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.

Primo Levi and the Politics of Survival (Volume 1)

Homer, Frederic D.

Literature & Fiction

University of Missouri

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.

Primo Levi and the Politics of Survival

History

World

With the appearance of Homer's study, it is no longer possible to base any serious work about organized crime on the superficial debate over whether or not this set of activities is dominated by one or more particular ethnic groups, writes political scientist Michael A. Weinstein in his introduction. Homer removes the study of organized crime from the realm of sensationalism and ethnic chauvinism, and places it in the context of contemporary American social structure. He reviews prevalent myths and hypotheses about organized crime and critically analyzes them in the framework of contemporary organization theory. In this context, organized crime is analyzed in its economic, political, ethnic, and social class dimensions.

Guns and Garlic: Myths and Realities of Organized Crime

Americas

Purdue University Press

Georg Groddeck (1866-1934), who was trained as a physician but became famous for his success as a healer, introduced a radical concept in The Book of It: that we virtually always cause our own illness and injury; therefore, we can cure and avoid both. Groddeck utilized the technique of psychoanalysis – which had just been invented by Freud – to communicate with the source of the illness, which he called the “the it” (or the map of the psyche). He believed the “it” had the power to cure illness as well as cause it. Perhaps science is catching up with Groddeck’s notion, for modern currents in medicine suggest there is a linkage between the way we live, the way we think, and illness. Readings in behavioral medicine indicate that we do have control over our immune system; and empirical studies of behavior show a strong relationship between stress and illness. In The Interpretation of Illness, Homer goes beyond Groddeck's initial insight to emphasize that illness is a communication to others, especially a call for sympathy. No one consciously likes to be sick or hurt; but we all, consciously or unconsciously, tell others about our ills, expecting them to extend sympathy. Homer argues that if we change this pattern of communication – either by learning to forego sympathy or by gaining it in less destructive ways – we can prevent illness or alleviate existing symptoms. The change in communication involves expressing ourselves knowingly and deliberately to others. Interpretation is a series of letters from Homer, writing under the persona Augie, to a friend. Appropriately enough, this style is similar to the format used by Groddeck in The Book of the It.

Interpretation of Illness

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Alternative Medicine

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Homer, Frederic D.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Homer, Frederic D.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Homer, Frederic D.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Primo Levi and the Politics of Survival (Volume 1)

Primo Levi and the Politics of Survival

Guns and Garlic: Myths and Realities of Organized Crime

Interpretation of Illness