Philosophy Books

Book SynopsisIn this short book, based upon his Spinoza Lectures at the University of Amsterdam, Robert B. Brandom offers a pragmatist approach to representation and reality, drawing on Richard Rorty and Hegel. During the last decade of his life, Rorty emphasized the anti-authoritarian credentials of his pragmatism. He came to see pragmatism as the fighting faith of a second phase of the Enlightenment. The first stage, as Rorty construed it, concerned our emancipation from nonhuman authority in practical matters: issues of what we ought to do and how things ought to be. The envisaged second stage addresses rather our emancipation from nonhuman authority in theoretical matters.Brandom shows how pragmatism moves beyond the traditional model of reality as authoritative over our cognitive representations of it in language and thought, to a new conception of how discursive practices help us cope with the vicissitudes of life. Hegel anticipates the challenge to the very idea of objective reality as proviTrade ReviewBrandom otherwise constructs a careful and insightful conversation between Rorty and Hegel that is likely to be fecund for readers of either thinker. * Susan Dieleman, Metascience *Table of ContentsPreface Lecture 1: Pragmatism as Completing the Enlightenment: Reason Against Representation Lecture 2: Recognition and Recollection: The Social and Historical Dimensions of Reason Afterword

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Book SynopsisAny presentation of political philosophy in the 20th century is radically incomplete without Leo Strauss. The appearance of this collection is particularly important given the relentless but shifting interest in his influence and thought in recent years. Lenzner and Minkov contend that in order to evaluate Strauss's achievement properly, one must do so chiefly with reference to the works by which Strauss sought to establish his legacyi.e., those he chose to submit for the consideration of future readers. The most complete record of Strauss's thought includes his books together with his other published and unpublished writings and lectures. The achievement of this volume is to present in one collection every piece Strauss chose to publish in English that he did not himself include in a collection or a book. The material is arranged chronologically so as to avoid undue categorization by the editors. Among the highlights of these works published between 1937 and 1972 are striking fo

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Book SynopsisEven as the rewards of work decline and its demands on us increase, many people double-down on their commitment to wage slavery—working harder, doing overtime, and learning to hustle. To paraphrase Spinoza, why do people fight to be exploited as if it were liberation?To find the answer, The Double Shift turns to the intersection of Marx and Spinoza and examines contemporary ideologies and the modern phenomena of work—motivational meetings at Apple Stores, the culture of Silicon Valley, as well as film and television, from Office Space to Better Call Saul—to argue for the transformation of our collective imagination and attachment to work.

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Book SynopsisA portrait of Martin Heidegger as a man and a philosopherTrade Review“In this engaging, lively narrative, Payen masterfully presents the vast trajectory of Heidegger’s intellectual and personal life without flinching from disturbing elements but also without deciding for the reader what the most shocking of these might mean for an assessment of the philosophy, the man, or the intersections of the man and the thinking. What emerges is an intimate and provocative portrait of Heidegger’s life and legacy.”—Gregory Fried, Boston College“Payen’s volume ranks as one of the best biographies of Heidegger in any language. Among its many strengths, his reading of Heidegger’s anti-Semitism is thorough, judicious, and painstakingly grounded in all the available texts.”—Thomas Sheehan, Stanford University

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsPart I: INFORMAL LOGIC. 1. Basic Concepts. Arguments, Premises, and Conclusions. Exercise. Recognizing Arguments. Exercise. Deduction and Induction. Exercise. Validity, Truth, Soundness, Strength, Cogency. Exercise. Argument Forms: Proving Invalidity. Exercise. Extended Arguments. Exercise. 2. Language: Meaning and Definition. Varieties of Meaning. Exercise. The Intension and Extension of Terms. Exercise. Definitions and Their Purposes. Exercise. Definitional Techniques. Exercise. Criteria for Lexical Definitions. Exercise. 3. Informal Fallacies. Fallacies in General. Exercise. Fallacies of Relevance. Exercise. Fallacies of Weak Induction. Exercise. Fallacies of Presumption, Ambiguity, and Illicit Transference. Exercise. Fallacies in Ordinary Language. Exercise. Part II: FORMAL LOGIC. 4. Categorical Propositions. The Components of Categorical Propositions. Exercise. Quality, Quantity, and Distribution. Exercise. Venn Diagrams and the Modern Square of Opposition. Exercise. Conversion, Obversion, and Contraposition. Exercise. The Traditional Square of Opposition. Exercise. Venn Diagrams and the Traditional Standpoint. Exercise. Translating Ordinary Language Statements into Categorical Form. Exercise. 5. Categorical Syllogisms. Standard Form, Mood, and Figure. Exercise. Venn Diagrams. Exercise. Rules and Fallacies. Exercise. Reducing the Number of Terms. Exercise. Ordinary Language Arguments. Exercise. Enthymemes. Exercise. Sorites. Exercise. 6. Propositional Logic. Symbols and Translation. Exercise. Truth Functions. Exercise. Truth Tables for Propositions. Exercise. Truth Tables for Arguments. Exercise. Indirect Truth Tables. Exercise. Argument Forms and Fallacies. Exercise. 7. Natural Deduction in Propositional Logic. Rules of Implication I. Exercise. Rules of Implication II. Exercise. Rules of Replacement I. Exercise. Rules of Replacement II. Exercise. Conditional Proof. Exercise. Indirect Proof. Exercise. Proving Logical Truths. Exercise. 8. Predicate Logic. Symbols and Translation. Exercise. Using the Rules of Inference. Exercise. Quantifier Negation Rule. Exercise. Conditional and Indirect Proof. Exercise. Proving Invalidity. Exercise. Relational Predicates and Overlapping Quantifiers. Exercise. Identity. Exercise. Part III: INDUCTIVE LOGIC. 9. Analogy and Legal and Moral Reasoning. Analogical Reasoning. Legal Reasoning. Moral Reasoning. Exercise. 10. Causality and Mill's Methods. Cause" and Necessary and Sufficient Conditions. Mill's Five Methods. Mill's Methods and Science. Exercise. 11. Probability. Theories of Probability. The Probability Calculus. Exercise. 12. Statistical Reasoning. Evaluating Statistics. Samples. The Meaning of "Average." Dispersion. Graphs and Pictograms. Percentages. Exercise. 13. Hypothetical/Scientific Reasoning. The Hypothetical Method. Hypothetical Reasoning: Four Examples from Science. The Proof of Hypotheses. The Tentative Acceptance of Hypotheses. Exercise. 14. Science and Superstition. Distinguishing Between Science and Superstition. Evidentiary Support. Objectivity. Integrity. Abusing Science. Exercise. Answers to Selected Exercises. Glossary/Index."

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Book SynopsisAdvancing a phenomenological approach to deep time Our imagination today is dominated by the end of the world, from sci-fi and climate fiction to actual predictions of biodiversity collapse, climate disruption, and the emergence of the Anthropocene. This obsession with the world’s precarity, The Memory of the World contends, relies on a flawed understanding of time that neglects the past and present with the goal of managing the future. Not only does this mislead sustainability efforts, it diminishes our encounters with the world and with human and nonhuman others. Here, Ted Toadvine takes a phenomenological approach to deep time to show how our apocalyptic imagination forgets the sublime and uncanny dimensions of the geological past and far future. Guided by original readings of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Emmanuel Levinas, Jacques Derrida, Jean-Luc Nancy, and others, he suggests that reconciling our embodied lives with the memory of t

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Book SynopsisThis book offers a comprehensive reflection on the existential condition of the 21st century. A visionary introduction to existential posthumanism, it takes the form of eight meditations. This posthuman journey of self-inquiry engages with a wide range of knowledge and wisdom: from the Paleolithic times to the futures of radical life extension, from multi-species evolutions to the rights of Nature, the Anthropocene and the rise of Artificial Intelligence. The book declutters the habit of being human. Letting go of the need for anthropocentric mastery and species-specific ambitions, the reader emerges regenerated. The manifold paths of posthuman self-realization reveal that we are all co-creators in the existential unfolding: our lives are our ultimate works of art. The Art of Being Posthuman is a self-help guide to navigate our brave new world.Trade Review“As we barrel toward a cowardly new world of anthropocentric accumulation and destruction, Francesca Ferrando has written a brave new book showing a different world is possible when we embrace a philosophy and praxis that dethrones the human, not for a mess of AI, but for life in all of its manifestations and infinite variety to thrive. Francesca Ferrando is the philosopher poet for our times; The Art of Being is where we all must begin.”Robin D. G. Kelley, Distinguished Professor and Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History, UCLA. Author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination“Ferrando is a visionary endowed with a profound sense of ethics. In this remarkable new book, she explores the posthuman as a tool to reach a more adequate understanding of our existential condition, but also as a way of developing a deeper wisdom about what we are in the process of becoming. Generous, even daring at time, Ferrando combines critical intelligence with a visceral love of the world.”Rosi Braidotti, Distinguished Professor Emerita, Utrecht University, The Netherlands“Ferrando’s journey, from existence and art to education and agency, reiterates the urgent need to rethink our selves as relational, distributed and connected. With a style that merges the personal and the academic, this book delivers up a complex picture of the posthuman.”Pramod K. Nayar, UNESCO Chair in Vulnerability Studies, University of Hyderabad, India“Modern humanism, with its anthropocentric, androcentric, Eurocentric, logocentric and technocentric norms, has dragged us to the brink of disaster. The Art of Being Posthuman is an urgent set of meditations aiming to reverse this trend through the conscious praxis of an art of existence.”Debashish Banerji, California Institute of Integral Studies, United StatesTable of ContentsPremiseIntroduction: How can Posthumanism bring Change?Meditation 1: Posthuman Self-EnquiryMeditation 2: Human EvolutionsMeditation 3: Biotic Co-EmergencesMeditation 4: Ecological PresenceMeditation 5: Cosmic ConstellationsMeditation 6: Technological EnhancementMeditation 7: Socio-cultural AgencyMeditation 8: Ontological AwarenessConclusions: Posthuman Mantra Download supporting exercises and prompts here

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Book SynopsisCosmology is in crisis. The more we discover, the more puzzling the universe appears to be. How and why are the laws of nature what they are? A philosopher and a physicist, world-renowned for their radical ideas in their fields, argue for a revolution. To keep cosmology scientific, we must replace the old view in which the universe is governed by immutable laws by a new one in which laws evolve. Then we can hope to explain them. The revolution that Roberto Mangabeira Unger and Lee Smolin propose relies on three central ideas. There is only one universe at a time. Time is real: everything in the structure and regularities of nature changes sooner or later. Mathematics, which has trouble with time, is not the oracle of nature and the prophet of science; it is simply a tool with great power and immense limitations. The argument is readily accessible to non-scientists as well as to the physicists and cosmologists whom it challenges.Trade Review'It might be one of the most important books of our time … Right or wrong, this book is an event.' Bryan Appleyard, The Sunday Times'A hefty explication setting out clear agendas for research into quantum foundations, explanations for the 'arrow of time' and other parts of this puzzle.' Nature'Any serious intellectual rebellion is worth watching. This one is ambitious: it seeks to root out one of the oldest impulses in the western imagination.' The Spectator'Is time, after all, real? Two mavericks take an axe to the established theories of cosmology.' The Guardian'… an admirable restatement of cosmological ambition.' The Times Higher Education Supplement'Anyone that wants to thoroughly deliberate over the question of cosmology should read this book.' Peter Eisenhardt, translated from Physik JournalTable of ContentsIntroduction; Part I. Roberto Mangabeira Unger: 1. The science of the one universe in time; 2. The context and consequences of the argument; 3. The singular existence of the universe; 4. The inclusive reality of time; 5. The mutability of the laws of nature; 6. The selective realism of mathematics; Part II. Lee Smolin: 1. Cosmology in crisis; 2. Principles for a cosmological theory; 3. The setting: the puzzles of contemporary cosmology; 4. Hypotheses for a new cosmology; 5. Mathematics; 6. Approaches to solving the metalaw dilemma; 7. Implications of temporal naturalism for philosophy of mind; 8. An agenda for science; 9. Concluding remarks; A note concerning disagreements between our views.

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Book SynopsisKenneth Waltz’s 1979 Theory of International Politics is credited with bringing about a “scientific revolution” in the study of international relations – bringing the field into a new era of systematic study. The book is also a lesson in reasoning carefully and critically. Good reasoning is exemplified by arguments that move systematically, through carefully organised stages, taking into account opposing stances and ideas as they move towards a logical conclusion. Theory of International Politics might be a textbook example of how to go about structuring an argument in this way to produce a watertight case for a particular point of view.Waltz’s book begins by testing and critiquing earlier theories of international relations, showing their strengths and weaknesses, before moving on to argue for his own stance – what has since become known as “neorealism”. His aim was “to construct a theory of international politics that remedies the defects of present theories.” And this is precisely what he did; by showing the shortcomings of the prevalent theories of international relations, Waltz was then able to import insights from sociology to create a more comprehensive and realistic theory that took full account of the strengths of old schemas while also remedying their weaknesses – reasoning out a new theory in the process.Table of ContentsWays in to the Text Who was Kenneth Waltz? What does Theory of International Politics Say? Why does Theory of International Politics Matter? Section 1: Influences Module 1: The Author and the Historical Context Module 2: Academic Context Module 3: The Problem Module 4: The Author's Contribution Section 2: Ideas Module 5: Main Ideas Module 6: Secondary Ideas Module 7: Achievement Module 8: Place in the Author's Work Section 3: Impact Module 9: The First Responses Module 10: The Evolving Debate Module 11: Impact and Influence Today Module 12: Where Next? Glossary of Terms People Mentioned in the Text Works Cited

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewPluhar maintains a fine, even tone throughout. . . . Those who have found the prospect of teaching the third Critique daunting will admire its clarity. . . . No one will be disappointed. --Timothy Sean Quinn, The Review of Metaphysics

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Book SynopsisThis book is aimed at the reader who is serious about confronting the big issues in life but is turned off by books which deal with them through religion, spirituality or 'psycho-babble'. It is for people who want an honest, intelligent discussion which doesn't hide from the difficulties or make undeliverable promises. It aims to help the reader to understand the overlooked issues behind the obvious questions and shows how philosophy does not so much answer them as help provide us with the resources to answer them for ourselves.

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Book SynopsisEx-England cricket captain Mike Brearley examines the 'Spirit of Cricket' and how the notion of a 'good spirit' can be applied more broadly than simply in cricket or sport.Trade Review[Brearley is] a thoughtful, engaging and eclectic thinker . . . There is something intrinsically fair-minded about Mike Brearley, open to exploring ideas wherever they come from, seeking out common ground, but at the same time anxious to avoid giving offence by reaching too-easy conclusions. That is the process that is at play in the pages of Spirit of Cricket.This is no ordinary sporting hero's memoir, though it does include plenty of stories from his glory days -- Peter Stanford * The Tablet *Mike Brearley is a thoughtful and meticulous author. He regularly displayed similar traits when captaining England (he did so on 31 occasions, losing only four Tests) and he applies them again in Spirit of Cricket, a book he was born towrite. Brearley is an intelligent guide, well-qualified to lead readers through cricket's occasionally byzantine moral maze * Birmingham Post *One of my favourites of 2020 . . . a generous book -- Jon Hotten * Wisden Cricket Monthly *Time after time, Brearley takes familiar cricketing dilemmas - balltampering, Mankading, sledging, etc. - and with elegant prose and courteous intelligence sheds fresh light on them, including areas on which he has changed his mind over time.This delightful book would make a great gift for any cricket-lover who also has a brain, or even a soul. * Church Times *

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Book SynopsisSteiner speaks of the work of Goetheanism, which begins with understanding the threefold human being and leads tothreefoldingthe social organism. Steiner goes on to describe the decisive role of the consciousness soul in the present epoch, and how Aesthetic Lettersand Goethe'sFairy Talerelate to contemporary challenges.

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Book Synopsis"Of all existing things, some are in our power, and others are not in our power." So begins the Enchiridion or Manual on the Art of Living of Epictetus, a collection of precepts that together provide a powerful philosophy for daily life. With practical grace and wisdom, the Manual addresses living with integrity, self-management, and personal freedom. The Manual is considered to be the pinnacle of Stoic philosophy, a school of Greek thought originating in the early third century BC, that holds that destructive emotions are the result of errors in judgement and taught an active relationship between individual will and cosmic determinism.Table of ContentsIntroduction; Manual on the Art of Living; Notes

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Book SynopsisA Brief History of Analytic Philosophy: From Russell to Rawls presents a comprehensive overview of the historical development of all major aspects of analytic philosophy, the dominant Anglo-American philosophical tradition in the twentieth century. Features coverage of all the major subject areas andfiguresin analytic philosophy - including Wittgenstein, Bertrand Russell, G.E. Moore, Gottlob Frege, Carnap, Quine, Davidson, Kripke, Putnam, and many others Contains explanatory background material to help make clear technical philosophical concepts Includes listings of suggested further readings Written in a clear, direct style that presupposes little previous knowledge of philosophy Trade Review“Schwartz's book…is, in my estimation, the most useful introduction to the history of analytic philosophy currently available for a general audience.” (Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, 15 December 2012) “With the caveats above about using it as a classroom text, I heartily recommend Schwartz’s book.” (Teaching Philosophy, 1 March 2013) “Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-and upper-level undergraduates.” (Choice, 1 December 2012)Table of ContentsPreface xi Introduction: What is Analytic Philosophy? 1 Leading Analytic Philosophers 6 1 Russell and Moore 8 Empiricism, Mathematics, and Symbolic Logic 8 Logicism 12 Russell on Definite Descriptions 20 G. E. Moore's Philosophy of Common Sense 27 Moore and Russell on Sense Data 30 Moore's and Russell's Anti-Hegelianism 33 Summary 38 2 Wittgenstein, the Vienna Circle, and Logical Positivism 46 Introduction 46 Ludwig Wittgenstein and the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus 48 Historical Note: The Vienna Circle and their Allies 58 The Elimination of Metaphysics and the Logical Positivist Program 59 The Demise of the Vienna Circle 68 The Influence of the Logical Positivists 69 3 Responses to Logical Positivism: Quine, Kuhn, and American Pragmatism 76 Introduction 76 The Demise of the Verifiability Criterion of Meaningfulness 78 Quine’s Rejection of the Analytic/Synthetic Distinction 82 Quinean Empiricism without the Dogmas 86 American Pragmatists after Quine: Nelson Goodman, Richard Rorty, and Hilary Putnam 101 4 Oxford Ordinary Language Philosophy and Later Wittgenstein 119 Introduction 119 The Attack on Formalism – Strawson and Ryle 124 Philosophy of Language – Austin and Wittgenstein 128 Philosophy of Mind – Ryle, Strawson, and Wittgenstein 138 The Rejection of Sense Data Theory 147 The Legacy of Ordinary Language Philosophy 153 5 Responses to Ordinary Language Philosophy: Logic, Language, and Mind 160 Part 1: Formal Logic and Philosophy of Language 161 G¨odel and Tarski 161 Davidson 166 Grice 174 Carnap – Meaning and Necessity 178 Chomsky 180 Part 2: Philosophy of Mind 183 Functionalism 183 Objections to Functionalism – Bats and the Chinese Room 188 Anomalous Monism 192 The Problem of Mental Causation 194 6 The Rebirth of Metaphysics 204 Modal Logic 204 Possible Worlds 212 Problems with the Canonical Conception of Possible Worlds 216 Transworld Identity and Identification 223 The Modal Version of the Ontological Argument 229 7 Naming, Necessity, and Natural Kinds: Kripke, Putnam, and Donnellan 239 Introduction 239 The Traditional Theory of Meaning and Reference 240 Kripke's and Donnellan's Criticism of the Traditional Theory: Names and Descriptions 243 Natural Kind Terms 247 Problems for the New Theory of Reference 253 Applications of the New Theory of Reference to the Philosophy of Mind 257 The Social, Cultural, and Institutional Basis of Meaning and Reference 260 8 Ethics and Metaethics in the Analytic Tradition 264 Introduction 264 G. E. Moore's Principia Ethica 266 The Non-Cognitivism of C. L. Stevenson 269 The Universal Prescriptivism of R. M. Hare 272 The Return to Substantive Ethics 275 Questioning the Fact/Value Divide 278 Peter Singer and Animal Liberation 281 John Rawls' Theory of Justice 285 9 Epilogue: Analytic Philosophy Today and Tomorrow 299 Analytic Philosophy since 1980 299 What is the Future of Analytic Philosophy? 321 References 327 Index 337

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Book SynopsisWhat has a use in the future, unforeseeably, is radically useless now. What has an effect now is not necessarily useful if it falls through the gaps. In For a Pragmatics of the Useless Erin Manning examines what falls outside the purview of already-known functions and established standards of value, not for want of potential but for carrying an excess of it. The figures are various: the infrathin, the artful, proprioceptive tactility, neurodiversity, black life. It is around the latter two that a central refrain echoes: 'All black life is neurodiverse life.' This is not an equation, but an 'approximation of proximity.' Manning shows how neurotypicality and whiteness combine to form a normative baseline for existence. Blackness and neurodiversity 'schizz' around the baseline, uselessly, pragmatically, figuring a more-than of life living. Manning, in dialogue with Félix Guattari and drawing on the black radical tradition''s accounts of black life and the aesthetics of blackTrade Review“Taking black studies seriously as the epistemology of operation from which to practice thought, Erin Manning does more than simply apply black studies to conversations about neurotypicality, autism, and language; she grapples with what black studies attempts to do—to shift the epistemological horizon of thought's horizon.” -- Ashon T. Crawley, author of * The Lonely Letters *“Given her expertise, philosophical acumen, and passion for questions of neurodiversity, I am excited that Erin Manning is the person to orchestrate the encounter between neurodiversity and blackness. Who else but Manning could bring together explorations into process philosophy, experimental practice, black studies, and neurodiversity? This is a superb and important work.” -- Stefano Harney, coauthor of * The Undercommons: Fugitive Planning and Black Study *"The argument of the book ranges across a wide field of topical concerns: whiteness, Black sociality, neurodiversity and neurotypicality, affect and feeling, and autism, all within the scope of considerations mainly related to aesthetics, agency, freedom, and power relations. The book itself is clearly situated at the crossroads of such fields as philosophy, neuroscience, and Black studies, and will surely be of interest to graduate students and academics who are seeking the cutting-edge territory of critical work that reaches beyond the boundaries of the university as normally configured. Highly recommended. Graduate students and faculty." -- M. Uebel * Choice *"Manning’s book might also be described as a field guide for academics who want to discover or rediscover the conditions by which thinking (as theory, poetry, art, or pedagogy) might generate values apart from those prescribed by our capitalist institutions. . . . [T]he book proffers many encounters with artists, art exhibits, and artistic projects that enable us, as readers, to explore the pragmatics that Manning is invoking." -- Ada S. Jaarsma * Letters in Canada *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Prelude. Fugitively, Approximately 1 1. For a Pragmatics of the Useless 15 2. Toward a Politics of Immediation 33 Pocket Practice. nestingpatching 55 3. What Things Do When They Shape Each Other 75 Pocket Practice. backgroundigforegrounding 103 4. Experimenting Immediation: Collaboration and the Politics of Fabulation 115 5. Practicing the Shizz 145 Interlude. How Do We Repair? 199 6. Me Lo Dijo un Pajarito: Neurodiversity, Black Life, and the University As We Know It 213 Pocket Practice. livingdoing 235 7. Not at a Distance: On Touch, Synesthesia, and Other Ways of Knowing 245 Pocket Practice. ticcingflapping 271 8. Cephaloped Dreams: Finance at the Limit 289 Coda. schizziganarchiving 309 Notes 317 References 345 Index 359

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Book SynopsisTo read through A Barthes Reader is finally to be left with the image of Barthes as one of the great public teachers of our time' New RepublicEdited by Susan Sontag, A Roland Barthes Reader offers a definitive selection of works by the French intellectual Roland Barthes, including seminal essays, such as ''Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narratives'' as well as his more unusual works, such as ''The World of Wrestling''.''At last, with A Barthes Reader, we have a sort of Michelin guide to one of the most beguiling minds of our era. Smartly introduced by Susan Sontag, the Reader samples Barthes'' achievement over three decades'' NewsweekTrade ReviewTo read through A Barthes Reader is finally to be left with the image of Barthes as one of the great public teachers of our time, someone who thought out, argued for, and made available several steps in a penetrating reflection on language, sign systems, texts - and what they have to tell us about the concept of the human * New Republic *Susan Sontag contributes an informative introduction to this collection and arranges his greatest hits chronologically... This is an excellent entree to a thinker whose precepts have often filtered down into mass culture * Glasgow Herald *Barthes's work, along with that of Wilde and Valéry, gives being an aesthete a good name... Defending the senses, he never betrayed the mind * Susan Sontag *

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Book SynopsisPoet, philosopher and artist, Kahlil Gibran was born in 1883 near Mount Lebanon, a region that has produced many prophets. His poetry has been translated into more than twenty languages. His drawings and paintings have been exhibited in the great capitals of the world and compared by Auguste Rodin to the work of William Blake. Kahlil Gibran died in 1931. His most famous work The Prophet, was published in 1923. By the time of his death, it was already firmly established as a classic book.Trade ReviewHis power came from some great reservoir of spiritual life, else it could not have been so universal and so potent, but the majesty and beauty of the language with which he clothed it were all his own -- Claude Bragdon

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Book SynopsisJoy, sorrow, jealousy and awe - these and other feelings are the stuff of our daily lives. Presumed to be too private for science to explain and not to be essential for comprehending human rationality and understanding, they have largely been ignored. But not by the great seventeenth-century Dutch philosopher Spinoza. And not by Antonio Damasio. In this book Dr. Damasio draws on his innovative research and on his experience with neurological patients to examine how feelings and the emotions that underlie them support the governance of human affairs.Trade ReviewBig claims, well made: it is a rare pleasure to pick up such a rigorous and readable book about scientific advance that is so firmly anchored in philosophical history * Time Out *Virtually all the interesting philosophy today is done, not by professional philosophers, but by scientists like Damasio... The map may be incomplete, but thanks to Damasio we do at least know the principal landmarks * New Humanist *Damasio's book interweaves lucid and fascinating explanations of neurological findings with historical and philosophical ruminations on Spinoza... Rich and informative * New Scientist *There is much in this book to please Damasio's fans. He is a lively and humane writer, and ranges easily across a wide variety of topics * Independent *

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Book SynopsisLaurence Scott's book The Four-Dimensional Human: Ways of Being in the Digital World (2015) was shortlisted for The Samuel Johnson Prize, won the Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Prize, and was named the Sunday Times Thought Book of the Year'. His writing has appeared in the New Yorker, Guardian, Financial Times, New Statesman, Boston Globe, Wired and the London Review of Books. In 2011 he was named a New Generation Thinker' by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the BBC, and now regularly writes and presents documentaries for BBC radio, as well as presenting and contributing to the Radio 3 arts and ideas programme, Free Thinking. He is a Lecturer in Writing at New York University in London, where he lives.Trade ReviewIn this sequence of almost Montaigne-like essays, blending observation, philosophical inquiry and a highly literary sort of layering, Scott exquisitely articulates not what the digital world can do but how it feels to engage with it. He resists the usual polarisation of debate, capturing instead our “breathless” mix of excitement and unease. Scott’s writing is exceptionally fine, and his cultural range extravagant. Describing YouTube’s “enveloping of the past”, he moves from Ian McEwan to Katie Price. Pondering the phenomenon of digital detox, he recalls EM?Forster’s yearning for the greenwood. He flits from Google’s Desert View to early Christian hermits, from Airbnb to late-Victorian science fiction — and it is always insightful, never pretentious. An astounding debut. * Sunday Times, Thought Book of the Year *Scott's references are admirably broad, spanning high and low culture in a layered and complex (and Samuel Johnson shortlisted) account. * Financial Times, Books of the Year *Clever, allusive, with a capacious sense of humour, the book sizzles with intelligence ... brilliant. * New York Times *Scott is an ideal person to tackle this subject... Moreover, he is both a creative writer and a perceptive literary critic, who leavens his text with some mercurially brilliant turns of phrase and poetic coinages, while at the same time stiffening it up with huge dollops of literary explication and quotation… with his joyful phrase-making and sharp eye for the follies and absurdities of wired life, Scott would be the perfect investigator to report back on what it feels like to be… uploaded. -- Will Self * Guardian *A book that delivers a nourishing counterpoint to the ephemerality of the digital age. Scott offers layered and complex thought in a style that is elegant and artful. He has worked long and hard, you imagine, at these thoughts and words – and to prove that it can still be done, despite the glow of distraction emanating from a smartphone inevitably sitting on a table nearby, is worth celebrating in itself. -- Sophie Elmhirst * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisWagner was one of the few major composers who studied philosophy seriously. Bryan Magee places the composer''s artistic development in the context of the philosophy of his age, and gives us the first detailed and comprehensive study of the close links between Wagner and the philosophers - from the pre-Marxist socialists to Feuerbach and Schopenhauer. Magee explores the relationship between words and music, between the conscious and the unconscious mind, between art and philosophy. It tackles soberly and judiciously the Wagner whose paranoia, egocentricity and anti-semitism are repugnant, as well as the Wagner of artistic genius. The resulting text illuminates Wagner and the music-dramas in altogether new ways.

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Book SynopsisModality: A History provides readers a sweeping study of the history of philosophical work on modal concepts. Everyday discourse is saturated with appeals to what might be the case or to what must be true or to what cannot happen. Possibility, necessity, and impossibility are modal terms, and philosophers have long wondered how to best understand them. This volume traces the history of some of the most prominent and important contributions to our understanding of possibility and necessity over the past two and half millennia of western philosophy, from ancient Greek philosophers through current debates in the 21st century. Over the course of nine chapters from prominent scholars, this volume traces a history of modal theorizing that begins with extended discussions of Aristotle and the Stoics. Several chapters discuss insights and disagreements among Latin, Arabic, and Jewish medieval scholastics, such as Al-Ghazâlî, Scotus, and Crescas. Three chapters center on early modern philosophe

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Notes on Selection and Translation Reader's Orientation Chronology Part I: Science Article 1. Observations on the Equality of the Sexes and on their Difference Article 2. On Generation Article 3. On Temperament Article 4. On Strength Article 5. Animal and Plant Analogies Part II: History and Religion Article 12. Foreword on History Article 13. On Ancient History Article 18. On Turkey and Persia Article 20. Other Countries Article 21. On the History of France Article 8. On the Discipline of the Church Article 10. On the State of Monastic Orders since the Council of Trent Part III: Law Article 27. Foreword on Laws Article 28. On Salic Law, Considered as A Law Article 29. On Different Forms of Roman Marriage, on the Property Rights that Married Women Enjoyed, and On Marriage Today Article 30. On the Power of Husbands; On the Prerogatives that the Law Grants-and Could Grant-to Married Women Article 32. On Adultery and its Punishment Article 36. On Tutorships and Testimony Article 37. On Rape Part IV: Education and Mores Article 22. Foreword on Mores Article 23. On Education Article 39. The Effects of Education on Morals Article 40. Further Reflections on Education Article 42. Education in Marriage Article 45. On the Spirit of General Conversation Article 46. Observations on the Spirit of Theater Appendices Appendix A. Work On Women Articles and Manuscript Pieces Appendix B. Anicet Sénéchal's Inventory and Ordering of Manuscript Bibliography of Selected Secondary Sources

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Book SynopsisBuddhism is one of the oldest and largest of the world''s religions. But it is also a tradition that has proven to have enormous contemporary relevance. Founded by Siddhartha Gautama, who came to be called the Buddha, the religion has spread from its origins in northeast India, across Asia, and eventually to the West, taking on new forms at each step of the way. Buddhism: What Everyone Needs to Know offers readers a brief, authoritative guide to one of the world''s most diverse religious traditions in a reader-friendly question-and-answer format. Dale Wright covers the origins and early history of Buddhism, the diversity of types of Buddhism throughout history, and the status of contemporary Buddhism. This is a go-to book for anyone seeking a basic understanding of the origins, history, teachings, and practices of Buddhism.Trade ReviewI think Buddhism: What Everyone Needs to Know takes its rightful place in bookstores for intelligent readers who would like to get an overall picture of the various Buddhist traditions. * Peter Feldmeier, Horizons: The Journal of the College Theology Society *Table of ContentsForeward 1. Origins and Early History 2. Buddhist Diversity 3. Buddhist Teachings 4. Buddhist Practices 5. Contemporary Global Buddhism Glossary Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisThis edition offers the first English translation of Amalia Holst''s daring book, On the Vocation of Woman to Higher Intellectual Education (1802). In one of the first works of German philosophy published under a woman''s name, Holst presents a manifesto for women''s education that centres on a basic provocation: as far as the mind is concerned, women are equal partakers in the project of Enlightenment and should thus have unfettered access to the sciences in general and to philosophy in particular. Holst''s manifesto resonates with the work of several women writers across Europe, including Olympe de Gouges, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Germaine de Staël. Yet in contrast to the early works of feminism we celebrate today, her book had little success. Its reception confronts us with a darker side of the German Enlightenment that, until recently, has been neglected. Holst sought to unearth the gendered nature of the fundamental concepts of the Enlightenment--including vocation, education, and culture--which enabled men to establish the subordinate status of women by philosophical means. However, her argument was scorned by male reviewers, who denied the very possibility of a woman philosopher.With an introduction by Andrew Cooper, and translations of biographical material and early reviews, this edition provides students and scholars of German philosophy with a timely resource for developing a richer understanding of their field, and general readers with a powerful early feminist text that reveals the opportunities and difficulties facing women philosophers at the turn of the nineteenth century.Trade ReviewThis excellent translation makes Amalia Holst's important and powerful book available to English-speaking readers for the first time, greatly advancing the recovery of German women philosophers. Andrew Cooper's superb introduction situates Holst in the context of German Enlightenment debates about the purpose of education and the vocation of woman, and carefully compares Holst's position to those of her male and female contemporaries. The book will be invaluable reading for all those seeking to recognise women's contributions to nineteenth-century philosophy. * Alison Stone, Lancaster University *Andrew Cooper's seamless translation of Amalia Holst's On the Vocation of Woman to Higher Intellectual Education is cause for celebration. In this work, Holst makes crucial contributions to the "vocation debates" of the eighteenth century, and offers insightful and penetrating critiques of her male contemporaries, who, in contrast to Holst, repeatedly argued that women were not fit for philosophical education. Her insightful and penetrating critiques reveal the extent to which these apparently enlightened thinkers were not able to fulfill the goals of the Enlightenment. And Holst seeks to do just that. This work is bound to transform the ways we teach and research this crucial moment in the history of philosophy, challenging us not only to expand the philosophical canon but also to rethink trusted philosophical premises and arguments. * Dalia Nassar, University of Sydney *Could there be a more relevant and much-needed book in eighteenth-century philosophy than Andrew Cooper's translation of Amalia Holst's On the Vocation of Woman to Higher Education (1802)? Holst argues for women's right to education and, in effect, takes to task the aspirations of a whole generation of Enlightenment thinkers. If the right to education is reserved for a segment of the population (male individuals), can we then say that the Enlightenment is committed to the uplift of the human being as such? Cooper's introduction to Holst's work is thorough, clear, and engaging; it provides a superb induction to Holst's important contribution and its relevance today. This text is a "must" for anyone interested in the philosophy of education, the critical potential of Enlightenment thought, and the politics of gender in recent history. * Kristin Gjesdal, Temple University *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction Note on Translation On The Vocation of Woman to Higher Intellectual Education Preface 1: Does Higher Education of the Mind Contradict the Proximate Calling of Woman as Wife, Mother, and Housewife? 2: Woman Considered as Wife 3: The Educated Woman as Mother 4: The Educated Woman as Housewife 5: On the Education of Woman in the Unmarried State Appendix 1: Biographical References Appendix 2: Reviews of Holst's Work Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThis book tells the story of idealism in modern philosophy, from the seventeenth century to the turn of the twenty-first. Guyer and Horstmann discuss many philosophers who have played a role in the development of idealism, including Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Wittgenstein.Table of ContentsPreface 1: Introduction 2: Idealism in Early Modern Rationalism 3: Idealism in Early Modern British Philosophy 4: Kant 5: German Idealism 6: German Reactions against Idealism I: Schopenhauer and Nietzsche 7: British and American Idealism 8: The Rejection of British Idealism 9: German Reactions Against Idealism II: Neo-Kantianism without Idealism 10: Further into the Twentieth Century 11: Conclusion Bibliography

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Book SynopsisHow did science come to have such a central place in Western culture? How did our ways of thinking, and our moral, political, and social values come to be modelled around scientific values? Stephen Gaukroger traces the story of how these values developed, and how they influenced society and culture from the 19th to the mid-20th century.Trade ReviewThis is a remarkable work of scholarship and the fifty-page bibliography is a testament to the author's breadth of knowledge and reading, which forms the scientific basis for his outstanding contribution to the field. * Dr. Arpan K. Banerjee, Hektoen International *The question the author has set out to answer is, on the face of it, quite simple: How is it that science, utterly marginal in Europe's medieval culture, has become central to our modern culture? It is this very question that, for many a historian but also philosopher or sociologist of science, has stood in the background or even at the forefront of their decision to become one. Yet no one so far has had the courage, and the stamina, and the scholarly experience, and the vast erudition, and the organizing power, and the familiarity with a number of indispensable languages that Stephen Gaukroger displays and that are needed to engage the question on anything like the scale it deserves. . . . there are many reasons for profoundly admiring Gaukroger's achievement. * H. Floris Cohen, Isis *This is the much-awaited fourth volume of a series, Science and the Shaping of Modernity, that canvasses the history of science with a keen eye to the broader cultural context.... The erudition and dense attention to detail are breathtaking at times. I marvel to think that one scholar could command so much knowledge of the subject, both primary and secondary sources, and bring to bear such sophisticated philosophical judgment. * Margaret Schabas, University of British Columbia *This is a remarkable work of scholarship and the fifty-page bibliography is a testament to the author's breadth of knowledge and reading, which forms the scientific basis for his outstanding contribution to the field. * Arpan Banerjee, Hektoen International Journal *Table of ContentsPreface List of Illustrations List of Plates Introduction Part I: Civilization 1: Science and the Origins of Civilization 2: The Evolution of Civilization Part II: The Unity of Science 3: The Promotion of Unification 4: The Unity of the Physical Sciences 5: The Autonomy of the Material Sciences 6: The Autonomy of the Life Sciences 7: The Unity of the Life Sciences Part III: The Expansion of Scientific Understanding 8: The Problem of the Human Sciences 9: Understanding the World: Science versus Philosophy Part IV: The Pursuit of Science by Other Means: 'Applied' and 'Popular Science' 10: Technology and the Limits of Scientific Theorizing 11: Science For and By the Public Part V: Science and the Civilizing Process 12: The Modernization of the Population: Accommodating the Human to the Scientific Image Conclusion 13: Science and the Shaping of Modernity Bibliography of Works Cited Index

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Book SynopsisHuman beings live together in societies which, by their very nature, give rise to institutions governing the behaviour and freedom of individuals. This raises important questions about how these institutions ought to function, and the extent to which actual systems of government succeed or fail in meeting these ideals. This Oxford Reader contains 140 key writings on political thought, covering issues about human nature and its relation to society, the extent to which the powers of the State are justified, the tension between liberty and rights, and the way resources should be distributed. Topics such as international relations, minority rights, democracy, socialism, and conservatism are also discussed, by contributors ranging from Plato and Aristotle to Foucault, Isaiah Berlin, and Martin Luther King.Table of ContentsPREFACE; INTRODUCTION; CHAPTER 1: HUMAN NATURE; INTRODUCTION; 1A: THE NATURAL STATE OF MANKIND; 1. ARISTOTLE: THE STATE EXISTS BY NATURE; 2. THOMAS HOBBES: THE MISERY OF THE NATURAL CONDITION OF MANKIND; 3. JOHN LOCKE: THE STATE OF NATURE AND THE STATE OF WAR; 4. BARON DE MONTESQUIEU: FEAR AND PEACE; 5. JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU: THE NOBLE SAVAGE; 6. ROBERT OWEN: MAN'S CHARACTER IS FORMED FOR HIM; 7. KARL MARX AND FRIEDRICHENGELS: MAN AS A PRODUCTIVE BEING; 8. CHARLES DARWIN: NATURAL SELECTION; 9. CHARLES DARWIN: THE ADVANTAGE OF MORALITY; 10. PETER KROPOTKIN: MUTUAL AID; 1B: MAN'S NATURE AND WOMAN'S NATURE; 11. PLATO: WOMEN AS WEAKER PARTNERS; 12. ARISTOTLE: SEPARATE SPHERES; 13. JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU: THE LIKENESS AND UNLIKENESS OF THE SEXES; 14. MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT: THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN; 15. JOHN STUART MILL: THE SUBJECTION OF WOMEN; 16. CAROL GILLIGAN: IN A DIFFERENT VOICE; 17. ALISON M JAGGAR: SOCIALIST FEMINISM AND THE STANDPOINT OF WOMEN; CHAPTER 2: THE JUSTIFICATION OF THE STATE; 2A WHAT IS THE STATE?; 18. JOHN LOCKE: POLITICAL POWER; 19. MAX WEBER: THE STATE AND COERCION; 2B THE SOCIAL CONTRACT; 20. THOMAS HOBBES: CREATING LEVIATHAN; 21. JOHN LOCKE: EXPRESS AND TACIT CONSENT; 22. JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU: NATURAL FREEDOM AND THE FREEDOM OF THE CITIZEN; 23. IMMANUEL KANT: THE HYPOTHETICAL CONTRACT; 2CAGAINST THE SOCIAL CONTRACT; 24. DAVID HUME: THE IRRELEVANCE OF CONSENT; 25. JEREMY BENTHAM: UTILITY AS THE TRUE FOUNDATION; 26. G.W.F HEGEL: THE PRIORITY OF THE STATE OVER THE INDIVIDUAL; 27. H.L.A. HART: THE PRINCIPLE OF FAIRNESS; 2D: THE ANARCHIST RESPONSE; 28. MICHAEL BAKUNIN: SCIENCE AND THE PEOPLE; 29. ROBERT PAUL WOLFF: THE CONFLICT OF AUTONOMY AND AUTHORITY; 2E: CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE; 30. PLATO: THE DUTY OF OBEDIENCE; 31. HENRY DAVID THOREAU: THE DUTY OF DISOBEDIENCE; 32. MARTIN LUTHER KING: AN UNJUST LAW IS NO LAW; 33. JOHN RAWLS: CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE; CHAPTER 3: DEMOCRACY AND ITS DIFFICULTIES; 3A: AGAINST DEMOCRACY; 34. PLATO: RULING AS A SKILL; 35. FREDERICK THE GREAT: THE ENLIGHTENED DESPOT; 3B: DEMOCRATIC IDEALS; 36. JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU: THE GENERAL WILL; 37. IMMANUEL KANT: FREEDOM AND EQUALITY; 38. JOHN STUART MILL: THE DEMOCRATIC CITIZEN; 39. JOHN RAWLS: MAJORITY RULE; 3C TRUE AND FALSE DEMOCRACY; 40. V.I. LENIN: BOURGEOIS AND PROLETARIAN DEMOCRACY; 41. CAROLE PATEMAN: PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY; 3D DANGERS IN DEMOCRACY; 42. ARISTOTLE: RULE OF THE PEOPLE AND RULE OF LAW; 43. JAMES MADISON: THE DANGER OF FACTION; 44. ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE: TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY; 3E DEMOCRACY AND BUREAUCRACY; 45. MAX WEBER: BUREAUCRATIC ADMINISTRATION; 46. VILFEDO PARETO: RULE BY OLIGARCHY; 3F: SEPARATION OF POWERS; 47. JOHN LOCKE: LEGISLATIVE, EXECUTIVE, AND FEDERATIVE POWERS; 48. BARON DE MONTESQUIEU: THE IDEAL CONSTITUTION; CHAPTER 4: LIBERTY AND RIGHTS; 4A: WHAT IS LIBERTY?; 49. BENJAMIN CONSTANT: THE LIBERTY OF THE ANCIENTS AND THE LIBERTY OF THE MODERNS; 50. ISAIAH BERLIN: TWO CONCEPTS OF LIBERTY; 51. CHARLES TAYLOR: IN DEFENCE OF POSITIVE FREEDOM; 52. RONALD DWORKIN: NO RIGHT TO LIBERTY; 4B: LAW AND MORALITY; 53. JOHN STUART MILL: ONE SIMPLE PRINCIPLE; 54. JAMES FITZJAMES STEPHEN: THE CONSEQUENCES OF LIBERTY; 55. PARTICK DEVLIN: THE ENFORCEMENT OF MORALS; 56. H.L.A. HART: THE CHANGING SENSE OF MORALITY; 4C: TOLERATION AND FREE EXPRESSION; 57. JOHN LOCKE: THE FUTILITY OF INTOLERANCE; 58. THOMAS SCANLON: FREE EXPRESSION AND THE AUTHORITY OF THE STATE; 59. JEREMY WALDRON: THE SATANIC VERSES; 60. CATHERINE MACKINNON: ONLY WORDS; 4D: VIRTUE AND CITIZENSHIP; 61. PERICLES: THE DEMOCRATIC CITIZEN; 62. ARISTOTLE: THE REQUIREMENTS OF CITIZENSHIP; 63. NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI: THE SERVILITY OF THE MODERNS; 64. ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE: THE NATURE OF MODERN SERVITUDE; 65. QUENTIN SKINNER: THE REPUBLICAN IDEAL OF POLITICAL LIBERTY; 4E: RIGHTS; 66. JEREMY BENTHAM: NONSENSE ON STILTS; 67. KARL MARX: THE RIGHTS OF EGOISTIC MAN; 68. ROBERT NOZICK: RIGHTS AS SIDE-CONSTRAINTS; 69. RONALD DWORKIN: TAKING RIGHTS SERIOUSLY; 4F: PUNISHMENT; 70. JOHN STUART MILL: IN FAVOUR OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT; 71. H.L.A. HART: PUNISHMENT AND RESPONSIBILITY; 72. ROBERT NOZICK: WHERE DETERRENCE THEORY GOES WRONG; CHAPTER 5: ECONOMIC JUSTICE; 5A: PRIVATE PROPERTY; 73. JOHN LOCKE: LABOUR AS THE BASIS OF PROPERTY; 74. JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU: THE EARTH BELONGS TO NOBODY; 75. G.W.F HEGEL: PROPERTY AS EXPRESSION; 76. HERBERT SPENCER: THE RIGHT TO THE USE OF THE EARTH; 77. KARL MARX: MONEY, THE UNIVERSAL WHORE; 78. KARL MARX: THE TRUE FOUNDATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY; 79. SIGMUND FREUD: PROPERTY AND AGGRESSION; 80. R.H. TAWNEY: REAPING WITHOUT SOWING; 81. ROBERT NOZICK: DIFFICULTIES WITH MIXING LABOUR; 5B: THE MARKET; 82. ADAM SMITH: THE DANGERS OF GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE; 83. KARL MARX: APPEARANCE AND REALITY; 84. F.A. HAYEK: PRICES AS A CODE; 85. MILTON FRIEDMAN AND ROSE FRIEDMAN: THE TYRANNY OF CONTROLS; 86. G.A. COHEN: POVERTY AS LACK OF FREEDOM; 5C: THEORIES OF DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE; 87. AESOP: THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE ANTS; 88. ARISTOTLE: RECIPROCITY; 89. ARISTOTLE: EQUALITY AND INEQUALITY; 90. GERALD WINSTANLEY: THE COMMON STOCK; 91. DAVID HUME: THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF EQUALITY; 92. KARL MARX: FROM EACH ACCORDING TO HIS ABILITIES, TO EACH ACCORDING TO HIS NEEDS; 93. EDWARD BELLAMY: LOOKING BACKWARD; 94. F.A. HAYEK: THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF PLANNING; 95. JOHN RAWLS: TWO PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE; 96. ROBERT NOZICK: THE ENTITLEMENT THEORY; 97. RONALD DWORKIN: EQUALITY OF RESOURCES; CHAPTER 6: JUSTICE BETWEEN GROUPS; 6A: PEACE AND WAR; 98. IMMANUEL KANT: PERPETUAL PEACE; 99. RICHARD COBDEN: THE CIVILIZING INFLUENCE OF COMMERCE; 100. MICHAEL WALZER: JUST AND UNJUST WAR; 101. THOMAS NAGEL: THE LIMITS OF WARFARE; 6B: NATIONALISM; 102. ISAIAH BERLIN: NATIONAL SENTIMENT; 103. ALASDAIR MACINTYRE: IS PATRIOTISM A VIRTUE?; 6C: MINORITY RIGHTS; 104. THOMAS HILL: THE MESSAGE OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION; 105. AVISHAI MARGALIT AND JOSEPH RAZ: NATIONAL SELF-DETERMINATION'; 6D: INTERGENERATIONAL JUSTICE; 106. BRIAN BARRY: JUSTICE BETWEEN GENERATIONS'; 6E: INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE; 107. PETER SINGER: FAMINE, AFFLUENCE AND MORALITY; 108. ONORA O'NEILL: LIFEBOAT EARTH; CHAPTER 7: ALTERNATIVES TO LIBERALISM; 7A: LIBERAL THEORY UNDER STRAIN; 109. JURGEN HABERMAS: LEGITIMATION CRISIS; 110. MICHAEL WALZER: LIBERALISM IN RETREAT; 111. MICHAEL WALZER: THE ARTIFICIALITY OF LIBERALISM; 7B: CONSERVATISM; 112. EDMUND BURKE: ETERNAL SOCIETY; 113. T.S. ELIOT: THE TRANSMISSION OF CULTURE; 114. MICHAEL OAKESHOTT: ON BEING CONSERVATIVE; 7C: COMMUNITARIANISM; 115. CHARLES TAYLOR: IDENTIFICIATION AND SUBJECTIVITY; 116. ALASDAIR MACINTYRE: TRADITION AND THE UNITY OF A LIFE; 117. MICHAEL SANDEL: CONCEPTIONS OF COMMUNITY; 7D: SOCIALISM; 118. KARL MARX: WORK IN COMMUNIST SOCIETY; 119. KARL MARX: THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO; 120. KARL MARX: THE REALM OF FREEDOM; 121. OSCAR WILDE: THE SOUL OF MAN UNDER SOCIALISM; 122. ERNEST MANDEL: PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITY; 123. G.A. COHEN: SOCIALISM AND EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY; 7E: POST-MODERNISM; 124. FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE:THE IMPULSE TOWARDS JUSTICE; 125. MICHEL FOUCAULT: POWER/KNOWLEDGE; 126. RICHARD RORTY: THE PRIORITY OF DEMOCRACY TO PHILOSOPHY; CHAPTER 8: PROGESS AND CIVILIZATION; 127. JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU: THE EFFFECT OF THE ARTS AND SCIENCES; 128. ADAM SMITH: DIVISION OF LABOUR; 129. FRIEDRICH SCHILLER: FRAGMENTATION AND AESTHETIC EDUCATION; 130. KARL MARX: DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRODUCTIVE FORCES; 131. FYODOR DOSTOYEVSKY: OUR SELF-DESTRUCTIVE IMPULSE; 132. FRIEDRICH ENGELS: TRANSITION TO COMMUNISM; 133. MAX WEBER: DISENCHANTMENT; 134. KARL POPPER: THE UTOPIAN METHOD; 135. FRANCIS FUKUYAMA: THE END OF HISTORY; APPENDIX: FUNDAMENTAL POLITICAL DOCUMENTS; 136. U.S. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 1776; 137. DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAN AND CITIZEN 1789; 138. THE BILL OF RIGHTS 1789; 139. THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS 1863; 140. UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS 1948

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Book SynopsisIf we all want happiness and pleasure so much, then why are we so bad at getting it?Pleasure feels amazing! Anxiety, however, does not. The Ancient Greek Philosopher Epicurus rolled these two strikingly intuitive claims into a simple formula for happiness and well-being--pursue pleasure without causing yourself anxiety. But wait, is that even possible? Can humans achieve lasting pleasure without suffering anxiety about failure and loss? Epicurus thinks we can, at least once we learn to pursue pleasure thoughtfully. In Living for Pleasure, philosopher Emily Austin offers a lively, jargon-free tour of Epicurean strategies for diminishing anxiety, achieving satisfaction, and relishing joys. Epicurean science was famously far ahead of its time, and Austin shows that so was its ethics and psychology. Epicureanism can help us make and keep good friends, prepare for suffering, combat imposter syndrome, build trust, recognize personal limitations, value truth, cultivate healthy attitudes towarTrade ReviewThe clarity and concision of Austin's prose means that she covers many more of the details of Epicurean thought in her 24 short chapters. Anyone seduced by the recent fashion for Stoicism should read her book to see why their biggest contemporary rival offers a better model for living. * Julian Baggini, The Guardian *Austin shows us, vividly and directly, how Epicurean ideas can apply to areas of everyday life and how they can help us uncover—and deal with—deep-seated problems that stand in the way of living a balanced, thoughtful, and enjoyable life. She does a stellar job of showing us, incisively and sympathetically, that Epicurus gives us a philosophy to live by and that we can actually live by it. * Julia Annas, Regents Professor Emerita, University of Arizona *Austin provides an accessible and intellectually rigorous overview of Epicureanism that remains refreshingly forthright about the limits of Epicurus's advice and keeps an appropriately light tone... The result is an excellent primer on Epicureanism. * Publishers Weekly *Simply the best guide to living as an Epicurean. Austin's discussion is grounded in a thorough understanding of Epicurean philosophy, but it's written in a humorous and accessible style, and she does an outstanding job of applying Epicureanism to the problems facing people today. * Timothy S. O'Keefe, author of Epicureanism *Wise, witty, and above all a pleasure to read, Austin's study of Epicureanism is excellent medicine for the many illnesses and anxieties of the 21st century. Read it and be refreshed. * Clancy Martin, Professor of Philosophy, University of Missouri-Kansas City *Living for Pleasure is a terrific introduction to Epicureanism, especially its practical side. If offers a clear and accessible guide through some difficult ideas, all with a deft personal touch and a convincing case for the value of this philosophy for us today. Who knew Epicurus could help us navigate social media? * Richard Bett, author of How to Keep an Open Mind: An Ancient Guide to Thinking Like a Skeptic *Examining the tenets of Epicureanism in fine detail, Austin provides the audience with her insightful interpretations throughout and offers a kindred spirit to all readers who seek the finer things in life. * Booklist *Of particular note are the two chapters exploring the enigmatic Epicurean dictum to live quietly or live unnoticed...In today's world the advice is both refreshing and reassuring. * Alex Moran, TLS *Philosophy has traditionally concerned itself with two main questions. What is the world like? And how ought we to live in it?...Contemporary philosophy tends not to concern itself with this second question. This is unfortunate, especially because philosophy is meant to be the very discipline that acquires wisdom. That said, the recent Guides to the Good Life series, edited by Stephen Grimm, stands as a welcome corrective. Each book is written by an expert in the field and explores the question of how to live from a unique philosophical perspective, in an accessible register. The series cannot be praised too highly... * TLS *This is an extraordinary, fascinating, and entertainingly written book. Austin (Wake Forest Univ.) provides a comprehensive scholarly analysis of the philosophy of Epicurus (341-270 BCE), concentrating on the Epicurean mantra that human happiness is to be found in the experience of pleasure, thoughtfully understood as minimizing anxieties and pursuing the aspects of life that have true and perpetual meaning. Austin's approach is unique in that she interweaves this Epicurean philosophy into contemporary and popular approaches (some of them misleading) to the enrichment of everyday life. Released in the 'Guides to the Good Life' series, this is a work of applied philosophy. Notes and references are excellent...Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers. * Choice *This is an extraordinary, fascinating, and entertainingly written book... Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers. * Choice *Table of ContentsChapter 1: Maybe We're Doing It Wrong Chapter 2: Epicureanism, The Original Cast Chapter 3: Happiness, Theirs and Ours Chapter 4: Why Hedonism? Chapter 5: What do you want? Chapter 6: The Fourfold Remedy Chapter 7: Why Can't We Be Friends? Chapter 8: Let Me Be Frank Chapter 9: Why Be Just? Chapter 10: Imposter Syndrome Chapter 11: Living Unnoticed: Politics and Power Chapter 12: Living Unnoticed: The Tyranny of the 'Like' Chapter 13: Wealth and What it Costs Chapter 14: Ambition, Work, and Success Chapter 15: Greed for Life Chapter 16: Misfortune and Resilience Chapter 17: Of Sex, Love, and Harmless Pleasure Chapter 18: Building the Tranquil Child Chapter 19: Drugs and Other Short Cuts Chapter 20: Foodies, Dinner Parties, and Wine Snobs Chapter 21: Science and Anxiety Chapter 22: That Old Time Religion Chapter 23: Experiencing Death Chapter 24: Pandemics and Other Comforting Horrors Chapter 25: On Practicing Epicureanism

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsPreface I. Questions from Neuroscientists for Philosophers 1. What is an intention? - Gideon Yaffe 2. What is a will? - Pamela Hieronymi 3. When is an action voluntary? - Pamela Hieronymi 4. What is freedom? - Walter Sinnott-Armstrong 5. What is free will? - Timothy O'Connor 6. Can there be free will in a determined universe? - Timothy O'Connor 7. Does free will come in degrees? - Jonathan Hall & Tillmann Vierkant 8. How can we determine whether or not we have free will? - Alfred R. Mele 9. What kind of neuroscientific evidence, if any, could determine whether anyone has free will? - Adina L. Roskies 10. What kind of behavioral experiments, if any could determine whether anyone has free will? - Tim Bayne 11. Can a robot with artificial intelligence have free will? - Jonathan Hall & Tillmann Vierkant 12. Do conscious decisions cause physical actions? - Ned Block 13. How is consciousness related to freedom of action or will? - Tim Bayne 14. How is responsibility related to free will, control, and action? - Gideon Yaffe 15. What are reasons? - Walter Sinnott-Armstrong II. Questions from Philosophers for Neuroscientists 16. What are the main stages in the neural processes that produce actions? - Patrick Haggard & Elisabeth Parés-Pujolràs 17. Does the will correspond to any clearly delineated brain area or activity? - Gabriel Kreiman 18. How are the neural processes for deciding when to move similar and different from those for deciding what or how to move? - Antonio Ivano Triggiani & Mark Hallett 19. How are arbitrary and deliberate decisions similar and different? - Jye Bold, Liad Mudrik, & Uri Maoz 20. How do higher-level brain areas exert control over lower-level brain areas? - Mark Hallett 21. What are intentional actions? - Elisabeth Parés-Pujolràs & Patrick Haggard 22. What evidence is there that intentions are represented in the brain? - John-Dylan Haynes 23. What is known about the neural correlates of specific beliefs and desires that inform human choices? - Amber Hopkins & Uri Maoz 24. How can we determine whether or not an agent is conscious of a bit of information relevant to an action? - Liad Mudrik & Aaron Schurger 25. Which neural mechanisms could enable conscious control of action? - Jake Gavenas, Mark Hallett, & Uri Maoz 26. How does the absence of a consensus about the neural basis of consciousness and volition affect theorizing about conscious volition? - Amber Hopkins, Liad Mudrik, & Uri Maoz 27. How can we determine the precise timing of brain events related to action? - Mark Hallett & Aaron Schurger 28. How can we determine the precise timing of mental events related to action? - Sae Jin Lee, Sook Mun (Alice) Wong, Uri Maoz, & Mark Hallett 29. Are any neural processes truly random (or stochastic)? - Hans Liljenström 30. How can computational models help us understand free will? - Gabriel Kreiman, Hans Liljenström, Aaron Schurger, & Uri Maoz Brain Maps - Amber Hopkins and Natalie Nichols Glossary - Claire Simmons and Amber Hopkins Annotated Bibliography - Deniz Ar?türk and Amber Hopkins

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Book SynopsisWhat''s the use of philosophy? Philip Kitcher here grapples with an essential philosophical question: what the point of philosophy is, and what it should and can be. Kitcher''s portrait of the discipline is not a familiar defense of the importance of philosophy or the humanities writ large. Rather, he is deeply critical of philosophy as it is practiced today, a practice focused on narrow technical questions that are far removed from the concerns of human life. He provides a penetrating diagnosis of why exactly contemporary philosophy has come to suffer this crisis, showing how it suffers from various syndromes that continue to push it further into irrelevance. Then, taking up ideas from William James and John Dewey, Kitcher provides a positive roadmap for the future of philosophy: first, as a discipline that can provide clarity to other kinds of human inquiry, such as religion or science; and second, bringing order to people''s notions of the world, dispelling confusion in favor of clarity, and helping us think through our biggest human questions and dilemmas. Kitcher concludes with a letter to young philosophers who wonder how they can align their aspirations with the hyper-professionalism expected of them.Trade ReviewWith an inimitable combination of sharpness, generosity, elegance and wit, Kitcher diagnoses the malaise that many philosophers have long felt about our profession but have been unable to articulate with such breadth and clarity. Perhaps no one has the skills or the standing that Kitcher possesses to do so ... The book pulls no punches in showing how far contemporary philosophy has diverged from its original goals ... Yet Kitcher does not merely lament the ways in which philosophy has abandoned its traditional roles. With characteristic and sympathetic understanding, Kitcher provides a genealogy which shows how so many of philosophy's virtues have turned into flaws ... This will be read by every disaffected philosopher, and may convince many outside it to take the promise of philosophy seriously again. An extraordinary and much-needed book. * Susan Neiman, Einstein Forum, Germany *A spirited love letter to a discipline that enthralls and disappoints in equal measure. Rather than give way to gloom, Philip Kitcher asks us to dream of a philosophy that demands and does more. * Amia Srinivasan, All Souls College, Oxford *This book is challenging in the best sense: indeed, what use is philosophy? But it is also straightforward and charming - and exceedingly persuasive. * Nancy Cartwright, Durham University *Philip Kitcher's new book is a perceptive and uncompromising assessment of trends and fashions and parochialism in contemporary professional philosophy. The antithesis of parochialism is cosmopolitanism and Kitcher is a true cosmopolitan. * Clark Glymour *Urging his fellow philosophers to lift their gaze from narrow technical problems toward issues that really matter, Philip Kitcher's concise, lively book is as exciting as it is important. * Michael Ruse, Florida State University (Emeritus) *Philip Kitcher makes a compelling case for a redirection of philosophy away from what are sometimes called "core areas" and toward issues that are of more interest and value within our general intellectual culture - issues often relegated to the periphery of our discipline. These include, among others, philosophy of the various empirical sciences, moral and political philosophy done in a way that is practically useful, and philosophical engagement with the arts. This book is must reading for anyone alarmed about the future of philosophy and its current tendencies toward scholasticism and irrelevance. A brave and important book. * James Woodward, University of Pittsburgh *In this excellent book...Kitcher has useful things to say how philosophy and science can work together. * Quassim Cassam, The Society *Table of ContentsPreface Chapter 1 - Philosophy Inside Out Chapter 2 - "So Who Is Your Audience?" Chapter 3 - Pathology Report Chapter 4 - The Whole Function of Philosophy Chapter 5 - Letter to Some Young Philosophers References

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Book SynopsisA vibrant portrait of an age when Arabic enlightenment anticipated and inspired the European Renaissance, illuminated by its guiding figures and rivals, Ibn Sina and Biruni.In The Genius of their Age, S. Frederick Starr follows up his acclaimed Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia''s Golden Age with a portrait of the Arab enlightenment and its key figures--Abu-Ali al-Husayn ibn-''Abdallah Ibn-Sina and Abu al-Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni. A thousand years ago, these two intellectual giants--known as Ibn Sina and Biruni for short--achieved stunning breakthroughs in fields as diverse as medicine, astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, geography, and physics. Biruni measured the earth more precisely than anyone else down to the sixteenth century, pondered a heliocentric universe, and hypothesized the existence of North and South America as inhabited continents. Ibn Sina''s writing on philosophy and metaphysics enriched the writings of countless European thinkers, including St. Thomas AquinTrade ReviewSuch an important and useful book to introduce two of the world's greatest scholars to a wider audience. Fred Starr's delightful work explains the ground-breaking work of Ibn Sina and al-Biruni - and sets their achievements in their rightful, proper context. * Peter Frankopan, author of The Earth Transformed: An Untold History and The New Silk Roads: The Present and Future of the World *Ibn Sina and Biruni, two of the greatest minds of the Middle Ages, have found the ideal person in Frederick Starr to present their intertwining lives and thought to a modern, global readership. Intimately familiar with the medieval Persianate context, widely read in the scholarly literature, and remarkably proficient in his exposition of complex philosophical ideas, Starr has produced a consummate work of historical synthesis that should help introduce these intellectual giants to a new audience. * Fitzroy Morrissey, All Souls College, Oxford, author of A Short History of Islamic Thought *[Starr] illuminates the richness of thought that characterized this "lost Enlightenment". * The New Yorker *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Together and Apart 2. Privileged Prodigies 3. Promise and Disruption 4. Caught in the Whirlwind 5. Arguing Aristotle 6. Inventing a World History 7. From Peace to Chaos 8. Nemesis: Mahmud of Ghazni 9. Ibn Sina, Encyclopedist 10. Expanding the Known World 11. Ibn Sina's Adventures 12. Biruni's Masterpiece 13. The Canon of Medicine 14. Biruni's Canon for Masud 15. The Cure 16. Biruni's Encore 17. Ibn Sina's Encore 18. Biruni and Ibn Sina through the Ages 19. Biruni and Ibn Sina, a Millennium On

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Book SynopsisThis book collects Thomas Nagel''s recent philosophical reflections on topics of fundamental interest: ethics, moral psychology, science and religion, death, the holocaust, and the metaphysics of mind. Among the figures discussed are Peter Singer, Alvin Plantinga, Christine Korsgaard, Tony Judt, Elizabeth Anscombe, Philippa Foot, Iris Murdoch, T. M. Scanlon, Ronald Dworkin, Samuel Scheffler, Daniel Kahneman, Jonathan Haidt, Joshua Greene, and Daniel Dennett. Nagel consistently defends a realist interpretation of moral truth and resists reductive attempts to subsume ethics to psychology and evolutionary theory. He also defends a pluralistic conception of the content of morality as opposed to utilitarianism, one that includes deontological elements such as rights and special responsibilities. A realist outlook also informs his discussion of metaphysical and epistemological questions. The book closes with tributes to a number of people Nagel has known over the course of his career. The esTrade ReviewThere is much to be savoured in this entertaining and fascinating compendium of views that have done so much to shape the philosophical landscape over the past half century and for which [Nagel] is justly renowned. * A.W. Moore, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *Table of Contents1. Analytic Philosophy and Human Life Life and Death 2. Tony Judt, Life and Memory 3. After We've Gone 4. Can We Survive? 5. Assistance in Dying 6. Theresienstadt Ethics 7. Peter Singer and You 8. Effective Altruism 9. Korsgaard, Kant, and Our Fellow Creatures 10. Regret and Its Limits 11. Four Women 12. Law, Morality, and Truth 13. The Illusion of Tax Fairness Moral Psychology 14. Scanlon on the Reality of Reasons 15. Kahneman's Thinking 16. The Cortex and the Trolley Problem 17. Modular Morality 18. Fictions and Ideals Reality 19. The Core of Mind and Cosmos 20. Plantinga on Science and Religion 21. Is Metaphysics Possible? 22. Creators of the Modern Mind 23. Dennett's Illusions Tributes 24. Betsy Dworkin 1933-2000 25. Robert Nozick 1938-2002 26. John Rawls 2021-2002 27. Bernard Williams 1929-2003 28. Donald Davidson 1917-2003 29. Peter Strawson 1919-2006 30. Ronald Dworkin 2006 31. John Searle 2009 32. Ronald Dworkin 1931-2013 33. Barry Stroud 1935-2019

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Book SynopsisFeaturing a remarkably clear writing style, Philosophy: Asking Questions--Seeking Answers is a brief and accessible guide designed for students with no prior knowledge of the subject. Written by renowned scholars Stephen Stich and Tom Donaldson, it focuses on the key issues in Western philosophy, presenting balanced coverage of each issue and challenging students to make up their own minds. Each chapter incorporates discussion questions, key terms, a glossary, and suggestions for further readings to help make the material more understandable to novices. While comprehensive enough to be used on its own, Philosophy can also be used as a supplement to any introductory anthology.

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Book SynopsisInfinity is an intriguing topic, with connections to religion, philosophy, metaphysics, logic, and physics as well as mathematics. Its history goes back to ancient times, with especially important contributions from Euclid, Aristotle, Eudoxus, and Archimedes. The infinitely large (infinite) is intimately related to the infinitely small (infinitesimal). Cosmologists consider sweeping questions about whether space and time are infinite. Philosophers and mathematicians ranging from Zeno to Russell have posed numerous paradoxes about infinity and infinitesimals. Many vital areas of mathematics rest upon some version of infinity. The most obvious, and the first context in which major new techniques depended on formulating infinite processes, is calculus. But there are many others, for example Fourier analysis and fractals.In this Very Short Introduction, Ian Stewart discusses infinity in mathematics while also drawing in the various other aspects of infinity and explaining some of the major problems and insights arising from this concept. He argues that working with infinity is not just an abstract, intellectual exercise but that it is instead a concept with important practical everyday applications, and considers how mathematicians use infinity and infinitesimals to answer questions or supply techniques that do not appear to involve the infinite.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewThis particular volume does exactly what it says on the tin, providing just enough background on various aspects of infinity to pique the readers interest. It is written with the same clarity and attention to detail as Professor Stewarts other books. * David Hopkins, Mathematical Gazette *Stewart has turned what must have seemed like a daunting project into an entertaining, illuminating, and digestible read... the book has something for everyone. * Marianne Freiberger, Plus *Even the experienced reader may have more occasion to learn something new. Some of these non-essential but nevertheless flashes of a that's-interesting-I-didn't-know-that experience will make it worthwhile reading. * Adhemar Bultheel, European Mathematical Society *Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION; REFERENCES; FURTHER READING; INDEX

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Book SynopsisWhen he died in 1930 aged 26, Frank Ramsey had already invented one branch of mathematics and two branches of economics, laying the foundations for decision theory and game theory. Keynes deferred to him; he was the only philosopher whom Wittgenstein treated as an equal. Had he lived he might have been recognized as the most brilliant thinker of the century. This amiable shambling bear of a man was an ardent socialist, a believer in free love, and an intimate of the Bloomsbury set. For the first time Cheryl Misak tells the full story of his extraordinary life.Trade ReviewThis book is dedicated to the memory of Ramsey in a solemn and comprehensively devoted manner. The author has tried to satisfy all the parties interested in Ramsey for one reason or another...The result is an introduction to his work, as well as an account of his life. * Michael Otte, MathSciNet *Frank Ramsey: A Sheer Excess of Powers is a very well researched biography, thus is of great value to academic students and professional scholars alike. The book is a joy to read for not only economists but also mathematicians and philosophers too. * Jason Wakefield, Avello Publishing Journal *an engaging account of the lamentably short life of Ramsey... exemplary piece(s) of intellectual history... * New Statesman, Books of the Year *Frank Ramsey [...] makes noble reading. Ms Misak is a born teacher who explains tricky intellectual abstractions with a clarity that is exceptional. More than that, she writes with love. Her tenderness toward Ramsey, his parents and siblings, his wife and friends gives spirit and delicacy to the whole. There is astounding emotional intelligence in every chapter. One feels on each page Ms. Misak's fine mind concentrating hard on doing the best she can. This is an enthralling and glorious book. * Richard Davenport-Hines, The Wall Street Journal *Philosophers sometimes play the game of imagining how twentieth-century thought might have been different if Ramsey had survived and his ideas had caught on earlier. That exercise has become more entertaining with the publication of the first full biography ... Misak tells a more colorful story than one might have thought possible so long after such a short life ended. * Anthony Gottleib, The New Yorker *Misak' narrative is compelling. * Paolo Mancosu, Philosophia Mathematica *Her book is unlikely to be bettered... Misak provides by far the most complete picture we have of Ramsey's personality and personal life. * London Review of Books *As a whole, the book is a precious piece for the history of analytic philosophy, nicely written and supported by terrific archival research and a love for the author. It is worth reading it for the pleasure of good writing, for a picture of Cambridge at that time, and to learn more about one of the greatest intellects of the last century. * Caterina Sisti, Metascience *...a brilliant, evocative biography of Ramsey. * Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Open *It is thanks to Misak that we can now see Ramsey's mathematical economics from a new and thought-provoking perspective, and this is only one among many reasons why this book deserves to be read. * Carlo Cristiano, History of Economic Ideas *There is a lot of talk about Bloomsbury, and therefore about sexual freedom and the many instances that made up that freedom. There is unhappiness (Ramsey struggled coming into his own, as a sexual person). There is much talk of psychoanalysis, and of extended stays in Vienna to imbibe the same. There is, as anyone who has read Pigou's biography might guess, a great deal of walking in the mountains. There is Arthur's (Ramsey's father) tragic inattentiveness while driving his car. And there is Ramsey living openly with a woman while (mostly) maintaining his happy marriage. So, it isn't all just philosophy. But the philosophy does make for compelling reading ... one must read this excellent book. * David C.Coker, George Mason University , Erasmus Journal for Philosophy and Economics *A full intellectual biography of Frank Ramsey, examining both his complex personal life and his work in philosophy, mathematics, and economics. * Journal of Economic Literature *Cheryl Misak has done valuable work in producing the first biography of Frank Ramsey which is both comprehensive and detailed. Through meticulous documentary research (very well described in the preface), the biographer is able to lift the veil on some of the little-known aspects of Ramsey's intellectual journey and remedy some of the erroneous or magnified perceptions of his life and work. Various excerpts from his correspondences allow us, for example, to put in context Ramsey's depressive episode resulting from an impossible love...Cheryl Misak has successfully met the challenge of inspiring her readers to take the next step - following Ramsey - toward the high peaks of abstract thought in analytical philosophy, mathematical logic, economics, and pure mathematics. * Frédéric Morneau-Guérin, Université TÉLUQ, Mathematical Association of America *Fascinating ... combining insight, wit and affection with erudition, [Misak] conveys how lovable as well as how brilliant Ramsey was ... She has given Ramsey the biography that he richly deserves. * Jane O'Grady, Literary Review *In her important new work, Cheryl Misak [...] finally gives Ramsey the consideration he deserves ... it is an impressive work. She has a devotion to the archive and her book is thoroughly researched and well put together ... We should feel lucky that we have the work we do, and that Misak has done such a good job of drawing our attention to one of the most important and intriguing figures in 20th-century philosophy. * Alex Dean, Prospect *A monument to good scholarship while still conveying the human being at the centre ... A landmark book if you dwell among the modernists. * Richard Lofthouse, QUOD *Writing a biography of a man with such an amazing capacity and range of interests is itself extraordinarily demanding but the author succeeds admirably... hugely informative as well as entertaining and a vivid picture of the contemporary Cambridge intellectual landscape. * Paradigm Explorer *truly comprehensive 'life and works'. * William H Janeway, Project Syndicate *Thought-provoking, wide-ranging, and highly readable. * Matthew McKeever, The Philosopher's Magazine *Cheryl Misak's Frank Ramsey: A Sheer Excess of Powers is terrific... This biography is my book of the year so far. * enlightenmenteconomics *This is a gripping read about the twentieth century's forgotten genius. It provides a fascinating and meticulously detailed portrait of Frank Ramsey's life and times. Finally, Ramsey has the biography he deserves. * David Edmonds, co-author of Wittgenstein's Poker *In this brilliantly written biography of Frank Ramsey, the philosophical and mathematical genius, Cheryl Misak helps us to understand how this innovative thinker could transform so much of the intellectual world of the twentieth century in a short life that ended before he turned 27. The story of Ramsey - his life, his ideas and his engaging arguments with others - as told by Misak is both deeply insightful and much fun to read. * Amartya Sen, Harvard University *I read the book over three long nights of lockdown, in the middle of an Australian winter. Id expected to find it fascinating, but not to find it so gripping... she [Misak] takes us so successfully into Ramseys world, and we know how it ends... [she] pitches things just right. She takes us into Ramseys personal world, without over-dramatising it. * Huw Price, Society *Table of ContentsForeword: 'Mind and Heart' Part I: Boyhood 1: The Ramseys 2: Winchester Nearly Unmade Him 3: 'We really live in a great time for thinking' Part II: The Cambridge Man 4: Undergraduate Life 5: 'To my generation, he was rather frightening' 6: Ramsey and the Early Wittgenstein 7: Vienna Interlude 8: 'The fundamentals are so philosophical' 9: The New Don 10: Passion Found Part III: An Astonishing Half Decade 11: Settling Down in Work and Life 12: Revolution in Philosophy 13: Two Crises 14: Cambridge Economics 15: Ramseyan Economics: The Feasible First Best 16: 1928 Return to Mathematics 17: Wittgenstein Comes Home 18: 'The problem of philosophy must be divided if I am to solve it' 19: The End and Meaning of a Life

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Book SynopsisWhere does our conscience come from? How reliable is it? In the West conscience has been relied upon for two thousand years as a judgement that distinguishes right from wrong. It has effortlessly moved through every period division and timeline between the ancient, medieval, and modern. The Romans identified it, the early Christians appropriated it, and Reformation Protestants and loyal Catholics relied upon its advice and admonition. Today it is embraced with equal conviction by non-religious and religious alike. Considering its deep historical roots and exploring what it has meant to successive generations, Paul Strohm highlights why this particularly European concept deserves its reputation as ''one of the prouder Western contributions to human rights and human dignity throughout the world.'' Using examples from popular culture including the Disney classic Pinocchio, as well as examples from contemporary politics, he explores the work of thinkers such as Nietzsche, Freud, and AquinaTable of Contents1. Encountering conscience ; 2. Christian conscience ; 3. The secularization of conscience ; 4. Three critics of conscience: Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, Freud ; 5. Is conscience a civil right? ; 6. The prospects for conscience

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

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