Berkeley University Address

The Passive Eye is a revolutionary and historically rich account of Berkeley's theory of vision. In this formidable work, the author considers the theory of the embodied subject and its passions in light of a highly dynamic conception of infinity. Arsi shows the profound affinities between Berkeley and Spinoza, and offers a highly textual reading of Berkeley on the concept of an "exhausted subjectivity." The author begins by following the Renaissance universe of vision, particularly the paradoxial elusive nature of mirrors, then shows how this conception of vision was translated into the optical devices and in what way the various ways of deception could be conceived. Reading Berkeley against the backdrop of competing theories, in relation to Leibniz, Spinoza, Newton, Malebranche, Hume, Locke, Molyneux, and others, this book gives a meticulous historic reconstruction of Berkeley's theory. This excellent scholarly work begins by presenting the conceptions of vision prior to Berkeley's intervention. In the second part, the author moves through a careful study of Descartes' theory of vision to arrive at Berkeley. The third part addresses the author's version of Berkeley, in which the eye and the image become inseparable due to the collapse of the universe of representation. The problem of vision becomes not that of representation, but of presentation. Through an erudite historic reading of Berkeley's theory and astute comparative assessments, the author uncovers Berkeley's place as a theoretician, corresponding with such thinkers as Deleuze, Lacan, Foucault, and Derrida.

Examining the strategies employed by Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin to build leadership authority, George Breslauer focuses on the power of ideas, as leaders use them to mobilize support and to craft an image as effective problem solvers, indispensable consensus builders, and symbols of national unity. Throughout the book, Breslauer compares Gorbachev and Yeltsin, and Khrushchev and Brezhnev, analyzing the changes in policy, the strategies, and the political dilemmas that are common to all four administrations. He addresses such questions as: Could Yeltsin have pursued a more beneficial path to a market economy, despite Western advisors and actions of the International Monetary Fund? For the chapters about Gorbachev, Breslauer was able to interview former members of the leader's politburo, including those who plotted Gorbachev's overthrow. Interested in how leaders make changes, Breslauer looks at how these leaders justified their actions and outflanked their opponents. Breslauer sheds new light on the end of Soviet communism and Russia's transition to a market economy. George W. Breslauer, is Dean of Social Sciences and Professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He has written and edited ten books about Soviet and post-Soviet politics and foreign policy, including Counterfactual Thought Experiments in World Politics (Princeton University Press, 1996) and Khrushchev and Brezhnev as Leaders (London: Allen and Unwin, 1982). In 1998, he was awarded the Chancellor's Professorship for combining excellence in research, teaching, and university service and was most recently appointed Dean of Social Sciences at Berkeley.