The Resource Primo Levi and the politics of survival, Frederic D. Homer
Primo Levi and the politics of survival, Frederic D. Homer
Resource Information
The item Primo Levi and the politics of survival, Frederic D. Homer represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in University of Missouri-St. Louis Libraries.This item is available to borrow from 1 library branch.
Resource Information
The item Primo Levi and the politics of survival, Frederic D. Homer represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in University of Missouri-St. Louis Libraries.
This item is available to borrow from 1 library branch.
- Summary
- At the age of twenty-five, Primo Levi was sent to Hell. Levi, an Italian chemist from Turin, was one of many swept up in the Holocaust of World War II and sent to die in the German concentration camp in Auschwitz. Of the 650 people transported to the camp in his group, only 15 men and 9 women survived. After Soviet liberation of the camp in 1945, Levi wrote books, essays, short stories, poetry, and a novel, in which he painstakingly described the horrors of his experience at Auschwitz. He also spent the rest of his life struggling with the fact that he was not among those who were killed. In Primo Levi and the Politics of Survival, Frederic D. Homer looks at Primo Levi's life but, more important, shows him to be a significant political philosopher. In the course of his writings, Levi asked and answered his most haunting question: can someone be brutalized by a terrifying experience and, upon return to "ordinary life," recover from the physical and moral destruction he has suffered? Levi used this question to develop a philosophy positing that although man is no match for life, he can become better prepared to contend with the tragedies in life. According to Levi, the horrors of the world occur because of the strength of human tendencies, which make relationships between human beings exceedingly fragile. He believed that we are ill-constituted beings who have tendencies toward violence and domination, dividing ourselves into Us and Them, with very shallow loyalties. He also maintained that our only refuge is in education and responsibility, which may counter these tendencies. Homer calls Levi's philosophy "optimistic pessimism." As Homer demonstrates, Levi took his past experiences into account to determine that goodwill and democratic institutions do not come easily to people. Liberal society is to be earned through discipline and responsibility toward our weaknesses. Levi's answer is "civilized liberalism." To achieve this we must counter some of our most stubborn tendencies. Homer also explores the impact of Levi's death, an apparent suicide, on the way in which his work and theories have been perceived. While several critics discount Levi's work because of the nature of his death, Homer argues that his death is consistent with his philosophy. A book rich in brutally honest philosophy, Primo Levi and the Politics of Survival compels one to look at serious questions about life, tragedy, optimism, solidarity, violence, and human nature
- Language
- eng
- Extent
- 1 online resource (vii, 277 pages)
- Contents
-
- Force Majeure
- Hobbesian Hell
- Ill-Constituted Beings
- Violence
- The Tragic Sense of Life
- Useful Qualities of Human Nature
- Choices
- Purpose and Work
- Optimistic Pessimism
- Civilized Liberalism
- A Defense of Modernism
- Levi's Death
- Isbn
- 9780826213389
- Label
- Primo Levi and the politics of survival
- Title
- Primo Levi and the politics of survival
- Statement of responsibility
- Frederic D. Homer
- Subject
-
- 1900-1999
- Authors, Italian
- Authors, Italian -- 20th century -- Biography
- Biographies
- Electronic book
- History
- Holocaust survivors
- Holocaust survivors -- Italy -- Biography
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
- Holocauste, 1939-1945
- Italy
- Jews
- Jews -- Italy -- Biography
- Juifs -- Italie -- Biographies
- LITERARY CRITICISM -- European | Italian
- Levi, Primo
- Levi, Primo -- Philosophie
- Levi, Primo -- Philosophy
- Levi, Primo -- Political and social views
- Levi, Primo, 1919-1987
- Philosophy
- Political and social views
- Politics and culture
- Politics and culture -- Italy -- History -- 20th century
- Politieke filosofie
- Politique et culture -- Italie -- Histoire -- 20e siècle
- Survivants de l'Holocauste -- Italie -- Biographies
- Écrivains italiens -- 20e siècle -- Biographies
- Levi, Primo -- Pensée politique et sociale
- Language
- eng
- Summary
- At the age of twenty-five, Primo Levi was sent to Hell. Levi, an Italian chemist from Turin, was one of many swept up in the Holocaust of World War II and sent to die in the German concentration camp in Auschwitz. Of the 650 people transported to the camp in his group, only 15 men and 9 women survived. After Soviet liberation of the camp in 1945, Levi wrote books, essays, short stories, poetry, and a novel, in which he painstakingly described the horrors of his experience at Auschwitz. He also spent the rest of his life struggling with the fact that he was not among those who were killed. In Primo Levi and the Politics of Survival, Frederic D. Homer looks at Primo Levi's life but, more important, shows him to be a significant political philosopher. In the course of his writings, Levi asked and answered his most haunting question: can someone be brutalized by a terrifying experience and, upon return to "ordinary life," recover from the physical and moral destruction he has suffered? Levi used this question to develop a philosophy positing that although man is no match for life, he can become better prepared to contend with the tragedies in life. According to Levi, the horrors of the world occur because of the strength of human tendencies, which make relationships between human beings exceedingly fragile. He believed that we are ill-constituted beings who have tendencies toward violence and domination, dividing ourselves into Us and Them, with very shallow loyalties. He also maintained that our only refuge is in education and responsibility, which may counter these tendencies. Homer calls Levi's philosophy "optimistic pessimism." As Homer demonstrates, Levi took his past experiences into account to determine that goodwill and democratic institutions do not come easily to people. Liberal society is to be earned through discipline and responsibility toward our weaknesses. Levi's answer is "civilized liberalism." To achieve this we must counter some of our most stubborn tendencies. Homer also explores the impact of Levi's death, an apparent suicide, on the way in which his work and theories have been perceived. While several critics discount Levi's work because of the nature of his death, Homer argues that his death is consistent with his philosophy. A book rich in brutally honest philosophy, Primo Levi and the Politics of Survival compels one to look at serious questions about life, tragedy, optimism, solidarity, violence, and human nature
- Action
- digitized
- Biography type
- contains biographical information
- Cataloging source
- N$T
- http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
- Homer, Frederic D
- Dewey number
-
- 853/.914
- B
- Index
- index present
- Language note
- English
- LC call number
- PQ4872.E8
- LC item number
- Z69 2001eb
- Literary form
- non fiction
- Nature of contents
-
- dictionaries
- bibliography
- http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
-
- Levi, Primo
- Levi, Primo
- Politics and culture
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
- Authors, Italian
- Holocaust survivors
- Jews
- Levi, Primo
- Levi, Primo
- Levi, Primo
- Politique et culture
- Holocauste, 1939-1945
- Écrivains italiens
- Survivants de l'Holocauste
- Juifs
- LITERARY CRITICISM
- Authors, Italian
- Holocaust survivors
- Jews
- Philosophy
- Political and social views
- Politics and culture
- Italy
- Politieke filosofie
- Label
- Primo Levi and the politics of survival, Frederic D. Homer
- Antecedent source
- unknown
- Bibliography note
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 265-271) and index
- Carrier category
- online resource
- Carrier category code
-
- cr
- Carrier MARC source
- rdacarrier
- Color
- multicolored
- Content category
- text
- Content type code
-
- txt
- Content type MARC source
- rdacontent
- Contents
- Force Majeure -- Hobbesian Hell -- Ill-Constituted Beings -- Violence -- The Tragic Sense of Life -- Useful Qualities of Human Nature -- Choices -- Purpose and Work -- Optimistic Pessimism -- Civilized Liberalism -- A Defense of Modernism -- Levi's Death
- Control code
- 56424995
- Dimensions
- unknown
- Extent
- 1 online resource (vii, 277 pages)
- File format
- unknown
- Form of item
- online
- Isbn
- 9780826213389
- Lccn
- 2001027168
- Level of compression
- unknown
- Media category
- computer
- Media MARC source
- rdamedia
- Media type code
-
- c
- Quality assurance targets
- not applicable
- Reformatting quality
- unknown
- Reproduction note
- Electronic reproduction.
- Sound
- unknown sound
- Specific material designation
- remote
- System control number
- (OCoLC)56424995
- System details
- Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002.
- Label
- Primo Levi and the politics of survival, Frederic D. Homer
- Antecedent source
- unknown
- Bibliography note
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 265-271) and index
- Carrier category
- online resource
- Carrier category code
-
- cr
- Carrier MARC source
- rdacarrier
- Color
- multicolored
- Content category
- text
- Content type code
-
- txt
- Content type MARC source
- rdacontent
- Contents
- Force Majeure -- Hobbesian Hell -- Ill-Constituted Beings -- Violence -- The Tragic Sense of Life -- Useful Qualities of Human Nature -- Choices -- Purpose and Work -- Optimistic Pessimism -- Civilized Liberalism -- A Defense of Modernism -- Levi's Death
- Control code
- 56424995
- Dimensions
- unknown
- Extent
- 1 online resource (vii, 277 pages)
- File format
- unknown
- Form of item
- online
- Isbn
- 9780826213389
- Lccn
- 2001027168
- Level of compression
- unknown
- Media category
- computer
- Media MARC source
- rdamedia
- Media type code
-
- c
- Quality assurance targets
- not applicable
- Reformatting quality
- unknown
- Reproduction note
- Electronic reproduction.
- Sound
- unknown sound
- Specific material designation
- remote
- System control number
- (OCoLC)56424995
- System details
- Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002.
Subject
- 1900-1999
- Authors, Italian
- Authors, Italian -- 20th century -- Biography
- Biographies
- Electronic book
- History
- Holocaust survivors
- Holocaust survivors -- Italy -- Biography
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
- Holocauste, 1939-1945
- Italy
- Jews
- Jews -- Italy -- Biography
- Juifs -- Italie -- Biographies
- LITERARY CRITICISM -- European | Italian
- Levi, Primo
- Levi, Primo -- Philosophie
- Levi, Primo -- Philosophy
- Levi, Primo -- Political and social views
- Levi, Primo, 1919-1987
- Philosophy
- Political and social views
- Politics and culture
- Politics and culture -- Italy -- History -- 20th century
- Politieke filosofie
- Politique et culture -- Italie -- Histoire -- 20e siècle
- Survivants de l'Holocauste -- Italie -- Biographies
- Écrivains italiens -- 20e siècle -- Biographies
- Levi, Primo -- Pensée politique et sociale
Genre
Member of
Library Links
Embed
Settings
Select options that apply then copy and paste the RDF/HTML data fragment to include in your application
Embed this data in a secure (HTTPS) page:
Layout options:
Include data citation:
<div class="citation" vocab="http://schema.org/"><i class="fa fa-external-link-square fa-fw"></i> Data from <span resource="http://link.umsl.edu/portal/Primo-Levi-and-the-politics-of-survival-Frederic/r1pAZJLjCJg/" typeof="Book http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/Item"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a href="http://link.umsl.edu/portal/Primo-Levi-and-the-politics-of-survival-Frederic/r1pAZJLjCJg/">Primo Levi and the politics of survival, Frederic D. Homer</a></span> - <span property="potentialAction" typeOf="OrganizeAction"><span property="agent" typeof="LibrarySystem http://library.link/vocab/LibrarySystem" resource="http://link.umsl.edu/"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a property="url" href="http://link.umsl.edu/">University of Missouri-St. Louis Libraries</a></span></span></span></span></div>
Note: Adjust the width and height settings defined in the RDF/HTML code fragment to best match your requirements
Preview
Cite Data - Experimental
Data Citation of the Item Primo Levi and the politics of survival, Frederic D. Homer
Copy and paste the following RDF/HTML data fragment to cite this resource
<div class="citation" vocab="http://schema.org/"><i class="fa fa-external-link-square fa-fw"></i> Data from <span resource="http://link.umsl.edu/portal/Primo-Levi-and-the-politics-of-survival-Frederic/r1pAZJLjCJg/" typeof="Book http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/Item"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a href="http://link.umsl.edu/portal/Primo-Levi-and-the-politics-of-survival-Frederic/r1pAZJLjCJg/">Primo Levi and the politics of survival, Frederic D. Homer</a></span> - <span property="potentialAction" typeOf="OrganizeAction"><span property="agent" typeof="LibrarySystem http://library.link/vocab/LibrarySystem" resource="http://link.umsl.edu/"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a property="url" href="http://link.umsl.edu/">University of Missouri-St. Louis Libraries</a></span></span></span></span></div>
