Overview
Develops a holistic, multi-dimensional approach to the topic
Examines the philosophy behind this most ancient form of violence
Considers why it appears to be making a comeback in certain political and criminal contexts
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Table of contents (9 chapters)
Keywords
About this book
​Beheading is not an uncommon undertaking. As a particularized physical violence, it has been practiced by all societies and civilizations at some point in their history. In fact, for millennia public beheadings around the world were routine. In contemporary international society some states and many non-state actors regularly engage in this undertaking.
This begs the obvious question: why put a human being through this unimaginable cruelty? While the idea of execution by decapitation appears visceral and horrific, it has always been grounded in cultural, religious and political contexts. If contemporary history is any proof, the enterprise of beheading a fellow human being appears to be making a comeback in certain religious and political landscapes.
A question of enormous intellectual importance, the phenomenon of beheading is understudied. There have been many explanations surrounding specific forms of beheading through the ages. However, no inclusive study has engaged with it in its entirety.
Primarily a philosophical reflection, On Beheading is inter-disciplinary in nature; it freely cuts across various disciplines within the broad framework of the social sciences. It uses a vast array of empirical evidence from anthropology, literature, jurisprudence and religion to build a discourse and narrative that brings this subject under one intellectual umbrella.
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Bibliographic Information
Book Title: On Beheading
Authors: Amalendu Misra
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96143-5
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-96142-8Published: 09 September 2022
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-96145-9Published: 10 September 2023
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-96143-5Published: 08 September 2022
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIII, 229
Number of Illustrations: 5 b/w illustrations
Topics: Social Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Philosophy of Man, Philosophy of Religion, Political Philosophy