Philosophical traditions and schools of thought Books

Book SynopsisThinking through object-oriented ontology—and the work of architects such as Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid—to explore new concepts of the relationship between form and function Object-oriented ontology has become increasingly popular among architectural theorists and practitioners in recent years. Architecture and Objects, the first book on architecture by the founder of object-oriented ontology (OOO), deepens the exchange between architecture and philosophy, providing a new roadmap to OOO’s influence on the language and practice of contemporary architecture and offering new conceptions of the relationship between form and function. Graham Harman opens with a critique of Heidegger, Derrida, and Deleuze, the three philosophers whose ideas have left the deepest imprint on the field, highlighting the limits of their thinking for architecture. Instead, Harman contends, architecture can employ OOO to reconsider traditional notions of form and function that emphasize their relational characteristics—form with a building’s visual style, function with its stated purpose—and constrain architecture’s possibilities through literalism. Harman challenges these understandings by proposing de-relationalized versions of both (zero-form and zero-function) that together provide a convincing rejoinder to Immanuel Kant’s dismissal of architecture as “impure.”Through critical engagement with the writings of Peter Eisenman and fresh assessments of buildings by Rem Koolhaas, Frank Gehry, and Zaha Hadid, Architecture and Objects forwards a bold vision of architecture. Overcoming the difficult task of “zeroing” function, Harman concludes, would place architecture at the forefront of a necessary revitalization of exhausted aesthetic paradigms.Trade Review"Graham Harman’s Architecture and Objects could very well be a new philosophical blueprint for how to build our emerging twenty-first century world. By reconsidering the relationship between humanity, reality, and the built environment, he shows us, like a UV light at a crime scene, ways of understanding architecture that we’d never even considered but that are now, all of a sudden, glowing with brilliant potential."—Mark Foster Gage, Yale University, and principal of Mark Foster Gage ArchitectsTable of ContentsIntroduction1. Architects and Their Philosophers2. I Know Not What3. Object-Orientation4. The Aesthetic Centrality of Architecture5. The Architectural CellConcluding MaximsNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisWhat does Heidegger mean by Dasein'? What does he say in Being and Time? How does his phenomenology differ to that of his teacher, Husserl? Answering these questions and more, The Heidegger Dictionary provides students with all the tools they need to better understand one of the most influential yet complex philosophers of the 20th century. Easy to use and navigate, this book is divided into four main parts, covering Heidegger's life, ideas and innovative terminology, related thinkers, and published and unpublished works. Updated with significant new material throughout, the 2nd edition has been expanded to engage with the latest Heidegger scholarship, and features: A new A-Z section on Heidegger's influences, past and contemporary, from Aristotle and Nietzsche to Husserl and Dilthey Summaries of Heidegger's entire 102-volume Collected Works, including the Black Notebooks Expanded coverage of Heidegger's thought, with straightfoTrade ReviewThe greatly expanded second edition of Dahlstrom’s Heidegger Dictionary now discusses the Black Notebooks and comments on all the available volumes of Heidegger’s collected writings, now nearing completion. Readers of Heidegger will turn often to this tour de force of erudition and judgment. * Richard Polt, Professor of Philosophy, Xavier University, USA *The Heidegger Dictionary represents a unique guide for whoever is interested in Heidegger’s philosophy. In this volume, Daniel Dahlstrom offers an elegant and detailed discussion of all of the major facets of Heidegger’s thought. Rigorous scholarship, coupled with an impressive familiarity with both the Analytic and Continental secondary literatures, makes The Heidegger Dictionary the best and most systematic introduction to one of the most extraordinary thinkers of the twentieth century available. * Filippo Casati, Assistant Professor, Lehigh University, USA *Dahlstrom’s Heidegger Dictionary offers the reader a well-rounded and coherent account of Heidegger’s thinking, whatever path they take through its entries. For the novice, it is a great introduction to Heidegger, for the scholar, it can spark new insights from seemingly familiar material. * Andrew J. Mitchell, Professor of Philosophy, Emory University, USA *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction List of Themes Part One: Themes Part Two: Names Part Three: Texts Appendix: Critical Considerations References Index

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Book SynopsisLet your love of fate go beyond the cards—and as far as the amor fati of Nietzsche! The Philosophers Tarot is chance’s tryst with reason: a marriage of philosophy’s conceptual creativity with the tarot’s path of intuition. Read your spreads in the traditional manner, or delve deeply into the rich philosophical implications that emerge with every draw. While every tarot deck seeks to lift the veil from the forces of the universe, The Philosopher’s Tarot does so by gesturing towards the wisdom of history’s most notable sages. The Philosopher’s Tarot is a tarot deck which infuses the classic 78 card Rider-Waite deck with popular philosophical figures and their theoretical creativity. With added flair and vibrance, The Philosopher’s Tarot elicits a mixture of classical interpretations and philosophical inquiry. The deck comprises mashups of the 22 major arcana with famous theorists. The minor arcana has also been reworked to highlight the deck’s convergence with philosophical themes. New spreads also engage the tarot’s capacity to reveal fresh perspectives to its user whilst invoking stimulating questions about the nature of reality, the machinations of the world we live in, and the limits of our minds and bodies. The Philosopher’s Tarot includes new renditions of the traditional 78 tarot cards and a 35-page booklet that briefly introduces the ideas of thinkers featured in the deck.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Visual Translation will give scholars across the board not only a new understanding of the place of French humanists in the shaping and accessibility of manuscripts whose creation they oversaw but also insight into the complex and integral role that they played in formulating the programs of illumination that would go on to define these texts for generations.” —Elizabeth Morrison, editor of Book of Beasts"This fascinating book treats a group of illustrated manuscripts from the early 15th century produced in or around Paris. . . . Some manuscripts . . . were translated into French, but this deeply learned book uses 'visual translation' to signify the use of images to enrich the text for readers in a very different culture, making the past 'resonate' with the present. . . wonderfully illustrated with nearly 200 color images of miniatures and important texts." —Choice"While the prominence and quality of illustrations in French manuscripts have attracted attention, their images have rarely been studied systematically as components of humanist translation. Anne D. Hedeman fills this gap by studying the humanist book production closely supervised by Laurent de Premierfait and Jean Lebègue for courtly Parisian audiences in the first half of the fifteenth century." --RMBLF.be"The answers Hedeman discovered and analyzed in the book offer insight into aspects of humanist thought and of translation that were specific to the early 15th century and other aspects that are timeless." --The University of Kansas"A very engaging and abundantly illustrated book. ...The ‘elite illustrated subset of humanist manuscripts’ that Hedeman brilliantly presents to the reader thus reveals once again the dynamic interaction among their princely audiences, the various craftsmen who contributed to their execution, the two humanists who supervised their production, and the texts they transmit." —Digital Philology: A Journal of Medieval Cultures"Hedeman’s book enhances our understanding of literary and manuscript culture in the highest French aristocratic circles, showing the wealth of knowledge and intellectual activity produced through the dissemination of classical and Italian texts and culture."—French StudiesTable of ContentsList of Figures Editorial Principles and Abbreviations Acknowledgements 1. Introduction Part 1: Illustrating the Past in Latin Texts 2. Laurent de Premierfait’s Involvement with Statius’s Thebaid and Achilleid and Terence’s Comedies3. Jean Lebègue and Sallust’s Conspiracy of Catiline and Jugurthine WarPart 2: Illumination in French Translations 4. Illuminating French Translations by Laurent de Premierfait Part 3: The Cycles Escape 5. Normalization Appendices Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisMichael Rosen shows how the redemptive hope of religion became the redemptive hope of historical progress. This was the heart of German Idealism: purpose lay not in God’s judgment but in worldly projects; freedom required not being subject to arbitrary authority, human or divine. Yet purpose and freedom never shed their theistic structure.Trade ReviewAlthough Kant was not a secular thinker, he still contributed to secularization. This distinction illustrates the sophistication of Rosen’s approach…Rosen challenges much that is taken for granted in modern accounts of [Kant’s] work…Innovative. -- Richard Bourke * Times Literary Supplement *[An] illuminating perspective on contemporary trends that rewards critical engagement…Rosen makes no claim to have definitively unraveled the intellectual origins of our troubled times; but he is surely right that the fundamental need to find our place in the world, the sense of belonging to something larger than ourselves—whether secular or divine will continue to cast a long shadow over our history. -- Paul Dicken * American Conservative *A magisterial achievement…This book will stay with students of German Idealism and of political theory at large for a very long time to come. -- Tae-Yeoun Keum * Review of Politics *Rosen’s argument is original and provocative, and he excels at deciphering the gnarled writings of the German Idealists and making comprehensible their thoughts about free will…and justice…This meticulous examination will appeal to philosophers and historians alike. * Publishers Weekly *Thinkers such as Kant and Hegel, indeed most of the German idealists, conforming to the religious and political orthodoxy of the day, sought to save religion. Rosen argues, however, that the requirement that God and reason should coexist, that theodicy should be rational theodicy, far from saving religion, hastened its decline. -- Julian Young * Society *With great erudition and a characteristic combination of analytic precision and critical imagination, Michael Rosen serves us a dialectical feast: He brings German Idealism back to life by showing how much these thinkers of secularism were steeped in religious forms of thought that live on. This masterpiece is a great example of what Adorno once called solidarity with metaphysics in the moment of its fall. -- Rainer Forst, Goethe University FrankfurtThe discussion about the nature and validity of ethical thinking in the English-speaking world suffers from a too-narrow range of examples. It often seems to come down to a debate between Bentham and secularized versions of Kant. Michael Rosen’s The Shadow of God reexamines the Kantian tradition and opens up a much wider range of crucial issues. His book is clearly and engagingly written and could enliven and transform the debate. It needs to be widely read. -- Charles Taylor, McGill UniversityWritten with both rigor and humor, Michael Rosen’s The Shadow of God offers original interpretations of notoriously difficult philosophical thinkers—Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, and others—while never losing sight of the existential puzzles about agency, history, theodicy, and evil that motivated them and that haunt us still. The book is both invigorating and consoling, and it is a pleasure to read. -- Lydia Moland, Colby CollegeMichael Rosen tells the story of the intellectual movement from Kant to Hegel anew, and he describes it as, at its core, a ‘passage from heaven to history.’ The result is a fascinating book, beautifully written and tightly argued, full of insights and wisdom. -- Eckart Förster, Johns Hopkins UniversityIn this book, Michael Rosen rises above the limitations of sociological approaches to secularization and presents an intellectual-historical account, framed by Nietzsche’s aphorism of ‘the shadow of God.’ Challenging received views across a number of academic fields, Rosen takes our understanding of secularization to a new level, and we are greatly in his debt. -- Shao Kai Tseng, Zhejiang University

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Carlisle’s book is a finely written and thoughtful introduction to Spinoza’s philosophy for anyone who is curious as to why this thinker, dead for almost 350 years, remains vitally relevant today"---Steven Nadler, Literary Review"[Carlisle] admirably establishes that Spinoza’s philosophy can be interpreted as a distinctive and original form of rational religion."---Carlos Fraenkel, Times Literary Supplement"Carlisle has done us a great service by offering a convincing and newly rounded portrayal—and by reminding us that you can never exhaust the majesty of Spnoza's religious writing."---Alex Dean, Prospect"An intimate, religious reading of Spinoza’s Ethics, which allows his peculiar religion to emerge with all its promise and paradox." * Choice Reviews *"Carlisle’s interpretation of Spinoza is consistently fresh and surprising. . . . This book steps decisively away from the modes of rational reconstruction and conceptual analysis that now dominate Spinoza scholarship in the English language, and is all the better for it. . . . An excellent book that will reward readers of Spinoza of all levels."---Beth Lord, Philosophy"I’m sure I’m not the only person who feels excited to explore the new world of interpretation that Carlisle has opened up by taking Spinoza’s religion seriously."---Alexander Douglas, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews"Spinoza’s Religion is a joy to read. . . . It is a book that has the power to bring Spinoza deeper into our hearts, making his words a companion n our efforts to live with greater equanimity and delight. Spinoza's Religion also poses a compelling challenge to what we think we know about Spinoza."---Hasana Sharp, Journal of the History of Philosophy

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Book SynopsisExcavating Marx’s early writings to rethink the rights of the poor and the idea of the commons in an era of unprecedented privatization The politics of dispossession are everywhere. Troubling developments in intellectual property, genomics, and biotechnology are undermining established concepts of property, while land appropriation and ecological crises reconfigure basic institutions of ownership. In The Dispossessed, Daniel Bensaïd examines Karl Marx’s early writings to establish a new framework for addressing the rights of the poor, the idea of the commons, and private property as a social institution.In his series of articles from 1842–43 about Rhineland parliamentary debates over the privatization of public lands and criminalization of poverty under the rubric of the “theft of wood,” Marx identified broader anxieties about customary law, property rights, and capitalist efforts to privatize the commons. Bensaïd studies these writings to interrogate how dispossession continues to function today as a key modality of power. Brilliantly tacking between past and present, The Dispossessed discloses continuity and rupture in our relationships to property and, through that, to one another.In addition to Bensaïd’s prescient work of political philosophy, The Dispossessed includes new translations of Marx’s original “theft of wood” articles and an introductory essay by Robert Nichols that lucidly contextualizes the essays.Trade Review"In 1842, the young Karl Marx analyzed the consequences of capitalist rural enclosures in Rhineland. Today, patent rights, biotechnologies, and different forms of intellectual property, Daniel Bensaïd convincingly argues, are means of dispossession of human beings exactly as the land enclosures of almost two centuries ago had been a crucial moment in the process of the accumulation of capital. Far from being ‘neutral’ or ‘natural,’ market society was—and still remains—built as a planned dispossession. This is a timely and highly original essay by a towering figure of French critical thought."—Enzo Traverso, author of Left-Wing Melancholia: Marxism, History, and Memory"Within a single volume, this book makes available to English-language readers for the first time not only fresh translations of Marx’s ‘wood theft articles’ but also Daniel Bensaïd’s lucid and incisive commentary on these pieces. Bensaïd’s short book brings the Marx articles alive for contemporary audiences and demonstrates their enduring relevance for longstanding debates about law, property, and rights."—Samuel A. Chambers, Johns Hopkins University"Bensaïd’s essay, as contextualized in this volume by Nichols, successfully pushes, especially those of a Marxist orientation, to make the idea of dispossession more central to their theoretical and practical work."—Marx & Philosophy Table of ContentsContentsCrisis and Kleptocracy: Bensaïd for Our TimesRobert NicholsNotes on TranslationThe Dispossessed: Karl Marx, the Wood Thieves, and the Right of the PoorI. The Law on the Theft of Wood and the Rights of the Poor“Rural Pauperism” and “Forest Malfeasance”—Hybrid and Uncertain Property—Market versus Popular EconomyII. A Social War of PropertiesThe Right of Necessity versus the Right of Property—“Property Is Theft!”—Possession and Property—Theft or ExploitationIII. The Customary Rights of the Poor to the Communal Goods of Humanity The Privatization of Knowledge—The Privatization of Life—The Common Good and the Freely Given—Inappropriable Goods—Individual and Private Property—The Age of Access?—Enforcing Rights (against Existence)—Who Will Win?Proceedings of the Sixth Rhine Province Assembly, Third Article: Debates on the Law Concerning the Theft of Wood Karl MarxSelected Works by Daniel BensaïdNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisExplore 2,500 years of Western philosophy, from the ancient Greeks to modern thinkers, with this ultimate guide’s stunning and simple approach to some of history’s biggest ideas.This essential guide to philosophy includes thoughts on our modern society, exploring science and democracy, and posing the question: where do we go from here? Easy-to-understand text is accompanied by works of art and artifacts from history, as the big ideas and important thinkers are introduced through time. Famous quotes are highlighted, and the sidebars discuss other ideas or key works to include extra context around the theories and people. Celebrate the world''s most revolutionary concepts and understand how these ideas continue to shape our world. Develop your own perspectives and explore relevant issues such as modern logic and religion with this wonderfully comprehensive illustrated guide. In a world of evolving ideas, The Story Trade Review"This gloriously illustrated and accessible book enables readers to embark on an adventure in philosophy.Young adults will find that the often closed doors of philosophy are now open and inviting." — School Library Journal"Lavishly illustrated." — Library Journal

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Book SynopsisWhen the woman who would become Indra Devi was born in Russia in 1899, yoga was virtually unknown outside of India. By the time of her death, in 2002, it was being practiced everywhere, from Brooklyn to Berlin to Ulaanbaatar. In The Goddess Pose, New York Times best-selling author Michelle Goldberg traces the life of the incredible woman who brought yoga to the West and in so doing paints a sweeping picture of the twentieth century.Born into the minor aristocracy (as Eugenia Peterson), Devi grew up in the midst of one of the most turbulent times in human history. Forced to flee the Russian Revolution as a teenager, she joined a famous Berlin cabaret troupe, dove into the vibrant prewar spiritualist movement, and, at a time when it was nearly unthinkable for a young European woman to travel alone, followed the charismatic Theosophical leader Jiddu Krishnamurti to India. Once on the subcontinent, she performed in Indian silent cinema and hobnobbed with th

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Book SynopsisWith forty accessible essays on the key intellectual contributions to Pan-Africanism, this volume offers readers a fascinating insight into the intellectual thinking and contributions to Pan-Africanism. The book explores the history of Pan-Africanism and quest for reparations, early pioneers of Pan-Africanism as well as key activists and politicians, and Pan-African philosophy and literati.Diverse and key figures of Pan-Africanism from Africa, the Caribbean, and America are covered by these chapters, including: Edward Blyden, W.E.B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, Amy Ashwood Garvey, George Padmore, Kwame Nkrumah, Franz Fanon, Amilcar Cabral, Arthur Lewis, Maya Angelou, C.L.R. James, Ruth First, Ali Mazrui, Wangari Maathai, Thabo Mbeki, Wole Soyinka, Derek Walcott, and Chimamanda Adichie.While acknowledging the contributions of these figures to Pan-Africanism, these essays are not just celebratory, offering valuable criticism in areas where their subjects may have fallen short of their ideals.Trade Review'A major contribution to our understanding of the life and work of key figures in the history of Pan-Africanism, presented by scholars from Africa, the Caribbean, the US and Europe.'Hakim Adi, Professor of the History of Africa and the African Diaspora, University of Chichester'This volume constitutes a remarkable piece of scholarship, given its conceptualisation, scope of thematic coverage, and fascinating range of eminent African and Diaspora personalities, encompassing the scope and promise for building a new "people-driven Pan-Africanism". This is a volume deserving to be read and re-read, reflected on, widely disseminated and debated - it is indeed a tour de force.'Patrick Gomes, former Secretary-General of the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States'This book makes a unique contribution to the literature on Pan-Africanism. It not only analyses Pan-Africanism as a school of thought, but connects this intellectual thinking to the lived experiences of those who practiced and promoted this worldview. Such a rich interrogation of Pan-Africanism as a school of thought is both timely, and will stand the test of time on bookshelves for years to come.'Krista Johnson, Associate Professor of African Studies, Howard University'This book is a must-read for students and practitioners interested in the political, socio-economic, and cultural autonomy and self-reliant development of exiled Africans and Africans on the continent.'Kwame Akonor, Associate Professor of Political Science, Seton Hall University'We must celebrate Adebajo’s objective, through this book, to contribute “substantively to efforts to transform curricula”, an ongoing exercise in South Africa known as the “decolonisation of education”.Journal of Renaissance Studies -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Roots and Routes of Pan-Africanism1 Adekeye Adebajo, Pan-Africanism: From the Twin Plagues of European Locusts to Africa’s Triple Quest for Emancipation2 Hilary Beckles, The Great Durban Betrayal: Global Africa, Reparations, and the End of Pan-AfricanismThe Pioneers3 Gilbert M. Khadiagala, Edward Wilmot Blyden: Pan-African Pioneer4 Aldon D. Morris, W.E.B. Du Bois: “The Father of Pan-Africanism”?5 Colin Grant, Marcus Garvey: “Africa for the Africans”6 Seamus Duggan, George Padmore: The Pan-African Scholar-Activist7 Rhoda Reddock, Amy Ashwood Garvey: Global Pan-African Feminist8 Bongani Ngqulunga, Pixley Seme: The Regeneration of AfricaThe Politicians9 Ama Biney, Kwame Nkrumah: “A Great African, But Not a Great Ghanaian”?10 Adekeye Adebajo, Thabo Mbeki: The Pan-African Philosopher-King11 W. Andy Knight, Dudley Thompson: Pan-African Politician and Diplomat12 Adekeye Adebajo, Boutros Boutros-Ghali: The Pan-African PeacemakerThe Activists13 Lee A. Daniels, Malcolm X: Pan-African Crusader for Social Justice14 Alease Brown, Maya Angelou: Pan-Africanism within a Politics of Respectability15 Annita Montoute, Walter Rodney: Pan-African Martyr16 Maureen Isaacson, Ruth First: Pan-African Revolutionary17 Janice Golding, Wangari Maathai: The Environmental Peacebuilder18 Pearl T. Robinson, Randall Robinson: A Pan-African Foreign Policy VirtuosoThe Social Scientists19 Selwyn R. Cudjoe, C.L.R. James: With Africa on His Mind20 Alison E. Stone Roofe, Arthur Lewis: Nobel Actor on a Pan-African Stage21 Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, Ali Mazrui: African Identity and the African Condition22 Zine Magubane, Stuart Hall: The Making of a “Post-Colonial” Sociologist23 Jerome Afeikhena, Adebayo Adedeji: Prophet of Pan-African IntegrationThe Philosophers24 L. Adele Jinadu, Frantz Fanon: Pan-African Philosopher of Democracy and Development25 Reiland Rabaka, Amilcar Cabral: Critical Theorist of Revolutionary Decolonisation26 N. Barney Pityana,Steve Biko: Philosopher of Black Consciousness27 M. John Lamola, Paulin J. Hountondji: Africa’s Quest for Authentic Knowledge28 Kwabena Opoku-Agyemangand Cheikh Thiam, V.Y. Mudimbe: The Philosopher-Poet29 Kweku Ampiah, Kwame Anthony Appiah: The Cosmopolitan Pan-AfricanistThe Literati30 Abiola Irele, Léopold Senghor: Poet-President of Négritude31 Sanya Osha, Wole Soyinka: Ogun’s Bard32 Vladimir Lucien,Derek Walcott: Black Power and “The Myth of My Own Self”33 Louisa Uchum Egbunike, Buchi Emecheta: The Burden of Exile34 Ada Uzoamaka Azodo, Mariama Bâ: Pioneering Feminist35 Ndirangu Wachanga, Micere Mugo: Making Life Sing in Pursuit of UtuThe Musical Activists36 Nomsa Mwamuka, Miriam Makeba: Mama Africa37 Clinton Hutton, Bob Marley: Revolutionary Prophet of African Unity38 Sola Olorunyomi, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti: A Felasophy of Kalakuta Republic and African Citizenship

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Book SynopsisThe Adventure of French Philosophy is essential reading for anyone interested in what Badiou calls the "French moment" in contemporary thought.Badiou explores the exceptionally rich and varied world of French philosophy in a number of groundbreaking essays, published here for the first time in English or in a revised translation. Included are the often-quoted review of Louis Althusser's canonical works For Marx and Reading Capital and the scathing critique of "potato fascism" in Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari's A Thousand Plateaus. There are also talks on Michel Foucault and Jean-Luc Nancy, and reviews of the work of Jean-François Lyotard and Barbara Cassin, notable points of interest on an expansive tour of modern French thought.Guided by a small set of fundamental questions concerning the nature of being, the event, the subject, and truth, Badiou pushes to an extreme the polemical force of his thinking. Against the formless continuum of life, he posits the need for radical discontinuity; against the false modesty of finitude, he pleads for the mathematical infinity of everyday situations; against the various returns to Kant, he argues for the persistence of the Hegelian dialectic; and against the lure of ultraleftism, his texts from the 1970s vindicate the role of Maoism as a driving force behind the communist Idea.Trade ReviewFrench philosophy still has a kick in it, and it can still turn heads. You have been warned. -- Jonathan Rée * Prospect *One of the most important philosophers writing today. -- Joan CopjecA figure like Plato or Hegel walks here among us! -- Slavoj ZizekAn heir to Jean-Paul Sartre and Louis Althusser. * New Statesman *Focused and illuminating, technical and deft. -- Shahidha Bari * Times Higher Education *A series of snapshots of how Badiou participates in and understands what ... we might call the post-1960s moment in French philosophy. * Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *

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Book SynopsisPresents a translation of Frege's philosophical writings. Intended to provide the essential primary texts for students of logic, philosophical logic, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mathematics, this work also contains Frege's four papers Function and Concept, On Concept and Object, On Sense and Reference, and Thought.Trade Review"The book aims to be the best single edition available for introductory Frege courses. It is a well organized, reasonably priced one-stop Frege shop. It is too convenient not to be used in introductory courses on Frege; in fact, as a single volume, it has no competition I can think of. The general conception is excellent. It is easily readable by graduates or advanced under graduates. The forty-six page introduction and notes to the translations make it useful also for Frege scholars. The book's virtues are strong. I recommend it for courses on Frege, philosophy of language, philosophy of logic, and analytic philosophy." Jan Dejnozka, History and Philosophy of LogicTable of ContentsPreface. Abbreviations of Works by Frege. Glossary. Introduction. Begriffsschrift (1879): Selections (Preface and Part I). 'Letter to Marty, 29.8.1882'. The Foundations of Arithmetic (1884): Selections (Introduction and 1-4, 45-69, 87-91, 104-9; with summaries of the remaining sections). 'Function and Concept' (1891). 'Letter to Husserl, 24.5.1891': Extract. 'On Sinn and Bedeutung' (1892). 'Comments on Sinn and Bedeutung ' (1892). 'On Concept and Object' (1892). Grundgesetze der Aristmetik, Volume I (1893): Selections (Preface, Introduction, 1-7, 26-29, 32-33). 'Review of E. G. Husserl, Philosophie der Arithmetik I' (1894): Extract. 'Logic' (1897): Extract. 'On Euclidean Geometry' (c.1900). 'Letter to Russell, 22.6.1902': Extract. 'Letter to Russell, 28.12.1902': Extract. Grundgesetze der Aristmetik, Volume II (1903): Selections (55-67, 138-47, Appendix). 'Letter to Russell, 13.11.1904': Extract. 'Introduction to Logic' (1906): Extract. 'A Brief Survey of my Logical Doctrines' (1906): Extract. 'Letters to Husserl, 1906'. 'Logic in Mathematics' (1914): Extract. 'Letter to Jourdain, Jan. 1914': Extract. 'My Basic Logical Insights' (c. 1915). 'Thought' (1918). 'Negation' (1918). 'Notes for Ludwig Darmstaedter' (1919). 'Sources of Knowledge of Mathematics and the Mathematical Natural Sciences' (1924/5): Extract. 'Numbers and Arithmetic' (1924/5). Appendix 1: Chronology of Frege's Life and Works. Appendix 2: Frege's Logical Notation. Appendix 3: Guide to Further Reading. Bibliography. Index.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA very provocative, historically penetrating, and paradigm-changing analysis of both modern and postmodern thought, which may be considered one of Peter Sloterdijk's most brilliant contributions to date to what has come to be called 'public philosophy.' This translation is vigorous and engaging and captures in different contexts the ramifications and rhetorical force of Sloterdijk's original German. -- Carl Raschke, University of Denver ...spicily vigorous... Guardian A spirited brief for Aristotelian-moderated philosophy... -- Carlin Romano Chronicle of Higher EducationTable of ContentsTranslator's Note Introduction: Theory as a Form of the Life of Practice 1. Theory and Asceticism 2. The observer has come: The Creation of Persons Fit for Epoche 3. Theory and Suspended Animation and Its Metamorphoses 4. Cognitive Modernism: The Assassination Attempts on the Neutral Observer Name index

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Book SynopsisJordan Peterson rocketed to fame in the 2010s and has preached on everything from the evils of postmodern neo-Marxism to the mating habits of lobsters ever since then. The Left has since leveled many criticisms about the Canadian psychologist, characterizing him as everything from an apologist for the alt-right to simply not being interesting or profound. Myth and Mayhem: A Leftist Critique of Jordan Peterson is intended as a comprehensive critical look at all aspects of his thought, from the philosophical depths to the mundane heights. Written by four authors who each look at a different element of his thought, it shows why taking Peterson seriously doesn't mean embracing him. Includes an introduction by Slavoj Zizek

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Book SynopsisTen essays on how reading and meaningfully engaging with literature can help us live better, more purposeful lives.How do we live fully?How do we live successfully?Adrift in an anchorless world, we often worry about where we are heading. What meaning can we hope to find in our modern, secular life? The answer, Ben Hutchinson explains, can be found by looking to writers and thinkers to help us live more purposefully, more mindfully more fully.Interweaving his own (mis-)adventures with those of authors such as T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Marcel Proust and Joan Didion, On Purpose proposes ten ways in which reading and writing encourage us to ask difficult questions, project our minds into the past and future, and see ourselves and others differently.Engaging, uplifting and aphoristic, this book is for anyone who has lost their sense of direction or wishes to radically transform the way they live.

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Book SynopsisThis succinct, interdisciplinary introduction to critical thinking successfully dares students to question their own assumptions and to enlarge their thinking through the analysis of the most common problems associated with everyday reasoning. The text offers a unique and effective organization: Part I explains the fundamental concepts; Part II describes the most common barriers to critical thinking; Part III offers strategies for overcoming those barriers.Table of ContentsPreface Introduction PART I. THE CONTEXT 1. Who Are You?The Influence of Time and PlaceThe Influence of IdeasThe Influence of Mass CultureThe "Science" of ManipulationThe Influence of PsychologyBecoming an Individual 2. What Is Critical Thinking?Mind, Brain, or Both?Critical Thinking DefinedCharacteristics of Critical ThinkersThe Role of IntuitionThe Basic Activities of Critical ThinkingCritical Thinking and WritingCritical Thinking and DiscussionAvoiding Plagiarism 3. What Is Truth?Where Does It All Begin?Imperfect PerceptionImperfect MemoryDeficient InformationEven the Wisest Can ErrTruth Is Discovered, Not Created 4. What Does It Mean to Know?Requirements of KnowingTesting Your Own KnowledgeHow We Come to KnowWhy Knowing is DifficultA Cautionary TailIs Faith a Form of KnowledgeObstacles to Knowledge 5. How Good Are Your Opinions?Opinions Can Be MistakenOpinions on Moral IssuesEven Experts Can Be WrongKinds of ErrorsInformed Versus Uninformed OpinionForming Opinions Responsibly 6. What Is Evidence?Kinds of EvidenceEvaluating EvidenceWhat Constitutes "Sufficient" Evidence? 7. What Is Argument?The Parts of an ArgumentEvaluating ArgumentsMore Difficult Arguments PART II. THE PITFALLS 8. The Basic Problem: "Mine Is Better"Egocentric PeopleEthnocentric PeopleControlling "Mine-Is-Better" Thinking 9. Errors of PerspectivePoverty of AspectUnwarranted AssumptionsThe Either/Or OutlookMindless ConformityAbsolutismRelativismBias For or Against Change 10. Errors of ProcedureBiased Consideration of EvidenceDouble StandardHasty ConclusionOvergeneralization and StereotypingOversimplificationThe Post Hoc Fallacy 11. Errors of ExpressionContradictionArguing in a CircleMeaningless StatementMistaken AuthorityFalse AnalogyIrrational Appeal 12. Errors of ReactionAutomatic RejectionChanging the SubjectShifting the Burden of Proof"Straw Man"Attacking the Critic 13. The Errors in CombinationErrors of PerspectiveErrors of ProcedureErrors of ExpressionErrors of ReactionSample Combinations of ErrorsA Sensible View of Terminology PART III. A STRATEGY 14. Knowing YourselfCritical Thinking InventoryUsing Your InventoryChallenge and Reward 15. Being ObservantObserving PeopleObservation in Science and MedicineThe Range of ApplicationBecoming More ObservantReflecting Your Observations 16. Selecting an IssueThe Basic Rule: Less Is MoreHow to Limit an IssueSample Issue: PornographySample Issue: BoxingSample Issue: Juvenile CrimeNarrowing the Issue Further 17. Conducting InquiryWorking with Inconclusive ResultsWhere to Look for InformationKeeping FocusedHow Much Inquiry is Enough?Managing Lengthy Material 18. Forming a JudgmentEvaluating EvidenceEvaluating Your Sources' ArgumentsMaking Important DistinctionsExpressing Judgments 19. Persuading OthersGuidelines for PersuasionAn Unpersuasive PresentationA Persuasive Presentation Notes Index

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Book SynopsisEstablishes a line of enquiry into the relationship between tourism and modernity. This book contextualizes it in terms of relationship between Logos-modernity and Eros-modernity. It focuses on the conditions of modernity that lure tourists towards pleasure travel. It also looks at the relationship between modernity and motivations of tourists.Table of ContentsPreface. Introduction. Part 1: Contextualizing Tourism. Logos-modernity, eros-modernity and tourism. Part 2: Modernity, Tourism and Motivations. Modernity and the tourism of authenticity. Modernity and nature tourism. Modernity and holiday-making. Modernity and international tourism. Part 3: Modernity, Seduction and Tourism. The lure of images. The lure of discourse. The lure of consumption. The lure of sign value. Conclusion. References. Author index. Subject index.

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Book SynopsisHe becomes everyman's guide to everything exciting in the history of ideas' New York Review of BooksIsaiah Berlin was one of the leading thinkers of the twentieth century, and one of the finest writers. The Proper Study Of Mankind selects some of his best essays in which his insights both illuminate the past and offer a key to the burning issues of today.The full (and enormous) range of his work is represented here, from the exposition of his most distinctive doctrine - pluralism - to studies of Machiavelli, Tolstoy, Churchill and Roosevelt. In these pages he encapsulates the principal movements that characterise the modern age: romanticism, historicism, Fascism, relativism, irrationalism and nationalism. His ideas are always tied to the people who conceived them, so that abstractions are brought alive. EDITED BY HENRY HARDY AND ROGER HAUSHEER AND WITH A NEW FOREWORD BY ANDREW MARRTrade ReviewHe speaks with such infectious energy that he sweeps us up and carries us with him into territory that had seemed inaccessible. He becomes everyman's guide to everything exciting in the history of ideas * New York Review of Books *A restatement of liberalism in a form by which the world could live * Observer *His uniqueness can be very well sampled in this admirable selection... Large as it is, it can serve only to stimulate the appetite * Evening Standard *The pleasure in reading Berlin lies in the clarity of the argument, in the laying out of his monumental sentences and paragraphs each of which is complete in itself while part of the greater and seemingly irrefutable whole which is gradually and massively revealed * Observer *

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Book SynopsisFriedrich Nietzsche''s most accessible and influential philosophical work, misquoted, misrepresented, brilliantly original and enormously influentialNietzsche was one of the most revolutionary and subversive thinkers in Western philosophy, and Thus Spoke Zarathustra remains his most famous and influential work. It describes how the ancient Persian prophet Zarathustra descends from his solitude in the mountains to tell the world that God is dead and that the Superman, the human embodiment of divinity, is his successor. Nietzsche''s utterance ''God is dead'', his insistence that the meaning of life is to be found in purely human terms, and his doctrine of the Superman and the will to power were all later seized upon and unrecognisably twisted by, among others, Nazi intellectuals. With blazing intensity and poetic brilliance, Nietzsche argues that the meaning of existence is not to be found in religious pieties or meek submission to authority, but in an all-powerful life fo

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Book SynopsisAn account of feng-shui, a Chinese art providing the ability to live in harmony with nature and at peace. Skinner outlines the history, principles and application of this art, the philosophy of which is that energy flows through "dragon" lines which can promote prosperity, peace and happiness.

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Book SynopsisA landmark exploration of the human condition with the goal of bringing self-awareness in one's daily lifeWith Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson, G. I. Gurdjieff intended to destroy, mercilessly . . . the beliefs and views about everything existing in the world. This novel beautifully brings to life the visions of humanity for which Gurdjieff has become esteemed. Beelzebub, a man of worldly (and other-worldly) wisdom, shares with his grandson the anecdotes, personal philosophies, and lessons learned from his own life.The reader is given a detailed discussion of all matters physical, natural, and spiritual, from the creation of the cosmos to man's teleological purpose in the universe. This edition of Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson--the first single-volume paperback to appear in English--restores the original, authoritative translation.Table of ContentsBeelzebub's Tales to His GrandsonFirst Book1. The Arousing of Thought2. Introduction: Why Beelzebub Was in Our Solar System3. The Cause of the Delay in the Falling of the Ship Karnak4. The Law of Falling5. The System of Archangel Hariton6. Perpetual Motion7. Becoming Aware of Genuine Being-Duty8. The Impudent Brat Hassein, Beelzebub's Grandson, Dares to Call Men "Slugs"9. The Cause of the Genesis of the Moon10. Why "Men" Are Not Men11. A Piquant Trait of the Peculiar Psyche of Contemporary Man12. The First "Growl"13. Why in Man's Reason Fantasy May Be Perceived as Reality14. The Beginnings of Perspectives Promising Nothing Very Cheerful15. The First Descent of Beelzebub upon the Planet Earth16. The Relative Understanding of Time17. The Arch-absurd: According to the Assertion of Beelzebub, Our Sun Neither Lights nor Heats18. The Arch-preposterous19. Beelzebub's Tales About His Second Descent onto the Planet Earth20. The Third Flight of Beelzebub to the Planet Earth21. The First Visit of Beelzebub to India22. Beelzebub for the First Time in Tibet23. The Fourth Personal Sojourn of Beelzebub on the Planet Earth24. Beelzebub's Flight to the Planet Earth for the Fifth Time25. The Very Saintly Ashiata Shiemash, Sent from Above to the Earth26. The Legominism Concerning the Deliberations of the Very Saintly Ashiata Shiemash Under the Title of "The Terror-of-the-Situation"27. The Organization for Man's Existence28. The Chief Culprit in the Destruction of All the Very Saintly Labors of Ashiata ShiemashSecond Book 29. The Fruits of Former Civilizations and the Blossoms of the Contemporary30. Art31. The Sixth and Last Sojourn of Beelzebub on the Planet Earth32. Hypnotism33. Beelzebub as Professional Hypnotist34. Russia35. A Change in the Appointed Course of the Falling of the Transspace Ship Karnak36. Just a Wee Bit More About the Germans37. France38. Religion39. The Holy Planet "Purgatory"Third Book 40. Beelzebub Tells How People Learned and Againt Forgot About the Fundamental Cosmic Law of Heptaparaparshinokh41. The Bokharian Dervish Hadji-Asvatz-Troov42. Beelzebub in America43. Beelzebub's Survey of the Process of the Periodic Reciprocal Destruction of Men, or Beelzebub's Opinion of War44. In the Opinion of Beelzebub, Man's Understanding of Justice Is for Him in the Objective Sense an Accursed Mirage45. In the Opinion of Beelzebub, Man's Extraction of Electricity from Nature and Its Destruction During Its Use, Is One of the Chief Causes of the Shortening of the Life of Man46. Beelzebub Explains to His Grandson the Significance of the Form and Sequence Which He Chose for Expounding the Information Concerning Man47. The Inevitable Result of Impartial Mentation48. From the Author

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLEROne of the most influential voices in modern philosophy - the author of The Course of Love, Religion for Atheists, The Art of Travel and The School of LifeAlain de Botton presents a one-stop shop for solving the problems of everyday life through the wisdom of history''s great philosophers''Singlehandedly, de Botton has taken philosophy back to its simplest and most important purpose: helping us live our lives'' Independent''Few discussions on the great philosophers can have been so entertaining... An ingenious, imaginative book'' The Sunday Times''Witty, thoughtful, entertaining... It manages to make philosophy both enjoyable and relevant'' Anthony Clare, Literary Review''No doubt about it, philosophy is the new rock and roll and Alain de Botton is its Colonel Tom Parker... A pleasure to read. And good writing, like good philosophy, is always a consolaTrade ReviewWitty, thoughful, entertaining ... a stylish book, which manages to make philosophy both enjoyable and relevant, at the same time providing a very sensible digest of consolations for many of our current psychological ills Literary Review Single-handedly, de Botton has taken philosophy back to its simplest and most important purpose: helping us to live our lives Independent A pleasure to read. And good writing, like good philosophy, is always a consolation -- John Banville Irish Times

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Book Synopsis''Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.'' To this ''one very simple principle'' the whole of Mill''s essay On Liberty is dedicated. While many of his immediate predecessors and contemporaries, from Adam Smith to Godwin and Thoreau, had celebrated liberty, it was Mill who organized the idea into a philosophy, and put it into the form in which it is generally known today. The editor of this essay, Gertrude Himmelfarb records responses to Mill''s books and comments on his fear of ''the tyranny of the majority''. Dr Himmelfarb concludes that the same inconsistencies which underlie On Liberty continue to complicate the moral and political stance of liberals today.

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Book SynopsisWhether viewed as extreme skepticism or enlightened common sense, the writings of Berkeley are a major influence on modern philosophy. Bishop Berkeley (1685-1753) was one of the great British empirical philosophers. He believed that the existence of material objects depends on their being perceived and The Principles of Human Knowledge sets out this denial of non-mental material reality. At first his views were unfavorably received by the London intelligentsia, and the entertaining Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous are a clarification of the Realist argument and a response to accusations of atheism and skepticism. In the nineteenth century John Stuart Mill wrote that he considered Berkeley's work to be of greatest philosophic genius, and it is true to say that its Immaterialism has influenced many recent philosophers.Table of ContentsPrinciples of Human Knowledge/Three Dialogues " cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" border="0"IntroductionTextual NoteNotesPrinciples of Human KnowledgeThree Dialogues between Hylas and PhilonousFirst DialogueSecond DialogueThird DialogueNotesSelect BibliographyBibliography of Further Reading

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Book SynopsisOne of the greatest prodigies of his era, John Stuart Mill (1806-73) was studying arithmetic and Greek by the age of three, as part of an astonishingly intense education at his father's hand. Intellectually brilliant, fearless and profound, he became a leading Victorian liberal thinker, whose works - including On Liberty, Utilitarianism, The Subjection of Women and this Autobiography - are among the crowning achievements of the age. Here he describes the pressures placed on him by his childhood, the mental breakdown he suffered as a young man, his struggle to understand a world of feelings and emotions far removed from his father's strict didacticism, and the later development of his own radical beliefs. A moving account of an extraordinary life, this great autobiography reveals a man of deep integrity, constantly searching for truth.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking worlTable of ContentsAutobiography IntroductionEditor's NoteI. Childhood, and Early EducationII. Moral Influences in Early Youth. My Father's Character and OpinionsIII. Last Stage of Education, and First of Self-EducationIV. Youthful Propagandism. The Westminster Review.V. A Crisis in My Mental History. One Stage OnwardVI. Commencement of the Most Valuable Friendship of My Life. My Father's Death. Writings and Other Proceedings up to 1840VII. General View of the Remainder of My LifeIndex of Personal Names

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Book Synopsis''The noblest and most lovable of the great philosophers ... ethically he is supreme'' Bertrand RussellPublished shortly after his death in 1677, the Ethics is Spinoza''s greatest work - a fully cohesive philosophical system that strives to provide a picture of reality and to comprehend the meaning of an ethical life. It defines in turn the nature of God, the mind, human bondage to the emotions and the power of understanding - moving from a consideration of the eternal, to speculate upon humanity''s place in the natural order and the path to attainable happiness. A work of elegant simplicity, the Ethics is a brilliantly insightful consideration of the possibility of redemption through philosophical reflection.Translated by Edwin Curley with an Introduction by Stuart HampshireTrade ReviewThe noblest and most lovable of the great philosophers ... ethically he is supreme. (Bertrand Russell)"

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Book SynopsisThe philosophy of La Rochefoucauld, which influenced French intellectuals as diverse as Voltaire and the Jansenists, is captured here in more than 600 penetrating and pithy aphorisms.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.Table of ContentsMaxims - La Rochefoucauld Translated by Leonard TancockIntroductionPortraitsSelf-Portrait of the Duc de la RochefoucauldPortrait of the Duc de la Rochefoucauld by Cardinal de RetzPortrait of Cardinal de Retz by La RochefoucauldMaximsReflections or Aphorisms and Moral MaximsPosthumous MaximsMaxims withdrawn by the AuthorNotes

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Book SynopsisTraditionally attributed to Lao Tzu, an older contemporary of Confucius (551 - 479 BC), it is now thought that the work was compiled in about the fourth century BC. An anthology of wise sayings, it offers a model by which the individual can live rather than explaining the human place in the universe. The moral code it encourages is based on modesty and self-restraint, and the rewards reaped for such a life are harmony and flow of life.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.Trade Review"It would be hard to find a fresh approach to a text that ranks only behind the Bible as the most widely translated book in the world, but Star achieves that goal. . . . As fascinating to the casual scholar as it is for the serious student." -NAPRA ReView "Jonathan Star's Tao Te Ching achieves the essential: It clarifies the meaning of the text without in the slightest reducing its mystery." -Jacob NeedlemanTable of ContentsLao Tzu " cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" border="0"IntroductionLAO TZUBook OneBook TwoList of Passages for ComparisonAppendices:1. The Problem of Authorship2. The Nature of the WorkChronological TableGlossaryNotes

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Book SynopsisMan was born free, and he is everywhere in chainsThese are the famous opening words of a treatise that has not ceased to stir vigorous debate since its first publication in 1762. Rejecting the view that anyone has a natural right to wield authority over others, Rousseau argues instead for a pact, or 'social contract', that should exist between all the citizens of a state and that should be the source of sovereign power. From this fundamental premise, he goes on to consider issues of liberty and law, freedom and justice, arriving at a view of society that has seemed to some a blueprint for totalitarianism, to others a declaration of democratic principles.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoriTable of ContentsThe Social Contract Translator's acknowledgmentsIntroductionForewordBook IBook IIBook IIIBook IV

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Book SynopsisRené Descartes was a central figure in the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century. In his Discourse on Method he outlined the contrast between mathematics and experimental sciences, and the extent to which each one can achieve certainty. Drawing on his own work in geometry, optics, astronomy and physiology, Descartes developed the hypothetical method that characterizes modern science, and this soon came to replace the traditional techniques derived from Aristotle. Many of Descartes'' most radical ideas - such as the disparity between our perceptions and the realities that cause them - have been highly influential in the development of modern philosophy.

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Book SynopsisVoltaire's Philosophical Dictionary, first published in 1764, is a series of short, radical essays - alphabetically arranged - that form a brilliant and bitter analysis of the social and religious conventions that then dominated eighteenth-century French thought. One of the masterpieces of the Enlightenment, this enormously influential work of sardonic wit - more a collection of essays arranged alphabetically, than a conventional dictionary - considers such diverse subjects as Abraham and Atheism, Faith and Freedom of Thought, Miracles and Moses. Repeatedly condemned by civil and religious authorities, Voltaire's work argues passionately for the cause of reason and justice, and criticizes Christian theology and contemporary attitudes towards war and society - and claims, as he regards the world around him: 'common sense is not so common'.

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Book SynopsisThe literary career of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) spanned less than twenty years, but no area of intellectual inquiry was left untouched by his iconoclastic genius. The philosopher who announced the death of God in The Gay Science (1882) and went on to challenge the Christian code of morality in Beyond Good and Evil (1886), grappled with the fundamental issues of the human condition in his own intense autobiography, Ecce Homo (1888). Most notorious of all, perhaps, his idea of the triumphantly transgressive übermann ('superman') is developed in the extreme, yet poetic words of Thus Spake Zarathustra (1883-92). Whether addressing conventional Western philosophy or breaking new ground, Nietzsche vastly extended the boundaries of nineteenth-century thought.

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Book SynopsisComposed in the twelfth century in north-eastern Iran, Attar''s great mystical poem is among the most significant of all works of Persian literature. A marvellous, allegorical rendering of the Islamic doctrine of Sufism - an esoteric system concerned with the search for truth through God - it describes the consequences of the conference of the birds of the world when they meet to begin the search for their ideal king, the Simorgh bird. On hearing that to find him they must undertake an arduous journey, the birds soon express their reservations to their leader, the hoopoe. With eloquence and insight, however, the hoopoe calms their fears, using a series of riddling parables to provide guidance in the search for spiritual truth. By turns witty and profound, The Conference of the Birds transforms deep belief into magnificent poetry.Trade Review“This felicitous translation is a classic and reaches the widest possible audience.” — David Azzolina, Assistant Professor, University of PennsylvaniaTable of ContentsThe Conference of the Birds - Farid ud-Din Attar Translated with an Introduction by Afkham Darbandi and Dick DavisIntroductionThe Conference of the BirdsBiographical Index

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Book SynopsisIn these two devastating late works, Nietzsche offers a powerful attack on the morality and the beliefs of his timeNietzsche''s Twilight of the Idols is a ''grand declaration of war'' on reason, psychology and theology, which combines highly charged personal attacks on his contemporaries (in particular Hegel, Kant and Schopenhauer) with a lightning tour of his own philosophy. It also paves the way for The Anti-Christ, Nietzsche''s final assault on institutional Christianity, in which he identifies himself with the ''Dionysian'' artist and confronts Christ: the only opponent he feels worthy of him.Translated by R. J. Hollingdale with an Introduction by Michael TannerTable of ContentsTwilight of the Idols/The Anti-Christ IntroductionTranslator's NoteTwilight of the Idols, or How to Philosophize with a HammerForewordMaxims and ArrowsThe Problems of Socrates"Reason" in PhilosophyHow the "Real World" at last Became a MythMorality as Anti-NatureThe Four Great ErrorsThe "Improvers" of MankindWhat the Germans LackExpeditions of an Untimely ManWhat I Owe to the AncientsThe Hammer SpeaksThe Anti-ChristForewordThe Anti-ChristGlossary of Names

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Book SynopsisIn late 1888, only weeks before his final collapse into madness, Nietzsche (1844-1900) set out to compose his autobiography, and Ecce Homo remains one of the most intriguing yet bizarre examples of the genre ever written. In this extraordinary work Nietzsche traces his life, work and development as a philosopher, examines the heroes he has identified with, struggled against and then overcome - Schopenhauer, Wagner, Socrates, Christ - and predicts the cataclysmic impact of his ''forthcoming revelation of all values''. Both self-celebrating and self-mocking, penetrating and strange, Ecce Homo gives the final, definitive expression to Nietzsche''s main beliefs and is in every way his last testament.Table of ContentsEcce Homo - Friedrich Nietzsche IntroductionNote on the TextChronology of Nietzsche's LifeECCE HOMO: How One Becomes What One IsForewordOn this perfect day...Why I am So WiseWhy I am So CleverWhy I Write Such Good BooksThe Birth of TragedyThe Untimely EssaysHuman, All Too HumanDaybreakThe Gay ScienceThus Spoke ZarathustraBeyond Good and EvilGenealogy of MoralsTwilight of the IdolsThe Wagner CaseWhy I Am a DestinyNotes

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Book SynopsisIn the posthumously published Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, the Enlightenment philosopher David Hume attacked many of the traditional arguments for the existence of God, expressing the belief that religion is founded on ignorance and irrational fears. Though calm and courteous in tone - at times even tactfully ambiguous - the conversations between Hume's vividly realized fictional figures form perhaps the most searching case ever mounted against orthodox Christian theological thinking and the 'deism' of the time, which pointed to the wonders of creation as conclusive evidence of God's Design. Hume's characters debate these issues with extraordinary passion, lucidity and humour, in one of the most compelling philosophical works ever written.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works througTable of ContentsDialogues Concerning Natural Religion - David Hume Edited with an Introduction by Martin BellIntroductionNotes to IntroductionTextual NotePAMPHILUS to HERMIPPUSPart IPart IIPart IIIPart IVPart VPart VIPart VIIPart VIIIPart IXPart XPart XIPart XIINotesSelect Bibliography

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Book SynopsisIn Either/Or, using the voices of two characters - the aesthetic young man of part one, called simply ''A'', and the ethical Judge Vilhelm of the second section - Kierkegaard reflects upon the search for a meaningful existence, contemplating subjects as diverse as Mozart, drama, boredom, and, in the famous Seducer''s Diary, the cynical seduction and ultimate rejection of a young, beautiful woman. A masterpiece of duality, Either/Or is a brilliant exploration of the conflict between the aesthetic and the ethical - both meditating ironically and seductively upon Epicurean pleasures, and eloquently expounding the noble virtues of a morally upstanding life.Table of ContentsEither/Or Translator's NoteIntroductionPart One: Containing the Papers of APreface1. Diapsalmata2. The Immediate Erotic Stages or the Musical Erotic3. Ancient Tragedy's Reflection in the Modern4. Shadowgraphs5. The Unhappiest One6. Crop Rotation7. The Seducer's DiaryPart Two: Containing the Papers of B: Letters to A1. The Aesthetic Validity of Marriage2. Equilibrium between the Aesthetic and the Ethical in the Development of Personality3. Last Word4. The Edifying in the Thought that Against God We Are Always in the WrongNotes

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Book SynopsisOne of the foundation-stones of modern philosophy Descartes was prepared to go to any lengths in his search for certainty—even to deny those things that seemed most self-evident. In his Meditations of 1641, and in the Objections and Replies that were included with the original publication, he set out to dismantle and then reconstruct the idea of the individual self and its existence. In doing so, Descartes developed a language of subjectivity that has lasted to this day, and he also took his first steps towards the view that would eventually be expressed in the epigram Cogito, ergo sum (I think, therefore I am), one of modern philosophy's most famous—and most fiercely contested—claims. The first part of a two-volume edition of Descartes' works in Penguin Classics, the second of which is Discourse on Method & Related Writings.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speakingTable of ContentsThe Penguin DescartesAcknowledgmentsIntroductionFurther ReadingMeditations on First PhilosophyLetter of Dedication to the SorbonnePreface to the ReaderSummary of the Following Six MeditationsMeditationsObjections and Replies (Selections)The Principles of PhilosophyLetter to Princess ElizabethPart One: The Principles of Human KnowledgeDescartes' Correspondence: Selections, 1643-9Comments on a Certain ManifestoNotesIndexNotes

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