In today's European arts and sciences most of the time we see not only other, but also our own cultural traditions and the different forms of modernity like a dim image in a mirror. And the future of our own and other cultures seems to be shrouded in mystery, because our gift of knowledge and inspired messages are only partial. The question this book addresses is whether it is possible to get an almost face-to-face intimacy with various forms of cultural tradition and modernity by using our experiences and our powers of imagination, i.e. our expectations, in a more fruitful way. The...

This volume deals with Europe's diversity and homogeneity at the turn of the millennium in terms of fundamental value orientations. Using data from the 1999/2000 wave of the European Values Study the contributors to this book try to identify and offer explanations and understandings of the patterns in the basic values and attitudes that have been ascertained in specific life-spheres, e.g., work and leisure time, religion, morality, society and politics, family and marriage. The result is a cultural map of Europe that captures the diversities and similarities in value profiles of the...

People's fundamental values can be conceived of as conceptions of what is desirable. They influence their selection from available modes, means and ends of action. Because of the societal importance of values they deserve scholarly attention. This volume inquires into the values present-day Europeans cherish by empirically analyzing the data of 2008/2010 wave of the European Values Study and explaining the consensus and contrasts in value orientations found. The contributors to this volume try to capture the diversities and similarities in value orientations between contemporary European...