Philosophy Books

Book SynopsisThis book explores the biography, issues and legacy of French social theorist and philosopher Michel Foucault. Arguably, Foucault was the greatest scholar of the 20th century and has left a huge legacy. The issues that emanate from his work will be discussed and evaluated especially in relation to applied social science as a discipline of study as well as empirical examples from contemporary social research. In particular, the book explores examples drawing from helping professions to illuminate the legacy of Michel Foucault and his influential concepts and theories.

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Book SynopsisPuzzled?! seamlessly fuses two traditional approaches to the study of philosophy at the introductory level. It is thematic, examining fundamental issues in epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of religion, and more. It is also historical, introducing major philosophical arguments that have arisen throughout the history of Western philosophy. But its real innovation lies elsewhere. Each of its twelve chapters begins with a traditional argument of a thoroughly puzzling kind: a valid philosophical argument with highly plausible premises but a surprising conclusion. The remainder of the chapter shows how major innovations in the history of philosophy arise as logical responses to that argument. Written with a light touch, Puzzled?! nevertheless offers a rigorous introduction to the ideas it explores and to the foundations of critical thinking itself. It will serve as effectively as a main or supplementary text in an introduction to critical thinking as it will in Philosophy 101.

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Book SynopsisPuzzled?! seamlessly fuses two traditional approaches to the study of philosophy at the introductory level. It is thematic, examining fundamental issues in epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of religion, and more. It is also historical, introducing major philosophical arguments that have arisen throughout the history of Western philosophy. But its real innovation lies elsewhere. Each of its twelve chapters begins with a traditional argument of a thoroughly puzzling kind: a valid philosophical argument with highly plausible premises but a surprising conclusion. The remainder of the chapter shows how major innovations in the history of philosophy arise as logical responses to that argument. Written with a light touch, Puzzled?! nevertheless offers a rigorous introduction to the ideas it explores and to the foundations of critical thinking itself. It will serve as effectively as a main or supplementary text in an introduction to critical thinking as it will in Philosophy 101.

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Book SynopsisFocusing on basics--including those critical thinking skills that make philosophical ethics possible--Hornbook Ethics aims to help students understand, analyze, and evaluate both philosophical work in ethics and real-life ethical problems.Trade Review"Teachers of introductory ethics and applied ethics classes will have a hard time resisting Charles Cardwell's Hornbook Ethics. I am a big fan. The author has a remarkable gift for briefly introducing the basics of moral philosophy, and his book is so clear and concise that any serious student will be able to learn much from it. Not every philosopher will share its views or priorities of course, but these are set forth with such clarity that it will be easy to use even disagreements as teaching moments. I am unaware of better introduction to ethics whose brevity approaches this one's." --Peter Tramel, Department of Philosophy, Fort Hays State University

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Book SynopsisFocusing on basics--including those critical thinking skills that make philosophical ethics possible--Hornbook Ethics aims to help students understand, analyze, and evaluate both philosophical work in ethics and real-life ethical problems.Trade Review"Teachers of introductory ethics and applied ethics classes will have a hard time resisting Charles Cardwell's Hornbook Ethics. I am a big fan. The author has a remarkable gift for briefly introducing the basics of moral philosophy, and his book is so clear and concise that any serious student will be able to learn much from it. Not every philosopher will share its views or priorities of course, but these are set forth with such clarity that it will be easy to use even disagreements as teaching moments. I am unaware of better introduction to ethics whose brevity approaches this one's." --Peter Tramel, Department of Philosophy, Fort Hays State University

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Book SynopsisThis anthology provides a set of distinctive selections that explore both Western and Eastern views of lying and truthfulness, including selections from Augustine, Grotius, Aristotle, the Mahābhārata, Confucius, Kant, Plato, Sunzi, Han Feizi, Aquinas, the Lotus Sutra, Hobbes, Hume, Locke, Bacon, Nietzsche, and more. Hackett Readings in Philosophy is a versatile series of compact anthologies, each devoted to a topic of traditional interest in philosophy or political theory. Selections are chosen for their accessibility, significance, and ability to stimulate thought and discussion.

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Book SynopsisUnlike most texts in critical thinking, Reason in the Balance focuses broadly on the practice of critical inquiry, the process of carefully examining an issue in order to come to a reasoned judgment. Although analysis and critique of individual arguments have an important role to play, this text goes beyond that dimension to emphasize the various aspects that go into the practice of inquiry, including identifying issues and relevant contexts, understanding competing cases, and making a comparative judgment.Distinctive Features of the Text: Emphasis on applying critical thinking to complex issues with competing arguments Inclusion of chapters on inquiry in specific contexts Attention to the dialogical aspects of inquiry, including sample dialogues Emphasis on the spirit of inquiry The Second Edition Features: Updated examples and items of current interest New dialogues on vaccination, prostitution, and climate change New material on biases in reasoning, including emotional, psychological, social, and cognitive The Reason in the Balance Website includes: An Appendix on Logic Exercises Quizzes Trade ReviewComments on the First Edition: "The approach taken to critical thinking in its pages is refreshingly ambitious, original, and in-touch with all of the major approaches to the study of argumentation. . . . The model of inquiry set forth in the book is robust enough to provide students with the foundation they need to develop real skill in critical, interpersonal reasoning – a boast few offerings in the critical thinking textbook field can truly make." —Steven Patterson, in Controversia "Reason in the Balance: An Inquiry Approach to Critical Thinking is distinctive in the emphasis it places not only on tools of critical inquiry (principles of logic and argumentation, etc.) but also the values and mindset that are required for the proper exercise of these tools, values like open-mindedness and fair-mindedness and critical scrutiny of assumptions. My own view is that critical thinking involves the simultaneous application of a number of different cognitive skills and attitudes in the service of improving the quality of our beliefs and judgments, and this text shares this multidimensional view of the components of critical thinking. This text understands that logic and argumentation are very different things, and the result is a more nuanced discussion of the relationships between logic, argumentation and critical inquiry than one normally sees in a critical thinking text." —Kevin deLaplante, Critical Thinker Academy and Iowa State University "This is a terrific text: witty, engagingly written, with strong focus on inquiry and reaching reasoned judgments on complex issues. Emphasizes the dialectical dimension of CT, the importance of context, and the spirit of inquiry. Focuses on realistic examples of actual inquiry on questions that matter (e.g., is it OK to eat meat?; pit bull legislation; capital punishment) and that are complex and detailed but fast-moving and very well presented. Emphasizes comparative evaluation of arguments to conflicting conclusions and tight interconnection of critical and creative thinking. Offers a neat way of assigning strength/weakness measures to arguments. All in all an innovative and effective text. Highly recommended!" —Harvey Siegel, University of Miami

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Book Synopsis"Margaret Cavendish's philosophical work is at last taking its rightful place in the history of seventeenth-century thought, but her writings are so voluminous and wide-ranging that introducing her work to students has been difficult—at least until this volume came along. This carefully edited abridgment of Observations upon Experimental Philosophy will be indispensable for making Cavendish's fascinating ideas accessible to students. Marshall's Introduction provides a helpful overview of themes in Cavendish's natural philosophy, and the footnotes contain useful background information about some of the texts and philosophers that Cavendish mentions. The additional selections from Descartes, Hobbes, Boyle, and Hooke also help contextualize Cavendish's views." —Deborah Boyle, College of CharlestonTrade Review"An excellent introduction to an interesting but neglected voice in early-modern philosophy. Though her views don't fit neatly into the standard story of the development of natural philosophy in the period, Margaret Cavendish very much deserves to be read and appreciated for the alternatives she presents to what became the dominant picture. Marshall's Introduction and selection of texts allow the student to appreciate the diversity of views available at that crucial moment when the philosophical canon was being formed." —Daniel Garber, Princeton UniversityTable of ContentsEditor's Introduction Life and Works Natural Philosophy Other Works, Other Themes Reading Cavendish Today A Note on This Edition Observations upon Experimental PhilosophyChapters 1-3, 5, 15-17, 19-21, 25-26, 31, 35-17Further Observations upon Experimental PhilosophyChapters 2-3, 5-8, 10-11, 13-15Selections from the Writings of Cavendish's Contemporaries From The Principles of Philosophy, by Rene Descartes From Leviathan, by Thomas Hobbes From The Usefulness of Experimental Philosophy, By Robert Boyle From Micrographic, by Robert Hooke From The Excellence and Grounds of the Mechanical Natural Philosophy, by Robert Boyle Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisOften translated simply as "logic," the Sanskrit word nyāya means "rule of reasoning" or "method of reasoning." Texts from the school of classical Indian philosophy that bears this name are concerned with cognition, reasoning, and the norms that govern rational debate. This translation of selections from the early school of Nyāya focuses on its foundational text, the Nyāya-sūtra (c. 200 CE), with excerpts from the early commentaries. It will be welcomed by specialists and non-specialists alike seeking an accessible text that both represents some of the best of Indian philosophical thought and can be integrated into courses on Indian philosophy, religion, and intellectual culture.Trade Review"Matthew Dasti and Stephen Phillips have done the philosophical world, and teachers and students of philosophy, a great favor in presenting this superb translation of major portions of the Nyāya-sūtra with selections from its most important commentaries. This text is central to the history of Indian epistemology and metaphysics, and was influential well beyond the world of Nyāya, and its most important philosophical passages are presented here. Dasti and Phillips’ translations of this often-technical text are fluent and clear, rendering it in accessible but precise philosophical English. Their explanatory notes are clear, accurate, and concise. The inclusion of substantial extracts of the commentaries of Vātsyāyana, Vācaspatimiśra, and Uddyotakara is especially welcome. Not only do these masterful commentaries extend and explain the philosophical ideas in the sūtra, but they demonstrate to the reader the importance of reading this text through the commentarial tradition it inspires and the vitality of that tradition. This will be a valuable resource to scholars as well as to teachers and students." —Jay Garfield, Professor of Philosophy, Smith College"I have been teaching Introduction to Hindu Philosophy courses for almost twenty years and have always lamented the lack of a usable, student-friendly reader on Nyāya, which, of all the Vedic schools, is the one most committed to rational argumentation. Dasti and Phillips’ volume fills the bill beautifully and will be the go-to source in the field for a good generation and more." —Edwin F. Bryant, Professor of Religion, Rutgers, The State University of New JerseyTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Bibliographical Preface Introduction Chapter 1: Knowledge Sources Chapter 2: Doubt and Philosophical Method Chapter 3: In Defense of the Real Chapter 4: Self Chapter 5: Substance and Causation Chapter 6: God Chapter 7: Word and Object Chapter 8: The Right and the Good Chapter 9: Debate Appendix A: Outline of the Nyāya-sūtra Appendix B: List of Sūtras Translated by Chapter Glossary of Sanskrit Terms Index

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Book SynopsisThis richly annotated, scrupulously accurate, and consistent translation of Aristotle's De Anima fits seamlessly with other volumes in the series. Sequentially numbered endnotes provide the information most needed at each juncture, while a detailed Index of Terms indicates places where focused discussion of key notions occurs. An illuminating general Introduction describes the book that lies ahead, explaining what sort of work it is and what sorts of evidence it relies on.Trade Review"This is C. D. C. Reeve's entirely new version of Aristotle's fascinating, and at the same time superbly difficult, text. The translation is faithful, concise, and extraordinarily thoughtful. Any student of the De Anima will no doubt greatly profit from it. Reeve's Introduction focuses on the place of the study of the soul in Aristotle's biology and—controversially—theology. With this he provides a refreshing and highly instructive counterpoint to an idea still very powerful in the secondary literature. This is the thought that the De Anima pertains to the province of 'the philosophy of mind.' Reeve shows that the De Anima is much more than this. A remarkable contribution." —Klaus Corcilius, University of California, Berkeley and The University of Tübingen"This is an excellent translation of Aristotle's De Anima or On the Soul, part of C.D.C. Reeve's impressive ongoing project of translating Aristotle's works for the New Hackett Aristotle. Reeve's translation is careful and accurate, committed to faithfully rendering Aristotle into English while making him as readable as possible. This edition features excellent notes that will greatly assist readers (especially in their inclusion of related passages that illuminate the sections they annotate) and an introduction that situates the work within Aristotle's scientific method and his overall view of reality." —Caleb Cohoe, Metropolitan State University of Denver, in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

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Book SynopsisIn these essays, 24 of our most celebrated professors of philosophy address the problem of how to teach philosophy today: how to make philosophy interesting and relevant; how to bring classic texts to life; how to serve all students; and how to align philosophy with more "practical" pursuits. Selected and introduced by three leaders in the world of philosophical education, the insights contained in this inspiring collection illuminate the challenges and possibilities of teaching the academy’s oldest discipline.Trade Review"Every philosopher who is a teacher (and even those who are not) ought to own or at least read a copy of this book. The joys and sorrows, obstacles and over-comings, as expressed in the 24 stories are, I wager, experiences that all teachers have had and will continue to experience. To hear such stories expressed by others is a breath of fresh air." —Jason Costanzo, Missouri Western State University, in Philosophy in Review"This fabulous collection features two dozen thought-provoking, instructive, and inspiring essays about the vocation and aims of teaching philosophy, written by a diverse group of award-winning professors. Philosophy instructors do well to reflect often on their pedagogy; this volume provides access to the reflections of successful colleagues. Anyone who teaches philosophy will benefit from reading this marvelous book." —Robert B. Talisse, W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy, Vanderbilt University"These varied essays insightfully portray the struggles and occasional triumphs of teaching philosophy, from the large lecture hall to the seminar room, and offer a wealth of strategies, techniques, and practices that promise to enhance philosophy teaching at all levels. By turns inspiring, humbling, depressing, instructive, engaging, insightful, honest, deeply personal, and moving, every philosophy teacher will find something of value here." —Harvey Siegel, University of Miami"You will meet in these essays smart, experienced, reflective, and funny teachers. You will encounter a variety of creative perspectives on what people do in the classroom, covering everything from the 60,000 feet view about what the goals of a teacher are, to the micro quotidian ideas about assignments. There are accounts of great successes (and many an assignment you will want to try out for yourself), and a few rueful tales of (spectacular!) failures and how they shaped the next day, or week, or course. "One wonderful and distinctive thing about the volume is the deep mark of the personal on most of these pieces. These teachers struggle and stumble! They are sometimes filled with anxiety! But the love of what they do, and the constant careful attention to what works and what does not work propels them, and us, forward." —Katheryn Doran, Hamilton College"As a teacher for over two decades, I found Philosophers in the Classroom utterly absorbing, enlivening the teaching of philosophy by the insightful, inspiring, and entirely feasible practices employed by these master teachers." —Sally Scholz, Villanova UniversityTable of ContentsContents: Preface, by Steven M. Cahn Introduction, by Alexandra Bradner and Andrew Mills I. Teaching Philosophy: A Prologue 1. “What is Philosophy? What is Education?,” by Seung-Kee Lee 2. “Free to Think,” by Andrea Tschemplik II. Teaching the Students 3. “Competing Visions,” by Maureen Eckert 4. “Learning to Teach,” by David Concepción 5. “Meeting Students Where They Are,” Paul Hurley 6. “Introducing Philosophy in a Large Classroom,” by Marie-Eve Morin 7. “Teaching Value Theory to the Disenfranchised,” by James Rocha 8. “Imagine Yourself in the Bird: Teaching Philosophy at the United States Military Academy,” by Courtney Morris III. Teaching the Course 9. “Critical Thinking and Empowerment,” by Mark Piper 10. “Getting It Right: Forty Years of Intro to Philosophy,” by Stephen Daniel 11. “On Teaching ‘Happiness and the Meaning of Life,” by Christine Vitrano 12. “Learning not to Teach,” by Paul Woodruff 13. “Moments of Grace,” by Anthony Weston IV. Teaching Beyond the Course 14. “Of Games and Confrontations,” by David C.K. Curry 15. “Is the Unexamined Life Worth Living?,” by David Palmer 16. “Teaching for Our Good,” by Bob Fischer 17. “A Slow Apprenticeship with the Real,” by John Whitmire 18. “Teaching Ethics, Happiness, & The Good Life: An Upbuilding Discourse in the Spirits of Søren Kierkegaard and John Dewey,” by Alex Stehn V. Teaching the Teacher 19. “Teaching Philosophy to First Generation Students,” by Bertha Manninen 20. “Critical Thinking Can Save Your Life,” by Betsy Jelinek 21. “This is Teaching,” by Jane Drexler 22. “Teaching as a Humanism,” by Russell Marcus 23. “When Our Students Die,” by Nick Smith 24. “A Teaching Life,” by Martin Benjamin

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Book SynopsisIn these essays, 24 of our most celebrated professors of philosophy address the problem of how to teach philosophy today: how to make philosophy interesting and relevant; how to bring classic texts to life; how to serve all students; and how to align philosophy with more "practical" pursuits. Selected and introduced by three leaders in the world of philosophical education, the insights contained in this inspiring collection illuminate the challenges and possibilities of teaching the academy’s oldest discipline.Table of ContentsContents: Preface, by Steven M. Cahn Introduction, by Alexandra Bradner and Andrew Mills I. Teaching Philosophy: A Prologue 1. “What is Philosophy? What is Education?,” by Seung-Kee Lee 2. “Free to Think,” by Andrea Tschemplik II. Teaching the Students 3. “Competing Visions,” by Maureen Eckert 4. “Learning to Teach,” by David Concepción 5. “Meeting Students Where They Are,” Paul Hurley 6. “Introducing Philosophy in a Large Classroom,” by Marie-Eve Morin 7. “Teaching Value Theory to the Disenfranchised,” by James Rocha 8. “Imagine Yourself in the Bird: Teaching Philosophy at the United States Military Academy,” by Courtney Morris III. Teaching the Course 9. “Critical Thinking and Empowerment,” by Mark Piper 10. “Getting It Right: Forty Years of Intro to Philosophy,” by Stephen Daniel 11. “On Teaching ‘Happiness and the Meaning of Life,” by Christine Vitrano 12. “Learning not to Teach,” by Paul Woodruff 13. “Moments of Grace,” by Anthony Weston IV. Teaching Beyond the Course 14. “Of Games and Confrontations,” by David C.K. Curry 15. “Is the Unexamined Life Worth Living?,” by David Palmer 16. “Teaching for Our Good,” by Bob Fischer 17. “A Slow Apprenticeship with the Real,” by John Whitmire 18. “Teaching Ethics, Happiness, & The Good Life: An Upbuilding Discourse in the Spirits of Søren Kierkegaard and John Dewey,” by Alex Stehn V. Teaching the Teacher 19. “Teaching Philosophy to First Generation Students,” by Bertha Manninen 20. “Critical Thinking Can Save Your Life,” by Betsy Jelinek 21. “This is Teaching,” by Jane Drexler 22. “Teaching as a Humanism,” by Russell Marcus 23. “When Our Students Die,” by Nick Smith 24. “A Teaching Life,” by Martin Benjamin

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Book SynopsisThinking Through Questions is an accessible and compact guide to the art of questioning, covering both the use and abuse of questions. Animated by wide-ranging and engaging exercises and examples, the book helps students deepen their understanding of how questions work and what questions do, and builds the skills needed to ask better questions. Cowritten by two of today's leading philosopher-teachers, Thinking Through Questions is specifically designed to complement, connect, and motivate today’s standard curricula, especially for classes in critical thinking, philosophical questioning, and creative problem- solving (called here "expansive questioning"). Offering students a wide and appreciative look at questions and questioning, this small book will also appeal to faculty and students across the disciplines: in college writing courses, creativity workshops, education schools, introductions to college thinking, design thinking projects, and humanities and thinking classes. Open-ended, creative, and critically self-possessed thinking is its constant theme—what field doesn’t need more of that?Trade Review"This small book holds big value for teachers of philosophy and teachers of critical thinking in any discipline. If you want your students to be more ‘curious, critical, exploratory, and creative,’ this book will serve well as a supplementary or core text. It offers appreciation for the power of questioning, opportunities to identify types of questions, and practice in questioning skills. The authors, both recognized as master teachers, bring their own considerable pedagogical experience and engaging style to encouraging better questioning in all of us." —Donna Engelmann, Alverno College"Highly accessible, Thinking Through Questions guides students to greater freedom regarding how, why, when, and when not to ask or answer critical, expansive, and philosophical questions. It is an especially good choice for courses where critical thinking figures prominently, both because of its content and because of the practice exercises it contains. But more fundamentally, this book leaves readers more able to resist coercive questions, reconfigure false dilemmas, question more creatively, and diagnose embedded philosophical and other assumptions. It teaches how to profitably answer questions, do valuable things with questions other than answer them, ask better questions, and liberate oneself from cognitive traps many questions set." —David Concepción, professor of philosophy, Ball State University

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Book SynopsisThis new translation of De Caelo (On the Heavens) fits seamlessly with other volumes in the New Hackett Aristotle series, enabling Anglophone readers to study Aristotle’s work in a way previously not possible. The Introduction describes the book that lies ahead, explaining what it is about, what it is trying to do, how it goes about doing it, and what sort of audience it presupposes. Sequentially numbered endnotes provide the information most needed at each juncture, while a detailed Index indicates the places where focused discussion of key notions occurs.Trade Review"The De Caelo can be quite difficult for a first-time reader. C. D. C. Reeve's fluid and accurate translation, along with his superb Introduction and 560 endnotes (in effect functioning as a commentary), are bound to make this work much more accessible, while at the same time being a highly useful tool for seasoned Aristotle scholars." —Robert Mayhew, professor of philosophy at Seton Hall University"Reeve's lucid and accurate translation of this difficult work will be of great value both to historians of philosophy and to philosophers interested in the topics Aristotle addresses for their own sake. The generous Introduction and notes provide the reader without Greek with full access to Aristotle’s thinking." —William Charlton, author of many works on Aristotle's philosophy of nature and contributor of five volumes to the Ancient Commentators on Aristotle series

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Book Synopsis"Margaret Cavendish (1623–1673) is a fascinating figure who is getting increasing attention by historians of philosophy these days, and for good reason. . . . She’s an interesting advocate of a vitalist tradition emphasizing the inherent activity of matter, as well as its inherent perceptive faculties. She’s also the perfect character to open students (and their teachers) up to a different seventeenth century, and a different cast of philosophical characters. This is an ideal book to use in the classroom. The Philosophical Letters (1664) gives us Cavendish’s view of what was interesting and important in the philosophical world at that moment, a view of philosophy as it was at the time by an engaged participant. There are few documents like it in the history of philosophy. Deborah Boyle’s Introduction provides a very accessible summary of Cavendish’s natural philosophy, as well as good introductions to the other figures that Cavendish discusses in the book. Boyle’s annotations are not extensive, but they are a great help in guiding the student toward an informed reading of the texts." —Daniel Garber, Princeton UniversityTrade Review"Boyle’s new edition of Cavendish’s Philosophical Letters makes accessible in print this imagined correspondence between Cavendish and another woman about how Cavendish’s view compares to those of Descartes, Hobbes, More, and Van Helmont. Boyle’s excellent Introduction sets the work in its context with respect to modes of writing and the intellectual environment in which she wrote, to Cavendish’s philosophical system as it is developed across her writings, and to the views of those thinkers against which she positions herself. This edition is both scholarly and accessible. It will be valuable to those already familiar with Cavendish, and especially valuable to those just starting to incorporate Cavendish into their understanding of early modern philosophy.” —Lisa Shapiro, Simon Fraser University“Boyle argues, and succeeds in making the case, that the Letters can be read on their own and stand as a single work (not a scattered series of thoughts). This will almost certainly become the standard volume of Cavendish's Letters." —Stephen Barbone, San Diego State University“Cavendish’s Philosophical Letters are an essential yet perhaps unappreciated text for those exploring the seventeenth century scientific revolution. . . . Boyle’s introduction is magically concise where the letters are dense and dizzying, at one moment abstract and then turning toward unexpected metaphor or even cultural commentary. . . . This is a text where the introduction is not only necessary, but thankfully also elucidatory, making legible the concerns and variety of opinions that produced it. “This edition is valuable to both advanced scholars and students because the scholarly apparati show what Cavendish is reading and responding to, a difficult task for those who had previously depended on the facsimile edition of the 1664 folio. "Boyle’s edition makes it possible to introduce this difficult text with crucial background and clarification, so that students in particular will see what she accurately calls 'a clearer picture of the shape of philosophy in the seventeenth century.'" —Andrew Black, Murray State University, in The Seventeenth Century

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Book Synopsis"Margaret Cavendish (1623–1673) is a fascinating figure who is getting increasing attention by historians of philosophy these days, and for good reason. . . . She’s an interesting advocate of a vitalist tradition emphasizing the inherent activity of matter, as well as its inherent perceptive faculties. She’s also the perfect character to open students (and their teachers) up to a different seventeenth century, and a different cast of philosophical characters. This is an ideal book to use in the classroom. The Philosophical Letters (1664) gives us Cavendish’s view of what was interesting and important in the philosophical world at that moment, a view of philosophy as it was at the time by an engaged participant. There are few documents like it in the history of philosophy. Deborah Boyle’s Introduction provides a very accessible summary of Cavendish’s natural philosophy, as well as good introductions to the other figures that Cavendish discusses in the book. Boyle’s annotations are not extensive, but they are a great help in guiding the student toward an informed reading of the texts." —Daniel Garber, Princeton UniversityTrade Review"Boyle’s new edition of Cavendish’s Philosophical Letters makes accessible in print this imagined correspondence between Cavendish and another woman about how Cavendish’s view compares to those of Descartes, Hobbes, More, and Van Helmont. Boyle’s excellent Introduction sets the work in its context with respect to modes of writing and the intellectual environment in which she wrote, to Cavendish’s philosophical system as it is developed across her writings, and to the views of those thinkers against which she positions herself. This edition is both scholarly and accessible. It will be valuable to those already familiar with Cavendish, and especially valuable to those just starting to incorporate Cavendish into their understanding of early modern philosophy.” —Lisa Shapiro, Simon Fraser University“Boyle argues, and succeeds in making the case, that the Letters can be read on their own and stand as a single work (not a scattered series of thoughts). This will almost certainly become the standard volume of Cavendish's Letters." —Stephen Barbone, San Diego State University

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Book SynopsisIn the field of the philosophy of history of the 20th century, Collingwood''s contributions stand above the rest. He was truly one of the most profoundly influential thinkers of his time. He was a philosopher, historian and archaeologist that combined the unique perspectives of all three disciplines. In relation to other historians and philosophers, his thinking and perspective were of a far deeper and more profound nature. In the West, most Collingwoodians come from philosophical circles. Their critiques and explanations of Collingwood''s thought of history have already left an enormous contribution in this field. However, their discussions on this topic often fall short of the mark in understanding Collingwood, his thoughts on historical knowledge and his theory on the hermeneutics of history. They often explain Collingwood''s thought on history from a purely philosophical perspective. However, Collingwood''s views on history were an amalgamation of his reflections on history, philosophy and archaeology. This volume cuts to the core of Collingwood''s work, closely elucidating how inter-subjective the process of "re-enactment" in history is for Collingwood and how structurally constitutive "question and answer" is of "re-enactment" across time between us today and past experiences ages ago.

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Book SynopsisAfter the historiographic revolution in science studies of the 1960''s, philosophers began to envision science as a product of historical and sociological forces and not as the result of the "scientific method." While the importance of experimentation is recognised in recent science studies, the full significance for its role in scientific practice generally remains overlooked. Therefore, attempts to reconstruct narratives of scientific practice are often incomplete. In this book, the author proposes onto-epistemological roles for experimentation in terms of an empirical methodology, for analysing experiments in scientific practice. These case studies provide a tangible framework for engaging in a series of philosophical reflections on the onto-epistemological roles of experimentation for an empirical methodology. From the analysis of the reconstruction of this historical narrative, the author identifies several characteristics of experimentation -- controllability, reproducibility, plasticity, and fecundity -- that are important for understanding how scientific practice leads to the discovery of novel entities within the natural world and ultimately to the growth of scientific knowledge and scientific progress. In addition, the notion of horizon for scientific practice, representing particularly the experimental and theoretical limits within which scientists ply their trade, is introduced to facilitate the analysis of scientific discovery. And the notion of progressive horizon, in which the practice of scientists intersects dynamically with "the way nature is", is also introduced to analyse scientific progress. That mediation represents a "tampering" with the natural world, in which the measure of a natural phenomenon is taken through experimental activity.

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Book SynopsisSystems Theory is a transdisciplinary field that involves complex combinations of different research fields with the purpose to explain the observed natural phenomena in the world around us. This field results in the appearance of the General System Theory. The aim of the present book is to present some of what is being done, in the 21st century, in different fields that comprise the Systems Theory. In the several chapters of this book developments of this theory are presented with the aim to solve different problems of systems. Different areas are covered, from biology and psychology to electronics, information sciences and management. The authors present their research in the study of the synthetic and systems biology, systems theory of bipolar disorder, unifying principles of science through physical activities, control of linear and non-linear systems, class of superquadratic Hamiltonian systems, systems with propagation, wireless sensor networks, information systems, and service operations management. This book is a tool composed by several results in the systems theory of several research fields with important application in the resolution of the problem of understanding our world.

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Book SynopsisThere is a crisis in the Humanities. This crisis encompasses the definition of the humanities, the depth, breath and scope of the humanities and the fact that the humanities has been diluted by various tangential fields over the last few decades. The authors address the need to recapture the beauty of the humanities, the importance of the humanities and the impact of the humanities on this, and future generations. Scholars in various fields (art, music, etc.) have endeavoured to represent their discipline, while at the same time galvanising the need for a more serious study of the humanities and the relevance and importance of the humanities. There are few books out there representing and advocating for this field. This text is a stellar attempt to resurrect the field of the humanities and highlight their importance.

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Book SynopsisIs it really true that, as the Roman philosopher Seneca famously said in antiquity, "It is the quality rather than the quantity that matters"? (TE 2013) This popular view on quality can be contrasted with an opposing view by John Ruskin, who wrote that "the strength and power of a country depends absolutely on the quantity of good men and women in it." (TE 2013a) Contrary to these opposing views (and other ones as will be discussed in the book), human resources (in relation to quantity and quality) are neither possible (nor impossible) nor desirable (or undesirable) to the extent that the respective ideologues (on different sides) would like us to believe. Of course, this questioning of the opposing views on human resources does not imply that the study of quantity and quality is worthless, or that those fields (related to human resources)like demographics, human resource management, labor economics, development studies, environmental migration, modernization, organizational studies, sustainable growth, and so onare unimportant. (WK 2013) Needless to say, neither of these extreme views is reasonable. Instead, this book offers an alternative (better) way to understand the future of human resources in regard to the dialectic relationship between quantity and quality (especially, though not solely, in the context of demographics)while learning from different approaches in the literature but without favoring any one of them (nor integrating them, since they are not necessarily compatible with each other). More specifically, this book offers a new theory (that is, the post-human theory of demography) to go beyond the existing approaches in a novel way and is organized in four chapters. This seminal project will fundamentally change the way that we think about human resources in relation to quantity and quality (especially, though not solely, in the context of demographics) from the combined perspectives of the mind, nature, society, and culture, with enormous implications for the human future and what I originally called its "post-human" fate.

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Book SynopsisIs it really true that, as the Roman philosopher Seneca famously said in antiquity, "It is the quality rather than the quantity that matters"? (TE 2013) This popular view on quality can be contrasted with an opposing view by John Ruskin, who wrote that "the strength and power of a country depends absolutely on the quantity of good men and women in it." (TE 2013a) Contrary to these opposing views (and other ones as will be discussed in the book), human resources (in relation to quantity and quality) are neither possible (nor impossible) nor desirable (or undesirable) to the extent that the respective ideologues (on different sides) would like us to believe. Of course, this questioning of the opposing views on human resources does not imply that the study of quantity and quality is worthless, or that those fields (related to human resources)like demographics, human resource management, labor economics, development studies, environmental migration, modernization, organizational studies, sustainable growth, and so onare unimportant. (WK 2013) Needless to say, neither of these extreme views is reasonable. Instead, this book offers an alternative (better) way to understand the future of human resources in regard to the dialectic relationship between quantity and quality (especially, though not solely, in the context of demographics)while learning from different approaches in the literature but without favoring any one of them (nor integrating them, since they are not necessarily compatible with each other). More specifically, this book offers a new theory (that is, the post-human theory of demography) to go beyond the existing approaches in a novel way and is organized in four chapters. This seminal project will fundamentally change the way that we think about human resources in relation to quantity and quality (especially, though not solely, in the context of demographics) from the combined perspectives of the mind, nature, society, and culture, with enormous implications for the human future and what I originally called its "post-human" fate.

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Book SynopsisIs public administration so effective that, as William Poole once wrote, "it is highly desirable that policy practice be formalised to the maximum possible extent"? (FAM 2014). This favourable view on policy and implementation can be contrasted with an opposing view by Thomas Sowell, who warned that "you will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing." (FAM 2014a) Contrary to these opposing views (and other ones as will be discussed in the book), public administration (in relation to policy and implementation) are neither possible (or impossible) nor desirable (or undesirable) to the extent that the respective ideologues (on different sides) would like us to believe. Needless to say, this questioning of different opposing views on policy and implementation does not suggest that the study of public administration is worthless, or that those diverse fields (related to public administration) -- like policy analysis, program evaluation, sociology, psychology, philosophy, performance management, organisational development, economics, anthropology, geography, law, political science, social work, environmental planning, human resources, organisational theory, budgeting, ethics, and so on should be ignored. (WK 2014, 2014a & 2014b) In fact, neither of these extreme views is plausible. Rather, this book offers an alternative (and better) way to understand the future of public administration in regard to the dialectic relationship between policy and implementation, while learning from different approaches in the literature but without favouring any one of them (nor integrating them, since they are not necessarily compatible with each other). More specifically, this book offers a new theory (that is, the tensional theory of public administration) to go beyond the existing approaches in a novel way, and is organised in four chapters. This seminal project will fundamentally change the way that we think about public administration in relation to policy and implementation from the combined perspectives of the mind, nature, society, and culture, with enormous implications for the human future and what I originally called its "post-human" fate.

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Book SynopsisIs public administration so effective that, as William Poole once wrote, "it is highly desirable that policy practice be formalised to the maximum possible extent"? (FAM 2014) This favourable view on policy and implementation can be contrasted with an opposing view by Thomas Sowell, who warned that "you will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing." (FAM 2014a) Contrary to these opposing views (and other ones as will be discussed in the book), public administration (in relation to policy and implementation) are neither possible (nor impossible) nor desirable (or undesirable) to the extent that the respective ideologues (on different sides) would like us to believe. Needless to say, this questioning of different opposing views on policy and implementation does not suggest that the study of public administration is worthless, or that those diverse fields (related to public administration) -- like policy analysis, program evaluation, sociology, psychology, philosophy, performance management, organisational development, economics, anthropology, geography, law, political science, social work, environmental planning, human resources, organisational theory, budgeting, ethics, and so on should be ignored. (WK 2014, 2014a & 2014b) In fact, neither of these extreme views is plausible. Rather, this book offers an alternative (and better) way to understand the future of public administration in regard to the dialectic relationship between policy and implementation, while learning from different approaches in the literature but without favouring any one of them (nor integrating them, since they are not necessarily compatible with each other). More specifically, this book offers a new theory (that is, the tensional theory of public administration) to go beyond the existing approaches in a novel way, and is organized in four chapters. This seminal project will fundamentally change the way that we think about public administration in relation to policy and implementation from the combined perspectives of the mind, nature, society, and culture, with enormous implications for the human future and what I originally called its "post-human" fate.

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Book SynopsisA stimulating and profound portrayal of the epochal event that has already left its mark on the twenty-first century.Immunodemocracy offers a stimulating and profound portrayal of the epochal event that has already left its mark on the twenty-first century. Moving from the ecological question to the rule of experts, from the state of exception to immunitarian democracy, from rule by fear to the contagion of conspiracy theory, from forced distancing to digital control, Donatella Di Cesare examines how existence is already changing--and what its future political effects may be. In her own personal style, the author reconstructs the dramatic phases of what she calls "the breathing catastrophe." Coronavirus is a sovereign virus that skirts its way around the walls of patriotism and the sovereignists'' imperious frontiers. And it reveals in all its terrible crudeness the immunitarian logic that excludes the weakest and hits the poorest. The Cordon sanitaire of disengagement risks expanding beyond all proportion. The disparity between the protected and the helpless--a challenge to any idea of justice--has never been so blatant. The virus has not introduced, but merely brought out into the open the ruthlessness of the capitalism that is now wrapping us in its devastating spiral, in its compulsive, asphyxial vortex. Is it our final warning? The violent global pandemic shows that it is impossible for us to survive if we don''t help each other. We will need to protect ourselves from protection and the specter of absolute immunization. When breathing can no longer be taken for granted, we need to rethink a new way of living together.

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Book SynopsisAgainst a backdrop rich with purples, blues, and shades of black, a blaze of stars glittering across a vast empty sky spurs our curiosity about the past, driving us inevitably to ponder the future. For millennia, the night sky has been a collective canvas for our stories, maps, traditions, beliefs, and discoveries. Over the course of time, continents have formed and eroded, sea levels have risen and fallen, the chemistry of our atmosphere has changed, and yet the daily cycle of light to dark has remained pretty much the same . . . until the last 100 years." - Karen Trevino, from the forewordNo matter where we live, what language we speak, or what culture shapes our worldview, there is always the night. The darkness is a reminder of the ebb and flow, of an opportunity to recharge, of the movement of time. But how many of us have taken the time to truly know a starry night? To really know it.Combining the lyrical writing of Paul Bogard with the stunning night-sky photography of Beau Rogers, To Know a Starry Night explores the powerful experience of being outside under a natural starry sky--how important it is to human life, and how so many people don't know this experience. As the night sky increasingly becomes flooded with artificial-light pollution, this poignant work helps us reconnect with the natural darkness of night, an experience that now, in our time, is fading from our lives.Table of Contents Dedication Acknowledgements Foreword: Karen Trevino Foreword: Scott Slovic 1. Introduction 2. Darkness 3. Fear 4. Knowledge 5. Solace 6. Solitude 7. Moonlight 8. Wildness 9. Mystery About the Author and Photographer

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Book SynopsisAfter darkness, there is always light In a time of increasing uncertainty, Rethink offers a guide to a much-needed global ''reset moment'', with leading international figures giving us glimpses of a better future after the pandemic. Each contribution explores a different aspect of public and private life that can be re-examined - from Pope Francis on poverty and the Dalai Lama on the role of ancient wisdom to Brenda Hale on the courts and Tara Westover on the education divide; from Elif Shafak on uncertainty and Steven Pinker on Human Nature to Xine Yao on masks and Jarvis Cocker on environmental revolution. Collectively, they offer a roadmap for positive change after a year of unprecedented hardship.Based on the hit BBC podcast, and with introductions by presenter and journalist Amol Rajan, Rethink gives us the opportunity to consider what a better world might look like and reaffirms that after darkness there is always light.RETHINK List

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Book SynopsisBeautifully illustrated, this gem of a book, may well be the most profound thing you will ever read !

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Book SynopsisReprint. Journey of Self-Discovery is a collection of transcribed conversations and lectures by Srila Prabhupada on a variety of subjects, including the means for achieving global unity, the myth of scarcity, spiritual economics, superior evolutionary models, and predictions of the future state of the world.Many of these pieces previously appeared in Back to Godhead magazine, and helpfully address the doubts that inevitably arise for those new to the Vedic view of reality.While Srila Prabhupada published definitive, scholarly translations and commentaries on some of the world''s most important ancient textsBhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, and Chaitanya Charitamritahis printed talks found here in Journey of Self-Discovery capture the humorous, refreshing flavor of his lively debating style. With 8 col. illustrations.

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Book SynopsisWhereas material knowledge often leads to pride, spiritual knowledge culminates in humility and appreciation for the personal feature of the Absolute Truth, or Krishna, "the all-attractive one." The greater we think we are, the less we'll be attracted to Krishna; and the Bhagavad-gita won't even make sense to us.

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Book Synopsis''Reads at times like Eat Pray Love as written by David Foster Wallace. A rich and almost eerily timely book'' William Fiennes, author of The Snow GeeseStepping back from the world is an ancient human impulse. Over the last year we have had to retreat. But throughout history, we have chosen to.We were doing it more and more, anyway. Mindfulness and meditation are all the rage. Wellness tourism, yoga breaks, meditation apps, and spiritual boot camps have been booming - entry-level to hardcore.Retreat investigates this human obsession, mining neuroscience, psychology and history to reveal why we seek solitude, what we get out of it, and what is going on in our brains and bodies when we achieve it. What has it meant to the world''s great thinkers, and what does it mean, in our age, as an activity we pay for?Is isolation a means of engaging more fully with reality, or evading it? And what has retreat meant at a time when

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Book SynopsisFollowing Ryuho Okawa’s renowned work, The Essence of Buddha, The True Eightfold Path explains how we can apply the Eightfold Path, one of the main pillars of Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings, as everyday guideposts in the modern-age to achieve self-innovation to live better and make positive changes in this uncertain age. In this book you will gain the following wisdom: * Where is the origin of “righteousness” and what is the precondition for practicing Eightfold Path “selfreflection?” * Why practicing the Eightfold Path can help us shed our ego? * How can we make our work more meaningful and rewarding? * How can we improve our time management skill and ability to realize our goals? * Why daily practice of Eightfold Path can generate our compassionate hearts and improves relationships? * How to maintain a peace of mind, Zen mindset, regardless of external factors and aim to attain higher enlightenment? In this comprehensive and practical guide, The True Eightfold Path is imbued with wisdom and power to bring out the potential of our souls to the fullest and transform our characters into virtuous leaders to help guide others. That is why the Eightfold Path is called a “treasure of humanity

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Book SynopsisCharts Wittgenstein’s intellectual development, personal struggles, and movements from Vienna to Cambridge and Norway, and to the battlegrounds of WWI, where he completed what was destined to become the most influential philosophy book of the 20th century.Ludwig Wittgenstein’s way to the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, one of the ground-breaking works in the history of philosophy, can rightly be termed an Odyssey. Both in terms of his movements and his intellectual development in the course of writing it, the Tractatus incorporated an exciting, improbable journey. A compendium of scholars has come together at the 100th anniversary of the work’s first official publication in 1922 to detail the main stations in Wittgenstein’s life that would entirely transform philosophy. The years 1912 to 1922 are illuminated through photos, military maps, and letters against the backdrop of one of the most dramatic periods in world history.The complex theory of language developed by Wittgenstein In the Tractatus had an enormous influence not only on philosophy, but extended also to literature, music, film, painting, architecture, anthropology, and economics. Its uniqueness and rigor challenge our perceptions to this day. Trade ReviewLudwig Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Odyssey is a day-by-day account of the creative process and dramatic context in which one of the greatest and most influential texts of the modern age came to be. With leading scholars in the field setting the scene, and using a remarkable number of primary documents, this book shows the reader how this key text in modern philosophy was so crucially affected by the war in which its author took such perilous part. At times it is almost as though we are with Wittgenstein, directly experiencing how he worked to solve the problems he saw in logic, while navigating the perils and terrors of the Great War on the Eastern Front, coming to terms with the relation between his own ethical self and the world along the way. Add to that the personal tragedies, ironies and accidents that led—eventually—to the Tractatus’s publication after the war, and this shows that the book’s odyssey is a tale most worthy of the telling. —Steven Beller, author of Vienna and the Jews and A Concise History of AustriaUnder the logical and literary brilliance of the Tractatus there was a remarkable human being searching for his truth, with whom we can identify today.—Pierre Stonborough, grandson of Margaret Stonborough-Wittgenstein Wittgenstein’s path to the publication of his Tractatus was a fraught journey filled with military calamity, personal trials, and philosophical adventure. Readers of this volume will get a captivating multi-media account of the military maneuvers and documents, the personal correspondence, the personal diaries and philosophical notebooks that accompanied Wittgenstein on the way to the publication of perhaps the most perplexing document in twentieth-century philosophy. —James C. Klagge, author of Tractatus in ContextTable of ContentsWho Is Afraid of Ludwig Wittgenstein? or, An Austrian Enigma by Radmila SchweitzerWhat Is an Odyssey in Philosophy? by Allan JanikLudwig Wittgenstein's Youth1911: First Visit to Gottlob Frege in Jena1911–1913: Wittgenstein in Cambridge by Ray Monk1913–1914: The Quiet Seriousness of Norway by Knut Olav ÅmåsJuly 14, 1914: Letter from Wittgenstein to Ludwig von Ficker1914 –1916: Wittgenstein in Polish Galicia by Urszula Idziak-Smoczyn‘ska Pictures, Models, and Measures by Susan G. Sterrett1914–1918: The Emergence of the Tractatus in the first World War: Addenda to Previous Biographies by Martin PilchMarch–September 1916: Ludwig Wittgenstein during the Brusilov-Offensive in Bukowina by Martin PilchFinding Our Way Home: The Philosophy of the Tractatus by Ian Ground1919 –1920: “To a Teacher's College to Become a Teacher” by Xenia Baumann and Students of the College Preparatory School Kundmanngasse in Vienna1919 –1922: “Pearls before Swine …” The Difficult Publication History of the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus by Alfred SchmidtFacsimile of Wittgenstein's Personal Dedication to Arvid SjögrenThe Poetics of the Tractatus by Marjorie PerloffLudwig Wittgenstein: After the TractatusEndnotesAbbreviationsSelected BibliographyAbout the Authors

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Book SynopsisFrom Jaime Smith, author of Stardust and Foxtrot, comes a new collection of essays that draw from his background in astronomy, psychology and the humanities. Expanding on essays in Stardust, Smith delves more deeply into physics, biology, philosophy, religion, human behaviour and aesthetics. Running through all the essays is a focus on the nature of timepast, present, and future. Drawing from history and psychology, Smith presents the writings and research of scholars in their fields as he explores where humanity might be going from here.

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