Society and History (Essays in Honor of Karl August Wittfogel) ||

This book discusses Lucretius' refutation of Heraclitus, Empedocles, Anaxagoras and other, unnamed thinkers in De Rerum Natura 1, 635-920. Chapter 1 argues that in DRN I 635-920 Lucretius was following an Epicurean source, which in turn depended on Theophrastean doxography. Chapter 2 shows that books 14 and 15 of Epicurus' On Nature were not Lucretius' source-text. Chapter 3 discusses how lines 635-920 fit in the structure of book 1 and whether Lucretius' source is more likely to have been Epicurus himself or a neo-Epicurean. Chapter 4 focuses on Lucretius' own additions to the material he derived from his sources and on his poetical and rhetorical contributions, which were extensive. Lucretius shows an understanding of philosophical points by adapting his poetical devices to the philosophical arguments. Chapter 4 also argues that Lucretius anticipates philosophical points in what have often been regarded as the 'purple passages' of his poem - e.g. the invocation of Venus in the proem, and the description of Sicily and Aetna - so that he could take them up later on in his narrative and provide an adequate explanation of reality. Editor’s Preface I THE THEORY OF ORIENTAL SOCIETY Initiation of a Research Trend: Wittfogel’s Irrigation Hypothesis Sobre el modo asíatico producción y la teoría de la sociedad oriental: Marx y Wittfogel. Una aplicacion a Mesoamérica Marx and Lenin on Oriental Despotism Water Laws in Hydraulic Civilizations II BUREAUCRACY AND FREEDOM Bureaucracy in America: Some Personal Reflections The Bureau of Music of Western Han El concepto de etnia y su aplicación en etnologia Social Classes and the State: An Essay in Correlation Systems of History and Public Policy Goals III EAST AND WEST The Understanding of Indian Government in Western Social and Political Thought On Religion and Society in Pakistan Lu Hsün and Chaadaev: A Comparative Study in Westernization The First Indo-Europeans in History IV MARXISM IN THEORY AND PRACTICE Francis Bacon and the Marxists: Faith in the Glorious Future of Mankind Die Klosterbrüder des Marxismus und die Sowjetgesellschaft. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des Rätekommunismus V.l. Lenin and Maxim Gorky: Study of a Stormy Friendship Pre-Revolutionary Russian Marxist Concepts of Russian State and Society Lewis H. Morgan in the Light of Modern Anthropological Theory V ASIA AND RUSSIA Die Belagerung von Hsiang-Yang. Eine Episode aus dem Krieg zwischen Sung und Chin 12060–1207 Tungusen und Ljao Sinomongolische Späne Expressions of Gratitude in Mongolian Das heutige afghanische Gebiet und sein Ringen um Selbständigkeit gegenüber den Mongolen im 13./14. JH China’s Decision for War: The Lukouchiao Incident Mao Tse-tung’s First Struggle for Power. From the First Party Congress of the Soviet Area in November 1931 to the Tsunyi Conference in January 1935 Russian Agrarian Theory in the 1920’s: Climax of a Great Tradition The Soviet Stir: Economic Crisis and Response The Political Background of Land Reform in Mainland China The Doctrinal Conflict Between Moscow and Peking