Fighting for Life

Contest, Sexuality, and Consciousness

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Gender Studies, Men&, Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Theory
Cover of the book Fighting for Life by Walter J. Ong, Cornell University Press
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Author: Walter J. Ong ISBN: 9780801466281
Publisher: Cornell University Press Publication: February 14, 2013
Imprint: Cornell University Press Language: English
Author: Walter J. Ong
ISBN: 9780801466281
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Publication: February 14, 2013
Imprint: Cornell University Press
Language: English

What accounts for the popularity of the macho image, the fanaticism of sports enthusiasts, and the perennial appeal of Don Quixote's ineffectual struggles? In Fighting for Life, Walter J. Ong addresses these and related questions, offering insight into the role of competition in human existence. Focusing on the ways in which human life is affected by contest, Ong argues that the male agonistic drive finds an outlet in games as divergent as football and chess.

Demonstrating the importance of contest in biological evolution and in the growth of consciousness out of the unconscious, Ong also shows how adversary procedure has affected social, linguistic, and intellectual history. He discusses shifting patterns of contest in such arenas as spectator sports, politics, business, academia, and religion. Human beings' internalization of agonistic drives, he concludes, can foster the deeper discovery of the self and of distinctively human freedom.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

What accounts for the popularity of the macho image, the fanaticism of sports enthusiasts, and the perennial appeal of Don Quixote's ineffectual struggles? In Fighting for Life, Walter J. Ong addresses these and related questions, offering insight into the role of competition in human existence. Focusing on the ways in which human life is affected by contest, Ong argues that the male agonistic drive finds an outlet in games as divergent as football and chess.

Demonstrating the importance of contest in biological evolution and in the growth of consciousness out of the unconscious, Ong also shows how adversary procedure has affected social, linguistic, and intellectual history. He discusses shifting patterns of contest in such arenas as spectator sports, politics, business, academia, and religion. Human beings' internalization of agonistic drives, he concludes, can foster the deeper discovery of the self and of distinctively human freedom.

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