{"product_id":"the-idea-of-persia-a-philosophical-inquiry-9781914983320","title":"The Idea of Persia: A Philosophical Inquiry","description":"\u003cb\u003eExploring the idea of Persia as a means of investigating the soul of this fascinating nation.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In 1721, the French philosopher Montesquieu posed the question, \"Comment peut-on être persan?\" in the title to his famous \u003ci\u003ePersian Letters (Lettres persanes)\u003c\/i\u003e. After centuries of invasion, murder, destruction, authoritarian rule, decay of political theory, and increasing dissolution in Iran's politics, this volume is an investigation into what the answer to that question might be today. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Idea of Persia\u003c\/i\u003e explores the notion of what it is to be Persian, but not as it has been constituted in the past, with reference to the political experience of antiquity, nor as an affirmation of the secular-rational project of modernity. Rather, the book examines the question of what it is to be Persian against the backdrop of centuries in which a common, plural subjectivity of Persian-ness has been continually delayed by those who, with or without ideologies, believed in politics only as a means of ruling or of being ruled without laws and in the absence of citizenship. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The historical battle for social and political freedoms is still underway in Iran, and as the nation wrestles with the possibility of an extended period of political, social, and cultural decline, it is a timely moment to return to the perspective embodied in the enlightened thinking of figures such as the writer and three times prime minister of Iran Mohammed Ali Foroughi (1877-1942) and his vision of a country possessing rational and moral capabilities, and to a possible renaissance of social and political institutions. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The idea of Persia as it is presented here sees hope in the future as the means by which Iranians may liberate themselves from the duality of heroes and saints and remake their political mentality while staying true to an age-old idea of Persia and to freedom as a virtue that has to be taught. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRamin Jahanbegloo\u003c\/b\u003e is an Iranian-Canadian political philosopher. He is presently the executive director of the Mahatma Gandhi Centre for Nonviolence and Peace Studies and the vice-dean of the School of Law at Jindal Global University-Delhi (India). He is a member of the advisory board of PEN Canada and the winner of the Peace Prize from the United Nations Association in Spain for his extensive academic work in promoting dialogue between cultures and his advocacy for nonviolence. He is more recently the winner of the Josep Palau i Fabre International Essay Prize and the founder of the movement Nonviolence Without Borders.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Gingko Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51580247048466,"sku":"9781914983320","price":32.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_f1ca89b3-2eca-4e1a-a7bc-c9570846811d.jpg?v=1756212421","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-idea-of-persia-a-philosophical-inquiry-9781914983320","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}