of 24, the youngest in the University's history. Nietzsche moved on as an independent philosopher traveling across Europe. During this time he wrote his most notable works, such as Thus Spoke Zarathustra, The Gay Science, and Beyond Good and Evil, amongst others. 

Tragically, in 1889 Nietzsche had a mental breakdown and consequently died on August 25th 1900. After his death, however, his works became more popular. Nietzsche had followings in the 1890’s amongst left-wing Germans, while conservative Germans wanted to ban his works for being subversive. In the 1900’s his works were associated with anarchist movements and by World War I Nietzsche was inspiration for right wing German militarism. To this day Nietzsche remains a controversial figure for his views but his stance on individualism still resonates in the 21st century. Celebrate his birthday by reading Nietzche For Beginners.

Ayn Rand eBook Available

Starting today, there is a straight-forward, easy-to-understand guide to classics including Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead available at lightning speed from the internet to you.  Get insight into the life of renowned author Ayn Rand as well as a simple explanation of many of the ideas in her most famous works.  The Ayn Rand For Beginners ebook is the perfect tool for studying on the go, whether for a test or your own personal improvement.

Find this fully illustrated digital file on our site or through your favorite ebook retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and more, or ask your local bookseller for a physical copy!