Philosophy: metaphysics and ontology Books

Book SynopsisA strong and growing intuition in society today is the idea that our thoughts create our own reality. Yet it seems obvious that, try as we might, our lives are not quite what we fantasize. Is the intuition thus wrong? Through a rational, methodic interpretation of meditative insights, the validity of which is substantiated with a compelling scientific literature review, the author constructs hypotheses that reconcile facts with intuition. Mesmerizing narratives of his expeditions into the unconscious suggest an amazing possibility: just as dreams are seemingly autonomous manifestations of our psyche, reality may be an externalized combination of the subconscious dreams of us all, mixed as they are projected onto the fabric of space-time. Perhaps the laws of physics are an emergent by-product of such synchronization of thoughts. Through computer simulations, the author explores the implications of these hypotheses, with conclusions uncannily reminiscent of observed phenomena.

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Book SynopsisAccording to Peter van Inwagen, visible inanimate objects do not, strictly speaking, exist. In defending this controversial thesis, he offers fresh insights on such topics as personal identity, commonsense belief, existence over time, the phenomenon...Trade Review"A fascinating, densely argued, and highly original book on the metaphysics of material objects. The objections van Inwagen raises to the standard views on material parthood are not easily answered. Moreover, his examination of the topic of personal identity is a significant contribution to the philosophy of the mind."—Philosophical Review"Commonplace things such as hawks and handsaws pose philosophical problems at least as imposing as those presented by abstract objects such as numbers and divine beings. Van Inwagen argues vigorously for the view that our world contains . . . only living organisms, the activity of whose various parts constitute a life and against psychological accounts of personal identity. This gives only a rough idea of the contents of this rich and rewarding book."—Review of Metaphysics"There is much to bee learned from this book. . . . Material Beings is a refreshing example of straight-on, full-speed metaphysics. Van Inwagen goes where his arguments lead him—and they lead him to some remarkable places indeed."—Philosophy and Phenomenological Research

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Book SynopsisKaren L French investigates geometrical mysteries and explains the purposes of geometric shapes that are the unchanging, building blocks of reality, such as time and space. French also reveals the hidden messages of this sacred geometry, as ever-present signs and symbols that commune with our hearts and souls, and guide our spiritual pathway.Trade ReviewA Glorious work that fires the imagination and helps us appreciate the truth of our reality. Nexus Magazine: Through this book Karen French shares a personal view on the nature of sacred geometry. Those looking for a comprehensive reference book on the subject will I am sure find what they are looking for in this compilation. Paradigm Shift; Circles, squares, triangles, crosses and spirals will never seem the same again. Pilgrim's MBSTable of ContentsAcknowledgements 7 Preface: Sharing a journey 8 1 The language of shapes 10 2 Fruits of the imagination 15 PART I The Matrix of Space-Time-Being 29 3 Circular Grid of time 30 4 The single Central Point 36 5 The interplay of duality 39 6 Squared Grid of space 44 7 Triangular Grid of Being 54 8 Creation in motion 67 9 Getting multi-dimensional 82 PART II Our inner journey 99 10 Window of our Mind 100 11 The force of life 114 12 Direction of the Cross 139 13 Loving hearts 158 14 The Great work 165 Summary A 174 PART III Gateway to the Heavens 177 15 Gateway to the Heavens symbol 178 Summary B 186 16 Our inner quest 196 Glossary 212 People, places and periods 216 Index 219

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Book SynopsisEnnead VI.4–5, originally written as a single treatise, contains Plotinus’ most general and sustained exposition of the relationship between the intelligible and sensible realms, addressing and coalescing two central issues in Platonism: the nature of the soul–body relationship and the nature of participation. Its main question is, How can soul animate bodies without sharing in their extension? The treatise seems to have had considerable impact: it is much reflected in Porphyry’s important work, Sententiae, and the doctrine of reception according to the capacity of the recipient, for which this treatise is the main source, resonated in medieval thinkers.Trade ReviewThis new English translation of, and commentary on, Plotinus, Ennead VI.4-5, the joint achievement of the Plotinian scholars Eyjólfur K. Emilsson and Steven K. Strange, combines philological rigor with philosophical insight"". - Bryn Mawr Classical Review

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Book SynopsisHow can human beings, who are liable to error, possess knowledge, since the grounds on which we believe do not rule out that we are wrong? Andrea Kern argues that we can disarm this skeptical doubt by conceiving knowledge as an act of a ratio­nal capacity. In this book, she develops a metaphysics of the mind as existing through knowledge of itself.Trade ReviewThis is an excellent book. It is lucid, forceful, and rich in thought-provoking ideas. I believe it is one of the most interesting and potentially significant contributions to the field of epistemology of the last decade. Given the richness of its discussion, however, Kern’s book will be interesting not just to professional epistemologists, but to a wide philosophical readership. -- Matthew Boyle, University of ChicagoThis is an extraordinary, daring book. It is an original and powerful contribution to epistemology that reorients, or gets beneath, a number of debates that have shaped the discipline in the last few decades. It reaches beyond the limits of epistemology, locating its results concerning human knowledge within a metaphysics of the human mind, a metaphysics that articulates the self-understanding internal to our existence. -- Christoph Menke, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main

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Book SynopsisThe One and the Many presents metaphysics as an integrated whole, drawing on on Aquinas' themes, structure, and insight.Trade Review“Both students and teacher will benefit from a highly readable account of major themes in Aquinas’ metaphysics. The material is presented in a way accessible to those unfamiliar with the formidable Aristotelian apparatus usually presumed in textbook presentations of Aquinas. Clarke divides his book into short, easily digestible chapters.” —Theological Studies“This is the book that many of us have long been waiting for: the systematic exposition of the Thomistically inspired but creative metaphysical system of one of the foremost philosophers in the Thomistic tradition. The work is not a recapitulation of standard Thomistic metaphysics so much as a re-creation, on Thomistic principles, of a contemporary metaphysical view that pushes Thomas’ principles to new developments and applications. Clarke stresses participation in the act of existence, substance as dynamic, system as a new metaphysical category, philosophic ramifications of evolution and relativity, and the great circle of being embodied in the universe. The book is well suited to both as a text in a course in metaphysics and as an historically conscious source of insights for the professional philosopher.” —James W. Felt, S.J., John Nobili Professor of Philosophy, Santa Clara University“This book is rich in metaphysical insight and suggestiveness. At the same time it manages to be a rigorous presentation of Thomistic metaphysics suitable to contemporary life.” —Encounter"Clarke has written a very interesting and provocative book, one that is likely to inspire future students to study metaphysics in the Thomistic tradition. We are especially indebted to Clarke for his willingness to engage modern science and his contribution to the revival of metaphysics as a systematic study." —The Thomist“W. Norris Clarke is one of the giants of North American Thomism. For over fifty years he has been a learned and illuminating interpreter of the metaphysics of Aquinas . . . in this book he provides the most comprehensive presentation to date of his distinctive philosophical and metaphysical thinking. Overall, Clarke had produced a most stimulating and thought-provoking book on the subject of metaphysics. It is replete with insights and written with a rare generosity of spirit which is most uplifting to read.” —The Heythrop Journal“[A] masterly account of the metaphysical system which he has worked out over a lifetime of historical research, teaching, and writing. Those who have been waiting for this account will not be disappointed. The One and The Manyis a very important book and its contribution to speculative metaphysics and to the Thomistic tradition is outstanding.” —Maritain Notebook“...crisp, clear and easy to understand metaphysical arguments. It presents a well-justified Thomistic metaphysical theory. The importance of this book goes far beyond that of a good Thomistic textbook. Its ahistorical approach should enable The One and the Many to become a voice in contemporary discussions of metaphysical issues.” —The Review of Metaphysics“After a lifetime in the study and teaching of philosophy, especially to undergraduates at Fordham University, Norris Clarke has produced a valuable textbook of metaphysics, inspired by St. Thomas, and adapted to issues of the present day. It does not just repeat what St. Thomas said, but retrieves it, completes it, appropriates it, and systematises it.” —Australasian Catholic Record“Norris Clarke is a master of metaphysics, and one to whom others can well appretice themselves, since he is himself so astute an apprentice of classical figures in philosophy. This intended advanced text for systematic metaphysics is just that: advanced yet pedagogically planned; systematic yet suffused with heart. A sterling example from an exemplary oeuvre.” — David Burrell, C.S.C.

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Book SynopsisDelve into the alchemy of the nature's creative process, into the heart of existence and its composition of sacred geometry, energy of light, vibrant colours, and the Classical Elements of water, fire, earth and air. Learn how our own creativity as a science blended with spirituality, invoked by the power of intent, produces living works of art.Trade ReviewBreathtaking in its scope and fascinating in its detail, The Hidden Geometry of Life is nothing less than a comprehensive and coherent account, in words and images, of the nature and meaning of reality, a vision in which science and spirit unite. The harmony in our world and the cosmos is awe-inspiring, and is brilliantly portrayed here in images and words which reveal the connection between art, geometry, science, consciousness and spirituality. An illuminating book indeed! NEXUS MAGAZINE; Karen L French provides the key into the doorways of understanding so as to empower artists in their calling and begin their journey into truly 'seeing'. ARTLYST; Karen L French has given us a tour de force of accessible science that will appeal to budding scientists as well as to anyone with an enquiring mind. A sumptuously illustrated and hugely inspirational book. Physicist JOHN STUART REID; This lavishly illustrated in and erudite book takes the reader on a journey through the formative forces of the physical world. The narrative draws on many cultures, and contains many inspiring and instructive quotations from scientists, artists and philosophers. Key details are explained in special boxes, enabling the reader to deepen their understanding of specific points. The last chapter ends with a metaphysical poem, I AM, HERE, NOW, celebrating the joy of learning through life experience. A richly textured and revealing book. NETWORK REVIEW Journal of the Scientific and Medical NetworkTable of ContentsIntroduction 6 PART I Shaping Reality 8 1 Language of Numbers and Their Shapes 10 2 Circle, Unity and the Duals 18 3 Square, Space-Time and the Cross 28 4 Triangles and Being 34 5 Matrix of Space-Time-Being 42 6 Spiral Life Force 46 7 Numbers 5 and 10 54 8 Pattern-Sharing and Fractal Geometry 62 PART II Structure of Being 72 9 To Be and Being 74 10 Mind and Sentience 79 11 Classical Elements as Metaphors 88 12 Classical Elements and the Platonic Solids 96 13 What is Matter? 102 14 Geometry in Multiple Dimensions 112 PART III Medium of Sound 130 15 Sound as a Vehicle for Geometry 132 16 Sacred Sounds 142 17 Music, Rhythm and Harmony 148 PART IV Let There Be Light 158 18 Light Beings 160 19 Colours of Light 170 20 Music and Colour 180 PART V Gateway to Becoming 188 21 Holographic Universe 190 22 Illumination and Intention of the Mind 193 23 Gateway to the Heavens 197

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Book SynopsisA definitive and invaluable re-assessment of the last decade of speculative realism.

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Book SynopsisCarol Zaleski''s book is the first objective, comprehensive survey of the mass of evidence surrounding near-death experiences: the extraordinary visions and ecstatic feelings reported by people who have survived a close brush with death. Comparing recent near-death narratives with those of a much earlier period she finds both profound similarities and striking contrasts.Trade Review' An extremely interesting piece of work, and one that offers many shrewd insights.' New York Times'one of those books which ... has elegance and readability in direct proportion to its historical and anthropological learning ... whether one is wired to accept a religious or a hardcore naturalist interpretation of the constancy of such intimations, it is good to know they may be there.' City Limits

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Book SynopsisArgues that 'nobility of spirit' is the quintessence of a civilized world. This book identifies nobility of spirit in the life and work of Spinoza and of Thomas Mann; explores the quest for the good society in our own times; and addresses the pursuit of truth and freedom that engaged figures as disparate as Socrates and Leone Ginzburg.Trade Review“Rob Riemen has written a rare and much needed book, one which we appreciate not because we necessarily agree with its views, but for its commitment to ideas and its passion for imagination. It is a timely reminder of how imaginative knowledge can become a way of questioning, connecting to and changing the world as well as ourselves.”—Azar Nafisi -- Azar Nafisi“The author’s vast cultural knowledge, his firm commitment to liberal ideals and the agility of his pen make these essays an invaluable guide to orient us amid the great political and cultural problems—and the ideological confusions—of the world in which we live.”—Mario Vargas Llosa -- Mario Vargas Llosa“Rob Riemen's essays spring from a deep and firm conviction—they are like water from artesian wells and this is, I think, the main reason why they are so important and refreshing.”—Adam Zagajewski -- Adam Zagajewski“Written with such elegance, erudition and skill, a singular reflection of fundamental problems, virtues and vices, of our time.”—Ivan Klima -- Ivan Klima"Mr. Riemen's Nobility of Spirit is intended as a meditation on the forces that threaten civilization and, no less important, on the forces that are desperately needed to sustain it."—Darrin M. McMahon, Wall Street Journal -- Darrin M. McMahon * Wall Street Journal *"Agree or disagree with Riemen's profound, ambitious and high-minded plea, you will be thinking about his words for a long time. It's been ages since a work of non-fiction moved us this way. Read it."—The Elegant Variation (Blog) * The Elegant Variation (Blog) *"Riemen's study is beautifully crafted and luminously intelligent."—Richard Wolin, Dissent -- Richard Wolin * Dissent *"With beautiful clarity, Rob Riemen renders complex ideas simple and accessible to every earnest reader. His work is the embodiment of civilization: what it has sometimes briefly been, and what it can be again."—Cynthia Ozick -- Cynthia Ozick

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Book SynopsisThis is the first comprehensive book on the philosophy of time. Leading philosophers discuss the metaphysics of time, our experience and representation of time, the role of time in ethics and action, and philosophical issues in the sciences of time, especially quantum mechanics and relativity theory.Table of ContentsI: TIME AND METAPHYSICS; II: THE DIRECTION OF TIME; III: TIME, ETHICS, AND EXPERIENCE; IV: TIME IN CLASSICAL AND RELATIVISTIC PHYSICS; V: TIME IN A QUANTUM WORLD

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Book SynopsisHow to live meaningfully in the face of the unknowableWe human beings had no say in existingwe just opened our eyes and found ourselves here. We have a fundamental need to understand who we are and the world we live in. Reason takes us a long way, but mystery remains. When our minds and senses are baffled, faith can seem justifiedbut faith is not knowledge. In Ultimate Questions, acclaimed philosopher Bryan Magee provocatively argues that we have no way of fathoming our own natures or finding definitive answers to the big questions we all face.With eloquence and grace, Magee urges us to be the mapmakers of what is intelligible, and to identify the boundaries of meaningfulness. He traces this tradition of thought to his chief philosophical mentorsLocke, Hume, Kant, and Schopenhauerand shows why this approach to the enigma of existence can enrich our lives and transform our understanding of the human predicament. As Magee puts it, There is a world of difference between being lost in the daylight and being lost in the dark.The crowning achievement to a distinguished philosophical career, Ultimate Questions is a deeply personal meditation on the meaning of life and the ways we should live and face death.Trade Review"Magee's writing always makes very easy reading."--Anthony Kenny, Standpoint "[Magee] writes with relaxed fluency."--Rowan Williams, New Statesman "[Bryan Magee] writes with grace and offers a thoughtful summation of human experience."--Library Journal "Living and dying in a world we accept we do not understand may not sound easy, but if Magee is any guide, the reward of doing so is endless and profound wonder."--Julian Baggini, Independent "Magee is refreshingly comfortable acknowledging the uncanniness of human experience, including the aesthetic as well as the ethical... His case for acknowledging the extent of what we do not know is a useful corrective to 'jolly hockey sticks' humanism as well as religious dogma."--Dolan Cummings, Spiked "[Ultimate Questions] is ... a deeply personal and elegant summary of [Magee's] own individual journey to and through profound philosophical questions."--ChoiceTable of Contents1 Time and Space 1 2 Finding Our Bearings 17 3 The Human Predicament 33 4 Can Experience Be Understood? 59 5 Where Such Ideas Come From 69 6 Personal Reflections 87 7 Our Predicament Summarized 105 Index 129

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Book SynopsisAre there such things as merely possible people, who would have lived if our ancestors had acted differently? Are there future people, who have not yet been conceived? Questions like those raise deep issues about both the nature of being and its logical relations with contingency and change. In Modal Logic as Metaphysics, Timothy Williamson argues for positive answers to those questions on the basis of an integrated approach to the issues, applying the technical resources of modal logic to provide structural cores for metaphysical theories. He rejects the search for a metaphysically neutral logic as futile. The book contains detailed historical discussion of how the metaphysical issues emerged in the twentieth century development of quantified modal logic, through the work of such figures as Rudolf Carnap, Ruth Barcan Marcus, Arthur Prior, and Saul Kripke. It proposes higher-order modal logic as a new setting in which to resolve such metaphysical questions scientifically, by the constrTrade ReviewI am inclined to say that Modal Logic as Metaphysics is the greatest ever integrated study of the logic and the metaphysics of modality: it is almost certainly the most comprehensive. [It] is also, in my judgment, the most important book on the metaphysics of modality since On The Plurality of Worlds. * John Divers, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research *a very important addition to the literature... clear, meticulous, and ingenious... This tightly argued book contains a large number of interesting arguments, claims, observations, and comments on a wide variety of topics in modal logic and metaphysics. It reminds us that there is much useful philosophizing to be done beyond an incredulous stare. * Takashi Yagisawa, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *the issues raised by the book are among the most important in current work on modal metaphysics, and I very much hope that all metaphysicians of modality make the effort required to come to terms with its many ideas and arguments. * M. L. Cresswell, The Philosophical Quarterly *Table of ContentsPreface ; 1. Contingentism and Necessitism ; 2. The Barcan Formula and its Converse: Early Developments ; 3. Possible Worlds Model Theory ; 4. Predication and Modality ; 5. From First-Order to Higher-Order Modal Logic ; 6. Intensional Comprehension Principles and Metaphysics ; 7. Mappings between Contingentist and Necessitist Discourse ; 8. Consequences of necessitism ; Methodological Afterword ; Bibliography ; Index

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Book SynopsisWhat is the relation between a whole and its parts? Is a whole identical to its parts, or is there some other relation of composition? These questions are much discussed in modern philosophy; but Plato''s rich discussion of composition has been neglected. Verity Harte provides the first sustained examination of this Platonic discussion and explains its relations to modern debates. She reveals how, in several late works, Plato criticizes the view that a whole is identical to its parts. She then goes on to discuss the intriguing alternative conception of wholes he offers in its place. This book is an invaluable resource both for scholars of Plato and for modern metaphysicians. For scholars of Plato, Harte''s careful textual analysis provides fresh insights into some of his most difficult works. For modern metaphysicians, she illuminates the contemporary debate by placing it within an historical context.Trade Reviewa brilliant interpretation ... an excellent contribution to the discussion of mereorogical problems, ancient and modern. * Vojtech Hladky, Rhizai *Table of Contents1. THE PROBLEM OF COMPOSITION ; 2. COMPOSITION AS IDENTITY IN THE PARMENIDES AND SOPHIST ; 3. A NEW MODEL OF COMPOSITION ; 4. COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE ; 5. PLATO'S METAPHYSICS OF STRUCTURE

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Book SynopsisIn the interdisciplinary tradition of Buckminster Fuller's work, Gregory Bateson's Mind and Nature, and Fritjof Capra's Tao of Physics, Metapatterns embraces both nature and culture, seeking out the grand-scale patterns that help explain the functioning of our universe.Table of ContentsPrologue: What Are Metapatterns?1. Spheres2. Sheets and Tubes3. Borders4. Binaries5. Centers6. Layers7. Calendars8. Arrows9. Breaks10. CyclesEpilogue: What Are Metapatterns?— RevisitedAcknowledgmentsNotesReferencesIllustration CreditsIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewHaase and Sinclair render the German into a readable and fluent English. They make potentially clunky and jargon laden passages from the original seem natural, and also do a good job of dealing with the specific difficulties thrown up by this text. In particular, they confront well the problem of distinguishing between Historie, the study of the past, and Geschichte, which is the past in general, as it underpins reality. * Phenomenological Reviews *Table of ContentsTranslators' Introduction A. Preliminary Remarks 1. Remarks Preliminary to the Exercises 2. Title 3. The Appearance of our Endeavours B. Section I. Structure. Preparation and Preview of the Guiding Question. Historiology—Life 4. Historiology—The HistoricalOn the Unhistorical/Supra-historical and the Relation to Both 5. Section I. 1 6. Section I. 2 7. Section I 8. Comparing 9. The Determination of the Essence of the Human Being on the Basis of Animalityand the Dividing Line between Animal and Human Being 10. Nietzsche's Procedure. On the Determination of the Historicalfrom the Perspective of Forgetting and Remembering 11. 'Forgetting'—'Remembering'. The Question of 'Historiology' as the Question of the 'Human Being'. The Course of our Inquiry. One Path among Others. 12. Questions Relating to Section I 13. Forgetting 14. Nietzsche on Forgetting 15. 'Forgetting' and 'Remembering' 16. Historiology and 'the' Human Being 17. 'The Human Being'. 'Culture'. The 'People' and 'Genius' 18. Culture—Non-Culture, Barbarism 19. Human Being and Culture and the People 20. Nietzsche's Concept of 'Culture' 21. The Formally General Notion of 'Culture'. 'Culture' and 'Art' 22. 'The' Human Being and a Culture—a 'People' 23. 'Art' (and Culture) 24. Genius in Schopenhauer 25. The People and Great Individuals 26. Great Individuals as the Goal of 'Culture', of the People, of Humanity 27. 'Worldview' and Philosophy C. Section II. The Three Modes of Historiology 1. Monumental Historiology 28. The Question of the Essence of 'the Historical', i.e. of the Essence of Historiology 29. Section II. Structure (7 Paragraphs) D. Section III 30. The Essence of Antiquarian Historiology 31. Critical Historiology E. Nietzsche's Three Modes of Historiology and the Question of Historical Truth 32. 'Life' 33. 'Life'. Advocates, Defamers of Life 34. Historiology and Worldview 35. How is the Historical Determined? 36. The Belonging Together of the three Modes of Historiology and Historical Truth 37. The Three Modes of Historiology as Modes of the Remembering Relation to the Past 38. Section II F. The Human Being. Historiology and History. Temporality 39. Historiology—the Human Being—History (Temporality) 40. The Historical and the Unhistorical G. 'Historiology'. Historiology and History. Historiology and the Unhistorical 41. 'The Unhistorical' 42. The Un-historical 43. The Un-historical 44. History and Historiology 45. Nietzsche as 'Historian' 46. Historiology and History 47. 'Historiology' 48. History and Historiology H. Section IV 49. On Section IV ff., Hints 50. Section IV 51. Section IV (Paragraphs 1-6) I. Section V 52. Section V 53. Section V, Divided into Five Parts 54. Oversaturation with Historiology and with Knowledge Generally J. Concerning Section V and VI: Truth. 'Justice'. 'Objectivity'. Horizon. 55. Life—'Horizon' 56. Objectivity and 'Horizon' 57. Justice 58. Justice—Truth 59. Life—and Horizon 60. Beings as a Whole—the Human Being 61. 'Truth' and the 'True' 62. The True and Truth 63. Truth and the Human Being 64. Will (Drive) to 'Truth' 65. Nietzsche on the 'Will to Truth' K. On Sections V and VI. Historiology and Science (Truth). (cf. J. Truth. 'Justice'. 'Objectivity'. Horizon) 66. The Human Being—The Gods 67. Why the Primacy of 'Science' in Historiology? 68. 'Positivism' 69. Historiology 70. Historiology and Science 71. The Impact of Historiology on the Past 72. Truth 73. Historiology as Science 74. 'Historiology' and 'Perspective' and 'Objectivity' L. Section VI (Justice and Truth) 75. Section VI 76. Section VI (Paras. 1-7) 77. 'Objectivity' and 'Justice' 78. On the Structure of Section VI as a Whole 79. Nietzsche's Question of a 'Higher Justice' 80. Morality and Metaphysics 81. Justice—Truth—Objectivity—Life 82. Justice as 'Virtue' 83. Justice—Truth 84. Truth and Art (Cognition) 85. On Nietzsche's Treatise "On Truth and Lie in an Extra-Moral Sense" 86. Truth and 'Intellect'—Justice 87. Truth and 'Intellect' 88. Nietzsche's Conception of Truth (Determined from the Ground Up by Western Metaphysics) 89. Justice and Truth 90. Truth, and Science Conditioned by Worldview 91. Truth and Science 92. Historiology Science Truth—Justice M. Nietzsche's Metaphysics 93. Nietzsche's Metaphysics 94. 'Life' in the Two Senses of World and Human Being N. 'Life' 95. Nietzsche's Projection of Beings as a Whole and of the Human Being as 'Life' 96. Disposition 97. Recapitulation According to the Basic Questions 98. Concluding Remark 99. Nietzsche's Early Characterisation of his own Thinkingas 'Inversion of Platonism' 100. 'Life' (ego vivo) 101. The Philosophical Concept 102. On the Critical Meditation 103. Decisive Questioning 104. 'Life' O. The Question of the Human Being: 'Language'. 'Happiness'. Language (cf. 15, 'Forgetting' and 'Remembering') 105. Language as Use and Using-Up of Words 106. Word and Meaning 107. 'Happiness' and Da-Sein 108. 'Happiness' P. The Fundamental Stance of the Second Untimely Meditation 109. The Guiding Demand of the Meditation 110. Guiding Stance 111. Concept Formation in Philosophy and the Sciences 112. 'Life' 113. 'Life' 114. 'Life' 115. Nietzsche's Fundamental Experience of 'life' and Opposition to 'Darwinism' 116. Life 117. 'Life' 118. 'Life' 119. 'Life' 120. 'Life' 121. 'Life' 122. Life and 'adaptation' 123. Life—Health and Truth 124. Life as 'Dasein' 125. 'Life' and 'Death' Q. Animality and Life. Animal—. The 'Living Body'. cf. Lectures of Winter Semester 1929/30 126. Milieu and Environment (World) 127. Soul—Living Body—Body 128. Embodying 129. The Animal has Memory 130. Animal (Questions) 131. Delimitation of the Essence of 'Life' (Animality) 132. Animality R. The Differentiation of Human Being and Animal 133. The Un-historical and the Historical 134. The Unhistorical—(of the Human Being) 135. Animal and Human Being S. 'Privation' 136. What Happens to us as 'Privation' 137. 'Privation'—Inter-ruption T. Structure and Composition of the Second Untimely Meditation 138. On the Advantages and Disadvantages of History for Life Addenda I. Seminar Reports II. Summary by Hermann Heidegger III. Editorial Postscript

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Book SynopsisDemonstrates the interdependence of science and philosophy by examining a number of crucial problems on the nature of space and time - problems that require for their resolution the resources of philosophy and of physics.

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Book SynopsisJohn Locke is widely acknowledged as the most important figure in the history of English philosophy and An Essay Concerning Human Understanding is his greatest intellectual work, emphasising the importance of experience for the formation of knowledge. The Routledge Guidebook to Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding introduces the major themes of Locke's great book and serves as a companion to this key work, examining: The context of Locke's work and the background to his writing Each part of the text in relation to its goals, meaning and impact The reception of the book when it was first seen by the world The relevance of Locke's work to philosophy today, its legacy and influence With further reading suggested throughout, this text follows Locke's original work closely, making it essential reading for all students of philosophy, and all those wishing to get to grips with this classic work.Table of ContentsSeries Editor Preface Author Preface 1. Introduction: Locke’s Life and Work 2. Ideas 3. Perception 4. Substance 5. Identity 6. Action 7. Language 8. Knowledge Epilogue: The Legacy of Locke's Essay Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisQuantum Non-Locality and Relativity is recognized as the premier philosophical study of Bell s Theorem and its implication for the relativistic account of space and time. The third edition has been carefully updated to reflect significant developments.Trade Review"Maudlin's book is outstanding, and is particularly remarkable for three central achievements: the clearest exposition of Bell's theorem I know of; a careful discussion of the (in)compatibility between the implications of that theorem and relativity; and astute suggestions for how one could deal with this problem. Maudlin is a professional philosopher who writes on this most fundamental issue of physics in a way that is far clearer than the work of most physicists." -Jean Bricmont, University of LouvainTable of ContentsPreface to First Edition vi Preface to Second Edition x Preface to Third Edition xii Introduction 1 1 Bell’s Theorem: The Price of Locality 6 Appendix A: The GHZ Scheme 24 2 Relativity and Space-time Structure 27 3 Finger Exercise: Superluminal Matter Transport 55 4 Controlling the Connection: Signals 74 Appendix B: Bohmian Mechanics 106 5 Causation 114 6 Secret Messages 148 7 Points of View 173 8 Life in Elastic Space-time 205 9 Morals 221 10 New Discoveries and Deeper Insights: The View from 2010 224 An Overview of Quantum Mechanics 260 References 284 Index 290

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Book SynopsisSt. Joseph of Copertino began having mystical visions at the age of seven, but it was not until he began practicing his faith as a Franciscan priest that he realized the full potential of his mind's power over his bodyhe was able to levitate. Throughout his priesthood St. Joseph became famous for frequent levitations that were observed on hundreds of occasions and by thousands of witnesses, including many skeptics. Michael Grosso delves into the biography of the saint to explore the many strange phenomena that surrounded his life and develops potential physical explanations for some of the most astounding manifestations of his religious ecstasy. Grosso draws upon contemporary explorations into cognition, the relationship between the human mind and body, and the scientifically recorded effects of meditation and other transcendent practices to reveal the implications of St. Joseph's experiences and abilities.Trade ReviewGrosso, former humanities and philosophy teacher at Marymount Manhattan College, canvasses the spiritual awakenings of St. Joseph of Copertino, the 17th century Italian friar who was purportedly could levitate, dedicating ample space to his troubled childhood. After an introduction that grounds St. Joseph’s miraculous feats in contemporary arguments against strict scientific, materialist views on reality—particularly the work of philosopher Paul Feyerabend—Grosso guides readers through St. Joseph’s private and public life, detailing the many primary accounts of supernatural events that seemingly encircled St. Joseph: levitation, psychokinesis, poltergeists, inedia, and materialization. He asks the why and how questions of 'is it possible?' Readers who are interested in the mystery surrounding historical figures shunned by the church will discover tidbits of fascinating information regarding this oft-suffering soul. Grosso’s work here is thorough. * Publishers Weekly *A miracle, to quote St. Augustine,'does not occur contrary to nature, but contrary to what we know of nature.' So what happens when a miracle occurs, repeatedly, what can it tell us about the nature of the nature we inhabit and, more importantly perhaps, about its meaning? This is the subject of Michael Grosso’s searching, beautifully written and challenging book.... The Man Who Could Fly is not only an exemplary case study of a levitating saint but an agenda both for further research, search and reconfiguration of what it might mean to be human in a universe the knowledge of which remains enticingly and enjoyably uncertain, open and inviting. * Network Review *The Man Who Could Fly is a story of considerable interest to parapsychologists, and one which Grosso tells very well indeed, with the attention to relevant detail one expects from a well-informed philosopher. * Journal of the Society for Psychical Research *Provocatively, happily, Michael Grosso’s elegant book on the ecstasies and flights of Joseph does not leave the reader with an easy escape from the conclusion that St. Joseph of Copertino really was ‘the man who could fly.’ -- Jeffrey J Kripal, author of Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the SacredGrosso’s enthralling study immerses us in the strange world of a levitating, seventeenth-century mystic, but does much more too. Above all, it invites us to question present-day assumptions about the dependence of mind on brain and, ultimately, the nature of reality. -- Paul Marshall, PhD, BSc, RGN, RMNThe Man Who Could Fly is a thrilling examination of our evolving understanding of consciousness and human abilities. Michael Grosso inverts the conventional dogma that matter makes mind by showing that mind shapes matter. Beautifully written and tightly reasoned, this book is a potent antidote to the suffocating, deadening effects of the materialist ideology of our time. The Man Who Could Fly is one of the most important explorations of consciousness thus far in the twenty-first century. -- Larry Dossey, MD, Author of Healing Beyond the Body, Reinventing Medicine and Healing Words

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"[A] wonderful accomplishment: to have provided us with a highly original and ambitious reinterpretation of the moral domain and to thereby have paved the way for a potential paradigm shift in moral theorizing against the background of the basic idea that “no individual is either more or less important than any other” (p. 20)."---Jonas Vandieken, Journal of Moral Philosophy"[The Moral Nexus] brilliantly explores, with nuance and in detail, the reasons embedded in ordinary moral thought that undergird the appeal of a relational interpretation in moral reasoning. . . . It presents the appeal of a relational interpretation of morality in a way that makes it accessible to those who find its attractions mystifying, while simultaneously forcing those of us already drawn to theorizing about morality in relational terms to carefully consider exactly what we take that to involve.—Paul Kumar, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews"

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Book SynopsisCan we trust our senses to tell us the truth?Trade Review"A masterpiece of logic, rationality, science, and mathematics. Read this book carefully and you will forever change your understanding of reality, both that of the universe and your own self." -- Deepak Chopra, author of The Healing Self"Hoffman’s truly radical theory will force us to ponder reality in a completely different light. Handle with care. Your perception of the world around you is about to be dismantled!" -- Chris Anderson, author of TED Talks"Think you know what’s really out there? Read this breathtaking, whistle-stop tour of a book that illuminates all the profound weirdness masked by our experience and assumptions." -- David Eagleman, best-selling author of The Brain and Incognito"A fresh view into who we truly are—one that transcends the perceptions that we accept as reality. Hoffman unapologetically takes us down a rabbit hole where we learn that all reality is virtual and that truth lies solely in you, the creator." -- Rudolph Tanzi, coauthor of Super Brain"Captivating and courageous…anyone who reads this book will likely never look at the world the same way again. Hoffman challenges us to rethink some of the most basic foundations of neuroscience and physics, which could prove to be exactly what we need to make progress on the most difficult questions we face about the nature of reality." -- Annaka Harris, author of Conscious"In the mood to have your mind blown? In this fascinating, deeply original, and wonderfully engaging book, Hoffman takes us on a tour of the uncharted territory where cognitive science, fundamental physics, and evolutionary biology meet— and where the nature of reality hangs in the balance. You’ll never look at the world— or, rather, your interface— the same way again." -- Amanda Gefter, author of Trespassing on Einstein’s Lawn"Woody Allen once said, ‘I hate reality, but . . . where else can you get a good steak dinner?’ Hoffman turns that joke on its head: What we have always been after is the steak dinner; what we call reality is our best adapted strategy for getting it. Sink your teeth into that!" -- Christopher A. Fuchs, professor of physics, University of Massachusetts Boston"This book is a must-read if you want to bring your understanding of ‘reality’ in sync with the way the World is. You are in for some major surprises and mind expanding. A good read that will set you thinking about yourself, others and the world." -- Jan Koenderink, author of Color for the Sciences

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Book SynopsisCourageous scientists challenge the dominant paradigm of reality. Why are they so brave and what does their research reveal? What is reality? Is there more than we know from our five senses? Vanguard scientists believe there is more than we see so they formulate a non-materialist paradigm that expands human potential, to include mind and matter interaction. Since going against the dominant worldview provokes opposition, this book explores the personal backgrounds of the scientists to find out why they are so courageous. We learn that there is another dimension that allows for enhanced abilities. Based on interviews conducted by Gayle Kimball, The Mysteries of Reality: Dialogues with Visionary Scientists reports on the current research and personal characteristics of visionaries from around the world.

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Book SynopsisSolidly grounded in Chinese primary sources, Neo Confucianism: Metaphysics, Mind, and Morality engages the latest global scholarship to provide an innovative, rigorous, and clear articulation of neo-Confucianism and its application to Western philosophy.Trade Review"This book is clearly one of the greatest accomplishments among English Neo-Confucian philosophical studies in recent decades. JeeLoo Liu uses clear language and rigorous philosophical reasoning to analyze eight pivotal Neo-Confucian figures regarding three major areas: metaphysics, moral theory and moral practice. The book can be aptly used as both an introduction to Neo-Confucianism for beginners and a top reference for researchers, which is itself a rare achievement."Reviewed by Bin Song, Washington CollegeNotre Dame Philosophical Reviews, March 2019Table of ContentsPreface ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 Part I Neo]Confucian Metaphysics: From Cosmology to Ontology 29 1 From Nothingness to Infinity: The Origin of Zhou Dunyi's Cosmology 31 2 The Basic Constituent of Things: Zhang Zai's Monist Theory of Qi 61 3 Cheng–Zhu School's Normative Realism: The Principle of the Universe 85 4 Wang Fuzhi's Theory of Principle Inherent in Qi 103 Part II Human Nature, Human Mind, and the Foundation of Human Morality 123 5 Zhu Xi's Internal Moral Realism: Human Nature Is Principle 125 6 Lu Xiangshan and Wang Yangming's Doctrine of Mind Is Principle 139 7 Wang Fuzhi's Theory of Daily Renewal of Human Nature and His Moral Psychology 157 Part III The Cultivation of Virtue, Moral Personality, and the Construction of a Moral World 181 8 Zhang Zai on Cultivating Moral Personality 183 9 The Cheng Brothers' Globaist Virtue Ethics and Virtue Epistemology 205 10 Zhu Xi's Methodology for Cultivating Sagehood: Moral Cognitivism and Ethical Rationalism 227 11 Wang Yangming';s Intuitionist Model of Innate Moral Sense and Moral Reflexivism 245 12 Constructing a Moral World: Wang Fuzhi's Social Sentimentalism 265 References 285 Index 301

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Book SynopsisThis book offers a rich introduction to Heidegger that reveals Poggeler's sound scholarship and philosophical criticism.

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Book Synopsis"Paradigms for a Metaphorology may be read as a kind of beginner''s guide to Blumenberg, a programmatic introduction to his vast and multifaceted oeuvre. Its brevity makes it an ideal point of entry for readers daunted by the sheer bulk of Blumenberg''s later writings, or distracted by their profusion of historical detail. Paradigms expresses many of Blumenberg''s key ideas with a directness, concision, and clarity he would rarely match elsewhere. What is more, because it served as a beginner's guide for its author as well, allowing him to undertake an initial survey of problems that would preoccupy him for the remainder of his life, it has the additional advantage that it can offer us a glimpse into what might be called the ''genesis of the Blumenbergian world.'"from the Afterword by Robert SavageWhat role do metaphors play in philosophical language? Are they impediments to clear thinking and clear expression, rhetorical flourishes that may well help to make philosophy more accessible to a lay audience, but that ought ideally to be eradicated in the interests of terminological exactness? Or can the images used by philosophers tell us more about the hopes and cares, attitudes and indifferences that regulate an epoch than their carefully elaborated systems of thought?In Paradigms for a Metaphorology, originally published in 1960 and here made available for the first time in English translation, Hans Blumenberg (19201996) approaches these questions by examining the relationship between metaphors and concepts. Blumenberg argues for the existence of "absolute metaphors" that cannot be translated back into conceptual language. These metaphors answer the supposedly naïve, theoretically unanswerable questions whose relevance lies quite simply in the fact that they cannot be brushed aside, since we do not pose them ourselves but find them already posed in the ground of our existence. They leap into a void that concepts are unable to fill.An afterword by the translator, Robert Savage, positions the book in the intellectual context of its time and explains its continuing importance for work in the history of ideas.Trade ReviewParadigms for a Metaphorology is a model of scholarly translation. Savage's handling of citations and sources is scrupulous and thorough.... And he provides judicious explanatory notes that work in conjunction with the afterword and Blumenberg's own notes to guide readers through Blumenberg's own reading and career. Finally, and most importantly, his English rendering is consistently accurate while also being, in the context of translations of German philosophy, remarkably readable.... In short, readers approaching Blumenberg's reflections on metaphor through the English language could not ask for a more reliable and helpful guide than this volume. -- David Adams * Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *Table of ContentsHans Blumenberg: An Introduction Part I: History, Secularization, and Reality 1. The Linguistic Reality of Philosophy (1946/1947) 2. World Pictures and World Models (1961) 3. "Secularization": Critique of a Category of Hisotrical Illegitimacy (1964) 4. The Concept of Reality and the Theory of the State (1968/1969) 5. Preliminary Remarks on the Concept of Reality (1974) Part II: Metaphors, Rhetoric, and Nonconceptuality 6. Light as a Metaphor for Truth: At the Preliminary Stage of Philosophical Concept Formation (1957) 7. Introduction to Paradigms for a Metaphorology (1960) 8. An Anthropological Approach to the Contemporary Significance of Rhetoric (1971) 9. Observations Drawn from Metaphors (1971) 10. Prospect for a Theory of Nonconceptuality (1979) 11. Theory of Nonconceptuality (circa 1975, excerpt) Part III: Nature, Technology, and Asthetics 12. The Relationship between Nature and Technology as a Philosophical Problem (1951) 13. "Imitation of Nature": Toward a Prehistory of the Idea of the Creative Being (1957) 14. Phenomenological Aspects on Life-World and Technization (1963) 15. Socrates and the objet ambigu: Paul Valery's Discussion of the Ontology of the Aesthetic Object and Its Tradition (1964) 16. The Essential Ambiguity of the Aesthetic Object (1966) 17. Speech Situation and Immanent Poetics (1966) Part IV: Fables, Anecdotes, and the Novel 18. The Absolute Father (1952/1953) 19. The Mythos and Ethos of America in the Work of William Faulkner (1958) 20. The Concept of Reality and the Possibility of the Novel (1964) 21. Pensiveness (1980) 22. Moments of Goethe (1982) 23. Beyond the Edge of Reality: Three Short Essays (1983) 24. Of Nonunderstanding: Glosses on Three Fables (1984) 25. Unknown Aesopica: From Newly Found Fables (1985) 26. Advancing into Eternal Silence: A Century after the Sailing of the Fram (1993)

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Book SynopsisThis advanced introductory text offers a synoptic view of philosophical inquiry, discussing such topics as consciousness, the self, meaning, free will, the a priori, and knowledge. The emphasis is on the fundamental intractability of these questions, and a theory is proposed as to why the human mind has so much difficulty in resolving them. This theory turns upon a naturalistic picture of the scope and limits of human intelligence.Trade Review"In my view, this is an admirable book. It is concise, well organized, and clearly and vigorously written. It presents a real solution to a real and extremely important problem. It is perhaps the only solution to this problem that is currently available." Peter Van Inwagen, The Philosophical Review "Colin McGinn's thoughts about the nature and state of philosophical inquiry are lucid and suggestive, and, in my personal opinion, on the right track. They merit careful reading, and should place many of the fundamental questions of our intellectual tradition in a new and more wholesome light." Noam Chomsky, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyTable of Contents1. Philosophical Perplexity. 2. Consciousness. 3. Self. 4. Meaning. 5. Free Will. 6. The A Priori. 7. Knowledge. 8. Reason, Truth and Philosophy. 9. The Future of Philosophy.

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Book SynopsisMetaphysicsthe philosophical study of the nature of realityis a dynamic sub-field which encompasses many of the most fundamental and elusive questions in contemporary analytic philosophy.A concise and focused introduction to contemporary metaphysics,Thisis Metaphysics: An Introductiontakes readers with minimal technical knowledge of the field on a guided tour of the intellectual landscape of the discipline. Approachable and engaging, the book covers a broad range of key topics and principles in metaphysics, including classification, the nature and existence of properties, ontology, the nature of possibility and necessity, and fundamental questions concerning being and existence. Each chapter challenges readers to grapple with thought-provoking examples that build upon the seminal theoretical contributions of contemporary metaphysicians like Peter van Inwagen and David Lewis, and concludes with a Doing Metaphysics section encouraging readers to think through substantive metaphysical questions while weighing possible arguments and objections. A thoughtful and comprehensive introduction provides a framework for author Kris McDaniel's pedagogical approach, and each section incorporates multi-platform online resources and plentiful footnotes to support further reading and deeper conceptual engagement. A welcome addition to the popularThis is Philosophyseries,This is Metaphysicsis a reader-friendly survey of metaphysics for philosophy majors, undergraduates in introductory philosophy courses, and curious members of the general public interested in investigating this expansive and enigmatic area of study. Table of ContentsAn Introduction to This is Metaphysics 1 0.1 Who is This Book for? 1 0.2 Philosophy, Including Metaphysics, is for Everyone 6 0.3 An Overview of Metaphysics and Other Areas of Philosophy 6 0.4 Remarks for Instructors 12 0.5 Acknowledgments 13 1 Classification 14 1.1 Introduction 14 1.2 Two Kinds of Classification 15 1.3 Classification Confusions 18 1.4 Do Things Objectively Belong Together? 22 1.5 Two Questions about Classification 28 1.6 Classification and Properties 30 1.7 Doing Metaphysics 32 Further Reading 33 2 Properties 34 2.1 Introduction to the Metaphysics of Properties 34 2.2 Are Properties Theoretical Posits? 37 2.3 Issues in Language: Reference to Properties in Ordinary Speech 40 2.4 More Issues in Language: Properties as the Referents of Predicates 44 2.5 Issues in Metaphysics: Causation 46 2.6 Issues in Metaphysics: The Ontology of Events 47 2.7 Issues in Metaphysics: The Ontology of Material Objects 51 2.8 Tropes, Universals, and States of Affairs 54 2.9 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Properties 57 2.10 Perceptual Qualities 65 2.11 Doing Metaphysics 70 Further Reading 71 3 Parts and Wholes 72 3.1 Introduction 72 3.2 The Sufficiently Stuck Together Theory 74 3.3 The Mind‐Dependence Theory of Composition 78 3.4 Life is the Answer? 85 3.5 Vagueness 87 3.6 Vagueness and Composition 92 3.7 A Radical Answer to the Special Composition Question: Compositional Nihilism 97 3.8 Another Radical Answer: Compositional Universalism 103 3.9 Other Questions about Parts and Wholes 106 3.10 Doing Metaphysics 111 Further Reading 112 4 Possibility and Necessity 113 4.1 Introduction 113 4.2 Different Kinds of Possibility and Necessity 115 4.3 The Idea of Possible Worlds 118 4.4 A Case for Possible Worlds 120 4.5 Some Theories of the Nature of Possible Worlds 126 4.6 An Alternative Theory of Possible Worlds: Propositions First 135 4.7 Another Alternative Theory of Possible Worlds: Primitive Possible Objects 139 4.8 Accidental and Essential Features 142 4.9 Theories of Possible Worlds and Theories of Essential Features 147 4.10 Doing Metaphysics 151 Further Reading 152 5 Time 153 5.1 Introduction to the Philosophy of Time 153 5.2 Methodological Issues in the Philosophy of Time 156 5.3 The Container View vs. the Relationalist View 161 5.4 Does Time Itself Change? 169 5.5 Time and Reasonable Emotions 175 5.6 How Do Things Persist through Time? 179 5.7 Doing Metaphysics 189 Further Reading 189 6 Freedom 190 6.1 Freedom and Why it Might Matter 190 6.2 The Static View and Freedom 192 6.3 Causal Determinism and Freedom 194 6.4 Compatibilism: Alternative Possibilities Compatibilism 197 6.5 Compatibilism 2: No Constraints Compatibilism 200 6.6 Indeterminism 203 6.7 Laws of Nature 205 6.8 Doing Metaphysics 212 Further Reading 212 7 Meta‐Metaphysics 214 7.1 Getting More Meta 214 7.2 The Epistemology of Metaphysics 215 7.3 The Philosophy of Language of Metaphysics 227 7.4 The Metaphysics of Metaphysics 235 7.5 The Ethics of Metaphysics 243 7.6 Doing Metaphysics 254 Further Reading 254 Glossary 256 Index 264

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Book SynopsisBased on over a decade of ethnographic fieldwork in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Onscreen/Offscreen is an exploration of the politics and being of filmic images. The book examines contestations inside and outside the Tamil film industry over the question "what is an image?" Answers to this question may be found in the ontological politics that take place on film sets, in theatre halls, and in the social fabric of everyday life in South India, from populist electoral politics and the gendering of social space to caste uplift and domination.Bridging and synthesizing linguistic anthropology, film studies, visual studies, and media anthropology, Onscreen/Offscreen rethinks key issues across a number of fields concerned with the semiotic constitution of social life, from the performativity and ontology of images to questions of spectatorship, realism, and presence. In doing so, it offers both a challenge to any approach that would separate image from social Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Note on Transliteration, Quotation, Names, and Transcripts Introduction: Ontological Politics of the Image Introduction From Ontologies to Ontological Politics Toward a Linguistic Anthropology of Cinema A Brief History of Tamil Cinema For a “Tamil” Cinema Realism and the Mass Hero Overview of the Chapters Part I: Presence/Representation 1. The Hero’s Mass Introduction Presence of the Film Image Gravity of the Hero’s Mass Presence of Mass Image-Act of the Slaps Sociological Realism of the Mass Hero’s Image Aesthetic Realism and the Event of the Slaps Ambivalent Realisms Authorizing the Slaps, or the Principal of Animation Conclusion 2. The Heroine’s Stigma Introduction Item’s Interruption Item’s Titillation Item’s Spectacle Ontological Politics of Sexual Difference Actness of the Image Politics of Vision Explicitness of Performativity Voyeurism and Exhibitionism in 7/G Rainbow Colony Kinship Chronotopes and Sociological Traces of the Performativity of Presence Marriage and Not-to-be-looked-at-ness An Alien Presence Conclusion Epilogue Part II: Representation/Presence 3. The Politics of Parody Introduction Anti-Cine-Politics of Thamizh Padam A Politics of (Im/possible) Worlds Chronopolitics For Another Kind of Image For a Less Serious Industry A Politics of Production The Politics for an Image Conclusion 4. The Politics of the Real Introduction Questions of Realism Register of Realism Enregistering Realism in Tamil Cinema Kaadhal (“Love”) Realism’s Heroism This Is a True Story Representing Taboo Caste and Sexuality in Kaadhal Frustrated Textuality and Sexual Reference Production Format of Realism New Faces and the Director’s Image Realism’s Illiberal Extimacy and the Suspension of Belief Conclusion Conclusions An End of an Era Killing the Mass Hero Performativity Representation and the Method Theory of a Linguistic Anthropology of Cinema For a Linguistic Anthropology of … Notes Interviews and Works Cited Index

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Book SynopsisA core philosophical project is the attempt to uncover the fundamental nature of reality, the limited set of facts upon which all other facts depend. Perhaps the most popular theory of fundamental reality in contemporary analytic philosophy is physicalism, the view that the world is fundamentally physical in nature. The first half of this book argues that physicalist views cannot account for the evident reality of conscious experience, and hence that physicalism cannot be true. Unusually for an opponent of physicalism, Goff argues that there are big problems with the most well-known arguments against physicalismChalmers'' zombie conceivability argument and Jackson''s knowledge argumentand proposes significant modifications. The second half of the book explores and defends a recently rediscovered theory of fundamental realityor perhaps rather a grouping of such theoriesknown as ''Russellian monism.'' Russellian monists draw inspiration from a couple of theses defended by Bertrand RusselTrade ReviewThis book is an interesting and energetic exploration of Russellian monism, a position in philosophy of mind that has gained considerable attention in recent years because it promises to move us beyond the physicalist-dualist stand-off ... the book is honest, unflinching, imaginative and argumentative; in other words, a very good philosophy book. * Daniel Stoljar, Notre Dame Philosophical Review *This book contains some of the most important contributions to the metaphysics of consciousness in recent years. Philip Goff develops a sophisticated argument against materialism, and then explores the prospects for radical alternatives in considerable depth. He makes a strong case for panpsychism, the thesis that consciousness exists at a fundamental level of physical reality, and extends this to a case for cosmopsychism, the thesis that the universe as a whole is conscious. Anyone interested in the philosophical problem of consciousness should pay close attention to his ideas." —David Chalmers, New York University, and series editor, Philosophy of Mind series (OUP)Goff has produced a grand piece of speculative metaphysics, in the tradition of Leibniz, Spinoza and Unger. It is also probably the best single piece of work emerging from the recent bloom of interest in Russellian monist views of consciousness. Starting with plausible and well-defended premises, he argues for a daring conclusion that many will find difficult to accept; yet, he makes a compelling case that there is no easy way to resist it. Figuring out how to respond to his rigorous and thorough arguments will be highly instructive (and fun!) for anyone with an interest in metaphysically-oriented philosophy of mind." —Geoffrey Lee, University of California, BerkeleyThis book will quickly become a reference point for philosophical discussions of consciousness. Philip Goff lays out the issues with precision and cuts through to the heart of the latest philosophical technicalities. He also writes beautifully and advances a number of strikingly novel theses. No philosopher interested in consciousness can afford to ignore Consciousness and Fundamental Reality." —David Papineau, King's College London and the City University of New York Graduate CenterIn an era of increasing specialization and 'small ball' philosophy, Philip Goff's Consciousness and Fundamental Reality comes as a welcome antidote. He defends a grand metaphysical vision of the world, constitutive cosmopsychism, according to which the universe as a whole is conscious, and everything else is grounded in its evolving conscious state. Yes, this view is revisionary. But all views on the mind-body problem are revisionary including orthodox physicalism. Goff develops a number of powerful arguments against the alternatives as well as a positive case for his cosmopsychism. His discussion demands and will repay our close attention." —Adam Pautz, Brown UniversityTable of Contents1. The reality of consciousness Part I: Against physicalism 2. What is physicalism? 3. The knowledge argument 4. The conceivability argument 5. Revelation and the transparency argument Part II: Russellian monism: An alternative 6. The elegant solution 7. Panpsychism versus panprotopsychism, and the subject-summing problem 8. Top-down combination problems 9. A conscious universe 10. Analytic phenomenology: A metaphysical manifesto

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Book SynopsisImmanuel Kant's Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals is widely regarded as one of the most influential works in the history of moral philosophy. Indeed, any student of ethics will soon encounter a translation of the book, although trying to read it is likely to cause bewilderment. What, one may ask, is Kant trying to say? This book provides the answers. Here, seven highly regarded teachers and scholars of Kant's ethics offer remarkably clear explanations of the most important concepts in the Groundwork: the good will, happiness, duty, hypothetical and categorical imperatives, the Formula of Universal Law, the Formula of Humanity, and freedom.Contents: Preface The Good Will, Nataliya Palatnik Happiness, Anne Margaret Baxley Duty, Laura Papish Imperatives, Tamar Schapiro The Formula of Universal Law, Kyla Ebels-Duggan The Formula of Humanity, Japa Pallikkathayil Freedom, Lucy Allais About the Contributors Index Trade Review“This is the rare guide to Kant’s Groundwork suitable even for students new to philosophy. The clear, concise chapters focus on only the most essential concepts from all three sections of the Groundwork. The authors expertly illuminate Kant’s ethical thought and facilitate engagement with the text.” —Lara Denis, Agnes Scott College“A collection of beautifully clear and concise essays on Kant’s most famous ethical work, each written by an outstanding scholar. The crucial ideas of the Groundwork are expertly explained in ways that are both philosophically rich and reader friendly. This volume is an invaluable companion for any student or teacher of Kantian ethics.” —Karen Stohr, Georgetown University“A wonderfully clear and concise philosophical introduction to Kant’s seminal ethical treatise.” —Jens Timmermann, University of St AndrewsTable of ContentsPreface; The Good Will, Nataliya Palatnik; Happiness, Anne Margaret Baxley ;Duty, Laura Papish; Imperatives, Tamar Schapiro; The Formula of Universal Law, Kyla Ebels-Duggan; The Formula of Humanity, Japa Pallikkathayil; Freedom, Lucy Allais; About the Contributors; Index.

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Book SynopsisWe often think of people as falling into one of two very different categories: those into science, math, and engineering; or into history, philosophy, and literature. Haufe reveals the unexpected unity underlying different disciplinary efforts to understand our experiences. He makes a vital contribution to wider debates about knowledge-generation.Trade Review'Constantly interesting and engagingly written, this timely book is destined to generate a lot of interest, both inside and outside academia.' Peter Vickers, Durham University'Many books denounce or praise the humanities. Only a few tell us how they work. In this elegant, witty, sometimes paradoxical book, informed by deep knowledge of the history of science, Chris Haufe shows that the humanities can and do produce powerful knowledge. He also argues that they could create much more of it if scholars and funders understood how communities and disciplines frame productive inquiries.' Anthony Grafton, Princeton UniversityTable of Contents1. Introduction; 2. 'What would the community think?'; 3. Canon and consensus; 4. Knowing what matters; 5. In defense of how things seem; 6. Reading what lies within; 7. Humanities victorious?; 8. Of interest; 9. The hoax and the humanities.

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Book SynopsisThis 2nd edition Handbook of Spinoza retains a unique focus on the biographical details of Spinoza's life, as well as essential scholarship on his influences and early critics. A glossary of key Latin Spinozan terms with English translations remains a key feature alongside short synopses of Spinoza's writings. Adding to the updated contemporary scholarship on Spinoza from across Europe and the US is the recognition of Spinoza's influence more globally.Distinct from other reference works on Spinoza, this book offers the tools and methodology necessary for students and scholars who are completing their own research. Accompanying each main section is an updated and detailed bibliography that situates both the summative and original scholarship therein. This 2nd edition includes a revised biography from Jeroen van de Ven who has systematically revisited the archive; influences will now include reference to Machiavelli and Hobbes primarily, as well as remarks on the De La Court b

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