Böcker av Carl Olson

This book examines a possible source for the origin of religion, using the theory of evolution and findings from cognitive science. It adds a theory of power to suggest the agency of early Homo sapiens.

Carl Olson is Professor of Religious Studies at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania. His previous books include The Indian Renouncer and Postmodern Poison: A Cross-Cultural Encounter and The Theology and Philosophy of Eliade: A Search for the Centre.

Conventional approaches to Hinduism typically stress its classical religious tradition with an emphasis on the Brahmin texts and practices. This introductory text provides a view of this religious tradition, acknowledging a range of its many competing and even contradictory aspects.

This is an introductory text on the development of Buddhism, from the life of the historical Buddha to the present day. It introduces the main branches of Buddhism and explores its geographical spread, philosophy, ethical and political implications, and contemporary reinterpretations as well as focusing on the role of women in the tradition.

Ramakrishna was a nineteenth-century Bengali devotee of Kali, the Hindu goddess of death and destruction. He assumed the demeanor and dress of a woman, acted like a monkey, a child, a madman, and a comedian at various times during his career. Using the concept of play (lila), as both spontaneous activity and dramatic performance on behalf of Kali, Carl Olson provides a interpretive key for unlocking Ramakrishna''s life and his often contradictory forms of behavior.Olson places Ramakrishna in his social and historical context, examines his relationship to women, and investigates his status as a mystery or stranger to his contemporaries.