Philosophy Books
University of California Press In Defense of Anarchism
Book SynopsisAn analysis of the foundations of the authority of the state and the problems of political authority and moral autonomy in a democracy.
£20.70
Penguin Putnam Inc Determined
Book Synopsis
£26.25
Random House Publishing Group The Wisdom of Yoga
Book Synopsis
£14.44
Harvard University Press The Romantic Imperative The Concept of Early
Book SynopsisThis book, by one of the most respected scholars of the Romantic era, offers an explanation of Romanticism that not only restores but enhances understanding of the movement's origins, development, aims, and accomplishments—and of its continuing relevance.Trade ReviewThis is an excellent book. Its ten chapters are much more accessible and often clearer than the larger classic tomes on the subject. Each takes up a very significant topic and is sure to be read with profit by a wide range of readers - whether they are new to the field or already quite familiar with it. The book concerns an era, Early German Romanticism, that is properly becoming a major focus of new research. This volume could become one of the most helpful steps in making the area part of the canon for Anglophone scholars in all fields today. It is surely one of the best remedies for correcting out of date images of the work of the German romantics as regressive, obscurantist, or irrelevant. Early German Romanticism extends and modifies the project of the Enlightenment. The author shows that it deserves our attention not only because it is an era represented by some of the most interesting and creative personalities in our cultural history, but also because its main line of thought is responsible for a way of thinking central to our own time, namely a naturalism that might be expansive enough to do justice to traditional interests in the unique value of human freedom. -- Karl Ameriks, Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre DameThis book is a very fine and erudite study. It is impressively wide-ranging: literature, metaphysics, political philosophy, science, ethics, and religion all come seriously into play. It almost functions as an introduction to Early German Romanticism at a very high though not forbidding level. -- Ian Balfour, Professor of English, York UniversityThe author writes clearly and lucidly, arguing forcefully and convincingly on the basis of sovereign knowledge of the material. [A] most excellent volume. -- Joe K. Fugate * German Studies Review *The historically-minded philosopher Frederick Beiser has established himself as one of the clearest and most insightful interpreters of German thought in the age of idealist philosophy and romanticism. His latest contribution to the field reinforces that reputation and will certainly influence future debates about the nature and implications of German romanticism in its early years around 1800...Ultimately, Beiser's new book will be useful for those wanting a quick introduction to the early German romantics and to the scholarly literature about them. Above all, it should help to get literary critics, philosophers and historians talking to one another about an expanded range of issues fundamental to the study and legacy of early German romanticism. -- Brian Vick * European History Quarterly *Table of ContentsPreface Introduction: Romanticism Now and Then 1. The Meaning of "Romantic Poetry" 2. Early German Romanticism: A. Characteristic 3. Early Romanticism and the Aufklarung 4. Fruhromantik and Platonic Tradition 5. The Sovereignty of Art 6. The Concept of Bildung Early German Romanticism 7. Friedrich Schlegel: The Mysterious Romantic 8. The Paradox of Romantic Metaphysics 9. Kant and the Naturphilosophen 10. Religion and Politics in Fruhromantik Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index
£25.46
Harvard University Press Not Thinking like a Liberal
Book SynopsisRaymond Geuss is a critic of liberalism, a politics so pervasive in the West that it goes unnoticed. His attention sharpened by his own unorthodox intellectual journey, Geuss locates what we fail to see in the status quo: its shallowness and futility. Rejecting both authoritarian horror and liberal complacency, Geuss looks to genuinely new ideas.Trade ReviewBy intertwining autobiography and conceptual critique, Geuss underlines the idea that in order to gain a critical perspective on liberalism, it is necessary to become almost bilingual: able to speak the language of liberalism while also becoming fluent in the vocabulary of its critique. -- George Hoare * Times Literary Supplement *Thought-provoking…Though he doesn’t propose an alternative to liberalism, Geuss lucidly analyzes its shortcomings and sheds valuable light on how the critical mind is formed. This probing intellectual memoir will appeal to those who believe philosophy can change the world. * Publishers Weekly *Fascinating…Not Thinking like a Liberal deserves to be a classic. It is at once relatable and profound, humane and auspicious. In his best moments, Geuss offers his own life as a challenge to readers to think differently and more imaginatively. -- Matt McManus * Jacobin *Geuss’s bleak philosophical anthropology, or his broad, skeptical account of human powers and interests that is aimed at challenging the hubris of abstract theorizers, is compelling. His account of the unusual formation of his own intellectual and political sensibility is both moving and illuminating. -- Richard Eldridge * Los Angeles Review of Books *Over the past few decades, Raymond Guess has cultivated a reputation as one of the left’s most iconoclastic and individual thinkers. As a result, Not Thinking like a Liberal provides a timely autobiographical account of Guess’ intellectual development, sketching out his discomfort with the idea of liberalism and how his history and his thinking have converged…It is the ideal introduction to Geuss’ thought. -- Theo Stone * Marx & Philosophy Review of Books *There are many who regard themselves as liberal when it comes to opposition to the usual dogmatic authorities but who can’t identify with the liberalism of either contemporary Western capitalism or a dominant trend in recent political philosophy. Raymond Geuss’s remarkable book will be a clarificatory opportunity. It’s no straightforward polemic against liberalism but rather a typically insightful and persuasive guide to the philosophical resources that have guided Geuss himself toward his very distinctive position. -- Brian O’Connor, University College DublinOver the past few years, Raymond Geuss has attained striking mastery in positioning himself within current political philosophy by reviewing autobiographically the stations of his own intellectual development. In this new book, the talent this sort of writing needs undoubtedly hits its peak: by recollecting his upbringing in a small Catholic boarding school and his encounters with a few ingenious philosophers, Geuss eloquently and pointedly sums up the canon of aversions he has developed over the years to prevent him from becoming a liberal and persevering instead with the viewpoint of an estranged participant. There is more to learn about ethics, politics, and philosophy from this acute, expertly paced and plotted book than from dozens of scholarly studies on the same themes. -- Axel Honneth, Columbia UniversityRaymond Geuss’s philosophical memoir is an instant classic—a profound and iconoclastic story of how his fascinating formation evades any form of liberalism or authoritarianism! Geuss is the last great figure of the second golden age of American philosophy, yet his Hungarian Catholic beginnings and his Adorno- and Celan-influenced philosophy put him in a class of his own. This book is an intellectual feast and an existential feat! -- Cornel West, Union Theological Seminary, New York City
£23.36
Princeton University Press The I Ching or Book of Changes
Book Synopsis"The I Ching", or "Book of Changes", a common source for both Confucianist and Taoist philosophy, is one of the first efforts of the human mind to place itself within the universe. It has exerted a living influence in China for 3,000 years, and interest in it rapidly spreads in the West.Trade Review"Princeton's Bollingen edition--still regarded as the best and most authentic by I Ching aficionados."--The New York Times Book Review
£21.25
Princeton University Press The Secular Enlightenment
Book SynopsisTrade Review"A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year"
£16.19
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Properties
Book Synopsis* Up-to-date and beautfifully written, Properties is the most comprehensive introduction to this important area of metaphysics * Writing with verve and clarity, Edwards explains difficult philosophical concepts in a straightforward manner.Trade Review"Talk of properties is ubiquitous throughout philosophy, but the literature on the subject can be disparate and thorny. Edwards has therefore produced an extremely valuable book – one which not only presents a masterful overview of the current literature on the nature of properties, but, building on earlier work by Lewis, presents a new 'pluralist' view of the subject. A must read for anyone working on properties or metaphysics more generally." Michael Lynch, University of Connecticut "A nice introduction to the extremely dense group of issues that surround the metaphysics of properties. The reader-friendly prose and presentation of ideas make this difficult topic accessible to undergraduates and other non-experts." Paul Audi, University of Nebraska at OmahaTable of ContentsPreface x 1 Introducing Properties 1 1.1 Why Think that There Are Properties? 1 1.2 What Is a Theory of Properties? 8 1.3 A Methodological Strategy 8 1.4 The Jobs Properties Do 9 1.5 Definitions and Terminological Notes 11 1.6 Further Reading 14 2 Universals 16 2.1 Introduction 16 2.2 Transcendental Universals 16 2.3 Immanent Universals 28 2.4 Further Reading 46 3 Tropes 48 3.1 Introduction 48 3.2 The Basic Idea 49 3.3 Tropes and Causation 51 3.4 Properties as Sets of Tropes 53 3.5 The Relation between Objects and Tropes 54 3.6 Accounting for Resemblance between Tropes 61 3.7 Tropes and Universals 64 3.8 Further Reading 67 4 Properties Eliminated? 68 4.1 Introduction 68 4.2 Russell and Quine on Ontological Commitment 69 4.3 Ostrich Nominalism 71 4.4 Primitive Predication 73 4.5 Paraphrase 74 4.6 Objects and Properties 77 4.7 A Revised One Over Many Problem 78 4.8 Implications for Ostrich Nominalism 80 4.9 Implications for Universals and Tropes 80 4.10 Further Reading 84 5 Varieties of Nominalism 85 5.1 Introduction 85 5.2 Predicate and Concept Nominalism 86 5.3 Class Nominalism 94 5.4 Mereological Nominalism 100 5.5 Resemblance Nominalism 104 5.6 Chapter Summary 110 5.7 Further Reading 111 6 Pluralist Views of Properties 112 6.1 Introduction 112 6.2 The Distinction between Abundant and Natural Properties 114 6.3 Grounding the Distinction: Universals, Tropes and Primitive Naturalness 118 6.4 Degrees of Naturalness: Supervenience, Definability and Grounding 121 6.5 Universals, Tropes and Degrees of Naturalness 128 6.6 Graded versus Egalitarian Conceptions of Naturalness 130 6.7 Chapter Summary 135 6.8 Further Reading 136 7 Kinds of Properties 137 7.1 Introduction 137 7.2 Methodology: Descriptive and Prescriptive Metaphysics 138 7.3 Mathematical Properties 140 7.4 Mental Properties 144 7.5 Moral Properties 148 7.6 Chapter Summary 157 7.7 Further Reading 158 Conclusion 159 Notes 164 References 169 Index 177
£16.14
University of Minnesota Press Vampyroteuthis Infernalis
Book SynopsisTrade Review"A classic available in English at last, this collaboration between Vilém Flusser and Louis Bec is a pioneering exploration of uncharted territory in the realm of animal cognition, philosophy and art. At once inquisitive and whimsical, this unclassifiable book brings together some of the best work of two cutting-edge thinkers that were not only geographic but also intellectual neighbors." —Eduardo Kac"Vampryoteuthis Infernalis is a unique work that is at once literary and philosophical, poetic and scientific, and it nicely combines the imaginative fancy of the beast fable with elements of science fiction and horror. Flusser’s work is a hybrid creature, a marvelous and monstrous text that mirrors the fantastical creature it describes. The Vampyroteuthis holds a wonderfully strange and unhuman mirror up to the human and in so doing opens the way for a strange and novel non-philosophy of life." —Eugene Thacker, author of After LifeTable of ContentsContentsThe TreatiseI. OctopodaII. GenealogyThe Phylum MolluscaThe Class CephalopodaThe Species Vampyroteuthis infernalis giovanniIII. The Vampyroteuthic WorldIts ModelThe AbyssVampyroteuthic DaseinIV. Vampyroteuthic Culture Its ThinkingIts Social LifeIts ArtV. Its EmergenceReport by the Institut Scientifique de Recherche Paranaturaliste
£17.09
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Meditations
Book SynopsisTable of ContentsAn Introduction Donald Robertson vii About Donald Robertson xxv About Tom Butler-Bowdon xxv Meditations 1
£10.79
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Book SynopsisTable of ContentsPart One Zarathustra’s Prologue 3 Zarathustra’s Discourses 29 The Three Metamorphoses 30 The Academic Chairs of Virtue 34 Backworldsmen 39 The Despisers of the Body 44 Joys and Passions 47 The Pale Criminal 50 Reading and Writing 54 The Tree on the Hill 57 The Preachers of Death 62 War and Warriors 65 The New Idol 68 The Flies in the Market-Place 73 Chastity 78 The Friend 81 The Thousand and One Goals 85 Neighbor-Love 89 The Way of the Creating One 92 Old and Young Women 97 The Bite of the Adder 101 Children and Marriage 104 Voluntary Death 108 The Bestowing Virtue 113 Part Two The Child with the Mirror 123 In the Happy Isles 128 The Compassionate 133 The Priests 138 The Virtuous 143 The Rabble 148 The Tarantulas 153 The Famous Wise Ones 158 The Night-Song 163 The Dance-Song 167 The Grave-Song 172 Self-Surpassing 177 The Sublime Ones 183 The Land of Culture 187 Immaculate Perception 192 Scholars 197 Poets 201 Great Events 207 The Soothsayer 213 Redemption 219 Manly Prudence 227 The Stillest Hour 232 Part Three The Wanderer 239 The Vision and the Enigma 244 Involuntary Bliss 252 Before Sunrise 258 The Bedwarfing Virtue 263 On the Olive-Mount 272 On Passing-By 277 The Apostates 282 The Return Home 289 The Three Evil Things 295 The Spirit of Gravity 303 Old and New Tables 310 The Convalescent 341 The Great Longing 352 The Second Dance-Song 357 The Seven Seals (Or The Song of Yes and Amen) 363 Part Four The Honey Sacrifice 371 The Cry of Distress 377 Talk with the Kings 382 The Leech 389 The Magician 394 Out of Service 404 The Ugliest Man 411 The Voluntary Beggar 419 The Shadow 426 Noontide 432 The Greeting 437 The Supper 446 The Higher Man 449 The Song of Melancholy 465 Science 471 Among Daughters of the Desert 476 The Deserts Grow: Woe Him Who Does Them Hide! 478 The Awakening 484 The Ass-Festival 490 The Drunken Song 496 The Sign 508
£10.79
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Philosophy of Technology
Book SynopsisThe new edition of this authoritative introduction to the philosophy of technology includes recent developments in the subject, while retaining the range and depth of its selection of seminal contributions and its much-admired editorial commentary.Table of ContentsSource Acknowledgments ix Introduction to the Second Edition xiii Part I The Historical Background 1 Introduction 3 1 On Dialectic and “Technē” 9 Plato 2 On “Technē” and “Epistēmē” 19 Aristotle 3 The Greek Concepts of “Nature” and “Technique” 25 Wolfgang Schadewaldt 4 On the Idols, the Scientific Study of Nature, and the Reformation of Education 33 Francis Bacon 5 Idea for a Universal History from a Cosmopolitan Point of View 47 Immanuel Kant 6 The Nature and Importance of the Positive Philosophy 54 Auguste Comte 7 On the Sciences and Arts 68 Jean-Jacques Rousseau 8 Capitalism and the Modern Labor Process 74 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels Part II Philosophy, Modern Science, and Technology 89 Positivist and Postpositivist Philosophies of Science 91 9 The Scientific Conception of the World: The Vienna Circle 101 Rudolf Carnap, Hans Hahn, and Otto Neurath 10 Paradigms and Anomalies in Science 111 Thomas Kuhn 11 Experimentation and Scientific Realism 121 Ian Hacking 12 Hermeneutical Philosophy and Pragmatism: A Philosophy of Science 131 Patrick A. Heelan and Jay Schulkin 13 What are Cultural Studies of Science? 147 Joseph Rouse 14 Revaluing Science: Starting from the Practices of Women 161 Nancy Tuana 15 Is Science Multicultural? 171 Sandra Harding 16 On Knowledge and the Diversity of Cultures: Comment on Harding 183 Shigehisa Kuriyama The Task of a Philosophy of Technology 187 17 Philosophical Inputs and Outputs of Technology 191 Mario Bunge 18 Analytic Philosophy of Technology 201 Maarten Franssen 19 On the Aims of a Philosophy of Technology 205 Jacques Ellul 20 Toward a Philosophy of Technology 210 Hans Jonas 21 The Technology Question in Feminism: A View from Feminist Technology Studies 224 Wendy Faulkner Part III Defining Technology 239 Introduction 241 22 Conflicting Visions of Technology 249 Mary Tiles and Hans Oberdiek 23 The Mangle of Practice 260 Andrew Pickering 24 The Social Construction of Facts and Artifacts 266 Trevor J. Pinch and Wiebe E. Bijker 25 Actor-Network Theory (ANT) 278 Bruno Latour 26 Actor-Network Theory: Critical Considerations 289 Sergio Sismondo Part IV Heidegger on Technology 297 Introduction 299 27 The Question Concerning Technology 305 Martin Heidegger 28 On Philosophy’s “Ending” in Technoscience: Heidegger vs. Comte 318 Robert C. Scharff 29 Focal Things and Practices 329 Albert Borgmann 30 Heidegger and Borgmann on How to Affirm Technology 350 Hubert L. Dreyfus and Charles Spinosa 31 Philosophy of Technology at the Crossroads: Critique of Heidegger and Borgmann 362 Andrew Feenberg Part V Technology and Human Ends 375 Human Beings as “Makers” or “Tool-Users”? 377 32 Tool Users vs. Homo Sapiens and the Megamachine 381 Lewis Mumford 33 The “Vita Activa” and the Modern Age 389 Hannah Arendt 34 Putting Pragmatism (especially Dewey’s) to Work 406 Larry Hickman 35 Buddhist Economics 421 E. F. Schumacher Is Technology Autonomous? 426 36 The “Autonomy” of the Technological Phenomenon 430 Jacques Ellul 37 Do Machines Make History? 442 Robert L. Heilbroner 38 The New Forms of Control 449 Herbert Marcuse 39 Technological Determinism Is Dead; Long Live Technological Determinism 456 Sally Wyatt Technology, Ecology, and the Conquest of Nature 467 40 Mining the Earth’s Womb 471 Carolyn Merchant 41 The Deep Ecology Movement 482 Bill Devall 42 Deeper than Deep Ecology: The Eco-Feminist Connection 491 Ariel Salleh 43 In Defense of Posthuman Dignity 495 Nick Bostrom Part VI Technology as Social Practice 503 Technology and the Lifeworld 505 44 Cultural Climates and Technological Advance in the Middle Ages 511 Lynn White, Jr. 45 Three Ways of Being-With Technology 523 Carl Mitcham 46 A Phenomenology of Technics 539 Don Ihde 47 Postphenomenology of Technology 561 Peter-Paul Verbeek 48 Technoscience Studies after Heidegger? Not Yet 573 Robert C. Scharff Technology and Cyberspace 582 49 Consciousness in Human and Robot Minds 588 Daniel C. Dennett 50 Why Heideggerian AI Failed and How Fixing It Would Require Making It More Heideggerian 597 Hubert L. Dreyfus 51 A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century 610 Donna Haraway 52 A Moratorium on Cyborgs: Computation, Cognition, and Commerce 631 Evan Selinger and Timothy Engström 53 Anonymity versus Commitment: The Dangers of Education on the Internet 641 Hubert L. Dreyfus Technology, Knowledge, and Power 648 54 Panopticism 654 Michel Foucault 55 Do Artifacts Have Politics? 668 Langdon Winner 56 The Social Impact of Technological Change 680 Emmanuel G. Mesthene 57 Technology: The Opiate of the Intellectuals, with the Author’s 2000 Retrospective 693 John McDermott 58 Democratic Rationalization: Technology, Power, and Freedom 706 Andrew Feenberg
£48.56
Picador USA Four Thousand Weeks
Book SynopsisAN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*Includes an interview with James Hollis* Provocative and appealing . . . Well worth your extremely limited time. Barbara Spindel, The Wall Street JournalThere's a good reason why everyone has been talking about Oliver Burkeman's New York Times bestseller, Four Thousand Weeks. Nobody needs to be told there isn't enough time. Whether we're starting our own business, or trying to write a novel during our lunch break, or staring down a pile of deadlines as we're planning a vacation, we're obsessed with our lengthening to-do lists, overfilled inboxes, work-life balance, and ceaseless struggle against distraction. We're deluged with advice on becoming more productive and efficient and life hacks to optimize our days. But such techniques often end up making things worse. The sense of anxious hurry grows more intense, and yet the most meaningful parts of life seem to lie just beyond
£15.20
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy
Book SynopsisThis thought-provoking book examines the philosophical issues arising from the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series, revealing how the ragtag fleet's outward journey to Earth is also an inward exploration for the human survivors and their Cylon pursuers.Trade Review“The contributors to Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy strive to make things relevant to fans of the show, and they put their information ou t in a way that is accessible to folks who wouldn't know Heidegger from Heineken.” (Green Man Review, Spring 2009) "Blackwell’s Philosophy and PopCulture series sets itself the remarkable task of making philosophy "relevant," lamenting the subject’s ongoing "public relations problem" and resolving to change things for the better. …[I]f this volume is indicative of the series as a whole then I will happily review each and every one, for I found it to be, by and large, a stimulating and worthwhile read… Philosophy, it seems, is no longer under the guardianship of office-bound professors fluent in Latin but ignorant of popular culture. Jason T. Eberl’s "ragtag fleet" of contributors has helped in some small way to redress the balance, and I for one applaud their efforts." (Claire Graham, Kaleidoscope, October 2008) "The essays are … quite good, and to me they seem to satisfactorily serve the purpose of introducing fans of BSG to classic and contemporary philosophical problems and questions, and even professional philosophers might learn a thing or two. The essays in the anthology are both accessible and quite easy to read, and can be commended to those interested in philosophy and Battlestar Galactica." (Metapsychology, October 2008) "The writers are well versed in their subjects … .The book is most effective at making the reader rethink what they thought they knew." (Neo-opsis)Table of ContentsGiving Thanks to the Lords of Kobol. “There Are Those Who Believe …”. Part I Opening the Ancient Scrolls: Classic Philosophers as Colonial Prophets. Erik D. Baldwin, How to be Happy After the End of the World. Robert Sharp, When Machines Get Souls: Nietzsche on the Cylon Uprising. J. Robert Loftis, “What a Strange Little Man”: Baltar the Tyrant?. Jason P. Blahuta, The Politics of Crisis: Machiavelli in the Colonial Fleet. Part II I, Cylon: Are Toasters People, Too?. Robert Arp and Tracie Mahaffey, “And They Have a Plan”: Cylons as Persons. Amy Kind, “I’m Sharon, but I’m a Different Sharon”: The Identity of Cylons. Jerold J. Abrams, Embracing the “Children of Humanity”: How to Prevent the Next Cylon War. Brian Willems, When the Non-Human Knows Its Own Death. Part III Worthy of Survival: Moral Issues for Colonials and Cylons. Randall M. Jensen, The Search for Starbuck: The Needs of the Many vs. the Few. Andrew Terjesen, Resistance vs. Collaboration on New Caprica: What Would You Do?. George A. Dunn, Being Boomer: Identity, Alienation, and Evil. David Roden, Cylons in the Original Position: Limits of Posthuman Justice. Part IV The Arrow, the Eye, and Earth: The Search for a (Divine?) Home. Jason T. Eberl and Jennifer A. Vines, “I Am an Instrument of God”: Religious Belief, Atheism, and Meaning. Taneli Kukkonen, God Against the Gods: Faith and the Exodus of the Twelve Colonies. David Kyle Johnson, “A Story That Is Told Again, and Again, and Again”: Recurrence, Providence, and Freedom. Eric J. Silverman, Adama’s True Lie: Earth and the Problem of Knowledge. Part V Sagittarons, Capricans, and Gemenese: Different Worlds, Different Perspectives. James McRae, Zen and the Art of Cylon Maintenance. Elizabeth F. Cooke, “Let It Be Earth”: The Pragmatic Virtue of Hope. Sarah Conly, Is Starbuck a Woman?. David Koepsell, Gaius Baltar and the Transhuman Temptation. There Are Only Twenty-Two Cylon Contributors. The Fleet’s Manifest
£17.05
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Objects Untimely: Object-Oriented Philosophy and
Book SynopsisObjects generate time; time does not generate or change objects. That is the central thesis of this book by the philosopher Graham Harman and the archaeologist Christopher Witmore, who defend radical positions in their respective fields. Against a current and pervasive conviction that reality consists of an unceasing flux – a view associated in philosophy with New Materialism – object-oriented ontology asserts that objects of all varieties are the bedrock of reality from which time emerges. And against the narrative convictions of time as the course of historical events, the objects and encounters associated with archaeology push back against the very temporal delimitations which defined the field and its objects ever since its professionalization in the nineteenth century. In a study ranging from the ruins of ancient Corinth, Mycenae, and Troy to debates over time from Aristotle and al-Ash‘ari through Henri Bergson and Alfred North Whitehead, the authors draw on alternative conceptions of time as retroactive, percolating, topological, cyclical, and generational, as consisting of countercurrents or of a surface tension between objects and their own qualities. Objects Untimely invites us to reconsider the modern notion of objects as inert matter serving as a receptacle for human categories.Trade Review"Objects Untimely is a remarkable achievement, developing a radical object-oriented theory of archaeology while simultaneously providing a novel account of time’s dependence upon objects. Things will never be (and never have been) the same."Jon Cogburn, Louisiana State University“This is a deeply important book written by two pioneering scholars in their respective fields which argues for nothing less than a radical revolution in the way we think about time in the humanities and social sciences.”Gavin Murray Lucas, University of IcelandTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsList of FiguresPreface1 Time and Objects, by Graham Harman and Christopher Witmore2 The Antiquity of Time: Objects Greek, by Christopher Witmore3 Discussion of Chapter Two4 Objects as the Root of Time, by Graham Harman5 Discussion of Chapter FourA Note on Models of Time NotesReferences Index
£17.09
Autonomedia Out Of The Clear
Book Synopsis
£16.20
St Augustine's Press Ha! – A Christian Philosophy of Humor
Book Synopsis"This book almost didn't exist. I was about to write a serious, heavy book entitled How To Save Western Civilization, as a sequel to my book How To Destroy Western Civilization and Other Ideas from the Cultural Abyss. But writing it was not making me happy, and reading it was not going to make anybody else happy either. And then I stopped just long enough for my guardian angel to squeeze through that tiny window of opportunity that I had opened up by my silence and to whisper this commonsense question into my subconscious: "Why not make them happy instead?" (Angels specialize in common sense.) I started thinking: Western civilization is neither healthy, happy, nor holy. Humor is all three. Humor is not only holy, it's Heavenly. And if you are surprised to be told that humor is Heavenly, you need to read this book because you reveal your misunderstanding of both humor and Heaven. If you ask, 'Is there laughter in Heaven?' my answer is: 'You can't be serious!'" Trade Review... Probably the shortest, funniest philosophy book you’ll ever read — Sarah Schutte, National Review
£12.00
Shambhala Publications Inc In Search of Being: The Fourth Way to
Book SynopsisOver one hundred years ago in Russia, G. I. Gurdjieff introduced a spiritual teaching of conscious evolution?a way of gnosis or ?knowledge of being? passed on from remote antiquity. Gurdjieff?s early talks in Europe were published in the form of chronological fragments preserved by his close followers P. D. Ouspensky and Jeanne de Salzmann. Now these teachings are presented as a comprehensive whole, covering a variety of subjects including states of consciousness, methods of self-study, spiritual work in groups, laws of the cosmos, and the universal symbol known as the Enneagram. Gurdjieff respected traditional religious practices, which he regarded as falling into three general categories or ?ways?: the Way of the Fakir, related to mastery of the physical body; the Way of the Monk, based on faith and feeling; and the Way of the Yogi, which focuses on development of the mind. He presented his teaching as a ?Fourth Way? that integrates these three aspects into a single path of self-knowledge. The principles are laid out as a way of knowing and experiencing an awakened level of being that must be verified for oneself.
£19.55
Silver Press Gaia and Philosophy
Book SynopsisIn the 1970s, microbiologist Lynn Margulis and atmospheric chemist James Lovelock developed the Gaia theory, which describes a living Earth: a body in the form of a planet. Fusing science, mathematics, philosophy, ecology and mythology, Gaia and Philosophy, with a new introduction by Dorion Sagan, challenges Western anthropocentrism to propose a symbiotic planet.
£7.59
Hardie Grant Books The Daily Promise: 100 Ways to Feel Happy About
Book SynopsisThe Daily Promise is a collection of inspirational messages that invites us to make small, daily changes in the way we treat ourselves and live our lives.Revisit the wisdom of happiness expert Domonique Bertolucci in The Daily Promise. Featuring a brand new illustrated cover, this is a beautiful book that keeps giving. Based on the best-selling book, The Kindness Pact and its Eight Promises, each message delivers practical ways to be self-compassionate, build confidence and find more positivity.Written to be read a page per day, this book will empower and leave you feeling good about who you are and the life you live.
£9.50
Vintage Publishing Meditations for Mortals
Book Synopsis'Full of wisdom and comfort ... a really important book' CHRIS VAN TULLEKEN, author of Ultra-Processed PeopleHow can we embrace our non-negotiable limitations? Or make good decisions when there's always too much to do? What if purposeful productivity were often about letting things happen, not making them happen?Reflecting on ideas drawn from philosophy, religion, literature, psychology, and self-help, Burkeman explores practical tools and shifts in perspective. The result is a bracing challenge to much familiar advice, and a profound yet entertaining crash course in living more fully.Meditations for Mortals takes us on a liberating journey towards a more meaningful life - one that begins not with fantasies of the ideal existence, but with the reality in which we actually find ourselves.Addressing the fundamental questions about how to live, it offers a powerful new way to take action on what counts: a guiding philosophy of life Oliver Burkeman calls 'imperfectionism'.To be read either as a four-week 'retreat of the mind' or devoured in one or two sittings, Meditations for Mortals will be a source of solace and inspiration, and an aid to a saner, freer, and more enchantment-filled life in 2025.In anxiety-inducing times, it is rich in truths we have never needed more.'Thoughtful, level-headed, and useful ... a book to meditate upon' THE TIMES'Oliver Burkeman has a way of giving you the most unexpected productivity advice exactly when you need it' MARK MANSON, author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
£13.49
John Wiley and Sons Ltd On the Shortness of Life
Book Synopsis
£10.79
The School of Life Press Philosophical Questions for Curious Minds:
Book SynopsisChildren are born philosophers – but in order to fully bring out the best of their thinking, it helps to equip them with the largest and most thought-expanding questions. This is a pack of the very sharpest, based on the biggest conundrums of philosophy, and is guaranteed to generate lively, warm and fascinating conversations among families and friends. No prior knowledge is required; all that counts is a spirit of curiosity. The pack includes questions like: Is it ever right to lie? When might freedom not be a good thing? What’s the difference between living and being alive? How does money make you happy – and when doesn’t it? With these questions to hand, conversation will forever be profound and entertaining, and minds young and old will have a crash course in the joys and adventures of philosophy.
£15.30
dtv Verlagsgesellschaft The big five for life Was wirklich zhlt im Leben
Book Synopsis
£10.45
Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. KG Carl Schmitt, Leo Strauss und Der Begriff des
Book SynopsisHeinrich Meiers Dialog unter Abwesenden hat wie kein anderes Buch der letzten Jahrzehnte die internationale Debatte über Carl Schmitt und die Politische Theologie verändert. 1988 erschienen, bestimmte es zum ersten Mal das Zentrum und den Zusammenhang von Schmitts Werk als Politische Theologie. Die 3. Auflage enthält neben dem Epilog von 1988, der sich mit Derridas Politik der Freundschaft auseinandersetzt, ein neues Nachwort.
£17.09
Transcript Verlag Waiting – A Project in Conversation
Book SynopsisWaiting is an inescapable part of life in modern societies. We all wait, albeit differently and for different reasons. What does it mean to wait for a long period of time? How do people narrate their waiting? Waiting is about the senses. If you do not sense it, there is no waiting. We sense waiting in the form of boredom, despair, anxiety and restlessness, but also anticipation and hope. Prolonged waiting is like insomnia - a state of wakefulness, a kind of mood, an emotional state. But it is also about politics; affecting and affected by gender, citizenship, class, and race. Blending ethnography, philosophy, poetry, art, and fiction, this book is a collection of works by scholars, visual artists, writers, architects and curators, exploring different forms of waiting in diverse geographical contexts, and the enduring effects of history, power, class, and coloniality.
£27.19
Oxford University Press Inc Red SeaRed SquareRed Thread A Philosophical
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewAn intellectual tour de force in five acts. Goehr traverses broad swathes of European cultural history, including a stunning philosophical and theological reading of Puccini's La Boheme, with brilliance and an underlying smile, offering lovers of the arts a trove of delights as she builds her argument about the nature of art itself * Anne Midgette, music critic, (formerly) The Washington Post, The New York Times *Lydia Goehr's account of narratives and philosophies of emancipation is a stunning achievement of narrative and philosophical emancipation in its own right. Red Sea-Red-Square-Red Thread is tailor-made for addressing the pressing question of where our best images of freedom in history are hiding, especially when the surprisingly difficult answer is: in plain sight. * Gregg Horowitz, The Pratt Institute (Emeritus) *Many books in one: an homage to the great Arthur Danto, an intellectual memoir, a philosophical detective story, an anatomy of anecdotes, and a dazzling display of erudition. Goehr has composed a magical, indeed scintillating synthesis of intellectual history, art history, music history and comparative literature—not to speak of philosophical inquiry. * Paul Barolsky, University of Virginia *Beginning with the simplest of questions, Red Sea—Red Square—Red Thread offers a compelling, insightful, and engaging treatise on the nature of art. It's the Goldberg Variations of philosophical treatises. * James Schmidt, Boston University *A stunning performance of the birth of philosophy from the emancipatory spirit of modernism. * Michael P. Steinberg, Brown University *A wonderful book. Goehr takes the reader on a journey—considering how the red square-red sea allegory transforms and appears in unexpected ways in service to a modern idea of freedom and inclusion. A model of how to combine wit and analysis to great effect. * Terry Pinkard, Georgetown University *Bringing together the histories of art, philosophy, and popular culture into a narrative of human possibility, the book is nothing less than a gift to its culture. * Daniel Herwitz, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor *A tour de force of theoretical analysis and cultural criticism, Goehr's book charts an unprecedented path through philosophical, musical, literary, and art history. Dazzling in the wit of its style and depth of its content, it reframes our view of every subject it touches upon. * Jonathan Gilmore, City University of New York *Sprawling and lively, confounding and engaging, and in a word, brilliant...it surely stands as a testament to [Goehr's] lifetime of teaching, writing, reading, viewing, listening, and conversing. It is a book, that teems with curiosity and erudition. More than once, it made me laugh out loud. It rewards sustained reading, and I am glad I read it cover to cover. But it would also reward the occasional perusal of any given passage, if only to give the reader the chance to marvel at the threads, red and otherwise, that it weaves together. * Lydia Moland, European Journal of Philosophy *Table of ContentsPreface 1. Thought Experiment 2. Emancipation Narrative 3. From Sea to Square to Sea 4. Passages of Bohème 5. Testament and Table 6. Contesting Opera 7. Sea Scenes 8. Between Fact and Fiction 9. Refiguring Exodus 10. Bohemia-Bohemian-Bohème 11. Egyptian-Jewish Bohème 12. Mastering The Cant In The Cafe of Complaint 13. Reds of Art and War 14. Grey Days for a Gay Science 15. Proverbs on the Path to the Absolute 16. Thought Experiments in Color 17. Red Thread 18. Painter of Moods and Professions 19. Street Signs of Libation and Liberation 20. Spreading The Anecdote 21. Tying The Knot
£55.09
Dover Publications Inc. The Guide for the Perplexed
Book SynopsisComplete text of crucial medieval work of philosophy: reconciliation of Aristotle and Scripture. Includes Life of Maimonides, analysis of The Guide, indexes of quotations from Scripture, Talmud. Maimonides, brilliant forerunner of Aquinas.
£13.49
Dover Publications Inc. The Wisdom of Life
Book Synopsis
£6.49
Scribner Book Company The Storm of the Century
Book SynopsisComplemented by an author introduction, the screenplay for a six-hour television miniseries follows the residents of Little Tall Island as they prepare to cope with both a dangerous storm and an mysteriously evil force.
£16.14
Harvard University Press The SecondPerson Standpoint Morality Respect and
Book SynopsisWhy should we avoid doing moral wrong? After showing how attempts to vindicate morality have tended to fall back on non-moral values or first-person considerations, Stephen Darwall elaborates the interpersonal nature of moral obligations: their inherent link to our responsibilities to one another as members of the moral community.Trade ReviewStephen Darwall's The Second-Person Standpoint: Morality, Respect, and Accountability is an important contribution to moral philosophy, and its arguments are sure to be widely discussed and debated. The book brings into contemporary philosophical debates a series of ideas centering around what Darwall calls 'the second person'-- the idea that morality is fundamentally about the demands that particular people are entitled to make on each other. Obligation, understood as what people owe to each other, has been central to recent moral philosophy, but the second person standpoint gets behind the idea of obligation and explains that in terms of the standing the particular people have to make claims against each other. These ideas have been of great significance in the history of philosophy, but that have not attracted the attention of philosophers in recent decades. This is a fascinating and important book. -- Arthur Ripstein, Professor of Law and Philosophy, University of TorontoThe Second-Person Standpoint, Stephen Darwall's innovative and engaging new book, contends that not only can we use Strawson's argument to develop a new line on free will; we can also employ it in developing a new perspective on moral obligations...It is a mine of insight into an aspect of morality that has escaped sustained exploration. Even if it overreaches in its claim to confound consequentialism, the elements it puts in place ought to figure prominently in every account of morality, and it should help to ensure that from now on they will. -- Philip Pettit * Times Literary Supplement *The idea of a second-personal reason is a genuine and important advance in moral philosophy. -- Christine M. Korsgaard * Ethics *The Second-Person Standpoint has quickly become one of the most discussed recent books in ethics. It richly deserves that honor, since it offers a thorough, intriguing and deeply thoughtful reconception of the entire sphere of morality...Darwall's book challenges the meta-ethical presuppositions of practically every going moral theory. Darwall remains, as he has been throughout his career, strongly committed to Kantianism. But his Kantianism is now one in which a certain relationship--the relationship between an I and a you--lies deeper than even the categorical imperative. If he is right, we will need to read Kant himself in a different light. -- Samuel Fleischacker * Utilitas *Darwall's foray into this relatively untrampled philosophical terrain turns out to be enormously exciting. The result is a book which takes its place among the very best contemporary works on Kantian ethics and which ought to be regarded as required reading for any contemporary ethical theorist. -- Talbot Brewer * Philosophical Quarterly *One of the main achievements of Darwall's book is that it provides an answer to [Anscombe's] challenge. The authorities to whom modern moral consciousness appeals are simply you and I. -- Gary Watson * Ethics *A theory regarding the form and content of moral obligation requires attention to issues in both ethics and metaphysics. Darwall's construction of such a theory is historically informed, concisely written, and provocative in ways that extend far beyond the merely theoretical. -- H. Storl * Choice *The Second-Person Standpoint is a rigorous and convincing volume of utmost importance to ongoing discussions of the foundations of rights and obligations in ethics and jurisprudence, as well as to the current debates on the foundations of practical rationality. Additionally, Darwall’s book is likely to be a catalyst for a new and beneficial discussion of the long neglected ethical doctrines of early-modern theological voluntarism and German idealism and the contributions these rich traditions can offer to contemporary thinking about morality, responsibility, and the dignity of persons. -- Daniel M. Layman * Review of Metaphysics *Table of ContentsPreface Part I 1. The Main Ideas I 2. The Main Ideas II 3. The Second-Person Stance and Second-Personal Reasons Part II 4. Accountability and the Second Person 5. Moral Obligation and Accountability 6. Respect and the Second Person Part III 7. The Psychology of the Second Person 8. Interlude: Hume Versus Reid on Justice (with Contemporary Resonances) Part IV 9. Morality and Autonomy in Kant 10. The Second Person and Dignity: Variations on Fichtean Themes 11. Freedom and Practical Reason 12. A Foundation for Contractualism Works Cited Index
£24.26
Inner Traditions Bear and Company The Gospel of Mary Magdalene
Book SynopsisPerhaps no figure in biblical scholarship has been the subject of more controversy and debate than Mary Magdalene. Also known as Miriam of Magdala, Mary Magdalene was considered by the apostle John to be the founder of Christianity because she was the first witness to the Resurrection. In most theological studies she has been depicted as a reformed prostitute, the redeemed sinner who exemplifies Christ''s mercy. Today''s reader can ponder her role in the gospels of Philip, Thomas, Peter, and Bartholomew--the collection of what have come to be known as the Gnostic gospels rejected by the early Christian church. Mary''s own gospel is among these, but until now it has remained unknown to the public at large. Orthodox theologian Jean-Yves Leloup''s translation of the Gospel of Mary from the Coptic and his thorough and profound commentary on this text are presented here for the first time in English. The gospel text and the spiritual exegesis of Leloup together reveal unique teachings that emphasize the eminence of the divine feminine and an abiding love of nature over the dualistic and ascetic interpretations of Christianity presented elsewhere. What emerges from this important source text and commentary is a renewal of the sacred feminine in the Western spiritual tradition and a new vision for Christian thought and faith throughout the world.Trade Review"The Gospel of Mary, taken with the inspired commentary by Jean-Yves Leloup, can help toward making the teaching of Jesus once again alive." * Jacob Needleman, author of Lost Christianity and The American Soul *"Leloup's commentary presents a scholarly translation with an inspirational and passionate interpretation. . . . Going beyond the gospels to the laws of the Torah and the philosophical writings of Kant, the author at once discovers the truer meanings of an ancient text and a message as important today as it was two millennia ago." * Steven Sora, author of The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar *"Readers will welcome this perceptive translation of the Gnostic 'Gospel of Mary' and the insightful commentary by scholar-mystic Jean-Yves Leloup. The journey of the soul and other profound and subtle teachings of Jesus and his beloved Miriam will enlighten modern seekers." * Margaret Starbird, author of The Woman with the Alabaster Jar *"One welcomes this solid telling of the story and meaning of a neglected text at the root of Christian wisdom, and of a neglected figure who had a special relationship both with the historical Jesus in his lifetime and with the Christ spirit after the death of Jesus." * Matthew Fox, author of Original Blessing *" . . . the Magdalene's gospel might be embraced by contemporary seekers, both Christian and non-Christian." * Patricia Monaghan, Booklist American Library Association, April 2002 *"There are some fascinating glimpses at gender politics between the earliest followers of Jesus and the enigmatic personage of Mary Magdalene. Christians have come to think of her (with no basis in biblical fact) as the repentant prostitute, while to his followers she was the one Jesus loved 'differently from other women.'" * KJ, Napra ReView, May/June 2002 *"He sets the record straight and provides ample commentary on where the historical records went astray." * New Women New Church, Summer 2003, Vol.26 No.2 *"I love this gospel . . . it speaks such truth as the Church desperately needs in these times." * John Gilbert, Ph.D., Gnostic News, December 2003 *"The commentary by Professor LeLoup is beautifully done. He is indeed a scholar of the earth Church." * John Gilbert, The Temple of Gnostic Yoga, December 2003 *"Powerful, almost Taoist in range, this is an important book and should be read by anyone interested in Mary Magdalene or the early Church." * Pamela Crossland, TCM Reviews *Table of Contents Foreword by Jacob Needleman Preface: Who Is Mary Magdalene? The Gospel of Mary List of Abbreviations Introduction Part One: The Gospel of Mary Magdalene Part Two: Text with Commentary Bibliography
£12.99
Zone Books Bergsonism
Book Synopsis
£19.80
St. Martin's Press Wanting
Book Synopsis* Financial Times Business Book of the Month * Next Big Idea Club Nominee * One of Bloomberg''s 52 New Books That Top Business Leaders Are Recommending * Aleo Review of Books 2022 Book of the Year *A groundbreaking exploration of why we want what we want, and a toolkit for freeing ourselves from chasing unfulfilling desires.Gravity affects every aspect of our physical being, but there's a psychological force just as powerfulyet almost nobody has heard of it. It's responsible for bringing groups of people together and pulling them apart, making certain goals attractive to some and not to others, and fueling cycles of anxiety and conflict. In Wanting, Luke Burgis draws on the work of French polymath René Girard to bring this hidden force to light and reveals how it shapes our lives and societies. According to Girard, humans don't desire anything independently. Human desire is mimeticwe imitate what other people
£22.50
Peter Pauper Press Inc. The Prophet Gift Edition
Book Synopsis
£7.99
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Being in Flux: A Post-Anthropocentric Ontology of
Book SynopsisReality exists independently of human observers, but does the same apply to its structure? Realist ontologies usually assume so: according to them, the world consists of objects, these have properties and enter into relations with each other, more or less as we are accustomed to think of them. Against this view, Rein Raud develops a radical process ontology that does not credit any vantage point, any scale or speed of being, any range of cognitive faculties with the privilege to judge how the world ‘really’ is. In his view, what we think of as objects are recast as fields of constitutive tensions, cross-sections of processes, never in complete balance but always striving for it and always reconfiguring themselves accordingly. The human self is also understood as a fluctuating field, not limited to the mind but distributed all over the body and reaching out into its environment, with different constituents of the process constantly vying for control. The need for such a process philosophy has often been voiced, but rarely has there been an effort to develop it in a systematic and rigourous manner that leads to original accounts of identity, continuity, time, change, causality, agency and other topics. Throughout his new book, Raud engages with an unusually broad range of philosophical schools and debates, from New Materialism and Object-Oriented Ontology to both phenomenological and analytical philosophy of mind, from feminist philosophy of science to neurophilosophy and social ontology. Being in Flux will be of interest to students and scholars in philosophy and the humanities generally and to anyone interested in current debates about realism, materialism and ontology.Trade Review“In this remarkable in-depth discussion of social process ontologies, Rein Raud enlists the resources, methods and intuitions of different philosophical traditions to present an original perspective. Adopting a cross-disciplinary approach, he defends a post-anthropocentric vision that honours the specificity of being human, but also decentres arrogant human exceptionalism. This brilliant and erudite book emphasizes the continuity between humans and nonhumans as the necessary premise to explain our ability to make sense of the world.”Rosi Braidotti, Utrecht University“Rein Raud’s position in this book is almost the polar opposite of my own. Nonetheless, he brings fresh insights and arguments to the process materialism camp, and his lasting contributions to the debate make this an important work. Both process- and object-oriented thinkers should read it immediately.”Graham Harman, Southern California Institute of ArchitectureTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1 Ontology: some of the story so far Chapter 2 An ontology of processes and fields Chapter 3 Me, myself and my brain Chapter 4 The self as an extended decision-making network Concluding remarks Notes References
£18.04
Ebury Publishing The Tibetan Book Of Living And Dying
Book SynopsisSogyal Rinpoche was born in Tibet and entered a monastery when he was six months old. He received the traditional training of a Tibetan lama from one of the most outstanding Buddhist masters of the 20th century, Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö, who raised him like his own son. After fleeing Tibet with his family, Rinpoche was educated in India and Cambridge, England. Since then he has taught throughout the world, developing a unique ability to attune the Tibetan Buddhist teachings to modern life. He is the spiritual director of Rigpa, an organisation devoted to presenting the teachings of the Buddha and to offering support and advice on spiritual care to those facing loss, illness or death, as well as their families and caregivers.
£15.29
Almuzara Ortega Y Gasset, El Gran Maestro
Book Synopsis
£24.04
Fingerprint! Publishing Relativity: The Special and the General Theory
Book Synopsis
£10.44
Harvard University Press The Consolation of Philosophy
Book SynopsisComposed while its author was imprisoned, this book remains one of Western literature’s most eloquent meditations on the transitory nature of earthly belongings, and the superiority of things of the mind. Slavitt’s translation captures Boethius’s energy and passion. Seth Lerer places Boethius’s life and achievement in context in his introduction.Trade ReviewThis is a sensitive and readable translation, whose poetic merits place it beyond other translations of Boethius's great text. -- Henry TaylorA remarkable translation of one of the great masterpieces of philosophical literature. -- Gail Holst-Warhaft, Cornell UniversityA springboard for personal reflection and a source of literate pleasure. -- Steven Chabot * Library Journal *It's a remarkable book (though a short one), and its latest edition, rendered into fluid, compellingly immediate English by veteran translator David R. Slavitt, is very markedly the best one it's ever had...Slavitt presents the reader with Boethius brought to vibrant, vigorous life, to a degree that makes all previous English versions seem pedantic and irrelevant. Harvard University Press has crafted a physically beautiful volume, sturdy and small enough to fit in your pocket--an extremely fitting format for a book that's meant to be a comfort against life's ills. Reading this edition, even readers who've never encountered Boethius before will see at once why his book has meant so much to so many people for the last 1,500 years. -- Steve Donoghue * openlettersmonthly.com *This is a beautifully made little book that I have taken with me on a number of trips, partly just for the pleasure of holding it. At any time I would be glad to have it. -- John Wilson * Books and Culture *Table of Contents* Acknowledgments * Introduction by Seth Lerer * Book I * Book II * Book III * Book IV * Book V
£17.06
Harvard University Press The Language Animal The Full Shape of the Human
Book SynopsisFrom Sources of the Self to A Secular Age, Charles Taylor has shown how we create ways of being, as individuals and as a society. Here, he demonstrates that language is at the center of this generative process. Language does not merely describe; it constitutes meaning, and the shared practice of speech shapes human experience.Trade ReviewCharacteristically, [Taylor’s] latest book transgresses the boundaries of usually distinct philosophical topics, incorporating disciplines outside philosophy: anthropology, sociology and developmental psychology. Philosophy of language becomes the doorway to metaphysics, politics and ethics, and to working out the nature of modernity and what it has made us. -- Jane O’Grady * Times Higher Education *Taylor moves well beyond theory, looking at the ‘shape, scope and uses of language.’ We find out a great deal about how language is learned, semantic invention, and how words fit into the broader palette of art, ritual, gesture and symbol. -- Jonathan Wright * Catholic Herald *Taylor’s prolific philosophical output is justly celebrated for the rich historical sweep of its learning…The Language Animal…is no exception…By the end we have been given a powerful and often uplifting vision of what it is to be truly human. -- John Cottingham * The Tablet *There is no other book that has presented a critique of conventional philosophy of language in these terms and constructed an alternative to it in anything like this way. -- Akeel Bilgrami, Columbia UniversityTaylor is one of the handful of most important thinkers of our era. The line of thinking he develops in The Language Animal is basic to his whole work since Explanation of Behaviour. Many readers will grasp the importance of a constitutive view of language, and for them this will be a landmark book. -- Craig Calhoun, Director of the London School of Economics and Political ScienceJust as Humboldt believed that ‘possessing a language is to be continuously involved in trying to extend its powers of articulation,’ Charles Taylor’s new book, The Language Animal, demonstrates how the very study of language over time embodies the evolving human effort to extend our understanding—not only of language, but of the very self language helps to describe, propel, and transcend. It is a deeply thoughtful, historically enriching, and ultimately luminous book. -- Maryanne Wolf, Tufts UniversityTrue to its author’s background in philosophy and political thought, The Language Animal is less a scientific, by-the-facts book than a reflective and often poetic account of how language shapes human experience. -- Charisma Lee * LSE Review of Books *Taylor’s argument is salutary and powerful. His erudition is impressive, and the rich diet of examples he assembles poses a serious challenge to facile reductionist accounts of language and of human nature. -- Edward Feser * National Review *[Taylor’s] ultimate objective in his latest book, The Language Animal, is to demonstrate how we can all live in a more tolerant ‘flexible’ (his word) world—if we can learn how to make the most of the resources, above all the resources for communication, we all share. This is a continuation of the ideas he has been working on throughout his astonishingly long and productive career. Taylor writes in a compelling, congenial way that enables him to encompass seeming contradictions. -- Anthony Pagden * World Post *
£25.46
Harvard University Press What Is Ancient Philosophy
Book SynopsisHadot shows how the schools, trends, and ideas of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy strove to transform the individual’s mode of perceiving and being in the world. For the ancients, philosophical theory and the philosophical way of life were inseparably linked. Hadot asks us to consider whether and how this connection might be reestablished today.Trade ReviewFirst published in France in 1995, Hadot's overview of ancient philosophy…is quite possibly one of the best one-volume works on the subject to have appeared in English in a very long time, not only for the clarity with which it is written…but also for the point of view Hadot takes. In keeping with Socrates' dictum that the unexamined life is not worth living, Hadot places each philosopher or movement discussed firmly within its cultural and intellectual context and shows that philosophy was not simply a process for creating theories but, more importantly, a way of life for many. -- Terry Skeats * Library Journal *Pierre Hadot is determined to change our view of ancient philosophy, and by extension, of philosophy as a discipline… Like Hadot's hero Socrates, What is Ancient Philosphy? is a triumph of irony: a meticulous historical survey that ends by inspiring the reader to actually do philosophy. Handsomely designed, with useful bibliography and chronology, it's a compact text for the 'never-ending quest.' -- Thomas D'Evelyn * Christian Science Monitor *Hadot's account moves gracefully from the beginning of philosophy among the Greeks, though its transformation under the Romans, and the encounter with Christianity, also touching on the relation between Eastern and Western philosophy. Profound learning stylishly worn makes the whole book, and the whole sweep of philosophy's first 1,000 years, accessible to any reader interested in what philosophy was like before it was taken over by the professors. -- Barry Allen * Globe & Mail *Pierre Hadot deserves to be better known to English-language readers—and not just because he was a favorite of Michel Foucault's and is the man largely responsible for introducing Wittgenstein to the French. Hadot is a historian of ancient philosophy, a professor emeritus at the prestigious Collège de France. But it is more accurate to say that he is a philosopher who makes use of the ancients for his own ideas… In What is Ancient Philosophy? Hadot brings all his concerns together in a small volume of extraordinary erudition and surprising…clarity of prose… It is the summa of a distinguished career. -- Barry Gewen * New York Times Book Review *This is a stimulating book. Thinking comparatively about what philosophy was and is will surely enrich the field. -- R. Kamtekar * Choice *In its sweep and clarity of presentation, I would compare this book with some of the great syntheses of an earlier generation—for instance, Werner Jaeger's Paideia. At the center of the study is the strikingly original notion of the spiritual exercise, which Professor Hadot here and elsewhere shows to lie at the heart of Greek Hellenistic thinking about man, morality, and the universe. -- Brian Stock, University of TorontoHadot's What Is Ancient Philosophy? is a wonderful book. It strives to persuade us to revise our view of philosophy—to think of philosophy, as the ancients did, as crucially involving a philosophical way of life. -- Michael Frede, Oxford UniversityThis book is a masterpiece of erudition and insight—it combines Pierre Hadot's extraordinary textual knowledge, his profound and original philosophical vision, and his famously lucid prose to give us a new way of approaching ancient philosophy. Beyond this, it proposes a conception of the tasks of philosophy that will be of abiding interest to philosophers and nonphilosophers alike. -- Arnold Davidson, University of ChicagoTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Translator's Note Introduction I. The Platonic Definition of "Philosopher" and Its Antecedents 1. Philosophy before Philosophy 2. The Inception of the Idea of "Doing Philosophy" 3. The Figure of Socrates 4. The Definition of "Philosopher" in Plato's Symposium II. Philosophy as a Way of Life 5. Plato and the Academy 6. Aristotle and His School 7. The Hellenistic Schools 8. Philosophical Schools in the Imperial Period 9. Philosophy and Philosophical Discourse III. Interruption and Continuity: The Middle Ages and Modern Times 10. Christianity as a Revealed Philosophy 11. Eclipses and Recurrences of the Ancient Concept of Philosophy 12. Questions and Perspectives Notes Quotations of Ancient Texts Selected Bibliography Chronology Index
£23.36
Pan Macmillan How To Think Like Socrates
Book SynopsisDonald Robertson is a cognitive-behavioural psychotherapist, trainer and writer. He was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, and, after living in England and working in London for many years, emigrated to Canada, where he now lives. Robertson has been researching philosophy and applying it in his work for twenty years. He is one of the founding members of the non-profit organization Modern Stoicism. Robertson is the author of several academic texts and multiple trade books, including the bestselling How to Think Like a Roman Emperor.
£18.70
Philosophy Now Prague 22
Book SynopsisPrague 22: A Philosopher Takes a Tram through a City is a work of joyful wonder inspired by the encounter between the philosopher of the title and one of the world's most beautiful cities. The memoir is anchored in the enchanting 22 tram journey linking the author's flat in Prague with the Castle. The city is unpacked in a torrent of sharp-eyed observations, reflections, and speculations, seasoned with mischievous humour. An attempt to encompass the magic, history, culture, and tragedy of Prague is interwoven with reflections on the enigmas of the human mind, of memory and forgetfulness, of knowledge and ignorance, and our strange nature as embodied subjects. The story of the meeting of a mind and a city widens and deepens into a celebration of the mystery of the world and of the human creatures who have constructed it.
£9.49
Sentient Publications All Else is Bondage: Non-Volitional Living
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£14.24
Krishna Books Incorporated The Nectar of Instruction
Book Synopsis"The Nectar of Instruction" by Srila Prabhupada offers enlightenment for seekers through guidelines on advanced spiritual consciousness, following the lineage of Gaudiya Vaishnavas like Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Maharaja and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
£6.99
C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd Ignorance and Bliss
Book SynopsisAristotle claimed that all human beings want to know'. Yet we also want not to know. Centuries after the Enlightenment, mesmerised crowds still follow preposterous prophets; irrational rumours trigger fanatical acts; and magical thinking crowds out common sense and expertise. Where does this will to ignorance originate, and how does it shape our lives today?Acclaimed essayist and historian of ideas Mark Lilla offers an absorbing intellectual travelogue of the human will not to know. He ranges with brio from the Book of Genesis and Plato's dialogues to Sufi parables and Sigmund Freud, revealing the paradoxes of hiding truth from ourselves. Lilla also exposes the illusions that this impulse can lead us to entertain: our belief in the ecstasies of prophet figures as a gateway to truth, the myth of children's wise simplicity, and the yearning for vanished, allegedly purer civilisations.
£18.04
Many Rivers Press David Whyte Essentials
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£13.50
