Philosophy Books

Book SynopsisMany still consider Ludwig Wittgenstein’s 1953 Philosophical Investigations to be one of the breakthrough works of twentieth-century philosophy. The book sets out a radically new conception of philosophy itself, and demonstrates all the attributes of a fine analytical mind. Taking an argument from Plato and subjecting it to detailed (and very clear) analysis, Wittgenstein shows his understanding of how the sequence and function of differing parts of a highly-complex argument can be broken down and assessed. In so doing, he reaches a logical position of simultaneous agreement and disagreement with Plato’s philosophical position. Philosophical Investigations is also a powerful example of the skill of interpretation. Philosophical problems often arise from confusions in the use of language – and the way to solve these problems, Wittgenstein posits, is by clarifying language use. He argues that philosophers must study ordinary uses of language and examine how people use it as a tool in their everyday lives. In this highly-interpretative way, the meaning of a word or sentence becomes relative to the context (people, culture, community) in which it is used. Rather than debate abstract problems, Wittgenstein urges philosophers to concern themselves with ordinary life and the concrete situations in which humans find themselves.Table of ContentsWays in to the Text Who was Ludwig Wittgenstein? What does Philosophical Investigations Say? Why does Philosophical Investigations 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 SynopsisFew works of scholarship have so comprehensively recast an existing debate as Chinua Achebe’s essay on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Achebe – a highly distinguished Nigerian novelist and university teacher – looked with fresh eyes at a novel that was set in Africa, but in which Africans appear only as onlookers or as indistinguishable "savages". Dismissing the prevailing portrayal of Joseph Conrad as a liberal hero whose anti-imperialist views insulated him from significant criticism, Achebe re-cast the Polish author as a "bloody racist" in an analysis so cogent it changed the way in which his discipline looked not only at Conrad, but also at all works with settings indicative of racial conflict. The creative contribution of Achebe’s essay lies in delving far beneath the surface of Conrad’s novel; he not only generated new and highly influential hypotheses about the author's modes of thought and motivations, but also redefined the entire debate over Heart of Darkness. Just because the novel had been accepted into the "canon", and now falls into the class of “permanent literature”, Achebe says, does not mean we should not question it closely – or criticize its author.Table of ContentsWays In to the Text Who was Chinua Achebe? What does An Image of Africa Say? Why does An Image of Africa 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 SynopsisA Room of One's Own is a very clear example of how creative thinkers connect and present things in novel ways. Based on the text of a talk given by Virginia Woolf at an all-female Cambridge college, Room considers the subject of 'women and fiction.' Woolf’s approach is to ask why, in the early 20th century, literary history presented so few examples of canonically 'great' women writers. The common prejudices of the time suggested this was caused by (and proof of) women's creative and intellectual inferiority to men. Woolf argued instead that it was to do with a very simple fact: across the centuries, male-dominated society had systematically prevented women from having the educational opportunities, private spaces and economic independence to produce great art. At a time when 'art' was commonly considered to be a province of the mind that had no relation to economic circumstances, this was a novel proposal. More novel, though, was Woolf's manner of arguing and proving her contentions: through a fictional account of the limits placed on even the most privileged women in everyday existence. An impressive early example of cultural materialism, A Room of One's Own is an exemplary encapsulation of creative thinking.Table of ContentsWays In to the Text Who was Virginia Woolf? What does A Room of One's Own Say? Why does A Room of One's Own 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 SynopsisHannah Arendt’s 1958 The Human Condition was an impassioned philosophical reconsideration of the goals of being human. In its arguments about the kind of lives we should lead and the political engagement we should strive for, Arendt’s interpretative skills come to the fore, in a brilliant display of what high-level interpretation can achieve for critical thinking. Good interpretative thinkers are characterised by their ability to clarify meanings, question accepted definitions and posit good, clear definitions that allow their other critical thinking skills to take arguments deeper and further than most. In many ways, The Human Condition is all about definitions. Arendt’s aim is to lay out an argument for political engagement and active participation in society as the highest goals of human life; and to this end she sets about defining a hierarchy of ways of living a “vita activa,” or active life. The book sets about distinguishing between our different activities under the categories of “labor”, “work”, and “action” – each of which Arendt carefully redefines as a different level of active engagement with the world. Following her clear and careful laying out of each word’s meaning, it becomes hard to deny her argument for the life of “action” as the highest human goal.Table of ContentsWays in to the Text Who was Hannah Arendt? What does The Human Condition Say? Why does The Human Condition 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 SynopsisIn his 1997 work Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond marshals evidence from five continents and across 13,000 years of human history in an attempt to answer the question of why that history unfolded so differently in various parts of the globe. His results offer new explanations for why the unequal divisions of power and wealth so familiar to us today came into existence – and have persisted.Balancing materials drawn from a vast range of sources, addressing core problems that have fascinated historians, anthropologists, biologists and geographers alike – and blending his analysis to create a compelling narrative that became an international best-seller and reached a broad general market – required a mastery of the critical thinking skill of reasoning that few other scholars can rival. Diamond’s reasoning skills allow him to persuade his readers of the value of his interdisciplinary approach and produce well-structured arguments that keep them turning pages even as he refocuses his analysis from one disparate example to another. Diamond adds to that a spectacular ability to grasp the meaning of the available evidence produced by scholars in those widely different disciplines – making Guns, Germs and Steel equally valuable as an exercise in high-level interpretation. Table of ContentsWays in to the Text Who is Jared Diamond? What does Guns, Germs & Steel: The Fate of Human Societies Say? Why does Guns, Germs & Steel: The Fate of Human Societies 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 SynopsisElaine Tyler May’s 1988 Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era is a ground-breaking piece of historical and cultural analysis that uses its findings to build a strong argument for its author’s view of the course of modern US history. The aim of May’s study is to trace the links between Cold War politics and the domestic lives of everyday American families at the time. Historians have long noted the unique domestic trends of 1950s America, with its increased focus on the nuclear family, neatly divided traditional gender roles and aspirational, suburban consumer lifestyles. May’s contribution was to analyse the interplay between the domestic scene and the political ideologies of American government, and then to build a carefully-constructed argument that draws attention to the ways in which these seemingly disparate forces are in fact related. May’s key achievement was to use her analytical skills to understand the relationships between these different factors. She traced ways in which domestic life and US foreign policy mirrored one another, showing that the structures and processes they aimed for, while different in scale, were essentially the same. She then carefully brought together different types of historical data, organizing her study to produce a carefully reasoned argument that the American suburban home was in certain direct ways the product of the ‘containment’ policies that ruled American foreign policy at the time.Table of ContentsWays in to the Text Who was Elaine Tyler May? What does Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era Say? Why does Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era 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 SynopsisGeorges Lefebvre was one of the most highly-regarded historians of the 20th century – and a key reason for the high reputation he enjoys can be found in The Coming of the French Revolution. Lefebvre's key contribution to the debate over what remains arguably one of history's most contentious and significant events in history was to deploy the critical thinking skill of evaluation to reveal weaknesses in existing arguments about the causes of the Revolution, and analytical skills to expose hidden assumptions in them. Rather than seeing events as driven by the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie – which then lost power to the urban workers – as was usual at the time, Lefebvre deployed years of research in regional archives to argue that the Revolution had had a fourth pillar: the peasantry. Painting the upheaval as complex and multi-layered – while still privileging a predominantly economic interpretation – Lefebvre provides a compelling new narrative to explain why the French monarchy collapsed so suddenly in 1789: one that stressed the significance of a ‘popular revolution’ in the rural countryside.Table of ContentsWays in to the Text Who was Georges Lefebvre? What does The Coming of the French Revolution Say? Why does The Coming of the French Revolution 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 SynopsisAlbert Bandura is the most cited living psychologist, and is regularly named as one of the most influential figures ever to have worked in his field. Much of his reputation stems from the theories and experiments described in his 1973 study Aggression: A Social Learning Analysis – a book that is both a classic of psychological study and a masterclass in the analytical skills central to good critical thinking. Bandura’s central contention is that much human learning is fundamentally social. As children imitate the behavior of those around them, and as their behaviors are reinforced by modelling, they entrench cognitive functions that more or less become part of their core personalities. The experiments that Bandura designed in order to prove his contentions with regard to learned aggressive tendencies show the powers of critical thinking analysis and evaluation at their best. Having set up a play environment for children in which they could be exposed to aggressive behavior (inflicted on a bobo doll), he was able to systematically examine their responses and learned behaviors, working out their functions and understanding the relationships between different aspects of behavior that combined to form a whole. Carefully evaluating at each stage the different extent to which children’s own aggressive behavior was affected by and modelled on what they saw. Bandura produced results that revolutionized psychology’s whole approach to human learning and behavior.Table of ContentsWays In to the Text Who is Albert Bandura? What does Agression Say? Why does Agression 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 SynopsisThe work of memory researchers Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch is a prime example of the ways in which good critical thinkers approach questions and the problems they raise. In the 1960s, researchers into human memory began to understand memory as comprising not one, but two systems. The first was a short-term system handling information for mere seconds. The second was a long-term system capable of managing information indefinitely. They also discovered, however, that short-term memory was not simply a ‘filing cabinet,’ as many had thought, but was actively working on cognitive – or mental – tasks. This is how the phrase “working memory” developed. The hypothesis remained unproven, however, presenting Baddeley and Hitch with the problem of working out how to produce definitive evidence that short term memory was a working system that actively manipulated and processed information. They responded by designing a series of ten experiments aimed at showing just this – presenting the results in their 1974 article, ‘Working memory.’ The research was a masterpiece of problem-solving that proved revelatory. The authors not only generated new solutions and made sound decisions between alternative possibilities – they also showed that short-term memory is indeed an active system responsible for information processing and managing, while also influencing attention, reasoning, reading comprehension and learning.While their work has since been refined by others, Baddeley and Hitch’s problem-solving approach helped to create the dominant understanding of working memory that underpins psychological research throughout the world today.Table of ContentsWays in to the Text Who were Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch? What does Working Memory Say? Why does Working Memory 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 SynopsisOur Common Future is a joint work produced in 1987 by a United Nations commission headed by former Norwegian Prime Minister, Gro Brundtland. Also known as The Brundtland Report, it offers a classic approach to problem solving by first asking a productive question. How do we protect the world we live in for future generations, while at the same time stimulating economic and social development right now? The solution the work proposes is “sustainable development”, defined in the report as humanity’s ability “to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” The key conclusion the report came to – that we need long-term strategies to manage the earth’s natural resources – proved to be so universally welcomed it introduced the term “sustainability” into the everyday language of international politics. Solving the problem of workable sustainable development became a hot topic, leading to the birth of a new academic discipline, environmental economics. The book offered a solution to the problem of ensuring sustainable development by highlighting the critical importance of international cooperation.Table of ContentsWays in to the Text Who is Gro Brundtland? What does Our Common Future Say? Why does Our Common Future 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 SynopsisIn The Night Battles, Carlo Ginzburg does more than introduce his readers to a novel group of supposed witches – the Benandanti, from the northern Italian province of Friulia. He also invents and deploys new and creative ways of tackling his source material that allow him to move beyond their limitations. Witchcraft documents are notoriously tricky sources – produced by elites with fixed views, they are products of questioning designed to prove or disprove guilt, rather than understand the subtleties of belief, and are very often the products of torture. Ginzburg placed great stress on variations in the evidence of the Benandanti over time to reveal changing patterns of belief, and also focused on the concept of ‘reading against the text’ – essentially looking as much at what is absent from the record as at what is present in it, and attempting to understand what the absences mean. His work not only pioneered the creation of a new school of historical study – ‘microhistory’ – it is also a great example of the creative thinking skills of connecting things together in an original way, producing novel explanations for existing evidence, and redefining an issue so as to see it in a new light.Table of ContentsWays in to the Text Who was Carlo Ginzburg? What does The Night Battles Say? Why does The Night Battles 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 SynopsisMichelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness is an unflinching dissection of the racial biases built into the American prison system. Named after the laws that enforced racial segregation in the southern United States until the mid-1960s, The New Jim Crow argues that while America is now legally a colorblind society – treating all races equally under the law – many factors combine to build profound racial weighting into the legal system. The US now has the world’s highest rate of incarceration, and a disproportionate percentage of the prison population is comprised of African-American men. Alexander’s argument is that different legal factors have combined to mean both that African-Americans are more likely to be targeted by police, and to receive long jail sentences for their crimes. While many of Alexander’s arguments and statistics are to be found in other books and authors’ work, The New Jim Crow is a masterful example of the reasoning skills that communicate arguments persuasively. Alexander’s skills are those fundamental to critical thinking reasoning: organizing evidence, examining other sides of the question, and synthesizing points to create an overall argument that is as watertight as it is persuasive.Table of ContentsWays in to the Text Who was Michelle Alexander? What does The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness Say? Why does The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness 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 SynopsisToni Morrison’s Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination is a seminal piece of literary criticism, and a masterclass in the critical thinking skill of interpretation. Interpretation plays a vital role in critical thinking: it focuses on interrogating accepted meanings and laying down clear definitions on which a strong argument can be built. Both history and literary history in the US have frequently revolved around understanding how Americans define themselves and each other, and Morrison’s work seeks to investigate, question, and redefine one of the central concepts in American history and American literary history: color.. Morrison turned to the classics of American literature to ask how authors had chosen to define the terms ‘black’ and ‘white.’ Instead of accepting traditional interpretations of these works, Morrison examined the way in which ‘whiteness’ defines itself through ‘blackness,’ and vice versa. Black bondage and the myths of black inferiority and savagery, she showed, allowed white America to indulge its own defining myths – viewing itself as free, civilized, and innocent. A classic of subtle and incisive interpretation, Playing in the Dark shows just how crucial and how complex simple-looking definitions can be.Table of ContentsWays in to the Text Who is Toni Morrison? What does Playing in the Dark Say? Why does Playing in the Dark 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 SynopsisA philosophical memoir about becoming a father in an increasingly terrible world. Can I hope the child growing in my partner’s womb will have a good-enough life? For Kant, philosophy boiled down to three key questions: “What can I know?”, “What ought I do?”, and “What can I hope for?” In philosophy departments, that third question has largely been neglected at the expense of the first two – even though it is crucial for understanding why anyone might ask them in the first place. In Infinitely Full of Hope, as he prepares to become a father for the first time, the philosopher Tom Whyman attempts to answer Kant’s third question, trying to make sense of it in the context of a world that increasingly seems like it is on the verge of collapse. Part memoir, part theory, and part reflection on fatherhood, Infinitely Full of Hope asks how we can cling to hope in a world marked by crisis and disaster.Trade Review"This book is incredibly important for people who want to look to the future with excitement and imagination as opposed to fear and resignation. It is funny, poetic and humane as well as wildly smart.""The abundant intelligence of this book on hope and despair and everything in between only makes its many moments of warmth and intimacy more moving and surprising. A seriously beautiful and timely work.""An intelligent and moving philosophical memoir on fatherhood in an age of crisis and disaster."

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Book SynopsisPhilosopher, psychoanalyst, politician, propagandist, prophet. although difficult to categorise, Frantz Fanon (1925 - 1961) is one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century and one of our most powerful writers on race and revolution. FANON FOR BEGINNERS provides a clear, detailed introduction to the life and work of the man Jean-Paul Sartre called the voice of the Third World.The book opens with a biography, following Fanon from his birthplace of Martinique through combat in World War II and education in France, to his heroic involvement in the fights for Algerian independence and African decolonisation. After a brief discussion of Fanon''s political and cultural influences, the main section of the book covers the three principal stages of Fanon''s thought:The Search for Black Identity, as presented in Black Skin, White Masks, the stunning diagnosis of racism that Fanon wrote while he was studying medicine and psychoanalysisThe Struggle Against Colonialism, as explained in A Dying Colonialism and Toward the African Revolution, essays Fanon produced when he was actively engaged in Algeria''s war of independenceThe Process of Decolonidation, as analysed in The Wretched of the Earth, the book that extended insights gained in Algeria to Africa and the Third World.FANON FOR BEGINNERS concludes by examining Fanon''s influence on political practice, such as the Black Power Movement in the United States, on literary theory and on political studies. This book will serve as an introduction as well as a tribute to the Frantz Fanon and how his works and words continue to have a profound impact on contemporary cultural debate.

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Book SynopsisThe essential political and theoretical work of one of Latin America’s most important contemporary theorists. Raquel Gutiérrez Aguilar is one of the foremost Latin American political thinkers. From armed Indigenous struggle in the Bolivian altiplano to the contemporary wave of feminist uprisings, Raquel Gutiérrez''s life and work have spanned and spurred on some of the most important political sequences in the last forty years in Latin America.  Almost unknown in the United States, Raquel is one of the Latin American anticapitalist, antistate Left''s most important contemporary theorists.  She has produced important work on communal struggles and political forms and has been at the center of some of the most important political organizing in Bolivia and Mexico in the last forty years.  This volume presents an extensive interview with Raquel in which she charts her political and intellectual trajectory from her militancy in the Ejército Guerrillero Tupac-Katari, to Bolivia''s famous Water and Gas wars, to the massive wave of popular feminist rebellions and organizing. Translator and writer, Brian Whitner offers two essays in translation that contain some of her central theoretical concepts, including the veto and reappropriation of communal wealth, for thinking a politics in common, and of the commons. With the publication of In Defense of Common Life, a new audience of English-language readers can finally engage with the thought and political experience of a thinker and militant, whose contributions to social movements span an incredible political and regional breadth, and resonate deeply with current debates with the US about the conditions and practices of revolutionary change, feminism, and popular struggle. 

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Book SynopsisVon Existentialismus und Existenzphilosophie über die Kritische Theorie der Frankfurter Schule, Habermas und Popper zu Feminismus und Postmoderne. Bei den utopischen Entwürfen kommen auch die Ideen der Belletristik zu Wort. Zudem werden Rawls, die new contractarians und der Kommunitarismus vorgestellt. Ein Ausblick auf die globalisierte Welt.

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Book SynopsisHerbert Silberer's book Hidden Symbolism of Alchemy and the Occult Arts explores the perplexing and esoteric worlds of alchemy and the occult. In order to shed light on their esoteric knowledge and psychological value, Silberer investigates the symbolic language and hidden meanings behind these ancient traditions. Silberer provides readers with a greater grasp of the vast symbolism ingrained into alchemy and the occult arts via his painstaking study and incisive analysis. This book reveals the hidden knowledge and the tremendous spiritual and transforming potential that exists within these ancient traditions, from the alchemical transformation of metals to the mystical rites of the occult. Hidden Symbolism of Alchemy and the Occult Arts is a revelatory investigation into the undiscovered spheres of human consciousness and the philosophical ideas that have enthralled seekers of truth for millennia.

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Book SynopsisSelf-Healing by Thought Force is an enchanting literary masterpiece crafted by the discerning wordsmith, William Walker Atkinson. Within its sacred pages, Atkinson delves into the ethereal realms of the human mind, unveiling its extraordinary ability to weave threads of self-healing and holistic well-being through the sheer force of thought. Atkinson unravels the mystical tapestry that intertwines mind and body, illuminating the profound impact our thoughts hold over our physical and mental states. Through a symphony of practical techniques and transformative exercises, he beckons readers on a mesmerizing odyssey, guiding them to harness the incandescent power of their thoughts as a celestial force for rejuvenation. Self-Healing by Thought Force reverberates with the enchanting melodies of the mind-body connection, highlighting the luminescence of positive thinking, invocations of affirmation, and the kaleidoscopic hues of visualization, harmoniously orchestrating a symphony of holistic well-being. Atkinson unveils the alchemical power of focused intention and the artistry of mental imagery, stirring the dormant healing mechanisms within the corporeal vessel, rekindling the embers of vitality and emotional serenity. Self-Healing by Thought Force stands as a testament to William Walker Atkinson's unwavering dedication to unfurling the petals of empowerment, nurturing the blossoming healing potential within each soul.

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Book SynopsisWithin the vast expanse of theological literature, certain luminaries stand as pillars of wisdom, casting their profound influence across the ages. Among them, St. Anselm shines as a celestial beacon, his wisdom captured and unveiled in the eloquent prose of Sidney Norton Deane's masterful work. The Works of St. Anselm is not merely a compilation of ancient texts, but rather a sacred portal to the profound depths of medieval thought. Deane, a consummate explorer of religious philosophy, guides readers on an enchanting journey through the mystical tapestry of St. Anselm's mind. Through the pages of this magnum opus, Deane peels back the veils of time, immersing readers in the sublime musings of a medieval genius. St. Anselm's works, expressed with eloquence and devotion, illuminate the delicate interplay between faith and reason, sparking intellectual fires that still burn bright in the contemporary world. It invites readers to embark on a voyage of intellectual and spiritual exploration, navigating the ethereal realms of faith, reason, and divine contemplation.

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Book SynopsisHis profound stoic wisdom invites readers to explore the depths of their own minds and discover enduring principles for living a life of purpose and fulfilment.

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Book SynopsisBhagavad-gita is a guide to self-realization and spiritual wisdom, spoken by Lord Krishna to Arjuna. It reveals man's nature, environment, and relationship with God, enlightening Arjuna on life's meaning and the path to spiritual enlightenment. Srila Prabhupada's edition presents Krishna's message unchanged, with transformative power.

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Book SynopsisThis anthology of essays presents a sample of studies from recent philosophy of medicine addressing issues which attempt to answer very general (interdependent) questions: (a) what is a disease and what is health? (b) How do we (causally) explain diseases? (c) And how do we distinguish diseases, i.e. define classes of diseases and recognize that an instance X of disease belongs to a given class B? (d) How do we assess and choose cure/ therapy?The book is divided into three sections: classification, disease and evidence. In general, attention is focused on statistics in medicine and epidemiology, issues in psychiatry and connecting medicine with evolutionary biology and genetics. Many authors position the theories that they address within their historical contexts.The nature of health and disease will be addressed in several essays that also touch upon very general questions about the definition of medicine and its status. Several chapters scrutinize classification because of its centrality within philosophical problems raised by medicine and its core position in the philosophical questioning of psychiatry. Specificities of medical explanation have recently come under a new light, particularly because of the rise of statistical methods and several chapters investigate these methods in specific contexts such as epidemiology or meta-analysis of random testing. Taken together this collection addresses the question of how we gather, use and assess evidence for various medical theories.The rich assortment of disciplines featured also includes epidemiology, parasitology and public health, while technical aspects such as the application of game theory to medical research and the misuse of the DSM in forensic psychiatry are also given an airing. The book addresses more than the construction of medical knowledge, however, adding cogent appraisal of the processes of decision making in medicine and the protocols used to justify therapeutic choices.Trade Review“This volume is a collection of philosophy of medicine chapters that deal, in one way or another, with the three linked themes of the title. … The chapters are well-researched and well-written and provide the reader with a useful snapshot of contemporary philosophy of medicine. … this book is a valuable addition to the research literature. ” (Brendan Clarke, Metascience, Vol. 25, 2016)Table of ContentsIntroduction.- Evolutionary Models of Virulence: Concepts, History and Current Applications; Alizon, Sam and Méthot, Pierre Olivier.-Objectivity, Scientificity, and the Dualist Epistemology of Medicine; Cunningham; Thomas.- The Function Debate and the Concept of Mental Disorder; Steeves, Demazeux.- Defining genetic disease; Dekeuwer; Catherine.- Causal and probabilistic inferences in diagnostic reasoning: casting a historical light onto the current debates; Coste, Joël.- Risk factor and causality in epidemiology; Giroux, Elodie.- The naturalization of the concept of disease; Lemoine, Mael.- The Epistemology of Mental Illness; Dominic Murphy.- Power, Knowledge and Laughter: Forensic Psychiatry and the misuse of the DSM; Singy, Patrick.- Quality Assessment Tools for Evidence in Medicine; Stegenga, Jacob.

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Book SynopsisThe humanities include disciplines as diverse as literary theory, linguistics, history, film studies, theology, and philosophy. Do these various fields of study have anything in common that distinguishes them from, say, physics or sociology? The tripartite division between the natural sciences, the social sciences and the humanities may seem self-evident, but it only arose during the course of the 19th century and is still contested today. 'History and Philosophy of the Humanities: An Introduction' presents a reasoned overview of the conceptual and historical backgrounds of the humanities. In four sections, it discusses: - the most influential views on scientific knowledge from Aristotle to Thomas Kuhn; - the birth of the modern humanities and its relation to the natural and social sciences; - the various methodological schools and conceptual issues in the humanities; - several themes that set the agenda for current debates in the humanities: critiques of modernity; gender, sexuality and identity; and postcolonialism. Thus, it provides students in the humanities with a comprehensive understanding of the backgrounds of their own discipline, its relation to other disciplines, and the state of the art of the humanities at large.Trade Review''History and Philosophy of the Humanities: An Introduction' is a book that gives structure and meaning to a rich and vital academic field. It is well-structured, clearly written, and with useful summaries at the end of each chapter. A guiding light for our academic thinking and practice.' - Frits van Oostrom, University Professor, Utrecht University, former president of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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