Richard Stivers Shades of Loneliness (Paperback) (UK IMPORT)

Description: Further DetailsTitle: Shades of LonelinessCondition: NewSubtitle: Pathologies of a Technological SocietyAuthor: Richard StiversFormat: PaperbackISBN-10: 0742530035EAN: 9780742530034ISBN: 9780742530034Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield PublishersGenre: Science Nature & MathTopic: Society & CultureRelease Date: 02/09/2004Description: To varying degrees, loneliness has us all in its grip. In this incisive and controversial book, Richard Stivers rejects the recent emphasis on genetic explanations of psychological problems, arguing that the very organization of technological societies is behind the pervasive experience of loneliness. The extreme rationality that governs our institutions and organizations results in abstract and impersonal relationships in much of daily life. Moreover, as common meaning is gradually eroded, our connections to others become vague and tenuous. Our ensuing fear and loneliness, however, can be masked by an outgoing, extroverted personality. In its extreme form, loneliness assumes pathological dimensions in neurosis and schizophrenia. Stivers maintains that even here the causes remain social. The various forms of neuroses and psychoses follow the key contradictions of a technological society. For instance, narcissism and depression reflect the tension between power and meaninglessness that characterizes modern societies. Stivers demonstrates that there is a continuum from the normal "technological personality" through the various neuroses to full-blown schizophrenia. He argues that all forms of loneliness emanate from the same cause; they likewise share a common dynamic despite their differences. Loneliness, in its many manifestations, seems to be the price we must pay for living in the modern world. Yet nurturing family, friend, and community ties can mitigate its culturally and psychologically disorganizing power. This book is a clarion call for a renewal of moral awareness and custom to combat the fragmentation and depersonalization of our technological civilization.Language: EnglishCountry/Region of Manufacture: USItem Height: 218mmItem Length: 147mmItem Width: 13mmItem Weight: 245gBook Series: New Social FormationsRelease Year: 2004 Missing Information?Please contact us if any details are missing and where possible we will add the information to our listing.

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