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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewWhen I first picked up this book, I was looking forward to a leisurely reading on obscurantist Heideggerian bullshit. I was wrong. But once I got over my deep disappointment that the book was, in fact, intelligible and not littered with ramblings about Dasein, I began to appreciate the book for what it was. Critical Theory BlogTable of ContentsTranslator's Introduction In Place of a Preface Introduction Part 1. The Categorial Framework of a Systematic Theory of Social Acceleration 1. From the Love of Movement to the Law of Acceleration: Observations of Modernity 2. What Is Social Acceleration? Part 2. Mechanisms and Manifestations: A Phenomenology of Social Acceleration 3. Technical Acceleration and the Revolutionizing of the Space-Time Regime 4. Slipping Slopes: The Acceleration of Social Change and the Increase of Contingency 5. The Acceleration of the "Pace of Life" and Paradoxes in the Experience of Time Part 3. Causes 6. The Speeding Up of Society as a Self-Propelling Process: The Circle of Acceleration 7. Acceleration and Growth: External Drivers of Social Acceleration 8. Power Part 4. Consequences 9. Acceleration 10. Situational Identity: Of Drifters and Players 11. Situational Politics: Paradoxical Time Horizons Between Desynchronization and Disintegration 12. Acceleration and Rigidity: Attempt at a Redefinition of Modernity Conclusion: Frenetic Standstill? The End of History Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisPerhaps no figure in biblical scholarship has been the subject of more controversy and debate than Mary Magdalene. Also known as Miriam of Magdala, Mary Magdalene was considered by the apostle John to be the founder of Christianity because she was the first witness to the Resurrection. In most theological studies she has been depicted as a reformed prostitute, the redeemed sinner who exemplifies Christ''s mercy. Today''s reader can ponder her role in the gospels of Philip, Thomas, Peter, and Bartholomew--the collection of what have come to be known as the Gnostic gospels rejected by the early Christian church. Mary''s own gospel is among these, but until now it has remained unknown to the public at large. Orthodox theologian Jean-Yves Leloup''s translation of the Gospel of Mary from the Coptic and his thorough and profound commentary on this text are presented here for the first time in English. The gospel text and the spiritual exegesis of Leloup together reveal unique teachings that emphasize the eminence of the divine feminine and an abiding love of nature over the dualistic and ascetic interpretations of Christianity presented elsewhere. What emerges from this important source text and commentary is a renewal of the sacred feminine in the Western spiritual tradition and a new vision for Christian thought and faith throughout the world.Trade Review"The Gospel of Mary, taken with the inspired commentary by Jean-Yves Leloup, can help toward making the teaching of Jesus once again alive." * Jacob Needleman, author of Lost Christianity and The American Soul *"Leloup's commentary presents a scholarly translation with an inspirational and passionate interpretation. . . . Going beyond the gospels to the laws of the Torah and the philosophical writings of Kant, the author at once discovers the truer meanings of an ancient text and a message as important today as it was two millennia ago." * Steven Sora, author of The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar *"Readers will welcome this perceptive translation of the Gnostic 'Gospel of Mary' and the insightful commentary by scholar-mystic Jean-Yves Leloup. The journey of the soul and other profound and subtle teachings of Jesus and his beloved Miriam will enlighten modern seekers." * Margaret Starbird, author of The Woman with the Alabaster Jar *"One welcomes this solid telling of the story and meaning of a neglected text at the root of Christian wisdom, and of a neglected figure who had a special relationship both with the historical Jesus in his lifetime and with the Christ spirit after the death of Jesus." * Matthew Fox, author of Original Blessing *" . . . the Magdalene's gospel might be embraced by contemporary seekers, both Christian and non-Christian." * Patricia Monaghan, Booklist American Library Association, April 2002 *"There are some fascinating glimpses at gender politics between the earliest followers of Jesus and the enigmatic personage of Mary Magdalene. Christians have come to think of her (with no basis in biblical fact) as the repentant prostitute, while to his followers she was the one Jesus loved 'differently from other women.'" * KJ, Napra ReView, May/June 2002 *"He sets the record straight and provides ample commentary on where the historical records went astray." * New Women New Church, Summer 2003, Vol.26 No.2 *"I love this gospel . . . it speaks such truth as the Church desperately needs in these times." * John Gilbert, Ph.D., Gnostic News, December 2003 *"The commentary by Professor LeLoup is beautifully done. He is indeed a scholar of the earth Church." * John Gilbert, The Temple of Gnostic Yoga, December 2003 *"Powerful, almost Taoist in range, this is an important book and should be read by anyone interested in Mary Magdalene or the early Church." * Pamela Crossland, TCM Reviews *Table of Contents Foreword by Jacob Needleman Preface: Who Is Mary Magdalene? The Gospel of Mary List of Abbreviations Introduction Part One: The Gospel of Mary Magdalene Part Two: Text with Commentary Bibliography

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Book SynopsisOriginally published anonymously, Nature was the first modern essay to recommend the appreciation of the outdoors as an all-encompassing positive force. Emerson's writings were recognized as uniquely American in style and content, and launched the idea of going for a walk as a new way of looking at the world. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.

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Book SynopsisContains a comprehensive collection of the author's writings on international relations theory and political philosophy, translated and accompanied by essays. This volume provides an introduction to the main themes.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis''The question Eilenberger sets out to answer in this ambitious, enthralling book: what use is philosophy in the middle of a war?'' The Sunday TimesThe year is 1933. Hannah Arendt escapes Berlin, seeking refuge among the stateless gathering in Paris. Simone de Beauvoir reimagines the dance between consciousness and the world outside in a Rouen café. Ayn Rand labours in Hollywood exile on the novel she believes destined to reignite the flame of liberty in her adoptive nation. Simone Weil, disenchanted with the revolution''s course in Russia, devotes her entire being to the plight of the oppressed. Over the next decade, one of the darkest in Europe''s history, these four philosophers will conceive in parallel ideas that would circle the globe in the second half of the century, reshaping it. The Visionaries follows in its protagonists'' footsteps from Leningrad to New York, Spain at civil war to France under occupation, as each is uprooted by totali

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Book Synopsis âIf in this book harsh words are spoken about some of the greatest among the intellectual leaders of mankind, my motive is not, I hope, to belittle them. It springs rather from my conviction that, if our civilization is to survive, we must break with the habit of deference to great men.â- Karl Popper, from the PrefaceWritten in political exile during the Second World War and first published in two volumes in 1945, Karl Popperâs The Open Society and Its Enemies is one of the most influential books of all time. Hailed by Bertrand Russell as a âvigorous and profound defence of democracyâ, its now legendary attack on the philosophies of Plato, Hegel and Marx exposed the dangers inherent in centrally planned political systems and through underground editions become an inspiration to lovers of freedom living under communism in Eastern Europe.Popperâs highly accessible style, his erudite and lucid explanations of the thoughts of great philosophers and the recTrade Review'Some time ago a wise old man came to see me in Prague and I listened to him with admiration. Shortly afterwards I learned that this man had died. His name was Karl Popper'. - Vaclav Havel, from the Preface '!a work of first-class importance which ought to be widely read for its masterly criticism of the enemies of democracy, ancient and modern. ..The book is a vigorous and profound defence of democracy, timely, very interesting, and very well written.' - Bertrand Russell 'One of the great books of the century' - The Times '!a modern classic' The Independent 'Few philosophers!have combined such a vast width of knowledge with the capacity to produce important original ideas as he did.' - The Guardian '!a powerful and important book. Dr Popper writes with extreme clarity and vigour. His studies in Greek history and Greek thought have obviously been profound and original. Platonic exegesis will never be the same again. Nor, I think, will Marxist exegesis.' - Gilbert Ryle '! a brilliant polemic. ..It remains the best intellectual defence of liberal democracy against know-it-all totalitarianism.' - The EconomistTable of ContentsForeword Preface: ‘Karl Popper’s The Open Society and Its Enemies in the contemporary global world’ by Václav Havel. ‘Personal Recollections of the Publication of The Open Society’ by E.H. Gombrich. Acknowledgements Preface to the First Edition Preface to the Second Edition Introduction VOLUME 1: THE SPELL OF PLATO THE MYTH OF ORIGIN AND DESTINY 1. Historicism and the Myth of Destiny 2. Heraclitus 3. Plato's Theory of Forms or Ideas PLATO'S DESCRIPTIVE SOCIOLOGY 4. Change and Rest 5. Nature and Convention PLATO'S POLITICAL PROGRAMME 6. Totalitarian Justice 7. The Principle of Leadership 8. The Philosopher King 9. Aestheticism, Perfectionism, Utopianism THE BACKGROUND OF PLATO'S ATTACK 10. The Open Society and its Enemies Addenda VOLUME 2: THE HIGH TIDE OF PROPHECY THE RISE OF ORACULAR PHILOSOPHY 11. The Aristotelian Roots of Hegelianism 12. Hegel and The New Tribalism MARX'S METHOD 13. Sociological Determinism 14. The Autonomy of Sociology 15. Economic Historicism 16. The Classes 17. The Legal and the Social System MARX'S PROPHECY 18. The Coming of Socialism 19. The Social Revolution 20. Capitalism and Its Fate 21. An Evaluation MARX'S ETHICS 22. The Moral Theory of Historicism THE AFTERMATH 23. The Sociology of Knowledge 24. Oracular Philosophy and the Revolt against Reason CONCLUSION 25. Has History any Meaning? Addenda (1961, 1965) NOTES Notes to Volume 1 Notes to Volume 2 Index

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Book SynopsisCOMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE introduces a whole new way of understanding what a firm does. Porter''s groundbreaking concept of the value chain disaggregates a company into ''activities'', or the discrete functions or processes that represent the elemental building blocks of competitive advantage. Now an essential part of international business thinking, COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE takes strategy from broad vision to an internally consistent configuration of activities. Its powerful framework provides the tools to understand the drivers of cost and a company''s relative cost position. Porter''s value chain enables managers to isolate the underlying sources of buyer value that will command a premium price, and the reasons why one product or service substitutes for another. He shows how competitive advantage lies not only in activities themselves but in the way activities relate to each other, to supplier activities, and to customer activities. That the phrases ''competitive advantage'' and ''sustainable competitive advantage'' have become commonplace is testimony to the power of Porter''s ideas. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE has guided countless companies, business school students, and scholars in understanding the roots of competition. Porter''s work captures the extraordinary complexity of competition in a way that makes strategy both concrete and actionable.Trade ReviewFinancial Times The most influential management book of the past quarter century....A veritable goldmine of analytical concepts and tools to help companies get a much clearer grasp of how they can create and sustain competitive advantage.Philip Kotler S.C. Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing, Northwestern University Michael Porter has done it again. Having defined the "what" and "why" of competitive strategy in his earlier book, he now define the "how" in Competitive Advantage.Newsday A sharp, aggressive, and cogently reasoned book about competition that your smarter rivals will try to get to first.The Washington Post A brilliant structural analysis of what competitive advantage might mean....Antitrust Law & Economics Review A superb guide for business managers but also necessary background study for judges, antitrust agency officials, and economic experts in antitrust cases.

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Book SynopsisThis book is a fully updated and expanded new edition of An Introduction to Continental Philosophy, first published in 1996. It provides a clear, concise and readable introduction to philosophy in the continental tradition.Trade Review"West's ability as a story teller makes this a thoroughly interesting read regardless of one's degree of expertise in the subject. It is an exemplary introduction." Sociological Review "Thoughtful, thoroughly researched, well written, Continental Philosophy invites students and scholars to engage in a rich and interesting tradition." Teaching Philosophy "This second edition does more than introduce continental philosophy; it makes it interesting and intriguing." Philip Pettit, Princeton University "David West's interpretations of the major figures of continental philosophy are succinct and insightful. He reads continental philosophy as a reaction to Enlightenment rationalism and as a potential foundation for emancipatory politics. This edition includes a courageous critique of several important recent figures: Agamben, ?i?ek and Badiou. West provides an illuminating and thorough introduction to the continental tradition." William R. Schroeder, University of IllinoisTable of ContentsPreface to the Second Edition. Preface to the First Edition. 1 Introduction: What is Continental Philosophy? 2 Modernity, Enlightenment and their Continental Critics. From Modernity to Enlightenment. The Critical Philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Continental Critics of Enlightenment. The Hegelian Synthesis. 3 Dialectics of Emancipation: Marx, the Frankfurt School and Habermas. Feuerbach, Marx and Marxism. The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School. Habermas and the Renewal of Critical Theory. 4 Historicism, Hermeneutics and Phenomenology. Dilthey, Philosophy of Life and Hermeneutics. Husserl and Phenomenology. Heidegger's Phenomenology of Being. Gadamer and the Universality of Hermeneutics. The Phenomenology of Political Action ÐHannah Arendt. 5 Beyond Theory: Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Existentialism. Søren Kierkegaard. Friedrich Nietzsche. Jean-Paul Sartre and French Existentialism. 6 Beyond the Subject: Structuralism and Poststructuralism. Decentring the Subject. The Break with Humanism. Foucault's Genealogy of the Subject. Derrida's Deconstruction of Western Metaphysics. 7 Postmodernism. Varieties of Postmodernism. Philosophical Critique of Enlightenment and Modernity Postmodernity as a Stage of Western Society. Politics of Difference and Ethics of the Other. 8 Radical Departures. After the End of History. The Return of the Political - Agamben, Nancy, Lacoue-Labarthe Slavoj Žižek - The Fractious Subject of Ideology. In the Event of Alain Badiou. Notes. Bibliography. Index.

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Book SynopsisScience has made a huge impact on human society over hundred years, but how does it work? How do scientists do the things they do? How do they come up with the theories? How do they test them? How do they use these theories to explain phenomena? How do they draw conclusions from them about how the world might be? Now updated, this second edition of Philosophy of Science: Key Concepts looks at each of these questions and more. Taking in turn the fundamental theories, processes and views lying at the heart of the philosophy of science, this engaging introduction illuminates the scientific practice and provides a better appreciation of how science actually works. It features:- Chapters on discovery, evidence, verification and falsification, realism and objectivity- Accessible overviews of work of key thinkers such as Galileo, Einstein and Mullis- A new chapter on explanation- An extended range of easy-to-follow and contemporary examples to help explain more technical ideas- Study eTrade ReviewIf philosophy of science baffles you, this book offers the key to unlock its mysteries. Written by a leading scholar in the field, it provides a superb introduction to core topics ranging from scientific discovery to gender bias. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in philosophical issues relating to scientific knowledge. -- Roman Frigg, Professor in Philosophy, London School of Economics and Political Science, UKThe greatest strength of this book is the use of illustrations from the history of science and of quotations from scientists, to illuminate the various issues facing those who would like to think clearly about the methods, backing, and legitimacy of the sciences. Beginning students are introduced effectively to the tensions among the articulations of scientific practice by scientists themselves. I expect that this will lead many of them to appreciate the distinctive role of philosophers of science. * Metascience *Philosophy of Science: Key Concepts is a lively, engaging and comprehensive introduction to philosophy of science, written by one of its best contemporary practitioners. Steven French explains the mechanics of science by focusing on episodes from past and current scientific practice. He weaves the web of the major concepts that constitute the tools of the philosophical understanding of science and unravels their rich content. This book is like no other introduction I have read in making a complex conceptual terrain accessible to, and viable for, the uninitiated. A masterly achievement. -- Stathis Psillos, University of Athens & Rotman Institute of Philosophy, UWO, GreeceThis is a wonderful book. It engages students with an infectious enthusiasm for science and philosophy, built on provocative examples, fascinating history, patient explanations, and no small amount of good humor. French has a terrific knack for unpacking challenging ideas in an intuitive way, without jargon, and yet rigorously. -- Anjan Chakravartty, Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame, USAIn this clearly written, well-organized revision of his Science: Key Concepts in Philosophy (2007), French (philosophy of science, Univ. of Leeds, UK) provides a discussion that is cutting edge in terms of breaking discoveries. He synthesizes knowledge of entire scientific disciplines—physics, astronomy, genetics, biology, math, medicine, chemistry, paleontology, primatology, psychology, and so on—into a coherent, astute account of the whole, presenting the major philosophical concepts of "how science works." He looks at, among much else, how scientific theories are discovered; how they explain phenomena and reality; why, as Alfred North Whitehead said, one cannot know something unless one can measure it; what roles social and political factors play in scientific practice; whether science can ever be purely independent of its social context; the relation between truth, scientific theories, and scientific confirmation; how scientists come to grips with the uncertainty illustrated by the history of changing scientific theories; how social factors in general influence the objectivity of science; and how gender bias impacts science. The best introduction to date to the philosophy of science, the volume includes excellent suggested readings. Summing Up: Essential. All readers. * CHOICE *Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. Discovery 3. Heuristics Exercise 1 4. Explanation 5. Justification Exercise 2 6. Observation 7. Experiment Exercise 3 8. Realism 9. Anti-Realism Exercise 4 10. Independence 11. Gender Bias Exercise 5 12. Where we’ve been and Where to Go for More? Further Reading Notes Index

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Book SynopsisWhat we call growth today is in fact a tumorous growth, a cancerous proliferation which is disrupting the social organism. These tumours endlessly metastasize and grow with an inexplicable, deadly vitality. At a certain point this growth is no longer productive, but rather destructive. Capitalism passed this point long ago. Its destructive forces cause not only ecological and social catastrophes but also mental collapse. The destructive compulsion to perform combines self-affirmation and self-destruction in one. We optimize ourselves to death. Brutal competition ends in destruction. It produces an emotional coldness and indifference towards others as well as towards one’s own self. The devastating consequences of capitalism suggest that a death drive is at work. Freud initially introduced the death drive hesitantly, but later admitted that he ‘couldn’t think beyond it’ as the idea of the death drive became increasingly central to his thought. Today, it is impossible to think about capitalism without considering the death drive.Trade Review‘These incisive and often disturbing meditations take the reader to the dark heart of contemporary neoliberalism, in which ubiquitous surveillance and the quest for personal gratification eventually threaten human vitality itself.’William Davies, Author of Nervous States: How Feeling Took Over the World

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Book SynopsisWe are all fascinated by the mystery of metamorphosis – of the caterpillar that transforms itself into a butterfly. Their bodies have almost nothing in common. They don’t share the same world: one crawls on the ground and the other flutters its wings in the air. And yet they are one and the same life. Emanuele Coccia argues that metamorphosis – the phenomenon that allows the same life to subsist in disparate bodies – is the relationship that binds all species together and unites the living with the non-living. Bacteria, viruses, fungi, plants, animals: they are all one and the same life. Each species, including the human species, is the metamorphosis of all those that preceded it – the same life, cobbling together a new body and a new form in order to exist differently. And there is no opposition between the living and the non-living: life is always the reincarnation of the non-living, a carnival of the telluric substance of a planet – the Earth – that continually draws new faces and new ways of being out of even the smallest particle of its disparate body. By highlighting what joins humans together with other forms of life, Coccia’s brilliant reflection on metamorphosis encourages us to abandon our view of the human species as static and independent and to recognize instead that we are part of a much larger and interconnected form of life.Trade Review"Emanuele Coccia defines anew the relationship between humans and nature – a fascinating inquiry, and one which we urgently need in order to open our eyes to the world around us."—Peter Wohlleben, author of The Hidden Life of Trees "Emanuele Coccia's Metamorphoses is effectively Darwinian and also profoundly philosophical. With lyric prose sparkling with ideas at every turn, the work is inspiring, insightful, and stimulating."—Environmental PhilosophyTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsIntroductionThe Continuity of LifeThe Forms Within Us1. BirthsEvery Self is a ForgettingOne and the Same LifeBirth and NatureCosmic TwinsGiving Birth, or the Migration of LifeCarnival of the GodsThe Speech of the EarthMetamorphosis as DestinyMirror of the World2. CocoonsTransformationsInsectsEvery Living Being is a ChimeraA Postnatal EggRejuvenationsA New Idea of TechnicsThe Metamorphosis of PlantsThe Cocoon of the World3. ReincarnationsEating and MetamorphosisBeing EatenReincarnation and the Transmigration of the SelfGenetics and ReincarnationThe Shadow of the Species4. MigrationsPlanetary MigrationVehicle TheoryThe Great ArkEverybody in the HouseThe Domestic Life of Non-HumansInvasions5. AssociationsThe Multispecies CityInterspecies ArchitectureOur Mind is Always in the Bodies of Other SpeciesThe End of WildernessContemporary NatureConclusionBibliography

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Book SynopsisHow to Think is a contrarian treatise on why we're not as good at thinking as we assume - but how recovering this lost art can rescue our inner lives from the chaos of modern life. Most of us don't want to think, writes the American essayist Alan Jacobs. Thinking is trouble. It can force us out of familiar, comforting habits, and it can complicate our relationships with like-minded friends. Finally, thinking is slow, and that's a problem when our habits of consuming information (mostly online) leave us lost in the echo chamber of social media, where speed and factionalism trump accuracy and nuance. In this clever, witty book, Jacobs diagnoses the many forces that prevent thought - forces that have only worsened in the age of Twitter, such as "alternative facts," and information overload. He also dispels the many myths we hold about what it means to think well. (For example: it's impossible to "think for yourself.") Drawing on sources as far-flung as the novelist Marilynne Robinson, the basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain, the British philosopher John Stuart Mill and the Christian theologian C.S. Lewis, Jacobs digs into the nuts and bolts of the cognitive process, offering hope that each of us can reclaim our mental lives from the whirlpool of what now passes for public debate. After all, if we can learn to think together, perhaps we can learn to live together.Trade ReviewWitty, engaging, and ultimately hopeful, Jacobs's guide is sorely needed in a society where partisanship too often trumps the pursuit of knowledge. -- Publishers WeeklyAs much as this book is a manual, it's also a self-portrait of a particular mind, whose style and skills are ballast against the cognitive turbulence of our time. Reading How to Think feels like riding in a small but sturdy boat, Alan Jacobs your pilot through turbulent waters - and if you're eager to get where he's taking you, you're also grateful for the chance to simply watch him do his thing. -- Robin Sloan, author of 'Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore'

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Book SynopsisDiscover the fascinating world of Stoicism in this guide to a great and unageing philosophy. Perfect for beginners and seasoned Stoics alike, this pocket-sized guide is brimming with history, wisdom and guidance. With the help of great sages like Marcus Aurelius, you too can begin your own journey towards a happier, more fulfilled existence.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA very useful collection, welcome both for the intrinsic merit and historical significance of the ideas and arguments the volume contains, and for its pedagogical potential. --Peter Loptson, Canadian Philosophical Reviews

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Book SynopsisGames are played everywhere: from economics and online auctions to social interactions, and game theory is about how to play such games in a rational way, and how to maximize their outcomes. This VSI reveals, without mathematical equations, the insights the theory can bring to everything from how to play poker optimally to the sex ratio among bees.Table of ContentsPreface ; 1. The Name of the Game ; 2. Chance ; 3. Time ; 4. Convention ; 5. Reciprocity ; 6. Information ; 7. Auctions ; 8. Biology ; 9. Bargaining and Coalitions ; 10. Puzzles and Paradoxes

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Book SynopsisThere are many debates about utopia - What constitutes a utopia? Are utopias benign or dangerous? Is the idea of utopianism essential to Christianity or heretical? What is the relationship between utopia and ideology? This Very Short Introduction explores these issues and examines utopianism and its history. Lyman Sargent discusses the role of utopianism in literature, and in the development of colonies and in immigration. The idea of utopia has become commonplace in social and political thought, both negatively and positively. Some thinkers see a trajectory from utopia to totalitarianism with violence an inevitable part of the mix. Others see utopia directly connected to freedom and as a necessary element in the fight against totalitarianism. In Christianity utopia is labelled as both heretical and as a fundamental part of Christian belief, and such debates are also central to such fields as architecture, town and city planning, and sociology among many othersSargent introduces and summarizes the debates over the utopia in literature, communal studies, social and political theory, and theology.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Table of ContentsPreface and acknowledgements ; 1. The forms of Utopian literature ; 2. Intentional communities ; 3. Nonwestern utopianism ; 4. Settler/colonial utopianism ; 5. Utopia and political theory ; 6. Ideology and utopia ; 7. Utopia and Christianity ; Conclusion ; References and further reading

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Book SynopsisExamines the reciprocal relationship between remembering and forgetting, revealing how this symbiosis influences both the perception of historical experience and the production of historical narrative.Trade Review"His success in revealing the internal relations between recalling and forgetting, and how this dynamic becomes problematic in light of events once present but now past, will inspire academic dialogue and response but also holds great appeal to educated general readers in search of both method for and insight from considering the ethical ramifications of modern events.... It is indeed a master work, not only in Ricoeur's own vita but also in contemporary European philosophy." - Library Journal "Ricoeur writes the best kind of philosophy - critical, economical, and clear." - New York Times Book Review"

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Book SynopsisGod is great—for your mental, physical, and spiritual health. Based on new evidence culled from brain-scan studies, a wide-reaching survey of people’s religious and spiritual experiences, and the authors’ analyses of adult drawings of God, neuroscientist Andrew Newberg and therapist Mark Robert Waldman offer the following breakthrough discoveries: • Not only do prayer and spiritual practice reduce stress, but just twelve minutes of meditation per day may slow down the aging process.• Contemplating a loving God rather than a punitive God reduces anxiety and depression and increases feelings of security, compassion, and love.• Fundamentalism, in and of itself, can be personally beneficial, but the prejudice generated by extreme beliefs can permanently damage your brain.• Intense prayer and meditation permanently change numerous structures and functions in the brain, altering your values and the way you perceive reality.Both a revelatory work of modern science and a practical guide for readers to enhance their physical and emotional health, How God Changes Your Brain is a first-of-a-kind book about faith that is as credible as it is inspiring.

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Book SynopsisConfused by metaphysics? In a muddle with aesthetics? Intimidated by Kant? Then look no further! Philosophy For Dummies, UK Edition is a complete crash-course in philosophical thought, covering key philosophers, philosophical history and theory and the big questions that affect us today.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1 Part I: What Is Philosophy 7 Chapter 1: What's Philosophy All About 9 Chapter 2: Discovering Why Philosophy Matters 25 Chapter 3: Becoming a Philosophical Thinker 43 Part II: The History of Philosophy 57 Chapter 4: Looking at Ancient Philosophies 59 Chapter 5: Moving from the Dark Ages to the Modern Day 73 Chapter 6: Looking at Eastern Philosophy 99 Chapter 7: Understanding the 'Isms' 115 Part III: The Nuts and Bolts of Philosophy 133 Chapter 8: Seeing the Limits of Logic 135 Chapter 9: Understanding Knowledge 155 Chapter 10: Separating Fact from Fiction 167 Chapter 11: Interpreting Language 185 Part IV: Exploring the Mind, Consciousness and Morality 203 Chapter 12: Exploring the Strange Notion of Mind 205 Chapter 13: Looking at Ethics and Morality 221 Chapter 14: Political Philosophy 255 Chapter 15: Looking Out for Liberty 281 Chapter 16: Aesthetics and Human Values 297 Part V: Philosophy and Science 319 Chapter 17: From Ancient Science to Modern Philosophy 321 Chapter 18: Investigating the Science of Society 333 Chapter 19: Exploring Scientifi c Truth and Scientific Fashions 355 Part VI: The Part of Tens 373 Chapter 20: Ten Famous Philosophical Books – and What They Say 375 Chapter 21: Ten Philosophical Puzzles to Keep You Thinking 383 Index 393

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Book SynopsisIn this clear and evocative account, John Gaskin unfolds the thinking about nature, life, death and other worlds that informed the culture and society of the Classical world, drawing out its interest for modern readers. Witty sketches and diagrams enliven the story, which runs from Homeric Greece to the banning of pagan religions in ad 391. The book concludes with a gazetteer describing notable sites and the people and ideas connected with them, making it an ideal companion for visitors to Classical ruins and for all armchair travellers curious to explore life's big questions.Trade Review'A great idea, smartly executed … You’ll never confuse a Stoic with a Cynic again' - Independent'One of my favourite discoveries in the last twelve months' - Juxtabook'Clear and evocative … a delightful book … It is written with a light and witty touch but you will be the wiser for reading it' - Timeless TravelsTable of ContentsPart I – The Idea of Hellenism: What the Greeks Created: 1. The Scheme of Things Entire • 2. The Idea of Hellenism • 3. Wine, Sex and the Symposium • 4. Theatres: Festivals, Entertainments and Meetings • 5. Temples: Gods, Feasts and Safe Deposits • Part II – The Ideal of Homer and the Ideas of the Philosophers: • 1. Troy: The Legend and the Book • 2. Troy: The Book and the Ideals • 3. Miletus: The Nature of the Universe • 4 Ionia and Western Greece: Laws, Numbers and Reality • 5. Athens: Socrates, Plato and Other Worlds • 6. Aristotle and this World: Nature, Life and Ethics • 7. Epicurus: The Garden and the Wilderness • 8. Stoicism: Duty and the Laws of Nature • 9. Neoplatonism: The Last Protest • 10. The End of Classical Antiquity • Part III – Cities and Citizens: A Gazetteer

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Book SynopsisThis is a collection of all Hegel's writings that are available in English. It contains four important "early writings", as well as selections from Hegel's mature writings and lectures.Trade Review"Stephen Houlgate has produced what is, without question, the most comprehensive and useful selection of Hegel texts yet. Not only has he provided generous selections from the whole range of Hegel's output, from the early writings through the mature system, but somehow he has also managed to include nearly every passage that has become important to later philosophers from Marx and Feuerbach through Heidegger, Adorno, Derrida and Deleuze. Add to this Houlgate's splendid introduction in which he lucidly outlines the fundamental gestures of Hegel's thought as radicalising and completing Kant's project for a critical philosophy, and one has a one-volume 'Hegel' that will deservedly dominate the field for years to come." J. M. Bernstein, Vanderbilt University "Houlgate's collection is the best and most thoughtful assembly of Hegel's key writings in one volume to date. In some ways, this is the 'encyclopaedic' presentation of Hegel's thought that Hegel should have collected himself instead of the Encyclopaedia that he actually wrote." Terry Pinkard, Georgetown UniversityTable of ContentsPreface. Acknowledgements. General Introduction. Part I: Early Writings:. Introduction. 1. The Earliest System-Programme of German Idealism. 2. Love. 3. Fragment of a System. 4. The Difference Between Fichte's and Schelling's System of Philosophy: The Need of Philosophy. Part II: Phenomenology of Spirit:. Introduction. 5. Phenomenology of Spirit: Preface. 6. Phenomenology of Spirit: Introduction. 7. Phenomenology of Spirit: Consciousness. Sense-certainty. 8. Phenomenology of Spirit: Self-consciousness. 9. Phenomenology of Spirit: Spirit. Absolute Freedom and Terror. 10. Phenomenology of Spirit: Spirit. Absolute Knowing. Part III: Logic:. Introduction. 11. Encyclopaedia Logic: Introduction. 12. Encyclopaedia Logic: Preliminary Conception. 13. Science of Logic: Introduction. 14. Science of Logic: With What Must the Science Begin?. 15. Science of Logic: Doctrine of Being. 16. Science of Logic: Doctrine of Essence. 17. Science of Logic: Doctrine of the Notion [Concept]. Part IV: Philosophy of Nature and Philosophy of Subjective Spirit:. Introduction. 18. Philosophy of Nature: Introduction. 19. Philosophy of Nature: Mechanics. Space and Time. 20. Philosophy of Nature: Organics. The Animal Organism. 21. Philosophy of Spirit: Introduction. 22. Philosophy of Subjective Spirit: Anthropology and Phenomenology of Spirit. 23. Philosophy of Subjective Spirit: Psychology. Part V: Philosophy of Objective Spirit: Philosophy of Right and Philosophy of History:. Introduction. 24. Philosophy of Right: Preface and Introduction. 25. Philosophy of Right: Abstract Right and Morality. 26. Philosophy of Right: Ethical Life. 27. Philosophy of History: Introduction. Part VI: Philosophy of Absolute Spirit: Aesthetics, Philosophy of Religion and History of Philosophy:. Introduction. 28. Aesthetics: The Ideal. 29. Aesthetics: The Particular Forms of Art. 30. Aesthetics: Tragedy, Comedy and Drama. 31. Philosophy of Religion: Preface and the Consummate Religion. 32. History of Philosophy: Introduction. Bibliography. Index.

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Book SynopsisSince it appeared in 1971, John Rawls's A Theory of Justice has become a classic. The author has now revised the original edition to clear up a number of difficulties he and others have found in the original book.Trade ReviewI don’t know of a more lucid articulation of the intuitions many of us share about what is just. -- Scott Turow * New York Times Book Review *In his magisterial new work…John Rawls draws on the most subtle techniques of contemporary analytic philosophy to provide the social contract tradition with what is, from a philosophical point of view at least, the most formidable defense it has yet received…[and] makes available the powerful intellectual resources and the comprehensive approach that have so far eluded antiutilitarians. He also makes clear how wrong it was to claim, as so many were claiming only a few years back, that systematic moral and political philosophy are dead… Whatever else may be true it is surely true that we must develop a sterner and more fastidious sense of justice. In making his peerless contribution to political theory, John Rawls has made a unique contribution to this urgent task. No higher achievement is open to a scholar. -- Marshall Cohen * New York Times Book Review *Rawls’s Theory of Justice is widely and justly regarded as this century’s most important work of political philosophy. Originally published in 1971, it quickly became the subject of extensive commentary and criticism, which led Rawls to revise some of the arguments he had originally put forward in this work… This edition will certainly become the definitive one; all scholars will use it, and it will be an essential text for any academic library. It contains a new preface that helpfully outlines the major revisions, and a ‘conversion table’ that correlates the pagination of this edition with the original, which will be useful to students and scholars working with this edition and the extensive secondary literature on Rawls’s work. Highly recommended. -- J. D. Moon * Choice *[Rawls] has elucidated a conception of justice which goes beyond anything to be found in Kant or Rousseau. It is a convincing refutation, if one is needed, of any lingering suspicions that the tradition of English-speaking political philosophy might be dead. Indeed, his book might plausibly be claimed to be the most notable contribution to that tradition to have been published since Sidgwick and Mill. * Times Literary Supplement *Enlightenment comes in various forms, sometimes even by means of books. And it is a pleasure to recommend…an indigenous American philosophical masterpiece of the first order… I mean…to press my recommendation of [this book] to non-philosophers, especially those holding positions of responsibility in law and government. For the topic with which it deals is central to this country’s purposes, and the misunderstanding of that topic is central to its difficulties… And the central idea is simple, elegant, plausible, and easily applied by anybody at any time as a measure of the justice of his own actions. -- Peter Caws * New Republic *With the simple carpentry of its arguments, its egalitarian leanings, and its preoccupation with fairness, Rawls’s classic 1971 work, A Theory of Justice, is as American a book as, say, Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. -- Will Blythe * Civilization *Table of ContentsPreface for the Revised Edition Preface PART ONE THEORY Chapter Justice as Fairness The Role of Justice The Subject of Justice The Main idea of The Theory of Justice The Original Position and Justification Classical Utilitarianism Some Related Contrasts Intuitionism The Priority Problem Some Remarks about Moral Theory The Principles of Justice Institutions and Formal Justice Two Principles of Justice Interpretations of The Second Principle Democratic Equality and The Difference Principle Fair Equality of Opportunity and Pure Procedural Justice Primary Social Goods as The Basis of Expectations Relevant Social Positions The Tendency to Equality Principles for Individuals: The Principle of Fairness Principles for Individuals: The Natural Duties The Original Position The Nature of The Argument for Conceptions of Justice The Presentation of Alternatives The Circumstances of Justice The Formal Constraints of The Concept of Right The Veil of Ignorance The Rationality of The Parties The Reasoning Leading to The Two Principles of Justice The Reasoning Leading to The Principle of Average Utility Some Difficulties with The Average Principle Some Main Grounds for The Two Principles of Justice Classical Utilitarianism, Impartiality, and Benevolence PART TWO: INSTITUTIONS Equal Liberty The Four-Stage Sequence The Concept of Liberty Equal Liberty of Conscience Toleration and The Common Interest Toleration of The Intolerant Political Justice and The Constitution Limitations on The Principle of Participation The Rule of Law The Priority of Liberty Defined The Kantian Interpretation of Justice as Fairness Distributive Shares The Concept of Justice in Political Economy Some Remarks about Economic Systems Background Institutions for Distributive Justice The Problem of Justice between Generations Time Preference Further Cases of Priority The Precepts of Justice Legitimate Expectations and Moral Desert Comparison with Mixed Conceptions The Principle of Perfection Duty and Obligation The Arguments for The Principles of Natural Duty The Arguments for The Principle of Fairness The Duty to Comply with an Unjust Law The Status of Majority Rule The Definition of Civil Disobedience The Definition of Conscientious Refusal The Justification of Civil Disobedience The Justification of Conscientious Refusal The Role of Civil Disobedience PART THREE: ENDS Goodness as Rationality The Need for a Theory of The Good The Definition of Good for Simpler Cases A Note on Meaning The Definition of Good for Plans of Life Deliberative Rationality The Aristotelian Principle The Definition of Good Applied to Persons Self-Respect, Excellences, and Shame Several Contrasts between The Right and The Good The Sense of Justice The Concept of a Well-Ordered Society The Morality of Authority The Morality of Association The Morality of Principles Features of The Moral Sentiments The Connection between Moral and Natural Attitudes The Principles of Moral Psychology The Problem of Relative Stability The Basis of Equality The Good of Justice Autonomy and Objectivity The Idea of Social Union The Problem of Envy Envy and Equality The Grounds for The Priority of Liberty Happiness and Dominant Ends Hedonism as a Method of Choice The Unity of The Self The Good of The Sense of Justice Concluding Remarks on Justification Conversion Table Index

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Book SynopsisFrederick Copleston was born in Somerset in 1907. After studying at Oxford, he held a number of academic posts, including Professor of the History of Philosophy and Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at London University. He died in 1994.

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Book SynopsisCelebrate the Dude with an abiding look at the philosophy behind The Big Lebowski Is the Dude a bowling-loving stoner or a philosophical genius living the good life? Naturally, it's the latter, and The Big Lebowski and Philosophy explains why.Table of ContentsACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Thanks to Some Real Achievers xi Introduction: Sometimes There’s a Film 1 PART ONE FIRST ROUND ROBIN: TYING IT ALL TOGETHER, OR NOT 1. What Would the Dude Do? Deconstructing the Dude 7 Joseph A. Zeccardi and Hilda H. Ma 2. The Big Lebowski and Mathematical Logic 24 Craig Jackson PART TWO SECOND ROUND ROBIN: THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITION, OR FROM SOCRATES TO SANDY KOUFAX 3. The Dude Abides, but Does He Flourish? 39 Jason T. Eberl 4. “Man Down!”: Aristotle, Epicurus, and the Dude on Friendship and Solidarity 55 Ian O’Loughlin 5. Epicurus and “Contented Poverty”: The Big Lebowski as Epicurean Parable 67 Morgan Rempel 6. Buddhism, Daoism, and Dudeism 79 Joseph J. Lynch PART THREE THIRD ROUND ROBIN: OVER THE LINE! 7. Drawing a Line in the Sand: Rules of Aggression in The Big Lebowski 93 David Svolba and Adam Betz 8. “That Ain’t Legal Either”: Rules, Virtue, and Authenticity in The Big Lebowski 106 Troy Jollimore and Robert C. Jones PART FOUR FOURTH ROUND ROBIN: NOTHING TO BE AFRAID OF 9. Bowling Our Way out of Nihilism 123 Jeffery Nicholas 10. Existentialism, Absurdity, and The Big Lebowski 136 Bryan N. Baird 11. Bowling, Despair, and American Nihilism 147 Evan Brown and Peter S. Fosl PART FIVE FIFTH ROUND ROBIN: WHAT MAKES A DUDE? 12. The Big Lebowski’s Oedipal Complex 161 Roger Hunt 13. In the Dude, I Abide: Being an Achiever at Lebowski Fest 174 Julie Dufort and Roseline Lemire-Cadieux 14. “Mr. Treehorn Treats Objects Like Women, Man”: The Dude as Feminist Ally 190 Ben Almassi 15. “Well, I Do Work, Sir”: The Dude and the Value of Sloth 207 Nicolas Michaud PART SIX SIXTH ROUND ROBIN: MARK IT ZERO! 16. “Am I Wrong?”: Walter’s Will to Believe 221 Daniel P. Malloy 17. “That’s Just Like, Uh, Your Opinion, Man”: Jesus, the Dude, and Ordinary Language Philosophy 237 Reuben Stern and Sam Wilkinson PART SEVEN SEVENTH ROUND ROBIN: LIVIN’ IN THE PAST 18. Hippies, Jews, and the Philosophy of Memory 251 Clancy Smith 19. “I Don’t Roll on Shabbas!”: Jewish Identity and the Meaning of History in The Big Lebowski 262 Joseph A. Edelheit CONTRIBUTORS: The Rest of the Dude’s Bowling Team 275 INDEX: Little of This, Little of That 283

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Book SynopsisAn imagination of possibilities, of miscalculations, of futures off-kilter “Probability is a chimera, its head is true, its tail a suggestion. Futurologists attempt to compel the head to eat the tail (ouroboros). Here, though, we will try to wag the tail.” —Vilém Flusser Two years after his Vampyroteuthis Infernalis, the philosopher Vilém Flusser engaged in another thought experiment: a collection of twenty-two “scenarios for the future” to be produced as computer-generated media, or technical images, that would break the imaginative logjam in conceiving the social, political, and economic future of the universe. What If? is not just an “impossible journey” to which Flusser invites us in the first scenario; it functions also as a distorting mirror held up to humanity. Flusser’s disarming scenarios of an Anthropocene fraught with nightmares offer new visions that range from the scientific to the fantastic to the playful and whimsical. Each essay reflects our present sense of understanding the world, considering the exploitation of nature and the dangers of global warming, overpopulation, and blind reliance on the promises of scientific knowledge and invention. What If? offers insight into the radical futures of a slipstream Anthropocene that have much to do with speculative fiction, with Flusser’s concept of design as “crafty” or slippery, and with art and the immense creative potential of failure versus reasonable, “good” computing or calculability. As such, the book is both a warning and a nudge to imagine what we may yet become and be.Trade Review"While the universe Flusser created with his previous book, Vampyroteuthis Infernalis, explores a single alternate lifeworld coherent in its mirroring of the human species by a cephalopod, each scenario in What If? suggests a variety of new ideas, given the speculative, projecting nature of their setting—in the best and most creative sense of ‘what if’—in the past, the present, or the future."—from the IntroductionTable of ContentsIntroduction: What If? Into the Slipstream of Flusser’s “Field of Possibilities”Anke FingerFirst Scenario: What If . . .Part I. Scenes from Family LifeSecond Scenario: GrandmotherThird Scenario: GrandfatherFourth Scenario: Great UncleFifth Scenario: BrothersSixth Scenario: SonSeventh Scenario: GrandchildrenEighth Scenario: Great-GrandchildrenPart II. Scenes from Economic LifeNinth Scenario: Economic MiracleTenth Scenario: Foreign AidEleventh Scenario: Mechanical EngineeringTwelfth Scenario: AgricultureThirteenth Scenario: Chemical IndustryFourteenth Scenario: Animal HusbandryPart III. Scenes from PoliticsFifteenth Scenario: WarSixteenth Scenario: Aural ObedienceSeventeenth Scenario: Perpetual PeaceEighteenth Scenario: RevolutionNineteenth Scenario: Parliamentary DemocracyTwentieth Scenario: Aryan ImperialismTwenty-First Scenario: Black Is BeautifulPart IV. ShowdownTwenty-Second Scenario: A BreatherAfterwordKenneth GoldsmithAcknowledgmentsNotes

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Book Synopsis'Brings cooling clarity to the heat of today's culture wars' Priyamvada Gopal, author of Insurgent Empire'Allows us to not only interrogate our own views, but to persuade others using reason and optimism. A must read' Aaron Bastani, author of Fully Automated Luxury CommunismCan white people be victims of racism?Is it sexist to say 'men are trash'?Should we worry about 'cancel culture'?Tired of having the same old arguments? Kicking yourself for not being able to justify your views? Wondering whether individuals can bring about meaningful change?Now imagine that instead of losing another hour of your life in a social media spat or knowing that the only way to make it through lunch was by biting your tongue, you could find a way to talk about injustice - and, just possibly, change someone's mind.Many of us know what we think about inequality, but flounder when asked for our reasoning, leading to a conversational stalemate - especially when faced with a political, generational, or cultural divide. But living in echo chambers blunts our thinking, and if we can't persuade others, we have little hope of collectively bringing about change.In Arguing for a Better World, philosopher Arianne Shahvisi draws on examples from everyday life to show us how to work through a set of thorny moral questions, equipping us to not only identify our positions but to carefully defend them.'Logical, readable, authoritative . . . An everyday manual on how oppression came about, how it works, why it persists, and how to defeat it' Danny Dorling, author of Injustice: Why Social Inequality Still Persists and A Better PoliticsTrade ReviewOften entertaining and funny; always concise, exacting, logical, readable, authoritative and un-put-downable. An everyday manual on how oppression came about, how it works, why it persists, and how to defeat it -- Danny Dorling, author of Injustice: Why Social Inequality Still Persists and A Better PoliticsWe live in an age of information overload, and unfortunately, 'information' is often misinformation. We often don't know how to think about social problems, let alone what to think. Arianne Shahvisi's book cuts through the noise with an eminently sensible discussion of key contemporary 'culture war' issues. It shows us how philosophy, far from being irrelevant, is essential for navigating today's world of client journalism-manufactured, social media-manipulated outrage. It also provides much-needed reassurance that in the struggle to create a better world, being able to 'show our workings' is much more important than always being right -- ALISON PHIPPS, author of Me, Not You: The Trouble with Mainstream FeminismThis brilliant and very enjoyable book brings cooling clarity and patient empathy to the noise and heat of today's so-called 'Culture Wars'. This is insightful explication at its best, essential reading for anyone engaged with many of today's most pressing public arguments -- Priyamvada Gopal, Author of INSURGENT EMPIREGives progressives everything they need to defend their views in an increasingly polarized public sphere . . . Arguing for a Better World belongs on nightstands and in book clubs everywhere -- Carol Hay, author of Think Like a Feminist: The Philosophy Behind the RevolutionAllows us to not only interrogate our own views, but to persuade others using reason and optimism. A must read -- Aaron Bastani, author of Fully Automated Luxury Communism: A ManifestoShahvisi is a bold and necessary new literary voice whose work has the power to transform our world for the better -- Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, author The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams DeferredRefreshing . . . Arguing for a Better World challenges us to go beyond popular or popularising opinions and instead to learn to argue and defend well-reasoned positions * Sunday Business Post *

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Book SynopsisScruton argues that the tragedies and disasters of the history of the European continent have been the consequences of a false optimism and the fallacies that derive from it. In place of these fallacies, Scruton mounts a passionate defence of both civil society and freedom. He shows that the true legacy of European civilisation is not the false idealisms that have almost destroyed it - in the shapes of Nazism, fascism and communism - but the culture of forgiveness and irony which we must now protect from those whom it offends. The Uses of Pessimism is a passionate plea for reason and responsibility, written at a time of profound change.

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Book SynopsisRené Girard (1923-) was Andrew B. Hammond Professor Emeritus of French Language, Literature, and Civilization at Stanford University, USA, from 1981 to his retirement in 1995. A historian, literary critic and philosopher, he is the author of over 30 books including Violence and the Sacred.Trade ReviewRene Girard's work is both a rationally articulated study and a prophetic vision of the hidden origins of culture and the nature of cultural processes. In its enormous, breathtaking scope it suggests the projects of those nineteenth century intellectual giants (Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Freud) who still cast long shadows today. By contrast, contemporary criticism seems paltry and faint-hearted. * Comparative Literature *[A] highly readable talent for analyzing and deconstructing myth... original and provocative. * Sunday Times *One of the most striking theories of human culture ever presented. * Christianity and Literature *Table of ContentsBOOK I: FUNDAMENTAL ANTHROPOLOGY Chapter 1: The Victimage Mechanism as the Basis of Religion Acquisitive Mimesis and Mimetic Rivalry; The Function of the Law: Prohibiting Imitation; The Function of Ritual: Imperative Mimesis; Sacrifice and the Victimage Mechanism; The Theory of Religion Chapter 2: The Development of Culture and Institutions Variants in Ritual; Sacred Kingship and Central Power; The Polyvalence of Ritual and the Specificity of Institutions; The Domestication of Animals and Ritual Hunting; Sexual Prohibitions and the Principle of Exchange; Death and Funeral Rites Chapter 3: The Process of Hominization Posing the Problem; Ethology and Ethnology; The Victimage Mechanism and Hominization; The Transcendental Signifier Chapter 4: Myth: The Invisibility of the Founding Murder The 'Radical Elimination'; 'Negative Connotation', 'Positive Connotation'; Physical Signs of the Surrogate Victim Chapter 5: Texts of Persecution Persecution Demystified: The Achievement of the Modern and Western World; The Double Semantic Sense of the Word 'Scapegoat'; The Historical Emergence of the Victimage Mechanism BOOK II: THE JUDAEO-CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES Chapter 1: Things hidden since the Foundation of the World Similarities between the Biblical Myths and World Mythology; The Distinctiveness of the Biblical Myths; The Gospel Revelation of the Founding Murder Chapter 2: A Non-Sacrificial Reading of the Gospel Text Christ and Sacrifice; The Impossibility of the Sacrificial Reading; Apocalypse and Parable; Powers and Principalities; The Preaching of the Kingdom; Kingdom and Apocalypse; The Non-Sacrificial Death of Christ; The Divinity of Christ; The Virgin Birth Chapter 3: The Sacrificial Reading and Historical Christianity Implications of the Sacrificial Reading; The Epistle to the Hebrews; The Death of Christ and the End of the Sacred; Sacrifice of the Other and Sacrifice of the Self; The Judgement of Solomon; A New Sacrificial Reading: The Semiotic Analysis; The Sacrificial Reading and History; Science and Apocalypse Chapter 4: The Logos of Heraclitus and the Logos of John The Logos in Philosophy; The Two Types of Logos in Heidegger; Defining the Johannine Logos in Terms of the Victim; 'In the Beginning . . .'; Love and Knowledge BOOK III: INTERDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY Chapter 1: Mimetic Desire Acquisitive Mimesis and Mimetic Desire; Mimetic Desire and the Modern World; The Mimetic Crisis and the Dynamism of Desire; The Mimesis of Apprenticeship and the Mimesis ofRivalry; Gregory Bateson's 'Double Bind'; From ObjectRivalry to Metaphysical Desire Chapter 2: Desire without Object Doubles and Interdividuality; Symptoms of Alternation; The Disappearance of the Object and Psychotic Structure;Hypnosis and Possession Chapter 3: Mimesis and Sexuality What is known as 'Masochism'; Theatrical 'Sado-Masochism'; Homosexuality; Mimetic Latency and Rivalry; The End of Platonism in Psychology Chapter 4: Psychoanalytic Mythology Freud's Platonism and the Use of the Oedipal Archetype; How do you reproduce a Triangle?; Mimesis and Representation; The Double Genesis of Oedipus; Why Bisexuality?; Narcissism: Freud's Desire; The Metaphors of Desire Chapter 5: Beyond Scandal Proust's Conversion; Sacrifice and Psychotherapy; Beyond the Pleasure Principle and Structural Psychoanalysis; The DeathInstinct and Modern Culture; The Skandalon To Conclude Notes Bibliography Index

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