The Gift of European Thought and the Cost of Living / / Vassos Argyrou.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Berghahn Books Complete eBook-Package 2000-2013
• VerfasserIn: Argyrou, Vassos,
• Place / Publishing House: New York; , Oxford : : Berghahn Books, , [2013]; ©2013
• Year of Publication: 2013
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (146 p.)
• Other title: Frontmatter --; CONTENTS --; Chapter 1. The Circle --; Chapter 2. The Gift of European Thought --; Chapter 3. The Economy of Thought --; Chapter 4. Political Economy --; Chapter 5. The Cost of Living --; References --; Index
• Format: Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
• ISBN: 9781782380184; 9783110998283
• DOI: 10.1515/9781782380184
• Access: restricted access
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: Vassos Argyrou.

European thought is often said to be a gift to the rest of the world, but what if there is no gift as such? What if there is only an economy where every giving is also a taking, and every taking is also a giving? This book extends the question of economies by making a case for an “economy of thought” and a “political economy.” It argues that all thinking and doing presupposes taking, and therefore giving, as the price to pay for taking; or that there exists a “cost of living,” which renders the idea of free thinking and living untenable. The argument is developed against the Enlightenment directive to think for oneself as the means of becoming autonomous and shows that this “light,” given to the rest of the world as a gift, turns out to be nothing.