Books by Ivan Illich

Deschooling Society

by Ivan Illich

Schools have failed our individual needs, supporting false and misleading notions of 'progress' and development fostered by the belief that ever-increasing production, consumption and profit are proper yardsticks for measuring the quality of human life. Our universities have become recruiting centers for the personnel of the consumer society, certifying citizens for service, while at the same time disposing of those judged unfit for the competitive rat race. In this bold and provocative book, Illich suggest some radical and exciting reforms for the education system.

Limits to Medicine Medical Nemesis : the Expropriation of Health

by Ivan Illich

So begins Ivan Illich's spirited and reasoned attack upon the mythic prestige of contemporary medicines, examining the customs and rituals conducted by the medical profession. Relentlessly and with full documentation taken from recognized medical sources Illich proves the impotence of medical services to change life expectancy, the insignificant of most contemporary clinical care in curing disease, the magnitude of medically inflicted damage to health, and the futility of medical and political counter-measures. Illich's deeply shocking analysis into the clinical and social reality of doctor-made illness examines the culture of health, sickness and suffering and includes an historical examination of the concept and image of death. Only by recognizing and insisting upon the essential ingredients personal health, Illich argues, can individuals recover the integrity of their bodies and lives. 'People need no bureaucratic interference to mate, give birth, share the human condition, and die. Man's consciously lived fragility; individuality and relatedness make the experience of pain, of sickness and of death an integral part of his life. The ability to cope with this trio autonomously is fundamental to his health'. -- Back cover.

Shadow Work (Open Forum Series)

by Ivan Illich

In five essays, Illich embarks on a major historical and sociological analysis of modern man's economic existence. He traces and analyzes options which surpass the conventional political "right-left" and the technological "soft-hard" alternatives and presents the concept of "vernacular" domain.

Disabling Professions (Ideas in Progress)

by Ivan Illich, Irving K Zola, John McKnight

Why do we put so many resources into medicine, education and law with so little apparent benefit? Why do we hold the professions in awe and allow them to set up what are in effect monopolies? This fascinating and controversial collection of essays challenges the power and the mystique of the modern professions.

The Powerless Church and Other Selected Writings, 1955-1985

by Ivan Illich, Giorgio Agamben

Dalmatian-Austrian philosopher, Roman Catholic priest, and radical cultural critic Ivan Illich is best known for polemical writings such as Deschooling Society and Tools for Conviviality, which decried Western institutions of the 1970s. This collection brings together Illich's shorter writings from his early publications through the rise of his remarkable intellectual career, making available works that had fallen into undue obscurity.

A fervent critic of Western Catholicism, Illich also addressed contemporary practices in fields from education and medicine to labor and socioeconomic development. At the heart of his work is his opposition to the imperialistic nature of state- and Church-sponsored missionary activities. His deep understanding of Church history, particularly the institutions of the thirteenth century, lent a historian's perspective to his critique of the Church and other twentieth-century institutions.

The Powerless Church and Other Selected Writings, 1955-1985 comprises some of Illich's most salient and influential short works as well as a foreword by philosopher Giorgio Agamben. Featuring writings that had previously appeared in now-defunct publications, this volume is an indispensable resource for readers of Illich's longer works and for scholars of philosophy, religion, and cultural critique.

In the Vineyard of the Text: A Commentary to Hugh's Didascalicon

by Ivan Illich

In a work with profound implications for the electronic age, Ivan Illich explores how revolutions in technology affect the way we read and understand text.

Examining the Didascalicon of Hugh of St. Victor, Illich celebrates the culture of the book from the twelfth century to the present. Hugh's work, at once an encyclopedia and guide to the art of reading, reveals a twelfth-century revolution as sweeping as that brought about by the invention of the printing press and equal in magnitude only to the changes of the computer age—the transition from reading as a vocal activity done in the monastery to reading as a predominantly silent activity performed by and for individuals.

Tools for Conviviality

by Ivan Illich

A work of seminal importance, this book presents Ivan Illich's penetrating analysis of the industrial mode of production which characterises our contemporary world.