Philosophy Books

Book SynopsisExploring philosophy through detailed argument analyses of texts by philosophers from Plato to Strawson using a novel and transparent method of analysis.The best way to introduce students to philosophy and philosophical discourse is to have them read and wrestle with original sources. This textbook explores philosophy through detailed argument analyses of texts by philosophers from Plato to Strawson. It presents a novel and transparent method of analysis that will teach students not only how to understand and evaluate philosophers' arguments but also how to construct such arguments themselves. Students will learn to read a text and discover what the philosopher thinks, why the philosopher thinks it, and whether the supporting argument is good.Students learn argument analysis through argument diagrams, with color-coding of the argument's various elements—conclusion, claims, and “indicator phrases.” (An online “mini-course” in argument diagr

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe first English translation of a nonfiction work by Stanisław Lem, which was conceived under the spell of cybernetics in 1957 and updated in 1971.In 1957, Stanisław Lem published Dialogues, a book conceived under the spell of cybernetics, as he wrote in the preface to the second edition. Mimicking the form of Berkeley's Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous, Lem's original dialogue was an attempt to unravel the then-novel field of cybernetics. It was a testimony, Lem wrote later, to the almost limitless cognitive optimism he felt upon his discovery of cybernetics. This is the first English translation of Lem's Dialogues, including the text of the first edition and the later essays added to the second edition in 1971. For the second edition, Lem chose not to revise the original. Recognizing the naivete of his hopes for cybernetics, he constructed a supplement to the first dialogue, which consists of two critical essays, the first a

Read more less

Book SynopsisA philosopher refutes our culturally embedded acceptance of death, arguing instead for the desirability of anti-aging science and radical life extension.  Ingemar Patrick Linden’s central claim is that death is evil. In this first comprehensive refutation of the most common arguments in favor of human mortality, he writes passionately in favor of antiaging science and radical life extension. We may be on the cusp of a new human condition where scientists seek to break through the arbitrarily set age limit of human existence to address aging as an illness that can be cured. The book, however, is not about the science and technology of life extension but whether we should want more life. For Linden, the answer is a loud and clear “yes.”  The acceptance of death is deeply embedded in our culture. Linden examines the views of major philosophical voices of the past, whom he calls “death’s ardent advocates.”

Read more less

Book SynopsisA ground-breaking anthology that places dispositifs (“apparatuses”) at the center of contemporary thought.Dispositif is one of the most prevalent yet elusive terms in contemporary thought. This comprehensive anthology brings together formative, seminal, and contemporary texts and visual applications to illuminate how central dispositifs are to contemporary theory. Greg Bird and Giovanbattista Tusa’s selection and placement of critical texts invite readers to explore common themes and genealogies, different interpretations and readings, and their diverse deployments across multiple disciplines and genres by such figures as Karl Marx, Franz Kafka, Judith Butler, Martin Heidegger, Gilbert Simondon, Michel Foucault, Edward Said, Jasbir Puar, Donna Haraway, Giorgio Agamben, Jacques Derrida, Tiqqun, Claire Fontaine, and many others.Dispositif: A Cartography is a true toolbox for the development of technological ecology thinking that accoun

Read more less

Book SynopsisReclaiming the first century as common ground rather than the origin of deeply entrenched differences: liberating the past to speak to us in another way.Conventional readings of antiquity cast Athens against Jerusalem, with Athens standing in for “reason” and Jerusalem for “faith.” And yet, Susan Buck-Morss reminds us, recent scholarship has overturned this separation. Naming the first century as a zero point—“year one”—that divides time into before and after is equally arbirtrary, nothing more than a convenience that is empirically meaningless. In YEAR 1, Buck-Morss liberates the first century so it can speak to us in another way, reclaiming it as common ground rather than the origin of deeply entrenched differences.Buck-Morss aims to topple various conceptual givens that have shaped modernity as an episteme and led us into some unhelpful postmodern impasses. She approaches the first century through the writ

Read more less

Book SynopsisHaving outlined a theory of bullshit and falsehood, Harry G. Frankfurt turns to what lies beyond them: the truth, a concept not as obvious as some might expect.Our culture's devotion to bullshit may seem much stronger than our apparently halfhearted attachment to truth. Some people (professional thinkers) won't even acknowledge 'true' and 'false' as meaningful categories, and even those who claim to love truth cause the rest of us to wonder whether they, too, aren't simply full of it. Practically speaking, many of us deploy the truth only when absolutely necessary, often finding alternatives to be more saleable, and yet somehow civilization seems to be muddling along. But where are we headed? Is our fast and easy way with the facts actually crippling us? Or is it 'all good'? Really, what's the use of truth, anyway?With the same leavening wit and commonsense wisdom that animates his pathbreaking work On Bullshit, Frankfurt encourages us to take another look at the truth:

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe News: A User’s Manual is an insightful analysis of the impact of the incessant news machine on us and our culture.   The news is everywhere. We can’t stop constantly checking it on our computer screens, but what is this doing to our minds? We are never taught how to make sense of the torrent of news we face daily, which has a huge influence on our sense of what matters and of how we should lead our lives. Alain de Botton takes twenty-five archetypal news stories—including an airplane crash, a murder, a celebrity interview, and a political scandal—and submits them to intense analysis. Why are disaster stories often so uplifting? Why do we enjoy watching politicians being brought down? Why are upheavals in far-off lands often so boring? What makes the love lives of celebrities so interesting? De Botton has written the ultimate guide for our frenzied era, designed to bring calm, understanding, and a measure of sanity to a news-obses

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisOne of The New York Times''s 100 Notable Books of 2024One of the Washington Post''s 50 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024Longlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award for BiographyNamed a best book of 2024 by The New Yorker Vulture Los Angeles Review of Books Foreign Affairs The New RepublicLonglisted for the 2024 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction ?Nimble and engrossing . . . [An] exemplary work of public intellectualism.? ?Becca Rothfeld, The Washington PostUndoubtedly the best [biography of Fanon] . . . A remarkable achievement. ?Robert J. C. Young, Los Angeles Review of BooksA revelatory biography of the writer-activist who inspired today?s movements for social and racial justice.In the era of Black Lives Matter, Frantz Fanon?s shadow looms larger than ever. He was the intellectual activist of the postcolonial era, and his writings about race, revolution, and the psychology of power continue to shape radical movements across the world. In this searching biography, Adam Shatz tells the story of Fanon?s stunning journey, which has all the twists of a Cold War?era thriller. Fanon left his modest home in Martinique to fight in the French Army during World War II; when the war was over, he fell under the influence of Existentialism while studying medicine in Lyon and trying to make sense of his experiences as a Black man in a white city. Fanon went on to practice a novel psychiatry of ?dis-alienation? in rural France and Algeria, and then join the Algerian independence struggle, where he became a spokesman, diplomat, and clandestine strategist. He died in 1961, while under the care of the CIA in a Maryland hospital. Today, Fanon?s Black Skin, White Masks and The Wretched of the Earth have become canonical texts of the Black and global radical imagination, comparable to James Baldwin?s essays in their influence. And yet they are little understood. In The Rebel?s Clinic, Shatz offers a dramatic reconstruction of Fanon?s extraordinary life?and a guide to the books that underlie today?s most vital efforts to challenge white supremacy and racial capitalism.Includes 8 pages of black-and-white photographs

Read more less

Book SynopsisNATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek and one of the most compelling writers of our time comes a beautifully written and delightfully strange (Daily News) narrative that renews our ability to discover wonder in life's smallest—and often darkest—corners.For the Time Being is Annie Dillard's most profound narrative to date. With her keen eye, penchant for paradox, and yearning for truth, Dillard asks: Why do we exist? Where did we come from? How can one person matter? Dillard searches for answers in a powerful array of images: pictures of bird-headed dwarfs in the standard reference of human birth defects; ten thousand terra-cotta figures fashioned for a Chinese emperor in place of the human court that might have followed him into death; the paleontologist and theologian Teilhard de Chardin crossing the Gobi Desert; the dizzying variety of clouds. Vivid, eloquent, hauntin

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisMental Traps is André Kukla’s immensely enjoyable and down-to-earth catalogue of the everyday blunders we make in our thinking habits, how these traps can affect our entire lives, and what we can do about it.Ever find yourself putting off even relatively minor tasks because of the many other little jobs that you’d have to tackle first? Or spending far too much time worrying about things you can’t change? Or living for the future, not for today? Truth is, we all do — and we all recognize that sometimes our ways of thinking just aren’t productive. When it comes to our daily lives, we often laugh off habits like procrastination as being human nature and just resolve to approach things differently next time. Or, when the issues facing us are enormous or traumatic, we might recognize that we’re dwelling on our problems, or otherwise spending our time on fruitless thinking, but have no idea how to get out of that miserable rut. Either w

Read more less

Book Synopsis"Astute and consistently surprising critic" (NPR) Olivia Laing investigates the body and its discontents through the great freedom movements of the twentieth century.Trade Review"A quintessential book for the precarious moment we’ve found ourselves in... [M]ultilayered and masterfully structured... Everybody should be required reading for anyone who cares about not just where we are now, but the future." -- Michele Filgate - Washington Post"Revelatory... Dreaming beyond conventional wisdom and restrictive visions, Laing emboldens us to seek liberation across difference in the face of turmoil. Everybody is a galvanizing book during a time of incredible hesitation." -- Lauren LeBlanc - Boston Globe" A fleet, gracious tour of bodily distress and joy... Laing writes in great looping sentences, both precise and evocative." -- Annalisa Quinn - NPR"Daring and complicated... The method of Everybody [is] framed as an extended conversation between the author and her sources, in which De Sade blurs into Reich, who blurs into Sontag, and back again. The key to all this movement is that it also invites us to participate in the conversation" -- David L. Ulin - Los Angeles Times"A beautiful, strange and sprawling meditation on the relationship between the body and freedom." -- Sophie McBain - New Statesman"We are lucky to be living in the time of Olivia Laing... [T]o spend time with Laing as she works through a topic, finding the unlikeliest of connective ideas wherever she looks, is to come away with a view of the world that—if not exactly clearer—is strange and rich and profound." -- Jonny Diamond - Literary Hub"This is an astonishing project, written with equal parts stirring passion and capable intellect. Laing puts into words experiences I had never before seen in print, and the world is better for it. I love this book." -- Esmé Weijun Wang, author of The Collected Schizophrenias"Everybody is a riveting and fascinating innovative historiography of twentieth century Euro-American radical thought…Brainy, open-hearted, and bold." -- Sarah Schulman, author of Let the Record Show"Laing's finely crafted blend of incisive memoir and biography vitalize this unique chronicle of the endless struggle 'to be free of oppression based on the kind of body' one inhabits, a work of fresh and dynamic analysis and revelation." -- Booklist (starred review)"Laing creates a penetrating examination of the political and cultural meanings ascribed to bodies as well as the relationships of bodies to power and freedom... Intellectually vigorous and emotionally stirring." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"Impassioned and provocative... This lucid foray into some of life's deepest questions astonishes." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)"[Laing] masterfully shares stories of fascinating artists and historical figures... Her net, in short, is breathtakingly, ambitiously wide... Everybody is a nonpareil study that delights the intellect." -- BookPage"A freewheeling and joyful exploration of the works and lives of a range of artists and thinkers who brought libidinal and creative energy together with spectacular results. Laing’s particular gift lies in her unique ability to line up unlikely juxtapositions—of artists, ideas, and works—and then draw clear and illuminating insights from such constellations. What her earlier work did for loneliness, this book does for liberation" -- Jack Halberstam, author of Gaga Feminism"Reading Everybody felt like hanging out with my absolute smartest friend having, somehow, the precise conversation I need to have in this historical moment. Olivia Laing’s mind is a thrill to watch, and the connections she draws between the body, sex, art, and freedom made the world around me buzz with new depth and possibility, connections revealed and illuminated. Rare is the book that makes you feel more alive just in reading it, but Everybody does just that." -- Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, author of The Fact of a Body"A provocative inquiry into the body’s power and vulnerability, Everybody combines deep research, historical gossip, unsung queer lives, and deliciously readable prose. Laing reckons with her own gender and embodiment alongside major and minor theorists, artists, and activists, casting fresh light on the unending struggles for freedom and autonomy" -- Jenn Shapland, author of National Book Award finalist My Autobiography of Carson McCullers"Laing’s Everybody animates flesh with the incandescent force of histories both individual and collective. Through her incisive lens, the body—that knot of mind, matter, culture, and society that we dwell inescapably within—becomes almost impossibly fascinating." -- Alexandra Kleeman, author of You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis collection of forty-four readings enables students to hone their reasoning skills by engaging fully developed arguments from across the disciplines.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA history of sexuality runs the risk of confirming popular fears that academics are capable of ruining even the most simple of pleasures. This book, however, is written in the hope that histories of sexuality (although not necessarily this one) can enlighten and, occasionally, even delight. At their best such histories offer a means of investigating the clash of instinct and culture how seemingly timeless and natural behaviours shape and are in turn shaped by history. Sexual practices may persist through time but history also illuminates how sex and sexuality are surprisingly mutable. This capacity of history to unsettle and surprise is evident in many of the works discussed here. In less than 40 years the history of sexuality, as a definable area of scholarly enterprise, has grown from a few works describing past attitudes and behaviours into an enormously rich field that sustains its own journal, a number of monograph series and countless seminars, conferences, articles and books. MTable of ContentsPreface 1. Writing Sexual History 2. Rule of the Phallus 3. Sexual Austerity 4. Christian Friendships 5. Making Heterosexuality 6. Victorianism 7. Dominance and Desire 8. Feminism and Friendship 9. Imagining Perversion 10. Normalising Sexuality 11. Sexual Revolution Epilogue

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisMillikan and Her Critics offers a unique critical discussion of Ruth Millikan's highly regarded, influential, and systematic contributions to philosophy of mind and language, philosophy of biology, epistemology, and metaphysics.Trade Review"Anyone interested in Ruth Millikan's work should warmly welcome the publication of this engaging and thought-provoking book . . . Indeed, perhaps the most important common idea shared by all essays is that, after so many years, Millikan's views are still alive because they are extremely useful tools for thinking and addressing philosophical problems." (Mind, 1 April 2015) "Millikan will be one of our most enduring contemporary philosophers. This book offers an invaluable perspective on critical alternatives to her theories, and in the process not only clarifies her place in many contemporary debates, but also clarifies some of the more challenging aspects of her work." (Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, 24 October 2013) "There is a nice balance between sympathetic and skeptical commentators; and the discussion is constructive and illuminating throughout. The editors have provided an excellent introduction, which offers a lucid and elegant summary of Millikan's views, as well as highlighting the main points of discussion in the book. Moreover, Millikan's replies are extremely helpful in clarifying some of the stickier points in her earlier writings.... Taken together, the essays collected here offer an intensive and illuminating exploration of Millikan's views. The result is an excellent addition to the literature on metaphysics and on the philosophy of mind and language." (Biology and Philosophy, 28 January 2014)Table of ContentsNotes on Contributors vii Foreword ixDaniel C. Dennett A Millikan Bibliography xiii Introduction 1Dan Ryder, Justine Kingsbury, and Kenneth Williford 1 Toward an Informational Teleosemantics 21Karen Neander Reply to Neander, by Ruth Millikan 2 Signals, Icons, and Beliefs 41Peter Godfrey-Smith Reply to Godfrey-Smith, by Ruth Millikan 3 Millikan’s Isomorphism Requirement 63Nicholas Shea Reply to Shea, by Ruth Millikan 4 Millikan on Honeybee Navigation and Communication 87Michael Rescorla Reply to Rescorla, by Ruth Millikan 5 Concepts: Useful for Thinking 107Louise Antony Reply to Antony, by Ruth Millikan 6 Properties Over Substance 123Richard Fumerton Reply to Fumerton, by Ruth Millikan 7 Millikan’s Historical Kinds 135Mohan Matthen Reply to Matthen, by Ruth Millikan 8 Millikan, Realism, and Sameness 155Crawford L. Elder Reply to Elder, by Ruth Millikan 9 Craning the Ultimate Skyhook: Millikan on the Law of Noncontradiction 176Charles Nussbaum Reply to Nussbaum, by Ruth Millikan 10 Are Millikan’s Concepts Inside-Out? 198Jesse Prinz Reply to Prinz, by Ruth Millikan 11 The Epistemology of Meaning 221Cynthia Macdonald and Graham Macdonald Reply to Macdonalds, by Ruth Millikan 12 Weasels and the A Priori 241David Braddon-Mitchell Reply to Braddon-Mitchell, by Ruth Millikan 13 All in the Family 259Willem A. deVries Reply to deVries, by Ruth Millikan Afterword 281Ruth Millikan References 282 Index 292

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisTable of ContentsAcknowledgments vi 1 Nozick’s Introduction and Preface 1 2 Ethical Bearings 9 3 The Experience Machine 40 4 Why State of Nature Theory? 54 5 The Invisible Hand and the Justification of the State 70 6 Risk, Fear, and Procedural Rights 85 7 Has the Dominant Protective Association Become a State? 125 8 Distributive Justice 154 9 The Search for Utopia 200 Index 000

Read more less

Book SynopsisRobert B. Reich makes a powerful case for the expansion of America’s moral imagination. Rooting his argument in common sense and everyday reality, he demonstrates that a common good constitutes the very essence of any society or nation. Societies, he says, undergo virtuous cycles that reinforce the common good as well as vicious cycles that undermine it, one of which America has been experiencing for the past five decades. This process can and must be reversed. But first we need to weigh the moral obligations of citizenship and carefully consider how we relate to honor, shame, patriotism, truth, and the meaning of leadership. Powerful, urgent, and utterly vital, this is a heartfelt missive from one of our foremost political thinkers.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisA bold manifesto arguing that the most complex challenges we face today—as individuals, businesses, and a society—require us to ask deeper questions, not seek easier answers “With this beautifully written book, Seth Goldenberg awakens the gifts we all possess: wonder, optimism, and the fearlessness to reverse destruction.”—Bruce Vaughn, vice president of experiential creative product, AirbnbIn a world with an endless hunger for innovation, why is it so hard to create audacious change? According to thought leader Seth Goldenberg, the answer to this question stems from how we, as a society, view questions themselves. In Radical Curiosity, Goldenberg argues that because we value knowing above learning and prioritize doing over thinking, curiosity has become an endangered species. Only by rediscovering the power of questions can we hope to rewrite the commonly held “legacy” narratives that no l

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis carefully selected set of readings presents some of the most important articles in the field. The collection is essential reading for anyone with an interest in legal philosophy. Gathers together some of the most important articles in the field of philosophy of law and legal theory. Complements Dennis Patterson''s A Companion to Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory (Blackwell, 1999). Represents essential reading for the beginning law student. Trade Review‘Patterson collects fifteen of the classic articles in legal theory and presents them whole. The book provides an excellent introduction to several of the major topics making it useful both as a student text and as a sourcebook for academics and non-academics alike.’ Larry Alexander, University of San Diego School of Law ‘A wonderful selection from the classics in legal theory. It should prove an excellent and invaluable text for classroom use.’ Brian Bix, University of Minnesota, author of Jurisprudence: Theory and Context ‘Dennis Patterson has produced a fine anthology, one that will be particularly useful for those interested in learning about recent debates in analytic jurisprudence.’ Jeremy Waldron, Columbia Law SchoolTable of ContentsAcknowledgments. Introduction. PART I. NATURE OF LAW. 1. The Path of the Law (O.W. Holmes). 2. A Realistic Jurisprudence - The Next Step (Karl Llewellyn). 3. The Model of Rules (Ronald Dworkin). PART II. RELATION OF LAW AND MORALITY. 4. Positivism and the Separation of Law and Morals (H.L.A. Hart). 5. Positivism and Fidelity to Law: A Reply to Professor Hart (Lon L. Fuller). 6. Negative and Positive Positivism (Jules L. Coleman). 7. On the Incoherence of Legal Positivism (john Finnis). PART III. THEORIES OF ADJUDICATION. 8. Hard Cases (Ronald Dworkin). 9. What has Pragmatism to Offer Law (Richard A. Posner). PART IV. LEGAL INDETERMINACY. 10. Form and Substance in Private Law Adjudication (Duncan Kennedy). 11. Legal Indeterminacy (Ken Kress). PART V. RIGHTS AND OTHER LEGAL CONCEPTS. 12. Some Fundamental Legal Conceptions as Applied in Judicial Reasoning (Wesley N. Hohfeld). PART VI. THE AUTONOMY OF LAW AND LEGAL REASONING. 13. Legal Formalism: On the Immanent Rationality of Law (Ernest F. Weinrib). 14. Law as Interpretation (Ronald Dworkin). 15. The Problem of Social Cost (Ronald H. Coase). Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisConnectionism and the Mind provides a clear and balanced introduction to connectionist networks and explores theoretical and philosophical implications. Much of this discussion from the first edition has been updated, and three new chapters have been added on the relation of connectionism to recent work on dynamical systems theory, artificial life, and cognitive neuroscience. Read two of the sample chapters on line: Connectionism and the Dynamical Approach to Cognition: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/pdf/bechtel.pdf Networks, Robots, and Artificial Life: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/pdf/bechtel2.pdfTrade Review"Much more than just an update, this is a thorough and exciting re-build of the classic text. Excellent new treatments of modularity, dynamics, artificial life, and cognitive neuroscience locate connectionism at the very heart of contemporary debates. A superb combination of detail, clarity, scope, and enthusiasm." Andy Clark, University of Sussex "Connectionism and the Mind is an extraordinarily comprehensive and thoughtful review of connectionism, with particular emphasis on recent developments. This new edition will be a valuable primer to those new to the field. But there is more: Bechtel and Abrahamsen's trenchant and even-handed analysis of the conceptual issues that are addressed by connectionist models constitute an important original theoretical contribution to cognitive science." Jeff Elman, University of California at San DiegoTable of ContentsPreface. 1. Networks versus Symbol Systems: Two Approaches to Modeling Cognition:. A Revolution in the Making?. Forerunners of Connectionism: Pandemonium and Perceptrons. The Allure of Symbol Manipulation. The Disappearance and Re-emergence of Network Models. New Alliances and Unfinished Business. Notes. Sources and Suggested Readings. 2. Connectionist Architectures:. The Flavor of Connectionist Processing: A Simulation of Memory Retrieval. The Design Features of a Connectionist Architecture. The Allure of the Connectionist Approach. Challenges Facing Connectionist Networks. Summary. Notes. Sources and Suggested Readings. 3. Learning:. Traditional and Contemporary Approaches to Learning. Connectionist Models of Learning. Some Issues Regarding Learning. Notes. Sources and Suggested Readings. 4. Pattern Recognition and Cognition:. Networks as Pattern Recognition Devices. Extending Pattern Recognition to Higher Cognition. Logical Inference as Pattern Recognition. Beyond Pattern Recognition. Notes. Sources and Suggested Readings. 5. Are Rules Required to Process Representations?:. Is Language Use Governed by Rules?. Rumelhart and McClelland's Model of Past-Tense Acquisition. Pinker and Prince's Arguments for Rules. Accounting for the U-Shaped Learning Function. Conclusion. Notes. Sources and Suggested Readings. 6. Are Syntactically Structured Representations Needed?:. Fodor and Pylyshyn's Critique: The Need for Symbolic Representations with Constituent Structure. First Connectionist Response: Explicitly Implementing Rules and Representations. Second Connectionist Response: Implementing Functionally Compositional Representations. Third Connectionist Response: Employing Procedural Knowledge with External Symbols. Using External Symbols to Provide Exact Symbol Processing. Clarifying the Standard: Systematicity and Degree of Generalizability. Conclusion. Notes. Sources and Suggested Readings. 7. Simulating Higher Cognition: A Modular Architecture for Processing Scripts:. Overview of Scripts. Overview of Miikkulainen's DISCERN System. Modular Connectionist Architectures. FGREP: An Architecture that Allows the System to Devise Its Own Representations. A Self-organizing Lexicon using Kohonen Feature Maps. Encoding and Decoding Stories as Scripts. A Connectionist Episodic Memory. Performance: Paraphrasing Stories and Answering Questions. Evaluating DISCERN. Paths Beyond the First Decade of Connectionism. Notes. Sources and Suggested Readings. 8. Connectionism and the Dynamical Approach to Cognition:. Are We on the Road to a Dynamical Revolution?. Basic Concepts of DST: The Geometry of Change. Using Dynamical Systems Tools to Analyze Networks. Putting Chaos to Work in Networks. Is Dynamicism a Competitor to Connectionism?. Is Dynamicism Complementary to Connectionism?. Conclusion. Notes. Sources and Suggested Readings. 9. Networks, Robots, and Artificial Life:. Robots and the Genetic Algorithm. Cellular Automata and the Synthetic Strategy. Evolution and Learning in Food-seekers. Evolution and Development in Khepera. The Computational Neuroethology of Robots. When Philosophers Encounter Robots. Conclusion. Sources and Suggested Readings. 10. Connectionism and the Brain:. Connectionism Meets Cognitive Neuroscience. Four Connectionist Models of Brain Processes. The Neural Implausibility of Many Connectionist Models. Wither Connectionism?. Notes. Sources and Suggested Readings. Appendix A: Notation. Appendix B: Glossary. Bibliography. Name Index. Subject Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisExplores the central problems and the most intriguing new directions in the philosophy of mathematics. The papers are organized thematically, rather than chronologically, to give the best overview of philosophical issues connected with mathematics and the development of mathematical knowledge.Trade Review"For breadth of coverage, Jacquette's anthology of recent work in philosophy of mathematics has few if any rivals. Many of Jacquette's selections are important for understanding current debates, and he provides helpful introductory discussions. This collection will very likely become a standard resource for students and teachers of this field." Sanford Shieh, Wesleyan University Table of ContentsPreface. Acknowledgments. Introduction: Mathematics and Philosophy of Mathematics: Dale Jacquette. Part I: The Realm of Mathematics:. 1. What is Mathematics About?: Michael Dummett. 2. Mathematical Explanation: Mark Steiner. 3. Frege versus Cantor and Dedekind: On the Concept of Number: William W. Tait. 4. The Present Situation in Philosophy of Mathematics: Henry Mehlberg. Part II: Ontology of Mathematics and the Nature and Knowledge of Mathematical Truth:. 5. What Numbers Are: N.P. White. 6. Mathematical Truth: Paul Benacerraf. 7. Ontology and Mathematical Truth: Michael Jubien. 8. An Anti-Realist Account of Mathematical Truth: Graham Priest. 9. What Mathematical Knowledge Could Be: Jerrold J. Katz. 10. The Philosophical Basis of our Knowledge of Number: William Demonpoulos. Part III: Models and Methods of Mathematical Proof:. 11. Mathematical Proof: G.H. Hardy. 12. What Does a Mathematical Proof Prove?: Imre Lakatos. 13. The Four-Color Problem: Kenneth Appel and Wolfgang Haken. 14. Knowledge of Proofs: Peter Pagin. 15. The Phenomenology of Mathematical Proof: Gian-Carlo Rota. 16. Mechanical Procedures and Mathematical Experience: Wilfried Sieg. Part IV: Intuitionism:. 17. Intuitionism and Formalism: L.E.J. Brouwer. 18. Mathematical Intuition: Charles Parsons. 19. Brouwerian Intuitionism: Michael Detlefsen. 20. A Problem for Intuitionism: The Apparent Possibility of Performing Infinitely Many Tasks in a Finite Time: A.W. Moore. 21. A Pragmatic Analysis of Mathematical Realism and Intuitionism: Michel J. Blais. Part V: Philosophical Foundations of Set Theory:. 22. Sets and Numbers: Penelope Maddy. 23. Sets, Aggregates, and Numbers: Palle Yourgrau. 24. The Approaches to Set Theory: John Lake. 25. Where Do Sets Come From? Harold T. Hodes. 26. Conceptual Schemes in Set Theory: Robert McNaughton. 27. What is Required of a Foundation for Mathematics? John Mayberry. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThese interdisciplinary essays explore the notion of community in its many theoretical, practical and cultural manifestations. It examines the nature of community, the relation of individual and group identity to community norms and values and the possibilities for cross-cultural understanding.Trade Review"A rich and wonderfully varied collection. These compelling essays – fine examples of clear, politically engaged theorizing – explore many dimensions of community and communal change. Further, the authors challenge themselves and their readers to imagine concrete actions and policies that might turn their visions of truly diverse communities into reality." Martha Ackelsberg, Smith College "This significant and original collection of essays enables scholars from a wide range of disciplines to explore a set of vexed yet centrally important questions about the meanings of community. Alperson has edited an impressively coherent volume whose authors refuse facile formulations, and instead develop insightful and often profound analyses of the ideals and realities of community. This is a must-read book." Judith Gerson, Rutgers UniversityTable of ContentsList of Contributors. Preface. Introduction: Diversity and Community: Philip Alperson (Temple University). Part I: Community and Its Contestations:. 1. Communities and Community: Critique and Retrieval: Jean Bethke Elsthain (University of Chicago) and Christopher Beem (Johnson Foundation). 2. Community at the Margin: Crispin Sartwell (Maryland Institute College of Art). 3. Impure Communities: Maria Lugones (SUNY-Binghampton). 4. Identities: The Dynamical Dimensions of Diversity: Chuck Dyke (Temple University) and Carl Dyke (Methodist College). 5. From Village to Global Contexts: Ideas, Types, and the Making of Communities: D. A. Masolo (University of Louisville). 6. Obligation Across Generations: A Consideration in the Understanding of Community Formation: Lewis R. Gordon (Brown University). Part II: Community, Constitutive Identities, and Resisting Subjects:. 7. Citizenship or Transgression?: Dilemmas of the US Movement for Lesbian/Gay Rights: Arlene Stein (Rutgers University). 8. Diversity, Inequality, and Community: African Americans and People of Color in the United States: J. Blaine Hudson (University of Louisville). 9. Renewing American Indian Nations: Cosmic Communities and Spiritual Autonomy: Duane Champagne (University of California at Los Angeles). 10. Nations and Nationalism: The Case of Canada/Quebec: Frank Cunningham (University of Toronto). 11. Love, Care, and Women’s Dignity: The Family as a Privileged Community: Martha Nussbaum (University of Chicago). 12. Community and Society, Melancholy and Sociopathy: Osborne Wiggins (University of Louisville) and Michael A. Schwartz (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine). Part III: Community, Culture, and Education:. 13. The Role of Art in Sustaining Communities: Marcia Muelder Eaton (University of Minnesota). 14. Images of Community in American Popular Culture: Eileen John (University of Louisville) and Nancy Potter (University of Louisville). 15. Virtual Communities: Chinatowns Made in America: Gary Y. Okihiro (Columbia University). 16. Villages, Local and Global: Observations on Computer-Mediated and Geographically Situated Communities: Samuel Oluoch Imbo (Hamline University). 17. The University as a Universe of Communities: Mary Hawkesworth (Rutgers University). Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisExternalism, Naturalism, Mathematics, Ontology, Personal Identity, Time and Tense, The Metaphysics of Reference, The Metaphysics of Properties, Conceivability, The Physical, and Theoretical Identity, and Actualism- these are some of the central issues addressed in the essays of this fifteenth volume devoted to metaphysics. Essays discussing metaphysics from some of the foremost academics in philosophy. Topics include Ontology, Personal Identity, the metaphysics of reference, and the metaphysics of properties. Table of ContentsPart I: The Ninth PhilosophicalPerspectives Lecture:. 1. Thinking about Things: Michael Jubien. Part II: Externalism, Naturalism, Nominalism, and Mathematics:. 2. The Case for Phenomenal Externalism: Willaim G. Lycan. 3. Naturalism: Friends and Foes: Penelope Maddy. 4. Nominalism, Naturalism, Epistemic Relativism: Gideon Rosen. 5. The Limits of Human Mathematics: Nathan Salmon. Part III: Ontology:. 6. Touching: Hud Hudson. 7. How to Be an Eleatic Monist: Michael C. Rea. 8. Against Creationism in Fiction: Takashi Yagisawa. Part IV: Personal Identity:. 9. Realism About Personal Identity Over Time: Trenton Merricks. 10. Criteria of Personal Identity and the Limits of Conceptual Analysis: Theodore Sider. Part V: Time and Tense:. 11. Metaphysical Austerity and the Problems of Temporal and Modal Anaphora: Peter Ludlow. 12. McTaggart on Time: Judith Jarvis Thomson. Part VI: The Metaphysics of Reference:. 13. Russellianism and Explanation: David Braun. 14. Day Designations: Jeffrey C. King. 15. Fregean Senses, Modes of Presentation, and Concepts: Edward N. Zalta. Part VII: The Metaphysics of Properties:. 16. Causal Structuralism: John HawtHorne. Part VIII: Conceivability, the Physical, and Theoretical Identity:. 17. On Theoretical Identifications: G. W. Fitch. 18. The Conceivability Argument and Two Conceptions of the Physical: Daniel Stoljar. Part IX: Actualism: an Exchange:. 19. Sustaining Actualism: Michael Devitt. 20. How Not to Be an Actualist: James E. Tomberline.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade ReviewStreams of scholarship flow together in Campagna-Pinto’s insightful and well-argued book: the reach of American philosophy beyond the classic pragmatists, and the significance of American religious traditions for shaping trunk lines of American thought and culture. For this enterprise, the author has well-chosen examples in Jonathan Edwards and William James, two prime intellectual engines of the American “quest or experiment,” as Campagna-Pinto puts it. Edwards and James shared an enriched empiricism, “stereoscopic” in its attention to the worlds of the heart and mind. And this book is comprehensive: it can appeal to students of religious studies, philosophy, and intellectual history; moreover, its careful reading of disparate topics, including rhetoric, suicide, art, the elusiveness of intimacy, and democracy suggests its ability to contribute to a variety of fields -- Paul Croce, Stetson University, former President of the William James SocietyIn The Workshop of Being, Campagna-Pinto brings together the two biggest intellectuals in American history—the Calvinist Christian Jonathan Edwards and the post-Christian liberal William James—and gets them singing in harmony. Campagna-Pinto's penetrating readings of both thinkers moves beyond the labels that divide their legacies and into a realm of 'heart religion,' where earnest examination of personal experience and social relations brings Edwards and James together in the pursuit of 'strenuous democracy.' -- Amy Kittelstrom, Sonoma State UniversityWorkshop of Being provides a searching, deeply conceived, and entirely compelling examination of the religious thought of Edwards and James, one that also sheds important new light on the origins and development of the tradition of American pragmatism. Through a series of penetratingly exact readings, Campagna-Pinto elucidates an abiding concern shared by these two thinkers with the affective ground of speculative thought, while at the same time showcasing the manifest complexity and originality of each body of work. In doing so, he shows how the apparently disparate intellectual projects of these two major American thinkers converge in counseling theologians and philosophers alike to think with the "heart" not only the head. -- Alan Hodder, Hapshire CollegeTable of ContentsList of Abbreviations Acknowledgments Chapter 1: The Sacred Trace Chapter 2: A New Reach of Freedom Chapter 3: Heart Religion and the Pragmatist Imagination Chapter 4: The Art of Expansiveness Chapter 5: Strenuous Democracy and the Workshop of Being Notes Bibliography About the Author

Read more less

Book Synopsis1. A study of old age by one of Italya s oldest and wisest philosophers. 2. Bobbio writes on old age as a social and personal problem. He re--assess ideas of history and progress from the perspective of an old man. 3. This is a beautifully written book that combines philosophical enquiry and personal reflection.Table of ContentsPublisher's Note. Old Age. Part I. Disgruntled Old Age. Where is All This Supposed Wisdom?. Rhetoric and Anti-Rhetoric. The World of Memory. Part II. I am Still Here. After Death. Slow Motion. Lost Opportunities. Other Essays. To Myself. Intellectual Autobiography. Reflections of an Octogenarian. Reply to My Critics. Power and the Law. Taking Stock. The Politics of Culture. Appendix. Notes on the Text. Notes. Index.

Read more less

Book Synopsis1. A new collection of philosophical essays by one of the worlda s leading social and political thinkers. 2. Explores the work of important figures in twentieth--century philosophy and theology, such as Karl Jaspers and Gerschom Scholem 3. An invaluable resource for students and scholars of contemporary philosophy and theology.Trade ReviewJürgen Habermas has been awarded the prestigious 'Friedenspreis des deutschen Buchhandels' prize for 2001 'The Liberating Power of Symbols carries on from where Habermas's previous foray into modern European thought, The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity, left off. If the latter offered a trenchant critique of post-structuralism, the former concentrates on promising departures for contemporary philosophy ... These new books by Habermas will be indispensable for years to come [and will] undoubtedly make provocative reading.' Anthony Elliott, The Australian 'This book is a must read for students interested in the power of symbols and how these can serve as mechanisms of suppression and emancipation. This is also a good book for those interested in the development of Habermas' ideas, as many of the essays and lectures illustrate how he builds and validates his arguments.' MillenniumTable of ContentsPreface. Chapter 1: The Liberating Power of Symbols: Ernst Cassirer's Humanistic Legacy and the Warburg Library. Chapter 2: The Clash of Beliefs: Karl Jaspers on the Conflict Between Cultures. Chapter 3: Between Traditions: A Laudatio for Georg Henrik von Wright. Chapter 4: Tracing in History the Other of History: On Gershom Scholem's Sabbatai Zwi. Chapter 5: A Master Builder with Hermeneutic Tact: Karl-Otto Apel's Path of Thought. Chapter 6: Israel or Athens: To Whom does Anamnetic Reason Belong? Johann Baptist Metz on Unity Amidst Multicultural Plurality. Chapter 7: Communicative Freedom and Negative Theology: Questions for Michael Theunissen. Chapter 8: The Useful Mole who Ruins the Beautiful Lawn: The Lessing Prize for Alexander Kluge. Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book provides both a clear exposition and an original critique of Butlers work. It examines her core ideas, traces the development of her thought from her first book to her most recent work, assessing Butlers engagement with other key philosophies, as well as addressing the nature and impact of Butlers writing on feminist theory.Trade Review"An original and engaging overview of Butler's body of work." Australian Journal of Political Science "For students and faculty struggling to understand Judith Butler, I strongly recommend this book. Lloyd proves to be a reliable guide who is not afraid to engage critically with Butler’s gender theory and politics." Steven Seidman, University at Albany, State University of New York "Moya Lloyd’s careful reading of the work of Judith Butler is a gift of scholarly generosity. With insight and precision, Lloyd sets out the themes, questions and contexts driving Butler’s philosophy. This important book will benefit beginning and advanced readers of Butler as it traces the deep connections between the body, language, ethics and politics extending throughout her thought." Jodi Dean, Hobart and William Smith CollegesTable of ContentsAbbreviations x Acknowledgements xii 1 Introduction 1 Feminism, identity and difference 4 From homosexual to gay and lesbian to queer 7 The influence of poststructuralism 10 Hegel and desiring subjects 13 Postscript 23 2 Rethinking Sex and Gender 25 The trouble with women 25 Feminism and the sex/gender debate 28 Denaturalizing sex and gender 30 Cultural intelligibility – contesting heteronormativity 33 From phenomenology to performativity 36 Performing gender 42 Women in/and feminism 44 Conclusion 46 3 Towards a Subversive Gender Politics 49 From parody to politics 50 Subversive gender politics 51 Performativity and subversion 54 Free will versus determinism 57 Enter iterability 61 The ambivalence of drag 66 The matter of bodies 68 Politicizing abjection – making bodies matter 74 Conclusion 76 4 Psychoanalysis and the Gendered Subject 78 Gender Trouble and psychoanalysis 79 Rubin and 'The Traffic in Women' 80 Freud and Oedipus 82 Melancholic gender identifi cations 83 Melancholia and performativity 85 Lacan and Oedipus 88 Assuming sex 89 Locating resistance 91 Kinship matters 93 Psychic subjectivity 97 Passionate attachment and primary dependency 99 Resisting Butler 102 Conclusion 105 5 'Talking Back' – Resignifi cation and Politics 107 Words that Wound 108 The force of the performative 110 Opposing sovereign performatives 113 A linguistic account of subjectivity 115 Linguistic subjectivity and responsibility 118 Revisiting agency – politics and resignifi cation 120 Against the state 126 Conclusion 133 6 What Makes for a Liveable Life? 134 Normative violence and questions of liveability 135 Corporeal vulnerability 138 Mourning and grief 141 Questions of recognition 143 What's wrong with 'desiring the state's desire'? 146 The politics of radical democracy 14 Cultural translation 150 Conclusion 154 Notes 157 Bibliography 182 Index 197

Read more less

Book SynopsisMax Weber famously argued that the rise of capitalism in early modern Europe was premised on the emergence of a distinctive set of attitudes - including the pursuit of profit for its own sake - which he called the spirit of capitalism .Trade Review"Capitalism has lost its spirit, not to mention its mind: destroying the desire it claims to channel, incapable of establishing any value beyond narrow calculation, it now needs saving from itself. Revisiting (and revising) Freud and Marcuse, proposing a ‘libidinal ecology’ to help us avoid the disaster ahead, Stiegler might just be the man for the job." Martin Crowley, Queens’ College, University of Cambridge "Stiegler asks not how hyperindustrial capital can be reissted today but whether capitalism can be saved from itself and the Pandora's box of dead-end futures that it now generates, from zombie cultures of mass consumerism to the devastation of the biosphere. His bold response is to call for and lay out a new 'libidinal ecology', a project that will become a key reference point for anyone concerned with the central transformative questions of our time." Tom Cohen, State University of New York at AlbanyTable of ContentsIntroduction I. Sociopathology of 1968 1. The paradox of the super-ego in the transformations of capitalism 2. The question of spirit is that of the we 3. Knowledge and the super-ego: towards a new spirit of capitalism 4. Technicity, hostility to civilization, and the intermittency of noetic action 5. The crisis of capitalism as ‘ideological disarray’ and as crisis of spirit after May 1968 6. ‘Artistic critique’ and ‘social critique’, or the jargon of authenticity 7. The recuperation of the ‘ideas of ’68’ by French capitalism and the establishment of control society 8. Digression on the meteorological predictions of the Alaskan Eskimo 9. False problems concerning action 10. Authenticity and singularity: fantasy and the forgetting of what does not exist 11. Supports and relations of production II. The automatization of the super-ego and the passage of desire as original diversion of libidinal energy 12. The historicity of psychoanalytic categories and the illusion of desire as a natural state 13. From psychopathology to sociopathology 14. Contradictions between Marcuse’s Marxism and his Freudianism in relation to struggle (eris) against the risk of decomposition. Moving beyond guilt 15. Technics, super-ego and desublimation 16. Processes of adoption and diversions of libido: Marcuse and the tendency of libidinal energy to fall 17. ‘Liberation of instincts’, technesis and the passage of desire Ð the thrust of the knife 18. The murder of the father, the opening of time and guilt, and ‘the instant of my death henceforth always pending’ 19. Diversions and decompositions 20. The automatization of the super-ego 21. The opposition of Narcissus and Prometheus 22. Ontology and the reality principle 23. Libidinal ecology Conclusion 24. Intoxications, prohibitions, cares 25. The struggle for the life of the spirit 26. Consistence of the health and authority of public power: the freedom of the spirit

Read more less

Book SynopsisFew philosophers have left a legacy like that of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. He has been credited not only with inventing the differential calculus, but also with anticipating the basic ideas of modern logic, information science, and fractal geometry.Trade ReviewThis is a lucid, informative and original book. With marvellous clarity and authority, Arthur paints a very sympathetic and very useful portrait of Leibniz’s philosophy, its development and the context in which it develops. Leibniz’s scholars will appreciate the original positions it takes and the solid arguments (textual and historical) the author assembles to support them. If you can read only one book about Leibniz's philosophy, read this one. Ohad Nachtomy, Bar-Ilan University, Israel An engaging introduction to Leibniz's philosophy. Arthur succeeds in rendering Leibniz's often arcane views accessible to the general reader, while defending an illuminating interpretation of the development and unity of his thought in logic, linguistics, mathematics, physics and metaphysics. A first-class work from a leading Leibniz expert. Donald Rutherford, University of California, San Diego Fluently tracing the development of Leibniz’s thought, Arthur seamlessly interweaves and unites Leibniz’s interests in language, the natural and life sciences, mathematics, law, and religion with a philosophy that endorses the reality of bodies. The result is a fascinating and illuminating account of the man and his thought that not only deepens and enriches our understanding but also bears testimony to the enduring significance of his ideas. Pauline Phemister, University of EdinburghTable of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Logic, language and the Encyclopaedia project Chapter 3: Natural philosophy and the science of life Chapter 4: Mathematical philosophy Chapter 5: The reform of metaphysics Chapter 6: Dynamics: the physics and metaphysics of action Chapter 7: The philosophy of space and time Chapter 8: Morals and politics Chapter 9: Leibnizian posterity

Read more less

Book SynopsisRobert Brandom is one of the most renowned American philosophers today, discussed widely in analytic as well as continental philosophical communities on both sides of the Atlantic.Trade Review"Ronald Loeffler's outstanding introduction to Robert Brandom's thought covers all the bases: from situating the newcomer in Brandom's grounding appropriations of Kant and Hegel, through crystal clear explanations of the more technical but essential inferentialist semantics, to more critical reflections on how it all hangs together as a groundbreaking outlook on our rational nature. Highly recommended at all levels."—James R. O'Shea, University College Dublin "Loeffler's new introduction to Brandom's work provides a very valuable guide to many of Brandom's key ideas and relations among those ideas. It will be especially helpful to the beginning student, but useful also for more advanced readers looking for a synoptic view of Brandom's corpus."—Danielle Macbeth, Haverford CollegeTable of Contents Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction Chapter 1: Meaning and Communication Chapter 2: Mighty Dead: Kant and Hegel Chapter 3: Scorekeeping Chapter 4: Sentence Meaning, Term Meaning, Anaphora Chapter 5: Empirical Content and Empirical Knowledge Chapter 6: Logical Discourse Chapter 7: Representation and Communication Chapter 8: Phenomenalism about Norms and Objectivity Notes References Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisGain an introductory understanding of metaphysical concepts from a pagan perspective, beginning with the first principles of the creation of the Universe through the Celestial Soul Groups and their influence upon the evolution of life and expansion of spirit. From basic metaphysical models, the reader learns about the anatomy of the Soul and how it is connected to the Spirit and the Divine Universal Energy. Answers are provided for important questions: Of what is the Soul made? How does it learn? Where are those memories kept within the Spiritual Being? How does the Soul connect through energy to the physical body, other spirits, and the Greater Divine Consciousness within the Universe? Through this learning process, individuals can walk through every moment of the day with a sense of higher purpose, greater connection to their spiritual mission, and with insight to meet their personal and spiritual goals.

Read more less