Philosophy of mind Books

Book Synopsis The body has always had the potential to unsettle us with its strange exigencies and suppurations, its demands and desires, and thus throughout the ages, it has continued to be a subject of interest and obsession. This collection of twelve peer-reviewed essays on Jacques Lacan and Michel Foucault interrogates the body in all of its beauty...and with all of its blights and blemishes. Written by a diverse body of scholars--art historians, cultural theorists, English professors, philosophers, psychoanalysts, and sociologists from North America and Europe--these essays bring into conversation two intellectual giants frequently seen as antagonists, and thus rarely seen together. Topics covered include: the intersections of Foucault and Lacan and how they bring to light new thoughts on the senses, the self-destructive body, ableism and disability in Guillermo del Toro''s film The Shape of Water, body image and the ego, selfie-culture, and metamorphosis in Ottessa MoshfTable of ContentsAcknowledgments viiIntroduction: Friendship in a Time of Covid-19 Becky R. McLaughlin and Eric Daffron 1Towards an Understanding of the Olfactory Drive Calum Neill and Claudia Di Gianfrancesco 25The Living and Dead Body in Foucault's Clinical Gaze Lauren Jane Barnett 34Is the Autistic Body a Body Without Organs? Leon S. Brenner 42The ­Self-Destructive Body through the Lens of Foucault and Lacan: Resistance and Jouissance Evi Verbeke 56Lacan, Film, and the Disabled Body Marina Cano 68The Hunchback as Visual Paradigm of Violence in Modern Art: Géricault, Dix, and Salomon Michiko Oki 80The Ego as Body Image: Lacan's Mirror Stage Revisited Dan Collins 92Desire, Discourse, and Autosurgery in the Fiction of Patrick O'Brian John Halbrooks 105Ego Portrait: ­Self-Photography as Symptom in Contemporary Technoculture Chris Vanderwees 115Social Media, Biopolitical Surveillance, and Disciplinary Social Control: Aggregating Data to Examine Docile Bodies Michael Loadenthal 124From Symptom to Sinthôme: Ridding the "Body of Substance" in My Year of Rest and Relaxation Erica D. Galioto 140Posthumanist Metamorphosis and Discipline: Barney's Drawing Restraint and Foucault on Raymond Roussel Irina Chkhaidze 151About the Contributors 177Index 179

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Book SynopsisKristina Karlsson, the woman behind the inspiring global success story, kikki.K, shares personal insights from her amazing journey, from humble beginnings on a small farm in Sweden to the 3am light bulb moment that led her to chase and achieve dreams that are now inspiring a worldwide community of dreamers. Filled with simple and practical magic and inspiring stories and wisdom from people who've dared to dream big this book will show you how to harness the power of dreaming to transform your life in small, simple steps. Featuring stories of: Dr Tererai Trent (Oprah Winfrey's all-time favourite guest), Arianna Huffington, Stella McCartney, Sir Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Li Cunxin (author of Mao's Last Dancer'), Alisa Camplin-Warner (winner of a remarkable Olympic gold medal), Michelle Obama, and others. Whether you want to get the most out of your personal life, career or business, the insights on dreaming and doing in this book may be your most important learnings this year.You

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Book SynopsisKristina Karlsson, the woman behind the inspiring global success story, kikki.K, shares personal insights from her amazing journey, from humble beginnings on a small farm in Sweden to the 3am light bulb moment that led her to chase and achieve dreams that are now inspiring a worldwide community of dreamers. Filled with simple and practical magic and inspiring stories and wisdom from people who've dared to dream big this book will show you how to harness the power of dreaming to transform your life in small, simple steps. Featuring stories of: Dr Tererai Trent (Oprah Winfrey's all-time favourite guest), Arianna Huffington, Stella McCartney, Sir Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Li Cunxin (author of Mao's Last Dancer'), Alisa Camplin-Warner (winner of a remarkable Olympic gold medal), Michelle Obama, and others. Whether you want to get the most out of your personal life, career or business, the insights on dreaming and doing in this book may be your most important learnings this year.You

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Book SynopsisBe true to yourselfit is a dictum so ubiquitous that it can seem like both philosophical wisdom and an empty truism. Should we aspire to an ideal of living authentically? What does it mean to be true to yourself? Against Authenticity: Why You Shouldn''t Be Yourself is a philosophical exploration and critique of the ideal of authenticity. Simon Feldman argues that if being true to ourselves is a matter of maintaining a strong will, being psychologically independent, achieving self-knowledge, or being morally conscientious, then the best lives we can lead should be expected to involve substantial inauthenticity. Feldman suggests that various construals of the ideal of authenticity presuppose metaphysically confused notions of the self (for example, that there is a determinate true self) and that under the guise of indisputable wisdom the ideal perpetuates both objectionably relativistic as well as reactionary moral thinking. Feldman concludes that the ideal of authenticity is one that weTrade ReviewI recommend the book to anyone working on authenticity theories. It is clear, well organized and exhaustive. I particularly recommend the two last chapters...which develop the most powerful arguments against the Ideal of Authenticity. * Dialectica *In this accessible work of philosophy, Feldman makes cogent arguments for the view that you should be yourself only if you are a good and reasonable person - otherwise, you should be someone else. Of interest to anyone working on the subject, Against Authenticity should also be required reading for any college student who thinks he or she is very 'deep.' -- Nomy Arpaly, Brown UniversityFeldman's book is, quite simply, the clearest, most interesting book on authenticity in years. Its compelling arguments against the misuses of the concept of "being true to yourself" in ethical thought should be of deep interest to philosophers and psychologists alike. -- Michael Lynch, University of Connecticut Humanities InstituteTable of ContentsIntroduction. The Ideal of Authenticity Chapter 1. The Wellbeing Account of the Ideal of Authenticity Chapter 2. The Rationality Account of the Ideal of Authenticity Chapter 3. The Moral Account of the Ideal of Authenticity Chapter 4. Bad Advice: Action-Guiding Rules and the Nature of Normative Failure Chapter 5. Ethics Without Authenticity: Looking Outward Not In

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Book SynopsisKant's Transcendental Deduction of the Categories: Unity, Representation, and Apperception is a distinctively new reading of the Transcendental Deduction of the Categories in the Critique of Pure Reason. Lawrence J. Kaye has discovered a number of previously overlooked arguments and explanations, one of the most significant being an argument that demonstrates that the use of concepts requires the necessary unity of consciousness. He also provides a detailed investigation of Kant's account of representation in the first edition of the Transcendental Deduction of the Categories and shows how it can be understood as a unique type of functional role view. This view of representation leads to a new understanding of Kant's blend of realism and idealism.Kant's notion of transcendental apperception (a priori self-awareness) is also carefully explained. Kaye shows that there is an extremely tight inter-relation between the unity of consciousness, representation, and apperception that constituteTable of Contents1. Preliminaries 2. The Fundamental Framework: Unity, Representation and Apperception 3. The Initial Deduction and Kant’s Methodology 4. Representational Realism and Transcendental Idealism 5. The Three Syntheses 6. The Connected Deduction 7. The Revised Deduction: First Part 8. The Revised Deduction: Second Part 9. Other Interpretations 10. Theses and Arguments

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Book SynopsisWhat is well-being? Is it a stable income, comfortable home, and time shared with family and friends? Is it clean drinking water and freedom from political oppression? Is it finding Aristotle's Golden Mean by living a life of reason and moderation? Scholars have sought to define well-being for centuries, teasing out nuances among Aristotle's writings and posing new theories of their own. With each major technological shift this question of well-being arises with new purpose, spurring scholars to re-examine the challenge of living the good life in light of significantly altered conditions. Social media comprise the latest technological shift, and in this book leading scholars in the philosophy and communication disciplines bring together their knowledge and expertise in an attempt to define what well-being means in this perpetually connected environment. From its blog prototype in the mid-to-late-2000s to its microblogging reality of today, users have been both invigorated and perplexedTrade ReviewWe all want to live the good life, but living well starts to look different when we increasingly live through our devices and on our screens. What counts as being a happy and ethical person in the age of social media? How is a technologically mediated community or marketplace ethically different from those we inhabit face to face? Is an online deception is really a lie? Do internet memes create new stereotypes that undermine our ability to respect other members of society? Does a community of online friends and followers change the very nature of friendship? In Social Media and Living Well, Beasley and Haney collect nine thought-provoking attempts to consider questions like these. Policy makers, students of philosophy, and those who work in technology and media will all benefit from the opportunity this accessible and compact volume provides to learn how to think more clearly about our place in the digital world and about how to live with character when we increasingly have only 140 characters to work with. -- Robert Barnard, University of MississippiTable of Contents1 The Social Media Paradox, Ken Gilroy 2 Eudaimonia or Eudaim[a]nia: Finding the Golden Mean in Social Media Use, Katherine Brittain Richardson 3 Friendship on Facebook, Paul Bloomfield 4 The Duplicity of Online Behavior, Joseph Ulatowski 5 For Better or For Worse: Social Media’s Influence on Individual Well-being, Pamela A. Zeiser and Berrin A. Beasley 6 Memes and the Community of Sanity, Mitchell R. Haney 7 Living Well with a Foot in Each World, Deni Elliott and Frederick R. Carlson 8 Serving the Market or the Marketplace? The Business and Ethics of Social Media, Alan B. Albarran and Mitchell R. Haney 9 Perspectives from China: Social Media and Living Well in a Chinese Context, Sarah Mattice

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Book SynopsisSexual Deceit is an extended ethical analysis of the phenomenon of sexual identity passing i.e. socially presenting as X, when one understands oneself as Y, where the variables represent any contemporary sexual identity alongside identity passing in the contexts of race, gender, and briefly, religion and class. The analysis of passing utilizes and challenges traditional moral understandings of identity falsification, complicating our understandings of moral obligations under systemic oppression. Tracing the intervention of social construction theory on contemporary political understandings of LGBT communities and activism, Sexual Deceit argues against social construction models of identity notably performativity, promulgated by the work of Judith Butler and consumed and repeated by many scholars and theory educated queer people. A new model of identity is constructed, based on a phenomenological concept of style that provides for a socially adjustable yet rooted notion of sexual ideTrade ReviewA useful study of the ever more complicated matters of passing, closeting, outing, and the like. As sex/gender issues evolve, these questions and the importance of how to approach them justly only increase. Specialized work that will evoke necessary discussion. * Water Women's Alliance *Sexual Deceit: The Ethics of Passing shows an excellent understanding and command of the scholarship on the issues. This is particularly notable because the approaches of what I will call traditional philosophy and of queer theory are very different, and it can seem to readers as if they are speaking different languages. The author not only handles the different approaches/traditions well, but also combines their insights, key concepts, and important arguments in developing an ethical theory the author calls “Gayness as Practical Identity,” or just “Gayness.” And this serves as an ethical theory that can be applied to many issues in addition to passing. I think that this theory, which I will call a theory of gay ethics is an important contribution to ethics and LGBT studies. -- Mark Chekola, Minnesota State University MoorheadTable of ContentsIntroduction: Many Have Passed; Some Have Failed Chapter 1: Passing in Abstraction: The Theoretical Organization of Passing Chapter 2: The Good, The Bad, and The Oppressed: Ethical Considerations Chapter 3: Thoughtfully Produced Sexuality: Sexology and The Queer Academy Chapter 4: Those Shoes Look Pretty Gay, Or at Least Bi-Curious: Style and Sexual Identity Passing Chapter 5: Political Pervasity: Queer Sexuality and the Moral Majority Chapter 6: Practicing to Preach: Gayness as a Practical Identity Conclusion: Social and Legal Implications of Sexual Deceit Bibliography

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Book SynopsisFrom bookshelves overflowing with self-help books to scholarly treatises on neurobiology to late-night infomercials that promise to make you happier, healthier, and smarter with the acquisition of just a few simple practices, the discourse of habit is a staple of contemporary culture high and low. Discussion of habit, however, tends to neglect the most fundamental questions: What is habit? Habits, we say, are hard to break. But what does it mean to break a habit? Where and how do habits take root in us? Do only humans acquire habits? What accounts for the strength or weakness of a habit? Are habits something possessed or something that possesses? We spend a lot of time thinking about our habits, but rarely do we think deeply about the nature of habit itself. Aristotle and the ancient Greeks recognized the importance of habit for the constitution of character, while readers of David Hume or American pragmatists like C.S. Peirce, William James, and John Dewey know that habit is a centrTrade ReviewThe duality of habit—that which frees us and binds us—has fascinated philosophers for a long time. With historical breadth, interdisciplinary scope, and philosophical depth—tackling habit from the Greeks to the present, bringing psychology and sociology together with philosophy, and probing issues from the metaphysical to the practical—this is an excellent contribution to a perennially important topic. -- John Protevi, Louisiana State UniversityHabit really does have a history, as this book shows, but of course in disconcertingly chaotic lives such as ours, habits are principles of continuity or consistency. Here, the contributions of a remarkable range of scholars from across traditions and disciplines elucidate the matter of habit in a manner itself both varied and continuous. -- Crispin Sartwell, Dickinson CollegeThis volume is a welcomed addition to the recently revived interest in the significance of habit for understanding human action—an interest lost in much contemporary social science and philosophy. As this collection of papers amply attests, the concept of habit has a rich intellectual history full of explanatory power and contradictory evaluations from the classics to our modern period, from Aristotle to Bourdieu. This book challenges us to overcome the intellectual habit of neglecting the central place of habit in shaping human thought and action. -- David Swartz, Asbury UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction: Reflections on the Unreflected Part One: Classical Accounts of Moral Habituation Chapter 1: Habit, Habituation, and Character in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics Chapter 2: The Roman Stoics on Habit Chapter 3: Aquinas on Habitus Chapter 4: Negotiating with a New Sovereign: Montaigne’s Transformation of Habit into Custom Part Two: Habits of Thought, Action, and Memory in Modernity Chapter 5: From Habits to Traces Chapter 6: Habit, Custom, History and Hume’s Critical Philosophy Chapter 7: Between Freedom and Necessity: Ravaisson on Habit and the Moral Life Chapter 8: A Moralist in an Age of Scientific Analysis and Skepticism: Habit in the Life and Work of William James Chapter 9: Habitual Body and Memory in Merleau-Ponty Part Three: The Application of Habit in Contemporary Theory Chapter 10: The Fly Wheel of Society: Habit and Social Meliorism in the Pragmatist Tradition Chapter 11: Oppression in the Gut: The Biological Dimensions of Deweyan Habit Chapter 12: Conceiving Things: Deleuze, Concepts, and the Habits of Thinking Chapter 13: Pierre Bourdieu’s Habitus

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Book SynopsisThis book is about the so called 4S challenge how does or can or should someone say something to someone about something? This challenge is getting more intense day by day in our contemporary globalized world, increasingly connected by science and technology through telecommunication and all sorts of social media, where people are acutely aware of the diverse views on culture, politics, economics, religion, ethics, education, physical health and mental wellbeing, which are very often in conflicts with each other. This book arises from the reading of the dialogue between two internationally renowned and respected French scholars, Jean-Pierre Changeux and Paul Ricoeur, What Makes Us Think? A Neuroscientist and a Philosopher Argue about Ethics, Human Nature, and the Brain, which explores where science and philosophy meet, and whether there is a place for religion in the 21st century. This book develops on the ideas Ricoeur raised in the dialogue about the need for digging deeper and a thTrade ReviewMichael Wong brings together neuroscience, psychiatry, theology and philosophy in order to illuminate the process whereby we weave together ordinary, everyday language with aspects of religious, scientific and philosophical language, in order to describe our human experience. This is a first-class examination of an important topic without which we cannot understand ourselves properly or speak clearly about what we know and experience. Those who think deeply will find his “third discourse” a rewarding concept. -- Brian Edgar, Asbury Theological SeminaryIn Ricoeur and the Third Discourse of the Person, Michael Wong takes on Ricoeur’s challenge to generate a discourse that bridges the worlds of neuroscience and theological anthropology. The bridging discourse explores ways of talking about human experience and expression of personhood that resist fragmentation, reduction and the impoverishment of personhood. This “digging deeper” in Ricoeur’s words is an onerous undertaking, much more challenging than the simplification through reducing personhood to a soul, a mind, or a function of neurons. Wong’s hermeneutic bridge-building generates this ongoing third discourse that is reflective of neuroscientific advances as well as changing world views. As Wong’s well-referenced synthesis attests, this is a richly informative and engaging discourse into which Wong’s book invites and excites one to participate. -- Werdie van Staden, University of PretoriaIn personal conversations with Paul Ricoeur, he told me that he was not happy he accepted the discussions with Dr. Changeux because they never understood each other and he felt they were like ships passing in the night. Only a person with Dr. Michael Wong’s knowledge and experience in both neuroscience and Ricoeur studies could analyze the book “What Makes Us Think? A Neuroscientist and a Philosopher argue about Ethics, Human Nature, and the Brain,” a dialogue between J-P. Changeux and Paul Ricoeur. Their “dialogue” was polite and each showed respect for the other, but it was two monologues. Neither spoke the language of the other. Dr. Wong proposes to analyze these two discourses and propose a third discourse. Dr. Wong’s work is a major advance in Ricoeur scholarship and applies to many other challenges between the empiricist and materialistic language of science and the language of lived experience. -- Charles Reagan, Author, Paul Ricoeur - His Life and His WorkDrawing from the dialogue in What Makes Us Think between Jean-Pierre Changeux and Paul Ricoeur, Michael Wong develops and extends Ricoeur’s argument for a “third discourse” that seeks a semantic pluralism that brings into dialogue the different and irreducible discourses of neuroscience, philosophy, psychiatry, and theology. The book is an important contribution to contemporary assessments of the remaining vitality of disciplines such as philosophy against the challenge of the sufficiency of neuroscientific explanation of human consciousness and agency. Wong’s professional training and experience in the several disciplines discussed contribute considerably to the sophistication and nuance of the analysis. -- George H. Taylor, Professor of Law, University of PittsburghTable of ContentsForeword Introduction Chapter 1. Hermeneutics and Discourse Chapter 2. Philosophy and the Person Chapter 3. Neuroscience and Psychiatry I Chapter 4. Neuroscience and Psychiatry II Chapter 5. Neuroscience and Psychiatry III Chapter 6. Theology and Anthropology I Chapter 7. Theology and Anthropology II Chapter 8. Theology and Anthropology III Conclusion Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe book offers an elucidation of two of the most important themes in Martin Heidegger's early as well as later philosophical writings. These perennial themes of his thought, namely, the concept of the world and his existential analysis of death, are explored as the ongoing philosophical problems grappled by this important thinker of the twentieth century within all periods of the body of his entire work. These themes are closely related to the fundamental issue of Heidegger's thought namely the question concerning the meaning of Being for which a proper elucidation of the world-concept and death is absolutely crucial. Since this book considers all the important phases of Heidegger's thought along with all the important ongoing conceptual preoccupations of this thinker along with his original analyses of human existence and the world, the notion of the ground, art and artworks, language, dwelling, and death, it can serve as a substantive introduction to the philosophy of Martin HeideggTrade ReviewHeidegger is often considered a hopelessly abstract, esoteric and somehow wordless thinker—a treatment which sharply conflicts with his depiction of human existence as 'being-in-the-world.' At the same time, he is sometimes seen as a morose existentialist due to his concern with 'being-toward-death.' Raj Singh's capable study corrects these misreadings by showing the constitutive role of 'world' in all of Heidegger's writings and also the crucial role of death-contemplation and anticipation as a sustaining penumbra of human life. An additional accomplishment is the demonstration of the continuity of Heidegger's work notwithstanding important 'turns' and transformations. -- Fred Dallmayr, University of Notre DameTable of ContentsPreface Chapter 1: Dasein and the World Chapter 2: Existence and the World Chapter 3: World, Ground and Being Chapter 4: Art and the World Chapter 5: World and Language Chapter 6: Dwelling in the World Chapter 7: Death and Authenticity Chapter 8: Death in Later Works

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Book SynopsisBuilding the Moral Community: Radical Naturalism and Emergence demonstrates how very simple models of moral engagements based on natural, incomplete, value-laden frames of the world can lead to general moral progress for the human community. All moral behavior affects more than one person, which means that the moral community is more than the sum of the individuals included in it.David W. Chambers argues that there is no ethically detached and superior position from which to operate, and that such claims are focused on ethics, not on acting morally. Therefore, he cautions against mistaking theories of ethics composed on statements about what is good and right for actual moral behavior that moves broadly and inevitably toward a better world.This book explores naturalistic ethics, offering a modified classical analytic philosophy exploration of morality that is consistent with emerging thinking in psychology, neurobiology, game theory, and self-adjusting systems.Table of ContentsPreface Chapter 1: Morality and Ethics Chapter 2: Moral Engagements Chapter 3: Simple Moral Choice Chapter 4: Complex Moral Choice Chapter 5: Simple Moral Engagement Chapter 6: Complex Moral Engagement Chapter 7: Framing Chapter 8: Common Sense Patterns Chapter 9: Reframing and Bargaining Chapter 10: Moral Community Chapter 11: Failure to Engage Chapter 12: Moral Progress Appendix: Inventory of Engagement

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Book SynopsisFriedrich Nietzsche declared himself to be a psychologist who has not his peer. Nietzschean Psychology and Psychotherapy: The New Doctors of the Soul illustrates why he was correct and indicates that he was also a soul doctor who has not his peer. He is usually unknown to psychologists and treated by philosophers as if he was a philosopher who, as such, wrote about some issues relating to the philosophy of mind. This book acquaints psychologists with Nietzsche and introduces him to philosophers in a new light. It presents Nietzsche's contributions to psychology, wisdom of life, and psychotherapy dispersed throughout his writings. It hails him the Overturner, demonstrating how he overturned many of our notions about love, crime, happiness, morality, language, consciousness, logic, memory, emotions, happiness, and self-actualizing. He is portrayed as the precursor and champion of action-, chance-, and acceptance-oriented self-help and therapy, far from being, as is often claimed, a propoTrade ReviewUri Wernik's fascinating account demonstrates once again not only the complex and controversial richness of Nietzsche's oeuvre but also its virtually limitless capacity for appropriation. In Wernik's psychological take, Nietzsche is transformed into an essentially non-Freudian, health-bestowing ‘doctor of the soul.’ -- Steven E. Aschheim, author of the The Nietzsche Legacy in Germany, 1890-1990Uri Wernik has written a wonderful book expressing Nietzsche’s views on all matters of interest to psychologists and therapists. I found more wisdom in this book than in any book I've read in decades. No better presentation of Nietzsche's radical thoughts on human consciousness, action, self-development, and health (not mental health, but organic health) has been written. Any reader who doesn't come away with a dozen fresh ideas for improved therapy and an improved life has either already discovered Nietzsche, or is dead. -- George Cockroft, aka Luke Rhinehart, author of The Dice Man and nine other booksUri Wernik captures your mind and heart in his remarkably captivating and loving writing about Nietzsche. He is outstanding in developing Nietzsche’s largely ignored, but nonetheless monumental, psychology. Personally, I both agree with and am critical of much of Nietzsche’s profound thinking, but Wernik leaves respectable room when he writes: ‘“Nietzsche persons” are graduates of the best school of suspicion: they are skeptics . . . “Nietzsche persons” are not really “Nietzsche persons”. . . being independently-minded . . . they cannot agree with everything he wrote. . . . [T]hey can still admire Nietzsche, despite some of his problematic ideas, which they tragically disregard and forgive out of gratitude and compassion.’ Wernik on Nietzsche is a tour de force. -- Israel W. Charny, Institute on the Holocaust and GenocideTable of ContentsIntroduction Part I: Psychology Chapter 1: The Queen of Science Chapter 2: Cognitive Psychology Chapter 3: Personality Psychology Chapter 4: Psychology of Morality Chapter 5: Social Psychology Part II: Psychotherapy Chapter 6: The Path of Wisdom Chapter 7: Healing the Soul Chapter 8: Self Creating Conclusion Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisSensing Sacred is an edited volume that explores the critical intersection of religion and body through the religious lens of practical theology, with an emphasis on sensation as the embodied means in which human beings know themselves, others, and the divine in the world. The manuscript argues that all human interaction and practice, including religious praxis, engages body through at least one of the human senses (touch, smell, hearing, taste, sight, kinestics/proprioception). Unfortunately, bodyand, more specifically and ironically, sensationis eclipsed in contemporary academic scholarship that is inherently bent toward the realm of theory and ideas. This is unfortunate because it neglects bodies, physical or communal, as the repository and generator of culturally conditioned ideas and theory. It is ironic because all knowledge transmission minimally requires several senses including sight, touch, and hearing. Sensing Sacred is organized into two parts. The first section devotes a cTrade ReviewWithout neglecting bodily ethics and the right use of power relations, the authors in this volume offer a way to revalue the whole body in pastoral theology, utilizing both western and non-western traditions as foundations for reclaiming the five senses in pastoral practice—a balancing act well accomplished. -- Pamela Cooper-White, Christiane Brooks Johnson Professor of Psychology and Religion, Union Theological Seminary in New YorkIn a field that often makes the mistake of dealing in polarities (e.g. individual v. society, subject v. object, psyche v. body), this volume unites them, arguing that the body mediates personal, cultural, social, and religious experiences, and thus must be taken seriously as a site of knowing and healing. If practical theologians are to understand human being more fully, we must contend with physicality. This collection of essays invites readers into this complex work of taking embodied selves seriously, and encourages us to value them as loci of wisdom and theological insight. -- Barbara McClure, Brite Divinity SchoolTable of ContentsIntroduction: Embodied Knowing, Embodied Theology: What Happened to the Body? Bonnie Miller-McLemore I. Exploring the Senses 1. Smelling Remembrance, Martha Jacobi 2. Embodying Christ, Touching Others, Shirley Guider 3. Savoring Taste as Religious Praxis: Where Individual and Social Intimacy Converge, Stephanie Arel 4. Embodied, Akroatic Hearing and Presence as Spiritual Practice, Jennifer Baldwin 5. Devotional Looking and the Possibilities of Free Associative Sight, Sonia Waters 6. Knowing Through Moving: African Embodied Epistemologies, Emmanuel Y. Lartey II. Sensing Religious Practices 7. Use of a Hot Tub as Spiritual Practice: Three Decades of Daily Baptism by Immersion, John Carr 8. Word Made Flesh: Using Visual Textuality of Sign Languages to Construct Religious Meaning and Identity, Jason Hays 9. A Laying on of Hands: Black Feminist Intimations of the Divine and Healing Touch in Religious Practice, Christina Davis 10. Have We Lost Our Taste? Caring for Black Bodies Through Food, Kenya Tuttle 11. Holy Transitional and Transcendent Smells: Aromatherapy as an Adjunctive support in Pastoral Care and Counseling, Jennifer Baldwin

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Book SynopsisIn a critical intervention into the bioethics debate over human enhancement, philosopher Melinda Hall tackles the claim that the expansion and development of human capacities is a moral obligation. Hall draws on French philosopher Michel Foucault to reveal and challenge the ways disability is central to the conversation. The Bioethics of Enhancement includes a close reading and analysis of the last century of enhancement thinking and contemporary transhumanist thinkers, the strongest promoters of the obligation to pursue enhancement technology. With specific attention to the work of bioethicists Nick Bostrom and Julian Savulescu, the book challenges the rhetoric and strategies of enhancement thinking. These include the desire to transcend the body and decide who should live in future generations through emerging technologies such as genetic selection. Hall provides new analyses rethinking both the philosophy of enhancement and disability, arguing that enhancement should be a matter of Trade ReviewIn The Bioethics of Enhancement, Melinda Hall powerfully argues that disability underpins debates over genetic enhancement, and in turn these debates anchor contemporary bioethics, making disability, and questions over which lives are worth living, the fulcrum of bioethics. Bringing Michel Foucault’s notion of biopower to bear on the transhumanist discourses of Julian Savulescu and Nick Bostrom (among others) this book is a game changer, and a must read for anyone interested in enhancement literature, disability studies, or bioethics more generally. -- Kelly Oliver, W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy, Vanderbilt UniversityMelinda Hall’s The Bioethics of Enhancement: Transhumanism, Disability, and Biopolitics is both a unique contribution to philosophy of disability and a bold intervention into philosophical bioethics. It is also an important addition to the growing body of work that uses Foucault to interrogate the role that academic philosophy and bioethics play in the subordination of disabled people. The innovative arguments that Hall persuasively advances throughout the book demonstrate the prescience of Foucault’s insights and the relevance of his claims for critical philosophical analyses of disability, as well as show how critical scholarship on disability can expand our understanding of Foucault’s oeuvre. -- Shelley Tremain, editor of Foucault and the Government of DisabilityTable of ContentsIntroduction: Enhancement, Disability, and Biopolitics Chapter 1: Dragon Slayers: Exploring Transhumanism Chapter 2: Rethinking Disability: Dodging Definitions, Muddying Models Chapter 3: Rethinking Enhancement: A Genealogical Approach Chapter 4: Choosing, For Choice’s Sake: A Case Study Chapter 5: Disability as/at Risk: The Biopolitics of Disability Conclusion: Rethinking the Future

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Book SynopsisIn How to Explain Behavior: A Critical Review and New Approach, Sam S. Rakover proposes a critical review of explanation models (procedures); presents explanation as an essential part of research methodology; depicts understanding as based on explanation models and other procedures; provides a list of basic ideas common to most explanation models; supplies an approach that unifies mechanistic explanations as used by the sciences with mentalistic explanations that are based on one''s inner world; and provides a general procedure for explaining individual behavior. Trade ReviewHow to Explain Behavior: A Critical Review and New Approach is at once a general introduction to psychological explanation and an original mature theory on the nature of such explanation. It is to be hoped that this work will be widely read not only by psychologists, philosophers, and historians of science, but by all those motivated by the struggles of a gifted thinker who is forging his way toward a foundation for his discipline. -- Daniel Algom, Tel-Aviv UniversitySam S. Rakover’s provocative book consists of a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of the conceptual problems involved in the explanation of organismic behavior which concludes with a bold, creative suggestion of an original model that skillfully combines complementary mechanistic (causal) and mentalistic (teleological) explanations which together may account for both the external (explicit responses) and internal (implicit will and belief) behavioral processes. -- Israel Nachson, Bar Ilan University, professor emeritusKnowing that Sam S. Rakover is a psychologist, his ‘dual methodology’ and ‘multi-explanation framework’ that appear in this book can be considered as an essential epistemological step toward an overall explanation of the realities (‘epistemological ontologies’) of the mind and brain (i.e., my ‘epistemologically different worlds’ perspective). -- Gabriel Vacariu, Bucharest University, author of Illusions of Human ThinkingTable of ContentsChapter 1: Understanding and Explanation Chapter 2: Models of Explanation (I): Natural Sciences Chapter 3: Models of Explanation (II): Natural and Social Sciences Chapter 4: Reflections on Models of Explanation Chapter 5: Methodological Dualism (MD) and the Multi-Explanation Framework (MEF) (I) Theoretical and Empirical Basis Chapter 6: Methodological Dualism (MD) and the Multi-Explanation Framework (MEF) (II): Setting Up Chapter 7: A Proposed General Explanation Procedure (GEP) for Understanding an Individual’s Behavior

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Book SynopsisIn How to Explain Behavior: A Critical Review and New Approach, Sam S. Rakover proposes a critical review of explanation models (procedures); presents explanation as an essential part of research methodology; depicts understanding as based on explanation models and other procedures; provides a list of basic ideas common to most explanation models; supplies an approach that unifies mechanistic explanations as used by the sciences with mentalistic explanations that are based on one''s inner world; and provides a general procedure for explaining individual behavior.Trade ReviewScientific domains are sometimes categorized as hard and soft, with psychology falling in the latter grouping. Another characterization could be the hard sciences and the difficult sciences. As Rakover (Univ. of Haifa, Israel) has compellingly illustrated in How to Explain Behavior, psychology clearly falls in the difficult category. This book deals with the philosophy of science as it relates to psychological explanation. As such, a solid background in philosophy and the philosophy of science will enable readers to evaluate Rakover’s complex arguments. That the issues of causal explanation remain unresolved indicates the complexity of the endeavor. He lays out the varied philosophical approaches to understanding phenomena as they unfold in the natural and in the social/behavioral sciences, showing that scientists are still far from coming up with explanatory models of behavior. He makes it clear that explanations and understanding are intimately tied to measurement, which constitutes a problem with respect to modeling experiential, mental states. He develops his model, called the "general explanation procedure," to account for psychological constructs, suggesting that psychologists can use it to carve a methodological path leading in the direction of the truth. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students and researchers. * CHOICE *[This] excellent book. . . . offers several profound insights into psychology's existential problems. It contains a wealth of material that should be studied and be of interest to a large audience, including psychologists, philosophers, and members of the educated public at large. A valuable feature of the book is that the author is not satisfied with mere discussion of the seemingly insurmountable problems, but volunteers also to offer solutions. This scholarly book should hold a respected place on the shelves of novice and seasoned psychologists alike. * Iyyn: The Jerusalem Philosophical Quarterly *How to Explain Behavior: A Critical Review and New Approach is at once a general introduction to psychological explanation and an original mature theory on the nature of such explanation. It is to be hoped that this work will be widely read not only by psychologists, philosophers, and historians of science, but by all those motivated by the struggles of a gifted thinker who is forging his way toward a foundation for his discipline. -- Daniel Algom, Tel-Aviv UniversitySam S. Rakover’s provocative book consists of a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of the conceptual problems involved in the explanation of organismic behavior which concludes with a bold, creative suggestion of an original model that skillfully combines complementary mechanistic (causal) and mentalistic (teleological) explanations which together may account for both the external (explicit responses) and internal (implicit will and belief) behavioral processes. -- Israel Nachson, Bar Ilan University, professor emeritusKnowing that Sam S. Rakover is a psychologist, his ‘dual methodology’ and ‘multi-explanation framework’ that appear in this book can be considered as an essential epistemological step toward an overall explanation of the realities (‘epistemological ontologies’) of the mind and brain (i.e., my ‘epistemologically different worlds’ perspective). -- Gabriel Vacariu, Bucharest University, author of Illusions of Human ThinkingTable of ContentsChapter 1: Understanding and Explanation Chapter 2: Models of Explanation (I): Natural Sciences Chapter 3: Models of Explanation (II): Natural and Social Sciences Chapter 4: Reflections on Models of Explanation Chapter 5: Methodological Dualism (MD) and the Multi-Explanation Framework (MEF) (I) Theoretical and Empirical Basis Chapter 6: Methodological Dualism (MD) and the Multi-Explanation Framework (MEF) (II): Setting Up Chapter 7: A Proposed General Explanation Procedure (GEP) for Understanding an Individual’s Behavior

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Book SynopsisAs neuroscience continues to reveal the biological basis of human thought and behavior, what impact will this have on legal theory and practice? The emerging field of neurolaw seeks to address this question, but doing so adequately requires confronting difficult philosophical issues surrounding the nature of mind, free will, rationality, and responsibility. In The Philosophical Foundations of Neurolaw, Martin Roth claims that the central philosophical issue facing neurolaw is whether we can reconcile the conception of ourselves as free, rational, and responsible agents with the conception of ourselves as complex bio-chemical machines. Roth argues that we can reconcile these conceptions. To show this, Roth develops and defends an account of free will that identifies free will with the capacity to respond to rational demands, and he argues that this capacity is at the foundation of our thinking about responsibility. Roth also shows how the mind sciences can explain this capacity, thus reTable of ContentsChapter 1: Two Images Chapter 2: Fusion Confusion Chapter 3: Spiderman, Doing Whatever a Spider Can Chapter 4: What a Stupid I Am! Chapter 5: Dasein Design Chapter 6: Fusion Finalized Chapter 7: Bad Brains Chapter 8: fMRIs Are Watching You Chapter 9: Does the Legal System Have a Diminished Capacity? Appendix: Court Cases and Legal Doctrine

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Book SynopsisModernity has radically challenged the assumptions that guide our ordinary lives as persons, in ways we are not normally aware. We live our concrete lives taking for granted that personal decisions, desires, relationships, actions, aspirations, values, and knowledge are central to our existence. But in modernity, we think of these matters as private, idiosyncratic, and subjective, even irrational. This modern conception of ourselves and the associated way of reflection known as modern critical thinking came to dominate our thinking is culminates in the dualistic philosophy of René Descartes. This dualism has spawned a reductionist view of persons and tainted the personal with connotations of bias, partiality, and privacy, leaving us with the presumption that if we seek to be objective and intellectually respectable, we must expunge the personal.William H. Poteat's work in philosophical anthropology has confronted this concern head on. He undertakes a radical critique of the various forTrade ReviewThese essays, especially those by Bruce Haddox and Edward St. Clair, include richly evocative reminiscences of what it was like to be Poteat’s student. They also, especially those by Dale Cannon and Ron Hall, include fine expositions of Polanyi’s thought. . . . How appropriate that this jewel box of a book should culminate with such a rich example of how Poteat’s language itself, plumbed to its premodern depths, can help us find our way back to where we have been all along, but awakened from the amnesia modernity has fostered in us and refreshed for the tasks of weaning our intellectual world in its many facets from the deadly fixations that threaten to blind it to the obvious." * Tradition & Discovery *This book is an echo chamber, fraught with strong voices out of regard for a common program, accompanied by an invitation to those readers assiduous in search of fresh provocations. The provocative voice of William H. Poteat populates the echo chambers of his students and auditors from their first meetings to postmortem recollections in their own classrooms and studies. It is cunningly appropriate these essays were first uttered in the voices of the authors in a conference at Yale Divinity School, called to celebrate the establishment of the Poteat Archive. For the readers of these essays it is a bonus to have reprinted an essay by Poteat which offers them an exhibition of his work in its prime as well as providing the readers an opportunity to reappraise the essays in this collection in the immediate vicinity of “Paul Cezanne and the Numinous Power of the Real." -- Ruel Tyson, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillThis collection of essays, devoted to the philosophy of William H. Poteat, is the first of its kind. Required reading for those concerned with Polanyi and philosophical anthropology, it will also be of interest to anyone concerned with existentialism or phenomenology, or anyone simply curious about where modern philosophy went wrong. Devoted to the personal and the post-critical, the essays are themselves warmly personal, celebrating the life and teaching of professor Poteat as much as his work. -- Ryan Hickerson, Western Oregon UniversityTable of Contents1.Refinding the Personal Dale W. Cannon and Ronald L. Hall Philosophical Anthropology 2.Why Is the Personal So Important? Bruce Haddox and Edward St. Clair 3.Being Post-Critical Dale W. Cannon 4.Critical Recollection Ronald L. Hall 5.The Genealogy of Poteat’s Philosophical Anthropology Bruce B. Lawrence 6.The Primacy of the Person David W. Rutledge 7.Dethroning Epistemology Ronald L. Hall Theological Considerations 8.Personhood and the Problematic of Christianity James W. Stines 9.Incarnational Theology Elizabeth Newman 10.Towards a Post-Critical Theology R. Melvin Keiser Aesthetic Considerations 11.Post-Critical Aesthetics Kieran Cashell 12.Paul Cézanne and the Numinous Power of the Real William H. Poteat

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Book SynopsisEndurance Sport and the American Philosophical Tradition, edited by Douglas R. Hochstetler, analyzes the relationship between endurance sportssuch as running, cycling, and swimmingand themes from the American philosophical tradition. The contributors enter into dialogue with writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, William James, Henry David Thoreau, and John Dewey, as well as more recent scholars such as John McDermott and bell hooks. Examining American philosophical themes informs issues in endurance sport, and the experiential nature of endurance sport helps address philosophical issues and explain philosophical themes in American philosophy. The chapters bear witness to the fact that philosophy is not limited to abstract notions such as justice, truth, happiness, and so forth, but intersects with and has a bearing on our human endeavors of work and play. Furthermore, the themes centrally related to the American philosophical tradition align closely with the challenges and experiencesTable of ContentsContents Foreword: Amby Burfoot 1.Introduction: The nature of American philosophy and endurance sport Douglas Hochstetler 2.Running and musing: Living philosophically Douglas Anderson 3.When continentalism meets pragmatism - Enduring life in the strenuous mood Ron Welters 4.Floyd Landis, endurance sport and the aesthetics of tension Tim Elcombe 6. Sunrise, Sunset: Reflections on what makes an aging biker’s life significant Scott Kretchmar 7. Representative endurance athlete Peter Hopsicker 8. Cooking up a plan: Pragmatism and training Pam R. Sailors and Cody D. Cash 9. Dewey goes the distance: Situated habit and ultraendurance sports Jesús Ilundáin-Agurruza, Shaun Gallagher, Daniel D. Hutto, Kaarina Beam 10. “The will to believe,” the will to win, and the problem of self-transcendence Jeffrey Fry 11. On meaning and motive in endurance sport: An experiential romp through the grand whys Scott Tinley 12. Circles of life: Evaluating goals and preparing for the future Douglas Hochstetler Bibliography Contributor Biographies

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Book SynopsisEndurance Sport and the American Philosophical Tradition, edited by Douglas R. Hochstetler, analyzes the relationship between endurance sportssuch as running, cycling, and swimmingand themes from the American philosophical tradition. The contributors enter into dialogue with writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, William James, Henry David Thoreau, and John Dewey, as well as more recent scholars such as John McDermott and bell hooks. Examining American philosophical themes informs issues in endurance sport, and the experiential nature of endurance sport helps address philosophical issues and explain philosophical themes in American philosophy. The chapters bear witness to the fact that philosophy is not limited to abstract notions such as justice, truth, happiness, and so forth, but intersects with and has a bearing on our human endeavors of work and play. Furthermore, the themes centrally related to the American philosophical tradition align closely with the challenges and experienceTrade ReviewReaders may wonder whether this book, as edited by Hochstetler (Pennsylvania State Univ. Lehigh Valley), represents the response of its various authors to the modern growth of endurance sport or to life in a world that rarely allows for time to be with oneself. Perhaps it is both, with contributing authors examining in the process the foundations of the American philosophical tradition. Hochstetler asks “to what extent, and in what ways, does endurance sport play at least a small part in our quest to live a meaningful and gathered life in a world that is so harried?” This question is examined through the lens of American philosophical thinking in the nine essays gathered here. These are densely written pieces, demanding that readers take time to contemplate and reflect. Only athletes thoroughly devoted to their craft would attempt to run a fifty-mile race. So too should the reader of this text be schooled in philosophical reasoning. The demand on readers ensures that this book is not for novices, but the reward for those willing to engage with the text is a highly stimulating, even life-changing examination of the aspiration and training required for performance in endurance sport. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals. * Choice *"In this book, American philosophy merges creatively and innovatively with endurance sport, and the other way around. What emerges is, borrowing from George Santayana, an outstanding 'work of imagination' that invites us to conceive ourselves through engagement with endurance sport as well as through critical reflection of that engagement. This excellent book highlights that crafting a life of significance is possible for those who take chances in endurance sport and for those who take chances ruminating about it." -- Cesar R. Torres, State University of New York"Endurance Sport and the American Philosophical Tradition provides thoughtful perspectives on just why endurance sport and philosophy are intertwined. Enduring one’s physicality provides the opportunity for existential clarity, and one’s ability to describe this state of being is enhanced by the perspectives of these scholars. As Scott Tinley notes, 'As endurance athletes, by definition we must go to our borders to find our center.' These essays will help both the thoughtful endurance athlete and the enduring, physical intellectual do just this." -- Steven Estes, Middle Tennessee State University"Endurance Sport and the American Philosophical Tradition makes evident that endurance athletes and American philosophers are fellow travelers in the search for the makings of a meaningful life. The key themes of American philosophy will resonate with endurance athletes. The experiences of endurance athletes will provide a source for philosophical musings. The essays in this collection insightfully intertwine endurance sport and American philosophy, leaving the reader with a deeper appreciation of both." -- Douglas W. McLaughlin, California State University"This book will resonate with anyone who ‘endures’ and commits to any meaningful, life-fulfilling project - physical, sporting or otherwise, and who also thinks in a philosophical way, be that idiosyncratically, intermittently, and imprecisely. In that regard it captures a likely truth about human life – that if to endure is a crucial necessity of life, then one must consider how such striving can best be embraced." -- Alun Hardman, Cardiff Metropolitan UniversityTable of ContentsContentsForeword: Amby BurfootIntroduction: The nature of American philosophy and endurance sportDouglas HochstetlerRunning and musing: Living philosophicallyDouglas AndersonWhen continentalism meets pragmatism - Enduring life in the strenuous moodRon WeltersFloyd Landis, endurance sport and the aesthetics of tensionTim Elcombe6. Sunrise, Sunset: Reflections on what makes an aging biker’s life significantScott Kretchmar7. Representative endurance athletePeter Hopsicker8. Cooking up a plan: Pragmatism and trainingPam R. Sailors and Cody D. Cash9. Dewey goes the distance: Situated habit and ultraendurance sportsJesús Ilundáin-Agurruza, Shaun Gallagher, Daniel D. Hutto, Kaarina Beam10. “The will to believe,” the will to win, and the problem of self-transcendenceJeffrey Fry11. On meaning and motive in endurance sport: An experiential romp through the grand whysScott Tinley12. Circles of life: Evaluating goals and preparing for the futureDouglas HochstetlerBibliographyContributor Biographies

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Book SynopsisGolf as Meaningful Play offers a philosophical introduction to golf as a sporting practice and source of personal meaning. It is intended both for scholars interested in the philosophy of sport, and for intellectually curious golfers who seek a better understanding of the game. This book describes the physical, emotional, mental, and ethical aspects of the game and how they influence golf instruction. It looks at golf as play, game, sport, and spectacle, discusses golf's heroes, communities, and traditions, and analyzes the role of the virtues in golf, linking them to self-fulfillment, the ultimate good of golf experience. The book concludes with discussions of classic works of golf literary and film art, including Caddyshack, Missing Links, Tin Cup, and Golf in the Kingdom, which celebrate its follies and glories. The fact that golf can serve as a playful laboratory to test oneself is a deep part of the game's attraction. Golf, if played well, conveys an experience which unites happinTrade ReviewA very special book. . . a very detailed. . . guide to the philosophical aspects of the golf discipline, aimed above all at the curious golfer who is looking for a better understanding of the sport he loves so much. . . The fact that golf can serve as a "laboratory" to test oneself is a significant component of the attraction that this game has on those who practice it. Golf, if played well, conveys an experience that combines happiness, excellence and interpersonal prosperity. This book aims to illustrate how golfers can improve their game and even themselves, making golf a primary experience of life. [Translated from original Italian] * Il Mundo del Golf Today *A two iron pured to a distant green describes my joy in reading this book. Golf has internal structures that, if understood and appreciated, help the golfer to seek and find ‘self-fulfilling golf.’ A discussion of the shot, the game, social and political issues, aesthetics and ethics, and presentations of golf in literature and film. I recommend this book to golfers, philosophers, and sport enthusiasts. -- Warren P. Fraleigh, author of Right Actions in Sport: Ethics for ContestantsW. Thomas Schmid’s analysis of golf is one of the best applications of Aristotle’s ideas to the sport philosophical literature. His essentialist proposal takes internalism deeper and provides new, original ways to respond to the challenges posed by contextualist philosophical theories of sport. I invite everyone interested in the philosophy of sport, or golf, to read Schmid’s work. -- Francisco Javier Lopez Frias, Pennsylvania State UniversityIt is widely believed that golf has stimulated a more varied literature than any other game. Golf as Meaningful Play encompasses this impressive variety as thoroughly as any book I’ve read, opening windows into many of its mysteries. After reading it, if you’re a golfer, you will see the game in new ways. If you’re not, you may well be amazed. -- Michael Murphy, author of Golf in the KingdomTable of ContentsPhoto Acknowledgements Acknowledgements Preface Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: The Idea of the Shot Chapter 3: The Sport of Golf Chapter 4: Communities and Traditions Chapter 5: The Virtues of Golf Chapter 6: The Play of Imagination A Selection of Golf Quotes Bibliography About the Author

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Book SynopsisThis book uses philosophy, psychology, and autobiography in an innovative exploration of self and self-knowledge. It argues that our sense of who we are is an ever-changing response to the world of interpersonal experience, an essential project that is always subject to revision and change. It explores self-knowledge through linked topics. What characteristics make an individual identifiable and unique, and how are they experienced introspectively? What insight can be gained through the metaphors of acting and roles? How does fantasy plays a crucial part in self-definition and self-exploration? How do trust and fear define our perception of others and what is their contribution to our sense of self? The second half of the book uses the friendship of the authors, a philosopher and a psychologist, to investigate how one's ability to navigate the world, along with one's self-knowledge, changes through mutual care, respect, and complementarityand through an explicit dialogic focus oTrade ReviewIn Knowing Self, Changing Self, Morawetz (Univ. of Connecticut School of Law) and Enyart, a practicing psychologist, explore self at the intersection of philosophy and psychology. The result is a fascinating read that blends both historical viewpoints and practical applications. One of the main themes that runs throughout is how much of ”knowing self” is a matter of fact and how much a matter of interpretation. Rather than judge interpretation as somehow less valuable than fact, the authors suggest that self as interpretation is equally vital to understand. In the tradition of such works as Mayeroff’s On Caring (1971), this book demonstrates the power of understanding self through shared friendship and the ability to care for others as much as for self. It is refreshing to have a work that balances conversation on the role of trust and fear (many works discuss one or the other but rarely both) in navigating through the self-exploration process and coming to understand self. . . this thin but powerful volume is well suited to counseling and philosophy and of much value to helping professionals. Summing Up: Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty and professionals. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsPart 1: Knowing Self (by Thomas Morawetz) Introduction: On the Examined Life Chapter 1: On the Social Bases of Self-Knowledge “Who Am I?” Identity and Recognition Attitudes Trust and Fear Self-knowledge as Knowledge Fantasy Selves Chapter 2: On Truth and Falsity, Fantasy and Self-Knowledge What You See… Aspects and Ingredients of the Self Parameters of Self-image Discontent and Quiet Desperation Culture and Fantasy Deeper into Fantasy Chapter 3: On Acting, Roles, and Essences Acting: Two Meanings “Real” Actors The Audience Deeper into Identification Roles and Selves Cosplay Chapter 4: On Recognition The Importance of Recognizability Recognizing Oneself Anonymity Recognition, Power, and Fear Impersonation and Deception The Technology of Self-creation Part 2: Changing Self (by Thomas Morawetz and Scotty Enyart) Chapter 5: On Friendship Others and Alter Egos (TM) Beginning Again (SE) Contrast and Complement (TM) Learning and Giving (SE) Voices in the Wilderness (TM) Chapter 6: On Professional Identity Revising the Self (TM) Therapy: Inroads, Strengths, Deficits (SE) Change: Transparency and Opacity (TM) The Therapist’s Role (SE) The Self as Indirect Object (TM) Chapter 7: On Culture What is Culture? (TM) Origins (SE) Frames, Contexts, and Cultures (TM) The Deliberate Cultural Pursuit of Self-knowledge (SE) Culture and Personal Trajectories (TM) Chapter 8: On Feeling Judging and Feeling (TM) Ways of Knowing and Feeling (SE) The Self and Humanism (TM)

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Book SynopsisThis book uses philosophy, psychology, and autobiography in an innovative exploration of self and self-knowledge. It argues that our sense of who we are is an ever-changing response to the world of interpersonal experience, an essential project that is always subject to revision and change. It explores self-knowledge through linked topics. What characteristics make an individual identifiable and unique, and how are they experienced introspectively? What insight can be gained through the metaphors of acting and roles? How does fantasy plays a crucial part in self-definition and self-exploration? How do trust and fear define our perception of others and what is their contribution to our sense of self? The second half of the book uses the friendship of the authors, a philosopher and a psychologist, to investigate how one's ability to navigate the world, along with one's self-knowledge, changes through mutual care, respect, and complementarityand through an explicit dialogic focus on self Trade ReviewIn Knowing Self, Changing Self, Morawetz (Univ. of Connecticut School of Law) and Enyart, a practicing psychologist, explore self at the intersection of philosophy and psychology. The result is a fascinating read that blends both historical viewpoints and practical applications. One of the main themes that runs throughout is how much of ”knowing self” is a matter of fact and how much a matter of interpretation. Rather than judge interpretation as somehow less valuable than fact, the authors suggest that self as interpretation is equally vital to understand. In the tradition of such works as Mayeroff’s On Caring (1971), this book demonstrates the power of understanding self through shared friendship and the ability to care for others as much as for self. It is refreshing to have a work that balances conversation on the role of trust and fear (many works discuss one or the other but rarely both) in navigating through the self-exploration process and coming to understand self. . . this thin but powerful volume is well suited to counseling and philosophy and of much value to helping professionals.Summing Up: Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty and professionals. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsPart 1: Knowing Self (by Thomas Morawetz)Introduction: On the Examined LifeChapter 1: On the Social Bases of Self-Knowledge“Who Am I?”Identity and RecognitionAttitudesTrust and FearSelf-knowledge as KnowledgeFantasy SelvesChapter 2: On Truth and Falsity, Fantasy and Self-KnowledgeWhat You See…Aspects and Ingredients of the SelfParameters of Self-imageDiscontent and Quiet DesperationCulture and FantasyDeeper into FantasyChapter 3: On Acting, Roles, and EssencesActing: Two Meanings“Real” ActorsThe AudienceDeeper into IdentificationRoles and SelvesCosplayChapter 4: On RecognitionThe Importance of RecognizabilityRecognizing OneselfAnonymityRecognition, Power, and FearImpersonation and DeceptionThe Technology of Self-creationPart 2: Changing Self (by Thomas Morawetz and Scotty Enyart)Chapter 5: On FriendshipOthers and Alter Egos (TM)Beginning Again (SE)Contrast and Complement (TM)Learning and Giving (SE)Voices in the Wilderness (TM)Chapter 6: On Professional IdentityRevising the Self (TM)Therapy: Inroads, Strengths, Deficits (SE)Change: Transparency and Opacity (TM)The Therapist’s Role (SE)The Self as Indirect Object (TM)Chapter 7: On CultureWhat is Culture? (TM)Origins (SE)Frames, Contexts, and Cultures (TM)The Deliberate Cultural Pursuit of Self-knowledge (SE)Culture and Personal Trajectories (TM)Chapter 8: On FeelingJudging and Feeling (TM)Ways of Knowing and Feeling (SE)The Self and Humanism (TM)

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Book SynopsisThe essays in this volume all ask what it means for human beings to be embodied as desiring creaturesand perhaps still more piercingly, what it means for a philosopher to be embodied. In taking up this challenge via phenomenology, psychoanalysis, hermeneutics, and the philosophy of literature, the volume questions the orthodoxies not only of Western metaphysics but even of the phenomenological tradition itself. We miss much that has philosophical import when we exclude the somatic aspects of human life, and it is therefore the philosopher's duty now to rediscover the meaning inherent in desire, emotion, and passionwithout letting the biases of any tradition determine in advance the meaning that reveals itself in embodied desire. Continental philosophers have already done much to challenge binary oppositions, and this volume sets out a new challenge: we must now also question the dichotomy between being at home and being alienated. Alterity is not simply something out there, separate frTable of ContentsSection I: “Somatic Desire: Uncovering Corporeality in Phenomenology and Hermeneutics” Christine Rojcewicz Chapter One: “Desire, Body, and Freedom: Themes from Husserl's ‘Studies on the Structures of Consciousness’” Andrea Staiti (Università degli Studi di Parma) Chapter Two: “Lateralization and Leaning: Somatic Desire as a Model for Supple Wisdom” Brian Treanor (Loyola Marymount University) Chapter Three: “The Recovery of the Flesh in Ricoeur and Merleau-Ponty” Richard Kearney (Boston College) Chapter Four: “Ricoeur on the Body – A Response to Richard Kearney” Gonçalo Marcelo (Universidade de Coimbra / Católica Porto Business School) Section II: “The Body in Love and Sickness” Sarah Horton Chapter Five: “Embrace and Differentiation: A Phenomenology of Eros” Emmanuel Falque (L’Institut Catholique de Paris) and Richard Kearney (Boston College) Chapter Six: “Toward an Ethics of the Spread Body” Emmanuel Falque (L’Institut Catholique de Paris) Chapter Seven: “Dying to Desire: Soma, Sema, Sarx, and Sex” John Panteleimon Manoussakis (College of the Holy Cross) Section III: “The Inscribed Body: Text and the Afterlife of the Flesh” Stephen Mendelsohn Chapter Eight: “Anxiety, Melancholy, and Shrapnel” Richard Rojcewicz (Duquesne University) Chapter Nine: “The Poetics of Lack and the Problem of Ground in Knut Hamsun’s Hunger” Christopher Yates (University of Virginia) Chapter Ten: “From the Writing of Desire to the Desire of Writing: Reflections on Proust” Miguel de Beistegui (The University of Warwick). Chapter Eleven: “Miracle” Alphonso Lingis (Pennsylvania State University)

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Book SynopsisReligion was a constant theme throughout Paul Ricoeur's long career, and yet he never wrote a full-length treatment of the topic. In this important new book, Brian Gregor draws on the full scope of Ricoeur's writings to lay out the essential features of his philosophical interpretation of religion, from his earliest to his last work.Ricoeur's central claim is that religion aims at the regeneration of human capabilityin his words, the rebirth of the capable self. This book provides a rich thematic account of Ricoeur's hermeneutics of religion, showing how the theme of capability informs his changing interpretations of religion, from his early work on French reflexive philosophy and the philosophy of the will to his late work on forgiveness, mourning, and living up to death. Gregor exhibits Ricoeur's original contribution to philosophical reflection on such themes as evil, suffering, and violence, as well as imagination, embodiment, and spiritual exercise. He also presents a criticalTrade ReviewBrian Gregor's "loving struggle" with Ricoeur's philosophical thinking of revelation provides rare and illuminating insights into the secret bridge between "fallible" and "capable" humanity. An indispensable contribution to contemporary religious hermeneutics. -- Richard Kearney, Charles Seelig Professor of Philosophy, Boston CollegeWith clarity, lucidity, and elegance, Brian Gregor demonstrates in this book why not just philosophers but also theologians—indeed, why anyone interested in meaningful engagement with reality—should read Paul Ricoeur. Combining a deeply appreciative account of Ricoeur’s hermeneutics of religion with incisive theological critique, this book is an invaluable contribution to philosophical theology. I have long waited for a presentation of Ricoeur so suitable for a broad range of academic, philosophical, and theological educational contexts. -- Jens Zimmermann, Canada Research Professor in Humanities, Trinity Western UniversitySome assembly required! Ricoeur's massive corpus does not come prearranged into a more or less coherent whole. By narrating his hermeneutics of religion, Gregor assembles Ricoeur's richly diverse authorship so that we can see its overall structure and the context for each of its parts. The result is a brilliant introduction for the new reader and a challenging, sympathetic but critical interpretation for long time scholars of Ricoeur's work. -- Merold Westphal, Fordham UniversityTable of Contents1. Reflection and Capability: The Formation of Ricoeur’s Hermeneutics 2. Homo incapax: Radical Evil and the Bound Will 3. Transcendence, Poetics, and the Formation of the I Can 4. Capability Reborn: The Hermeneutics of Religion 5. Addressed by the Word: The Hermeneutics of Revelation 6. The Summoned Subject: The Call and the Capable Self 7. Eschatology, Desire, and God 8. Being and God: Reflections on Transcendence, Immanence, and Divine Personhood 9. Violence, the Fundamental, and the Cross

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Book SynopsisReligion was a constant theme throughout Paul Ricoeur's long career, and yet he never wrote a full-length treatment of the topic. In this important new book, Brian Gregor draws on the full scope of Ricoeur's writings to lay out the essential features of his philosophical interpretation of religion, from his earliest to his last work.Ricoeur's central claim is that religion aims at the regeneration of human capabilityin his words, the rebirth of the capable self. This book provides a rich thematic account of Ricoeur's hermeneutics of religion, showing how the theme of capability informs his changing interpretations of religion, from his early work on French reflexive philosophy and the philosophy of the will to his late work on forgiveness, mourning, and living up to death. Gregor exhibits Ricoeur's original contribution to philosophical reflection on such themes as evil, suffering, and violence, as well as imagination, embodiment, and spiritual exercise. He alsoTrade ReviewBrian Gregor's "loving struggle" with Ricoeur's philosophical thinking of revelation provides rare and illuminating insights into the secret bridge between "fallible" and "capable" humanity. An indispensable contribution to contemporary religious hermeneutics. -- Richard Kearney, Charles Seelig Professor of Philosophy, Boston CollegeWith clarity, lucidity, and elegance, Brian Gregor demonstrates in this book why not just philosophers but also theologians—indeed, why anyone interested in meaningful engagement with reality—should read Paul Ricoeur. Combining a deeply appreciative account of Ricoeur’s hermeneutics of religion with incisive theological critique, this book is an invaluable contribution to philosophical theology. I have long waited for a presentation of Ricoeur so suitable for a broad range of academic, philosophical, and theological educational contexts. -- Jens Zimmermann, Canada Research Professor in Humanities, Trinity Western UniversitySome assembly required! Ricoeur's massive corpus does not come prearranged into a more or less coherent whole. By narrating his hermeneutics of religion, Gregor assembles Ricoeur's richly diverse authorship so that we can see its overall structure and the context for each of its parts. The result is a brilliant introduction for the new reader and a challenging, sympathetic but critical interpretation for long time scholars of Ricoeur's work. -- Merold Westphal, Fordham UniversityTable of Contents1. Reflection and Capability: The Formation of Ricoeur’s Hermeneutics2. Homo incapax: Radical Evil and the Bound Will3. Transcendence, Poetics, and the Formation of the I Can4. Capability Reborn: The Hermeneutics of Religion5. Addressed by the Word: The Hermeneutics of Revelation6. The Summoned Subject: The Call and the Capable Self7. Eschatology, Desire, and God8. Being and God: Reflections on Transcendence, Immanence, and Divine Personhood9. Violence, the Fundamental, and the Cross

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Book SynopsisMillions of animals are brought into existence and raised for food every year. This has generated three serious problems: first, intensive animal farming is one of the leading causes of environmental degradation. Farming livestock contributes to a large amount of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere each year; it contributes to land and water degradation, biodiversity loss, coral reef degeneration, and deforestation. Second, raising animals for food causes millions of animals to suffer and be killed. And third, consumption of meat and animal products is linked with heart disease, diabetes, and various cancers. Consequently, a global change in the way that animals are treated is imperative. Many moral philosophers have suggested a move toward vegetarianism. But vegetarianism, unfortunately, still relies on raising animals for food, and does not avoid the deleterious effects of animal products on human health. The right solution is ethical veganism, which is the avoidance of all animal prTrade ReviewIn Ethical Veganism, Carlo Alvaro makes a valiant and convincing argument to replace deontological and utilitarian moral theories regarding animal rights with, instead, virtue ethics. The writing is clear, lucid, and engaging. In fact, I read the book in a matter of days, finding it hard to put down. . . . a shining example of applied ethics and environmental philosophy. * Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics *Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1: Kant, Animals, and Indirect Moral Duty Kant, Marginal Cases, and Animals What’s Wrong with the Indirect Duty View? Two Neo-Kantian Views Chapter 2: Utilitarianism: All that is Gold does not Glitter Some basic Tenets of Utilitarianism Utilitarianism = Vegetarianism? Conclusion Chapter 3: Eating People and Eating Animals Utilitarians and Animals Eating Animals and People Marginal Cases Conclusion Chapter 4: A New Horizon: Virtue Ethics On Morality and the Discipline of Non-Aretaic Authorities What is Virtue Ethics? The Virtue Approach The Components of VE More Objections Chapter 5: What about Our Treatment of Animals? The Scope of Virtue Animal Ethics Needs Virtue Chapter 6: Veganism as a Virtue Embracing Virtue Some Tenets of Virtue Ethics Four Important Virtues: temperance, compassion, fairness, and greatness of the soul Eating Meat and the Destruction of the Environment Conclusion Chapter 7: Some Objections Being Vegans is not for everyone Where Do We Draw the Line? Plants Suffer Too Eating Meat is an Enjoyable Experience Eating animals is natural Animals Eat Other Animals What about Tradition? Religion Allows Meat Eating Meat is Healthful Chapter 8: Awareness: What we do to Animals Awareness Should We Become All Vegans? The Link between Virtue and Veganism Reaching People in Non-Manipulative Ways Chapter 9: Ethical Veganism’s Beef with Cultured Meat Virtue and Objections Ethical Veganism and Lab-Grown Meat Abortion and Meat Conclusion Bibliography

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Book SynopsisMillions of animals are brought into existence and raised for food every year. This has generated three serious problems: first, intensive animal farming is one of the leading causes of environmental degradation. Farming livestock contributes to a large amount of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere each year; it contributes to land and water degradation, biodiversity loss, coral reef degeneration, and deforestation. Second, raising animals for food causes millions of animals to suffer and be killed. And third, consumption of meat and animal products is linked with heart disease, diabetes, and various cancers. Consequently, a global change in the way that animals are treated is imperative. Many moral philosophers have suggested a move toward vegetarianism. But vegetarianism, unfortunately, still relies on raising animals for food, and does not avoid the deleterious effects of animal products on human health. The right solution is ethical veganism, which is the avoidance of all animal Trade ReviewIn Ethical Veganism, Carlo Alvaro makes a valiant and convincing argument to replace deontological and utilitarian moral theories regarding animal rights with, instead, virtue ethics. The writing is clear, lucid, and engaging. In fact, I read the book in a matter of days, finding it hard to put down. . . . a shining example of applied ethics and environmental philosophy. * Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics *One of the best features of this book is that it offers very helpful summaries and references to scientific literature in favor of vegetarian and/or vegan diets, which Alvaro helpfully interprets in light of the virtues of temperance and compassion. Throughout the book Alvaro exhibits an admirable intellectual honesty by stating possible criticisms of his views and he responds to such criticisms in a fair manner. Another strength of the book is its thought-provoking treatment of cultured meat grown in laboratories that does not involve animal suffering (or at least involves less suffering than occurs at present in the meat industry). Alvaro rightly wonders whether developing cultured meat is analogous to reinstituting slavery without the suffering. Overall I think this is a very good book that is essential reading for two types of reader: those who are interested in the case for veganism (in contrast to both meat-eating and vegetarianism) and those who are interested in virtue ethics. * Journal of Animal Ethics *Table of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 1: Kant, Animals, and Indirect Moral Duty Kant, Marginal Cases, and Animals What’s Wrong with the Indirect Duty View? Two Neo-Kantian ViewsChapter 2: Utilitarianism: All that is Gold does not Glitter Some basic Tenets of Utilitarianism Utilitarianism = Vegetarianism? ConclusionChapter 3: Eating People and Eating Animals Utilitarians and Animals Eating Animals and People Marginal Cases ConclusionChapter 4: A New Horizon: Virtue Ethics On Morality and the Discipline of Non-Aretaic Authorities What is Virtue Ethics? The Virtue Approach The Components of VE More ObjectionsChapter 5: What about Our Treatment of Animals? The Scope of Virtue Animal Ethics Needs VirtueChapter 6: Veganism as a Virtue Embracing Virtue Some Tenets of Virtue Ethics Four Important Virtues: temperance, compassion, fairness, and greatness of the soul Eating Meat and the Destruction of the Environment ConclusionChapter 7: Some Objections Being Vegans is not for everyone Where Do We Draw the Line? Plants Suffer Too Eating Meat is an Enjoyable Experience Eating animals is natural Animals Eat Other Animals What about Tradition? Religion Allows Meat Eating Meat is HealthfulChapter 8: Awareness: What we do to Animals Awareness Should We Become All Vegans? The Link between Virtue and Veganism Reaching People in Non-Manipulative WaysChapter 9: Ethical Veganism’s Beef with Cultured Meat Virtue and Objections Ethical Veganism and Lab-Grown Meat Abortion and Meat ConclusionBibliography

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Book SynopsisMindfulness is celebrated everywhereespecially in health psychology and spiritual practices, but also in the arts, business, education, environmentalism, sports, and the use of digital devices. While the current mindfulness movement may be in part the latest fad in a narcissistic and therapeutic culture, it is also worthy of greater philosophical attention. As a study in ethics and moral psychology, Mindfulness in Good Lives remedies the neglect of this subject within philosophy. Mike W. Martin makes sense of the striking variety of concepts of mindfulness by connecting them to the core idea of value-based mindfulness: paying attention to what matters, in light of relevant values. When the values are sound, mindfulness is a virtue that helps implement the kaleidoscope of values in good lives. Health psychologists, who currently dominate the study of mindfulness, often present their research as value-neutral science. Yet they invariably presuppose moral values that should be made transpTrade ReviewMindfulness in Good Lives is a needed examination of the relationship between mindfulness and morality. Martin makes a case for understanding mindfulness as a virtue in itself, and therefore a valuable prerequisite for living potential good lives. -- Finn JanningTable of ContentsContents Preface Chapter 1 Mindfulness Movement Part One: Making Sense of Mindfulness Chapter 2 Attending to What Matters Chapter 3 Living in the Present Chapter 4 Ways of Attending Chapter 5 Thoreau’s Wakefulness Part Two: Concepts of Mindfulness Chapter 6 Meditation and Morality Chapter 7 Mindful Decision Making Chapter 8 Mindful Valuing and Psychotherapy Part Three: Well-Being Chapter 9 Happiness and Virtues Chapter 10 Mindful Work in Balanced Lives Chapter 11 Authenticity and Seize the Day Chapter 12 Mindfulness Movement Critics Bibliography Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisMindfulness is celebrated everywhereespecially in health psychology and spiritual practices, but also in the arts, business, education, environmentalism, sports, and the use of digital devices. While the current mindfulness movement may be in part the latest fad in a narcissistic and therapeutic culture, it is also worthy of greater philosophical attention. As a study in ethics and moral psychology, Mindfulness in Good Lives remedies the neglect of this subject within philosophy. Mike W. Martin makes sense of the striking variety of concepts of mindfulness by connecting them to the core idea of value-based mindfulness: paying attention to what matters, in light of relevant values. When the values are sound, mindfulness is a virtue that helps implement the kaleidoscope of values in good lives. Health psychologists, who currently dominate the study of mindfulness, often present their research as value-neutral science. Yet they invariably presuppose moral values that should be made traTrade ReviewMartin (emer., Chapman Univ.) intends Mindfulness in Good Lives to uncover the values at the base of mindfulness, and he provides a serious philosophical examination of the concept. Popular approaches link mindfulness with Asian spiritual practices, and therapeutic psychologists sometimes embrace mindfulness as a magic cure for all of life’s problems. By contrast, Martin takes the idea of mindfulness seriously and thinks of it in relatively simple terms: he writes in chapter 1 that mindfulness “highlights the importance of paying attention to what matters, in light of values.” He also claims that the values connected with mindfulness are often somewhat "hidden" by psychologists and others who claim to use only value-neutral science. Martin wants to make the underlying values explicit. He explains that his "overarching aim [in the book] is to understand mindfulness as a virtue in good lives—as an excellence that helps implement sound values.” This is quite different from much of the therapeutic psychological literature, in which being “mindful” sometimes seems to mean little more than being nonjudgmental. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. * Choice Reviews *Mindfulness in Good Lives is a needed examination of the relationship between mindfulness and morality. Martin makes a case for understanding mindfulness as a virtue in itself, and therefore a valuable prerequisite for living potential good lives. -- Finn Janning, author of A Philosophy of Mindfulness: A Journey with DeleuzeMartin offers a robust analysis of mindfulness as itself a cardinal virtue undergirding a good life, which connects with other virtues such as calm and control, intelligent and creative problem solving, rational valuing, beauty, peace, compassion, professional responsibility, and positivity, among other values. Indeed, which values are emphasized depends on the activity and context, thereby introducing diverse flavors of mindfulness. Mental health practitioners and laypersons alike interested in the contributions of mindfulness to living a good life will therefore do well to read this extraordinarily insightful book, destined to become a classic. -- Elliot D. Cohen, Author of Making Peace with ImperfectionTable of ContentsContentsPrefaceChapter 1 Mindfulness MovementPart One: Making Sense of MindfulnessChapter 2 Attending to What MattersChapter 3 Living in the Present Chapter 4 Ways of AttendingChapter 5 Thoreau’s WakefulnessPart Two: Concepts of MindfulnessChapter 6 Meditation and MoralityChapter 7 Mindful Decision MakingChapter 8 Mindful Valuing and PsychotherapyPart Three: Well-BeingChapter 9 Happiness and VirtuesChapter 10 Mindful Work in Balanced LivesChapter 11 Authenticity and Seize the DayChapter 12 Mindfulness Movement CriticsBibliographyIndexAbout the Author

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Book SynopsisYoga is many things to many people. However, the basics of yoga are worth understanding given its popularity and the benefits of the practice. This includes understanding yoga''s roots, its origins, its development within and outside India as well as the research involving yoga as an integrative therapeutic modality. The author introduces the topic of yoga to healthcare officials, practitioners, skeptics, and a range of curious people in between. For yoga practitioners and those interested in the practice, The Politics and Promise of Yoga: Contemporary Relevance of an Ancient Practice outlines a condensed view of traditional yoga practices and provides a glimpse into the origin of yoga within Indian history and philosophy. The author hopes that policymakers will be interested in this evidence-based scientific practice so that it can be systematically incorporated into mainstream biomedical systems around the globe. This book also serves to confirm existing knowledge and historical nTable of ContentsList of FiguresAcknowledgmentsIntroduction History and Origin of Yoga Basics of Yoga, Meditation and Mindfulness Efficacy of Yoga Therapy for Physical and Mental Health Conditions Contemporary Issues and Practices GlossaryBibliographyIndexAbout the Author

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Book SynopsisThe philosophical significance of Maurice Blanchot's writings has rarely been in doubt. Specifying the nature and implications of his thinking has proved much less easy, particularly in reference to the key figure of G. W. F. Hegel. Examination reveals that Blanchot's thinking is persistently oriented towards a questioning of the terms of Hegel's thought, while nevertheless remaining within its themes, whichshows how rigorously he studied Hegel's works but also how radical his critique of them became. Equally, it allows for a crucial discussion of the differences between Blanchot's responses to Hegel and those of Jacques Derrida, with the implicit suggestion that in some ways Blanchot's critique of Hegel is more far-reaching than that developed by Derrida. William S. Allen demonstrates those aspects of Hegelian thought that permeate Blanchot's writings and, in turn, develops a detailed three-way analysis of Derrida, Hegel, and Blanchot. The key question around which this analysis deveTrade Review[Allen’s] work offers a forceful corrective to the simplifications or even outright parodies of Hegel one sometimes finds in work on Blanchot and many of his fellow-travellers in twentieth-century French literary philosophy ... Allen’s book is unlikely to be surpassed as a philosophically robust and clearsighted guide to the entretien infini between Hegel and Blanchot, philosophy and literature, and negation and negativity. * Hegel Bulletin *How does one approach a written work that problematizes the regulative ideal of a legible book? This question is associated with Derrida’s deconstruction of Hegel. As William S. Allen demonstrates in this fascinating study, it was posed in a unique way by Blanchot, whose own engagements with Hegel invite us to rethink the relation between the terms différance and aufheben. * Andrew Cutrofello, Professor of Philosophy, Loyola University Chicago, USA *Illegibility: Blanchot and Hegel applies near-exhaustive knowledge, and laser-like insights, to develop a reading of Hegel through Blanchot, with judicious reference to other thinkers such as Derrida. Hegel stands as a figure for a type of double, even dialectical reflection, in which Blanchot found inspiration even as he challenged and rewrote the Enlightenment philosopher's thinking. Allen’s profound and sustained analysis, based on careful attention to texts, represents what the humanities is best able to do, and he proceeds by means of a nonetheless rigorous scientificity that should be the gold standard for researchers in any field. * David Wills, Professor of French Studies and Director of Graduate Studies, Brown University, USA *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction: Marks of Experience 1. Roussel and Lautréamont 2. Derrida: Infinite Outline 3. Hegel: Uneasy Infinite 4. Blanchot: Nothing Doubled 5. Blanchot: Wholly Impossible References Index

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