Popular philosophy Books

Book SynopsisIt would be easy to dismiss the films of Douglas Sirk (1897-1987) as brilliant examples of mid-century melodrama with little to say to the contemporary world. Yet Robert Pippin argues that, far from being marginal pieces of sentimentality, Sirk''s films are rich with irony, insight and depth. Indeed Sirk''s films, often celebrated as classics of the genre, are attempts to subvert rather than conform to rules of conventional melodrama.The visual style, story and characters of films like All That Heaven Allows, Written on the Wind and Imitation of Life are explored to argue for Sirk as an incredibly nuanced moral thinker. Instead of imposing moralising judgements on his characters, Sirk presents them as people who do ''wrong'' things often without understanding why or how, creating a complex and unsettling ethics. Pippin argues that it this moral ambiguity and ironic richness enables Sirk to produce films that grapple with important themes such as race, class and gender witTrade ReviewWho needs Hegel, Heidegger,or Derrida when you’ve got Douglas Sirk? Once again, Robert B. Pippin shows that philosophy still has a lot to learn from the movies. In the bold colors and improbable plots of Sirk’s melodramas he finds important lessons not just about race, class, and gender, but also—and perhaps more importantly—about the limits of moral inquiry. * Martin Woessner, Associate Professor of History & Society, Center for Worker Education, The City College of New York (CUNY), USA *Professor Pippin’s book provides extraordinary and perceptive insights into Douglas Sirk’s Hollywood films. The book unravels a range of arguments with admirable clarity while paying attention to Sirk’s visual style, as well to as his uses of story and character. Pippin argues that characters in these films often perform actions in ways that are beyond their understanding. This provides these films with a very particular moral atmosphere in which good characters do ‘wrong’ things, but in ways that, for the most part, engage our sympathy and admiration. * Richard Rushton, Senior Lecturer in Film, Lancaster University, UK *In this wonderfully provocative study, Robert Pippin explores three of Sirk’s most famous American melodramas, finding in their excesses and irony a philosophical rigour. Ingeniously, Pippin explains how Sirk’s sumptuously pessimistic world forecloses, for the characters, any real possibility of love, mutuality and self-knowledge, despite the putative happy endings. For viewers willing to give Sirk’s films a “second” or “third thought”, however, Pippin teaches us to see past the surface of bourgeois morality and discover a more difficult but worthwhile reckoning with “the politics of American emotional life” and our own complicities with its sympathetic registers. * Jennifer Fay, Professor and Chair of Cinema & Media Arts and Professor of English, Vanderbilt University, USA *Table of Contentspreface acknowledgements Chapter One. Introduction: Irony as Subversion Chapter Two. Love and Class in All That Heaven Allows Chapter Three. Misplaced Moralism in Written on the Wind Chapter Four. Living Theater in Imitation of Life Conclusion bibliography index

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Book SynopsisPonder life''s biggest questions with this spectacular hardback to philosophy through its 100 key thinkers, beautifully illustrated in full-colour throughout. From the metaphysics of Plato to the nihilism of Nietzsche, this engaging and accessible book invites readers to contemplate the ideas of 100 key philosophers within the Western intellectual tradition. Covering philosophical, scientific, political and religious thought over a period of 2,500 years, Philosophy: 100 Essential Thinkers serves as an excellent guide to this history of philosophy and the progress that has been made in interpreting the world around us.These figures include:• Aristotle• Jean-Jacques Rousseau• Karl Marx• Simone de Beauvoir• Noam Chomsky• W.V.O QuineBy presenting details of their lives and the concerns and circumstances that motivated them, along with a range of full-colour illustrations, this book makes philos

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Book SynopsisCandlelight is hygge; the smell of freshly brewed coffee is hygge; the feel of crisp, clean bed linen is hygge; dinner with friends is hygge. ''Hygge'', pronounced ''hoo-ga'', is a Danish philosophy that roughly translates to ''cosiness''. But it is so much more than that. It''s a way of life that encourages us to be kinder to ourselves, to take pleasure in the modest, the mundane and the familiar. It is a celebration of the everyday, of sensual experiences rather then things. It''s an entire attitude to life that results in Denmark regularly being voted one of the happiest countries in the world. So, with two divorces behind her and her 50th birthday rapidly approaching, journalist Charlotte Abrahams ponders whether it''s hygge that''s been missing from her life. Is it a philosophy we can all embrace? In a society where lifestyle trends tend to centre on deprivation - be it no sugar, no gluten, no possessions - what does cherishing yourself actually mean? And will it make hTrade ReviewAbrahams' Hygge, Carvalho predicted, "could fill the Norwegian Wood hole for this Christmas". -- Bea Carvalho, Waterstones' non-fiction buyer * THE GUARDIAN *Writer Charlotte Abrahams was approaching 50 and feeling flustered. She had a busy life but the niggling feeling something was missing. Already familiar with hygge, she decided to make her research into the concept 'a bit more personal' and attempted to apply the philosophy of 'self-kindness' to her own life, ditching multi-tasking for mindfulness, making time for cake and lie-ins and cherishing the way these changes improved life. * THE SIMPLE THINGS *Charlotte Abrahams's thoughtful, very personal book. -- India Knight * SUNDAY TIMES *

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Book SynopsisThis book is the essential introduction to postmodernism and offers an indispensible guide to this sometimes demanding terrain. It is aimed at readers encountering theories of postmodernism for the first time, and places the subject in a wide context.Table of Contents : Preface 1: Postmodernisms 2: Arts of impurity 3: Arts of impurity - part two 4: The trouble with reality 5: Taking meaning apart 6: Identity crisis 7: Identity crisis - part two 8: Theorising the broken world : Index

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Book SynopsisWritten by Sharon Kaye, who is Professor of Philosophy at John Carroll University, Philosophy: A Complete Introduction is designed to give you everything you need to succeed, all in one place. It covers the key areas that students are expected to be confident in, outlining the basics in clear jargon-free English, and then providing added-value features like summaries of key books, and even lists of questions you might be asked in your seminar or exam.The book uses a structure that mirrors many university courses on philosophy - using the work of key philosophers to springboard into a discussion of all the main areas of philosophy.Teach Yourself titles employ the ''Breakthrough method'', which is designed specifically to overcome problems that students face.- Problem: I find it difficult to remember what I''ve read.; Solution: this book includes end-of-chapter questions and summaries, and flashcards of key points available on-line and as apps- Problem: Most books

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Book SynopsisAs Britain''s best-known headmaster, Sir Anthony famously introduced happiness, or well-being, lessons at his school, Wellington College. In 2011, he co-founded Action for Happiness, a body to raise awareness of the discovery of happiness and reduction of depression, whose influence is growing rapidly in Britain and across the world. In this book Anthony Seldon distinguishes between pleasure, happiness and joy, and offers an original 8-step approach on how to make our lives far more meaningful and rewarding. The pursuit of happiness can all too easily become a trap which seduces us into thinking there is no more to life than being happy. In fact, the author is highly critical of ''positive psychology'' and other dominant schools of thought.In fact, we need to reach beyond this if we are to access the deepest levels of human experience open to us, and find our own unique path in life. The author offers a further 5 steps, which point the way to accessing these deeper lTrade ReviewThis book is simply brilliant. Informative, moving and comprehensive, a A masterfully written exploration of the challenging road we all journey on as we seek a life of happiness * Tanya Byron *A beyond brilliant and important book. Seldon's exploration of how to move from superficial pleasure to happiness and ultimately joy gripped me from the first page. This is a book at once wise and passionate about making the most of your time on earth. I had a sense of peace and coming home when I finished: the book has been my constant companion since * Rachel Kelly, author of Black Rainbow *A brilliant plea for a happiness that goes beyond the self, from the remarkable co-founder of Action for Happiness * Richard Layard *

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Book Synopsis If you thought you knew who you were, THINK AGAIN. Did you know that half your DNA isn''t human? That somebody, somewhere has exactly the same face? Or that most of your memories are fiction? What about the fact that you are as hairy as a chimpanzee, various parts of your body don''t belong to you, or that you can read other people''s minds? Do you really know why you blush, yawn and cry? Why 90 per cent of laughter has nothing to do with humour? Or what will happen to your mind after you die? You belong to a unique, fascinating and often misunderstood species. How to be Human is your guide to making the most of it.

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Book SynopsisObject Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.Baked potatoes, Bombay potatoes, pommes frites . . . everyone eats potatoes, but what do they mean? To the United Nations they mean global food security (potatoes are the world's fourth most important food crop). To 18th-century philosophers they promised happiness. Nutritionists warn that too many increase your risk of hypertension. For the poet Seamus Heaney they conjured up both his mother and the 19th-century Irish famine. What stories lie behind the ordinary potato? The potato is entangled with the birth of the liberal state and the idea that individuals, rather than communities, should form the building blocks of society. Potatoes also speak about family, and our quest for communion with the universe. Thinking about potatoes turns out to be a good way of thinking about some of the important tensions in our world. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essaTrade ReviewPotato by resourceful Rebecca Earle gives us history, recipes, prayers of thanks, and family stories … Each section educates, brings a smile, makes you hungry, and makes you think. * The Philadelphia Inquirer *Rebecca Earle … intellectualizes the history of potatoes to portray the tuber’s entanglement with the emergence of modernity, the birth of the liberal state, and with the idea that the individual is the basic building unit of society. The story of potatoes unfolding over the centuries bears a close resemblance with human stories replete with ordinariness, grit, prejudice, migration, and changing fortune … Earle relies on history books, cookbooks, pictures, paintings, and posters to interweave human stories with the ups and downs of potatoes … Earle has written a fine book, much in the tradition of ekphrasis, which burrows and shovels art objects to cultivate a piece of writing. * New York Journal of Books *Learn more about this staple tater through this engrossing report about its origin, development, and influence on our lives. * Manhattan Book Review *Rebecca Earle offers ideas that go far beyond the seeming simplicity of the humble spud … [a] thought-provoking little volume. * The Irish Times *From its Andean home, the potato went almost everywhere in the world and thought about the potato went almost everywhere in the culture. Rebecca Earle elegantly follows the potato’s travels through political economy, statecraft, nutritional science, gastronomy, religion, and literature. This is a marvellous historical mash-up of a food which did much to make modernity. * Steven Shapin, Harvard University, and author of The Scientific Revolution (2nd ed., 2018) and A Social History of Truth (1994) *Potato is a delight. Rebecca Earle writes vividly and with wonderful insight. Who could ever have thought that the entire world – cultures, ideologies, identity – could be decoded through the language of the humble spud? I'll never look at a potato the same way again. * Ruby Tandoh, author of Eat Up: Food, Appetite and Eating What You Want (2018) *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Lying Around Like a Latke 1 Potato Mother 2 Global Citizens 3 The State of the Potato 4 Pleasure and Responsibility 5 Potato Philosophy Acknowledgements List of Figures Notes Index

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Book SynopsisThe philosopher Michel de Montaigne said that facing our mortality is the only way to learn the ‘art of living’. This book asks what we can learn from COVID-19, both as individuals and collectively as a society.Written during the first and second lockdowns, Everything must change offers philosophical perspectives on some of the most pressing issues raised by the pandemic. It argues that the pandemic is not a misfortune but an injustice; that it has exposed our society’s inadequate treatment of its most vulnerable members; that populist ideologies of post-truth are dangerous and potentially disastrous. In considering these issues and more, the book draws on a diverse range of philosophers, from Cicero, Hobbes and Arendt to prominent contemporary thinkers.At the heart of the book is a simple argument: politics can be the difference between life and death. With careful reflection we can avoid knee-jerk decision making and ensure that the right lessons are learned, so that this crisis ultimately changes our lives for the better, ushering in a society that is both more compassionate and more just.Trade Review‘The global pandemic has made us think about a lot of issues that we don’t normally pay much attention to. Are older people more expendable than younger people? When and why should we trust politicians or scientists? Is lockdown fair? Philosophy can’t cure COVID-19, but in this serious-minded yet accessible book, Vittorio Bufacchi shows how it can help us get our heads around the many issues the pandemic raises in our daily lives.’Helen Beebee, Samuel Hall Professor of Philosophy, University of Manchester‘This is a fine, sensitive and thought-provoking discussion, taking readers well beyond COVID-19 into deep concerns about current socio-political moral stances. The book deserves to be read by all those worried about the injustices, sufferings and misperceptions underlying our society; it deserves all the more to be read by those who complacently lack those worries.’Peter Cave, author of The Myths We Live By: A Contrarian's Guide to Democracy, Free Speech and Other Liberal Fictions'Timely and insightful, Bufacchi’s wonderfully written Everything must change is a testament to just how good (and important) public philosophy can be. Drawing from philosophy’s best minds (including his own), Bufacchi guides the reader through eight essential lessons from the coronavirus pandemic, with a strong emphasis on how the virus highlights entrenched social injustices. The book’s short chapters and accessible prose will be welcomed by readers of all backgrounds, particularly those who are new to the field. I wholeheartedly recommend Everything must change to anybody who is interested in bringing about a fairer world.'Jack Symes, The Panpsycast -- .Table of Contents1 Coronavirus and philosophy 2 COVID-19: injustice or misfortune? 3 Old age in the time of coronavirus 4 Life under lockdown: nasty, brutish and short?5 Is COVID-19 bad for populism? 6 COVID-19, fake news and post-truth 7 COVID-19, experts and trust 8 Normal People, normalised violence 9 Justice after COVID-19 Epilogue: a year of COVID-19Index

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Book SynopsisDiscover compelling scientific evidence for the value of fun - and of how having more of it will help you achieve better work-life balance, reduce stress and much more. Doesn’t it seem that the more we seek happiness, the more elusive it becomes?There is an easy fix, hiding in plain sight. Fun is an action you can take here and now, practically anywhere, anytime. There is a multitude of research that proves how beneficial fun is to our pysical and psychological well-being, yet all too often, its absence from our modern lives is striking. Whether you’re a frustrated high-achiever trying to find a better work-life balance or someone simply seeking relief from life’s overwhelming challenges, it's time to look into fun as a solution. The Fun Habit is the ultimate guide to reaping the serious benefits of fun.Drawing on cutting edge research, accessible science, and practical recommendations, Dr Mike Rucker explains how you can build having fun into an actionable and effortless habit and why doing so will help you become healthier, joyful and more productive.Trade ReviewThis accessible, practical and thoroughly researched book not only reminds you that what really matters in life is to enjoy yourself, but also shows you how easy it can be. A joyful read that will change how you think about fun! -- Thomas Erikson, bestselling author of Surrounded by IdiotsA masterful distillation of science and personal experience, The Fun Habit uncovers the amazing power we have to improve our present state and shows how fun is the key to an enjoyable and fulfilling life. Readers looking for actionable science-based strategies, rather than pie in the sky promises, will love this book. - Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Hooked and Indistractable

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Book SynopsisRetreat takes us on a stunning journey through the many ways humans step back from daily life, both in today's world and in our past.'Open-minded, elegantly written and comprehensive' Daily TelegraphFrom mindfulness and meditation to yoga breaks and spiritual bootcamps, stepping back from daily life remains a human obsession. In this endlessly enlightening book, Nat Segnit experiences retreats around the world as he investigates why we seek solitude, what we get out of it, and what is going on in our brains and bodies when we achieve it. Along the way, he meets yogic scholars, scientists, religious leaders, philosophers and artists, gaining fascinating - and often startling - insights.'A vivid personal quest...rich and almost eerily timely' William Fiennes, author of The Snow GeeseTrade ReviewA rich and almost eerily timely book, Nat Segnit's exploration of the history and meaning of retreat maps copious research onto a vivid personal quest that reads at times like Eat Pray Love as written by David Foster Wallace -- William Fiennes, author of The Snow GeeseWe typically live tangled in our busy routines. Segnit takes us on a delightful expedition into the ancient personal quest to decamp, relinquish, discover -- David Eagleman, neuroscientist at Stanford University, author of LivewiredTo read this marvellous book is to be absorbed in Segnit's personal search for retreat, illuminated by science, erudition and art, and reminded of the grand retreat of a book that speaks to one of the fundamentals of life -- Zia Haider Rahman, author of In the Light of What We KnowThis lovely book is a retreat in itself - into history, psychology, religion, individuals and the almost universal human desire to escape everyone, even one's self, every now and again. It persuades us, with an excellent mix of charm and erudition, that going in can be the real adventure -- Louisa Young, author of You Left Early: a True Story of Love and AlcoholWith a charming blend of sincerity and intellectual curiosity, Segnit leads us sure-footedly into the wilderness ... moving, even inspiring * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisHAPPINESS, SERENITY AND FULFIMENT ARE ALL WITHIN YOUR CONTROL365 WAYS TO BE MORE STOIC is a full year's worth of daily inspiration, tools, stories, actions, and rituals that will guide you to a meaningful life, filled with happiness. It is a simple, list-driven, practical guide that will allow you to immediately begin putting Stoic wisdom into practice in your daily life. Each short chapter makes Stoicism fun to read about and easily digestible, presenting ideas in engaging, bite-size chunks.Immerse yourself in stoicism right from the first chapter, through prompts, concepts, challenges, inspiration, quotes, examples, quizzes and case-studies. You'll learn to navigate through the controllable and inevitable. You'll develop constructive ways to handle frustration, adversity and even your own mortality. You'll learn habit-forming strategies, pick up helpful concepts, and uncover tips for lasting change. This fun and engaging manual will help you live like a Stoic in the modern world. 365 WAYS TO BE MORE STOIC focuses on the small stuff you can do every day to live a happier and wiser life. Because when you get the little things right, the big things follow.Trade Review"Spend a year with Tim LeBon learning ways to be more Stoic. It may change your life, for the better." * Massimo Pigliucci, Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York, author of How to Be a Stoic *"This book is a valuable and practical tool for self improvement. Kudos to the authors for writing a practical, down to earth, guide that can be used daily." * Charles H. Dukes, Aerospace Psychiatrist - NASA *

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Book SynopsisReaders were instantly beguiled by Rob Brezsny''s new approach to the humble horoscope when his "Free Will Astrology" column first appeared in 1996. Instead of the generic, one-size-fits-all style of similar columns, Brezsny used witty parables, tender rants, cultural riffs, pagan wisdom, and lively rituals in his playfully positive readings. He brings that same sensibility—and the same message of a smiling universe—to this self-help book for people who may be skeptical about self-help books. Brezsny persuasively advises readers to go along with the universe''s good intentions, but his rejection of cynicism and a bleak view of human nature isn''t rooted in denial. On the contrary, he makes a case for a cagey optimism that requires a vigorous engagement with the dark forces. He asks us to rethink life as a sublime game created for our amusement and illumination. The book is a chameleon of a tome. You can read it straight through, slowly and surely, or else pick it up and open it at random for tasty hits of inspiration as the spirit moves you. You can even start at the end and weave your way backward. Brezsny has substantially updated this edition—he added nearly one hundred pages—by expanding various sections, adding more than a dozen new pieces and a new chapter, and providing readers with a number of playtime activities and exercises that let them participate through their own writing and drawing. "Brezsny''s horoscopes are like little valentines, buoyant and spilling over with mischievousness. They''re a soul prognosis." —The New York Times

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Book SynopsisSearching for meaning in what Nietzsche called "the rainbow colours" around the outer edges of knowledge and imagination, Edward O. Wilson bridges science and philosophy to create a twenty-first-century treatise on human existence. Once criticised for his over-reliance on genetics, Wilson unfurls his most expansive and advanced theories on human behaviour. Whether attempting to explicate "the Riddle of the Human Species", warning of "the Collapse of Biodiversity" or creating a plausible "Portrait of E.T.", Wilson believes that humanity holds a special position in the known universe. Alarmed, however, that we are about to abandon natural selection by redesigning biology and human nature as we wish them, Wilson concludes that advances in science and technology bring us our greatest moral dilemma in millennia.Trade Review"His [Edward O. Wilson's] prose is always so lucid and eloquent." -- The Bookseller"Written in Wilson’s usual engaging and highly readable style…" -- Times Higher Education

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Book SynopsisThis "fascinating new book" (The New Yorker) shows how our digital way of life makes us overvalue some ways of processing information over others and thus risks distorting what it means to be human. Lynch argues that it will be the way in which we adapt our minds to these new tools that will ultimately decide whether or not the "Internet of Things" will be a net gain for humanity.Trade Review"Lynch’s basic argument is that if we understand better the conditions under which knowledge is produced and disseminated—conditions he explores clearly and cogently—then we will become more 'responsible' knowers." -- The Wall Street Journal

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Book SynopsisThe Godfather and Philosophy is comprised of twenty-eight chapters by philosophers, who reflect upon the ethical and metaphysical issues raised in The Godfather novels and movies, beginning with the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo and the 1972 movie by Francis Ford Coppola.The Godfather saga has had a profound impact on American cinema, storytelling, thinking about crime, and popular culture. Aimed at thoughtful fans of The Godfather franchise, among the questions tackled in these provocative philosophical chapters are the immigrant experience in America, the relation between ethics and the law, the nature of moral corruption, private justice and vigilantism, organized crime and the American Dream, betrayal and forgiveness, religion and family values, the difficulties of breaking out of a dysfunctional way of life, and the uncertain consequences of vice laws.Joshua Heter teaches philosophy at Jefferson College, Missouri. He co-edited Punk Rock and Philosophy (2022).Richard Greene teaches philosophy at Weber State University, Utah. He wrote the definitive and highly acclaimed book, Spoiler Alert! (It’s a Book about the Philosophy of Spoilers) (2019).Trade ReviewA fascinating, thought provoking, and fun read from cover to cover, "The Godfather and Philosophy: An Argument You Cant Refute" will have an enormous appeal to Godfather fans and readers with an interest in popular culture, social science, and philosophy. While especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, college, and university library Philosophy & Popular Culture collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists, it should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Godfather and Philosophy" is also available in a digital book format James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief, Midwest Book Review

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Book SynopsisAnthony Bourdain is famous for being brave enough to eat things most Americans would not regard as food, including a whole cobra, raw seal’s eyeballs, and unwashed warthog rectum. His book Kitchen Confidential (2000) was his first best-seller, but not his last. Though best known as an authority on food and international travel, Bourdain also wrote popular crime novels and books on history and other topics. He was a fan and friend of The Ramones and dedicated his hilarious book The Nasty Bits (2007) to the members of the band.Bourdain was a heavy user of multiple drugs, a practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and an exposer of sexual harassment both in the restaurant business and the movies. All his writings and recorded conversations are witty and penetrating, and express his strong personal opinions on many subjects, from vegetarianism to religion.Anthony Bourdain and Philosophy is a collection of chapters by a diverse group of philosophers on many aspects of Bourdain’s life and work. Among the topics discussed: What counts as food, and what counts as good food? What can we learn from travel that we could not glean from books and movies? Do eating habits bring people together or drive them apart? Is suicide a moral issue or just a matter of personal preference? Is it okay for an addictive personality to indulge his many indications, including addictions to work and sports? Are vegetarianism and other progressive lifestyle features “first world luxuries”?Scott Calef is professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion, Ohio Wesleyan University. He edited Led Zeppelin and Philosophy: All Will Be Revealed (2009) and has written many scholarly articles on philosophy.

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Book SynopsisIn Why Am I Like This?, Dr. Jen Martin delves into the science behind our strangest thoughts and habits, from why smells make us homesick to why we stick our tongues out when we’re concentrating. Why can’t I stop taking photos? Why do I always feel like I’m missing out? Why can’t I remember why I walked into this room? Explaining the quirks and oddities of our daily lives in a comprehensive yet accessible way, this book is the perfect gift for anyone who has ever stopped to wonder ‘why?’.

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Book SynopsisCan it ever be right to kill? Is terrorism ever justified? Should euthanasia be legal? Are some people superior to others? Do animals have rights? Some ethical judgements are easy: one side is wrong and the other is right. But how do we handle the really tough 'right vs right' dilemmas, where each side has strong moral arguments? In Without God, is Everything Permitted? bestselling author and philosopher Julian Baggini clear-sightedly and compassionately examines 20 of the most complex contemporary ethical dilemmas. Whether it's asking if torture is always wrong, or if discrimination can ever be good, this book will help you sort out what you really believe about the issues that matter most.Table of ContentsPreface. Is there a golden rule? - Doing as you would be done by. Do the ends justify the means? - Doing wrong for the sake of what is right. Is terrorism ever justified? - The legitimacy of all necessary means. Should we favour our families and friends? - The ethics of preferential treatment. How much should we give to charity? - The duty to rescue. Are drug laws morally inconsistent? - The link between law and morality. Do animals have rights? - Expanding the moral circle. Is abortion murder? - The value of human life. Should euthanasia be legal? - The right to end your own life. Is sex a moral issue? - Ethics beyond prudery. Can discrimination be good? - Sameness, difference and equality. Is free trade fair trade? - The ethics of global business. Should we protect the environment? - On whether nature can be harmed. Are we responsible for our actions? - Criminality and being in your right mind. What is a just war? - The rights and wrongs of armed conflict. Is torture always wrong? - How to stop a ticking bomb. What can science tell us about morality? - What facts tell us about values. Is morality relative? - The variability of moral codes. Without God, is everything permitted? - The link between morality and religion. Can all moral dilemmas be resolved? - The limits of ethics. Endnotes. Index.

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Book SynopsisSince the beginning of time mankind has struggled with the big questions surrounding our existence. Whilst most people have heard of Socrates, Machiavelli and Nietzsche, many are less clear on their theories and key concepts. In The Great Philosophers, bestselling author Stephen Law condenses and deciphers their fundamental ideas. Avoiding the technical jargon and complex logic associated with most books on philosophy, Law brings the thoughts of these great thinkers, from Confucius and Buddha to Wittgenstein and Sartre, to life.Trade Review'Fifty of history's most profound thinkers are introduced in a way you have probably never previously imagined' Good Book Guide. * Good Book Guide *Table of ContentsIntroduction. The Buddha (c.560-c.480 BC). Confucius (551-479 BC). Parmenides (c.510-c.450 BC). Zeno (c.490-c.425 BC). Socrates (469-399 BC). Plato (c.428-c.348 BC). Aristotle (384-322 BC). Augustine (AD 354-430). Anselm (1033-1109). Averroes (1126-98). Thomas Aquinas (1225-74). William of Ockham (c.1288-c.1358). Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527). Francis Bacon (1561-1626). Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679). Rene Descartes (1596-1650). Blaise Pascal (1623-62). John Locke (1632-1704). Benedictus de Spinoza (1632-77). Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716). George Berkeley (1685-1753). David Hume (1711-76). Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78). Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832). Georg Hegel (1770-1831). Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860). John Stuart Mill (1806-73). Soren Kierkegaard (1813-55). Karl Marx (1818-83). Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914). William James (1842-1910). Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900). Gottlob Frege (1848-1925). Edmund Husserl (1859-1938). Bertrand Russell (1872-1970). George Edward Moore (1873-1958). Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951). Martin Heidegger (1889-1976). Gilbert Ryle (1900-76). Karl Popper (1902-94). Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-80). Hannah Arendt (1906-75). Simone de Beauvoir (1908-86). Willard Van Orman Quine (1908-2000). A.J. Ayer (1910-89). Peter Strawson (1919-2006). Judith Jarvis Thomson (1929-). Saul Kripke (1940-). Peter Singer (1946-). Index.

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Book SynopsisQuestions of ethics - about how we should act, our responsibilities to one another, the difference between right and wrong - have long been debated by philosophers the world over and form the foundations of government, culture and religion. Here, in concise, easy-to-read chapters, Ben Dupré explains the fundamentals of this discipline and how it is relevant to our lives today. Covering essential ethical concepts, including relativism, the golden rule and utilitarianism, as well as high-profile issues such as terrorism, censorship and the death penalty, 50 Ethics Ideas You Really Need to Know will lead you through the moral maze - and rattle your conscience in the process.Table of ContentsIntroduction. MORAL FOUNDATIONS: The good life. Divine command. Right and wrong. Moral realism. Moral subjectivism. Relativism. The Ring of Gyges. Moral intuitions. HOW SHOULD WE LIVE? The golden rule. The harm principle. Ends and means. Utilitarianism. Kantian ethics. Prima facie duties. Double effect. Acts and omissions. Moral luck. Free will. The social contract. Virtue ethics. Humanism. Nihilism. VIRTUES AND OTHER GOOD THINGS: Justice. Equality. Tolerance. Rights. Altruism. Friendship. Heroes and saints. Integrity. VICES AND OTHER BAD THINGS: Crime and punishment. The death penalty. Torture. Corruption. Terrorism. Censorship. Drugs. HUMANS AND OTHER ANIMALS: Animal liberation. The research paradox. Eating animals. BIOETHICS: The sanctity of life. Death. Genetic engineering. Cloning. GLOBAL ETHICS: War. Realpolitik. Capitalism. Lifeboat Earth. Poverty. The environment. Glossary. Index.

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Book SynopsisEdited by Peter Worley with chapters by: Harry Adamson, Peter Adamson, Alfred Archer, Saray Ayala, Grant Bartley, David Birch, Peter Cave, Miriam Cohen Christofidis, Philip Cowell, James Davy, Andrew Day, Georgina Donati, Claire Field, Berys Gaut, Morag Gaut, Philip Gaydon, Nolen Gertz, A. C. Grayling, Michael Hand, Angie Hobbs, David Jenkins, Milosh Jeremic, Lisa McNulty, Sofia Nikolidaki, Martin Pallister, Andrew Routledge, Anja Steinbauer, Dan Sumners, Roger Sutcliffe, John L. Taylor, Amie L. Thomasson, Robert Torrington, Andy West, Guy J. Williams, Emma Williams, Emma Worley, Peter Worley. Imagine a one-stop shop stacked to the rafters with everything you could ever want, to enable you to tap into young people's natural curiosity and get them thinking deeply. Well, this is it! Edited by philosophy in schools expert, Peter Worley and with contributions from philosophers from around the world, The Philosophy Shop is jam-packed with ideas to get anyone thinking philosophically from children and young people to adults. For use in the classroom, at after school clubs, in philosophy departments and philosophy groups or even for the lone reader, this book will appeal to anyone who likes to think. Take it on journeys and dip in; use it as a classroom starter activity, or for a full philosophical enquiry - it could even be used to steer pub, dinner party or family discussions away from the same old topics. Suitable for adults and children. Winner of the Education Resources Awards 2013, Educational Book Award category Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Winner, Philosophy (Adult Nonfiction) There is also a hardback edition available, ISBN 9781781350492.

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Book SynopsisHave you ever found yourself alone with your thoughts? Have you ever been asked if the glass is half full or half empty? Do you wonder what true happiness is or how to attain it? Or maybe nothing really matters if everything is just an illusion or a dream?These ideas are some of the central questions of philosophical enquiry that have engaged, troubled and exasperated some of the greatest minds throughout the history of human civilization, provoking argument and debate in an attempt to broaden the horizons of human thought.Author Alain Stephen seeks to explore some of these key questions by tracing their origins in the writings of prominent thinkers through the ages, from the colonnades of ancient Greece to the intellectual salons of twentieth-century France, and show how these ideas and concepts have developed over time.Why We Think the Things We Think provides plenty of food for thought for both the amateur philosopher and enlightened thinker to digest.

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Book SynopsisPositive Realism could be seen as the "sequel" to Maurizio Ferraris' Manifesto of New Realism and Introduction to New Realism. The focus here is the other side of unamendability: a notion, described in his previous books, according to which reality is "unamendable", it cannot be corrected at will. This "resistance" of the real is what ultimately tells us that, in opposition to the claims of post-Kantian philosophy, the world is not a result of our conceptual work: if it were so, our power over reality would be much greater. Now, the often disappointing limits that the real sets against our expectations are also a resource: and this is the key point of the present book. Things exist, and therefore undoubtedly resist us, but in doing so they offer affordances, resources, opportunities. And that the greatest opportunity, which underlies all the other ones, is the fact that we share a world that is far from liquid: on the contrary, it provides the solid ground on which everything rests, starting from our happiness or unhappiness.

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Book SynopsisWords of Wisdom brings together 360 of Philosophy's most famous quotations, explaining their meaning and telling the stories behind them. Western philosophy may be said to have begun in ancient Greece, where, inscribed in his temple at Delphi, the words of the god Apollo commanded those who sought wisdom to first 'know thyself'. With the author's usual humour and clarity of style, the whole 2,500 year history of philosophy is laid bare. Each quote is set in the context of its cultural background, author biography and general outlook; trends are highlighted, links established, and influences traced, all in a way that is entertaining, thought-provoking, and even fun. Words of Wisdom is the perfect book for those who always wanted to ask what philosophy was about, but were afraid they might not understand the answer.

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Book SynopsisModern life is being destroyed by experts and professionals. We have lost our amateur spirit and need to rediscover the radical and liberating pleasure of doing things we love.In The Amateur, thinker Andy Merrifield shows us how the many spheres of our lives-work, knowledge, cities, politics-have fallen into the hands of box tickers, bean counters and rule followers. In response, he corrals a team of independent thinkers, wayward poets, dabblers and square pegs who challenge the accepted wisdom. Such figures as Charles Baudelaire, Dostoevsky, Edward Said, Guy Debord, Hannah Arendt and Jane Jacobs show us the way. As we will see the amateur takes risks, thinks the unthinkable and seeks independence-and changes the world.Trade ReviewA satisfying celebration of the 'great romantic dream... a society that breaks free of the vicious circle of undefined productivity. * Publishers Weekly *Rather than thinking of amateurs as dabblers, weekend gardeners, busying themselves with unimportant tasks, Merrifield defends the creative and political potential of doing things we love for pleasure. Amateurs take risks, seek independence, innovate by choosing a less obvious direction. By exploring the work of figures like Baudelaire, Dostoevsky, and Hannah Arendt, and their impact on his own professional life, Merrifield succeeds in highlighting the revolutionary spirit of the amateur. * The Idler *Erudite and engagingly written . refreshing. * Financial Times *Here amateurs (a word derived from the Latin 'to love') are non-alienated citizens; enthusiasts, who counter the mechanical expertise and technical formalism of modern society; passionate obsessives standing up for values that need defending. Merrifield, an urban theorist who writes with a brio and wit often missing in professional academics, offers an idiosyncratic canon (Dostoevsky, Jane Jacobs, Edward Said) in which he holds up amateurs as outside-the-box thinkers, inter- and post-disciplinary radicals. It's a stirring book whose critique of contemporary work culture will be instantly recognisable. It also doubles as a moving memoir of a working-class intellectual. -- Sukdev Sandhu * Observer *This elegant polemic is a persuasive manifesto for amateurism. * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisChief Executive Officers (CEOs) have become the cultural icons of the 21st century. Figures like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg are held up as role models who epitomise the modern pursuit of innovation, wealth and success. We now live, Bloom and Rhodes argue, in a ‘CEO society’ – a society where corporate leadership has become the model for transforming not just business, but all spheres of life, where everyone from politicians to jobseekers to even those seeking love are expected to imitate the qualities of the lionized corporate executive. But why, in the wake of the failings exposed by the 2008 financial crisis, does the corporate ideal continue to exert such a grip on popular attitudes? In this insightful new book, Bloom and Rhodes examine the rise of the CEO society, and how it has started to transform governments, culture and the economy. This influence, they argue, holds troubling implications for the future of democracy - as evidenced by the disturbing political rise of Donald Trump in the US - and for our society as a whole.Trade ReviewWhy do we pray at the altar of the celebrity CEOs? What are consequences of such disturbing worship? Bloom and Rhodes answer these questions, showing us the ugly side of our contemporary obsession and the price we collectively pay in the CEO society. * Alessia Contu, University of Massachusetts *When the answer to any problem is sending a CEO to the rescue, we are in deep trouble. This smart and insightful book takes a look at the increasing veneration of CEOs, and the damage it is doing to our society. * André Spicer, author of Business Bullshit *In spite of the thorough and still growing critique of the leadership cult, CEOs proliferate in both private and public sectors. Let us hope that Bloom and Rhodes' book will serve as an antidote. * Barbara Czarniawska, author of Cyberfactories: How News Agencies Produce News *Essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the contemporary fetishisation of corporate leadership. Rhodes and Bloom trace the rise of the cult of the CEO, mounting a strong defence of democracy in the face of this celebratory authoritarianism. * Chris Land, Anglia Ruskin University *This unique book sheds light on one of the most tragic paradoxes of contemporary life: Why do we celebrate neoliberalism, through today’s “cult of the CEO”? Bloom and Rhodes explain our deep-seated attachments to ideologies that are not only flawed but also dangerous. * Kate Kenny, Queens University Belfast *Many of today's CEOs purport to serve the public good. They are wealth takers re-branded as wealth creators. This book illuminates the dangers of CEO worship in an age of entrenched austerity. * Linsey McGoey, author of The Unknowers: How Strategic Ignorance Rules the World *In a CEO society, only winners are allowed. In this timely and passionate book, Bloom and Rhodes identify what is at stake as corporate leadership replaces all other models for success. It delivers solace and motivation for anyone who believes that equity and justice should matter in governance. * Melissa Gregg, Research Director at Intel, and author of Work's Intimacy *A fascinating look at how the near deification of corporate executives has corroded culture across the globe, with dire implications for democracy. This is a wake-up call to rethink our values before it is too late to save hard-won and irreplaceable public institutions. * Nancy MacLean, author of Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America *Bloom and Rhodes skilfully follow the ideology of the CEO into every corner of our society, revealing its sources, its impacts, and the resistance it is generating. Highly recommended for anyone concerned with contemporary capitalism. * Nick Srnicek, co-author of Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Threat and Promise of CEO Salvation 1. Welcome to the CEO Society 2. The Idolisation of the CEO 3. Competing in the Executive Economy 4. The CEO Politician 5. The CEO as a Model for Living 6. The Generous CEO? 7. The Bad Faith of CEO Salvation Afterword: The High Cost of the CEO Society

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Book Synopsis‘Where can the human animal seek its energy in this era of lockdowns and social distancing? Dodge may help us to find out’ Guardian‘If you’re a fan of Maggie Nelson’s work, you’ll like this book. It’s truly beautiful’ DazedIs love a force akin to gravity? A kind of invisible fabric which enables communications through space and time? Artist Harry Dodge finds himself contemplating such questions as his father declines from dementia and he rekindles a bewildering but powerful relationship with his birth mother. A meteorite Dodge orders on eBay becomes a mysterious catalyst for a reckoning with the vital forces of matter, the nature of consciousness, and the bafflements of belonging. Structured around a series of formative, formidable coincidences in Dodge’s life, My Meteorite journeys with stylistic bravura from Barthes to Blade Runner, from punk to Pale Fire. It is a wild, incandescent book that creates a literary universe of its own. Blending the personal and the philosophical, the raw and the surreal, the transgressive and the heartbreaking, Harry Dodge revitalizes our world, illuminating the magic just under the surface of daily life.'Holds you in its thrall like a brilliant friend. Dodge is a masterful writer' Miranda JulyTrade ReviewDodge has offered a new, luminous angle on autobiography that not only traces where the body has been—but also what it loves, how it thinks and feels within the potent intellectual and physical detritus of its lived world. Reading this book is like being bathed in the bright, gritty sear of a comet's tail. But the mark it leaves is stunningly terrestrial: a thumbprint of a mind on paper—singular in erudition, hurtfully wonder-struck, and true. * Ocean Vuong *Harry Dodge’s voice and vision are singular, but his genius is for revealing how each of us is plural. This is a beautiful record of his loves and deaths and ways of making, but even its most intimate moments open out, become portals to other possible worlds. No genre can hold this book. It is a work of tender force, prying open every category. My Meteorite is breathtaking—or breathgiving, because the whole thing oxygenates discourse, makes me feel alive. * Ben Lerner *My Meteorite holds you in its thrall like a brilliant friend—so vulnerable, hot, funny, and casually weird that you don't notice the profundity until you're already walloped by it. Dodge juxtaposes the tenderest of human details with hungry, brain-splitting inquiries into the very premise of life, and these shifts in scale are incredibly moving and provocative. Don't forget to notice that Dodge is a captivating and masterful writer; that's how he pulls this whole thing off. * Miranda July *Reading My Meteorite, I feel re-enchanted, all over again, with how miraculous an enterprise writing can be, when it is engaged with the degree of passion, inquisitiveness, and arrowy verbal virtuosity that Dodge brings to the game. Feel your whole body tingle as you read this blazing ode to randomness, to a cosmos where every particle and wave has a say in the matter. * Wayne Koestenbaum *A sense of simultaneity and infinitude shapes My Meteorite, which is at once memoir, studio diary and futuristic consideration of artificial intelligence and algorithms… Within the book, as in the soup of consciousness, everything is happening all at once; there are no fixed states… The recursive nature of the text captures the workings of memory and evinces a high-pressure, poetic approach to narrative and language that is also evident in much of Dodge’s raucous and extremely funny video work. -- Kate Wolf * Frieze *

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Book SynopsisInstant Philosophy pulls together all the pivotal philosophical knowledge and thought into one concise volume. Each page contains a discrete 'cheat sheet', which tells you the most important facts in bite-sized chunks, meaning you can become an expert in an instant. From Nietzsche to Nozick, empiricism to solipsism, Pascal's wager to Ockham's razor, every key figure, discovery or idea is explained with succinct and lively text and graphics. Perfect for the knowledge hungry and time poor, this collection of graphic-led lessons makes philosophy interesting and accessible. Everything you need to know is here. Table of ContentsIntroduction • Thales - Natural Philosophy • Lao Tzu - Daoism • Pythagoras - Numbers • Buddha - Suffering • Confucius the Golden Rule • Heraclitus - Change • Zeno - Motion/Paradox • Protagoras - Sophism • Democritus - Materialism • Socrates - Socratic Method • Socrates - Euthanasia • Plato - Universals/the Cave • Plato - Moral Realism/the Ring of Gyges • Plato - the Ideal State • Plato - Art and Lies • Diogenes - Cynicism • Aristotle - Virtue • Aristotle - Teleology • Aristotle - Citizenship • Aristotle - Catharsis • Aristotle - Friendship • Zhuang Zi - Illusion • Epicurus - Moderation • Epicurus - Death • Epicurus - Evil • Cicero - Just War • Seneca - Stoicism • St Irenaeus - the Irenaean Theodicy • St Augustine - Sin • Hypatia - Paganism • Boethius - Christian Ethics • Bodhidharma - Zen • Avicenna/Averroes/Khayyam - the Arabic Enlightenment • St Anselm - the Ontological Argument • St Aquinas - Scholasticism • St Aquinas - the Cosmological Argument • Ockham - Ockham's Razor • Erasmus - Humanism • Machiavelli - Realpolitik • More - Utopia • Montaigne - Scepticism (epistemology) • Bacon - Scientific Method • Hobbes - the State of Nature • Descartes - Certainty • Descartes - Rationalism • Descartes - Dualism • Descartes - the Trademark Argument • Pascal - Pascal's Wager • Spinoza - Monism • Locke - Empiricism • Locke - Tolerance • Locke - Personal Identity • Leibniz - Principle of Sufficient Reason • Leibniz - Possible Worlds • Berkeley - Idealism • Yamamoto Tsunetomo - Bushido • Hume - Hume's Fork • Hume - the Is-Ought • Gap/Sentimentalism • Hume - Induction • Hume - Argument from Design/Teleological Argument • Hume - Miracles • Rousseau - Romanticism • Adam Smith - the Free Market • Voltaire - Deism • Kant - Transcendental Idealism • Kant - Deontology • Kant - Rights • Kant - the Sublime • Kant - the Argument from Morality • Burke - Conservatism • Paine - Revolution • Bentham - Utilitarianism • Bentham - Animal Rights • Wollstonecraft - the Rights of Women • Hegel - the Dialectic • Schopenhauer - Pessimism • Feuerbach - Anthropomorphism • Stirner - Egoism • Mill - Rule Utilitarianism • Mill - The Principle of Harm • Mill - Democracy • Darwin/Wallace - Evolution • Kierkegaard - Angst • Thoreau - Civil Disobedience • Marx - Alienation • Marx - Superstructure • C. S. Pierce - Pragmatism • William James - Free Will • William James - Belief • Kropotkin/Bakhunin - Anarchism • Nietzsche - Nihilism • Nietzsche - Will to Power • Husserl - Intentionality • Bergson - Vitalism • Duhem/Quine - Scientific Hypotheses • McTaggart - Time • Russell - Mathematics • Russell - Non-existence • Russell - Other Minds • Saussure - Structuralism • Moore - the Naturalistic Fallacy • Clive Bell - Significant Form • Heidegger - Being • Collingwood - Art and Emotion • Wittgenstein - Saying and Showing • Wittgenstein - Private Language • Hempel - Hempel's Ravens • Goodman - Grue • Marcuse - Consumerism • Hayek - Spontaneous Order • Skinner - Behaviourism • Ayer - Verificationism • Popper - the Open Society • Ryle - Category Mistakes • Sartre - Authenticity • Arendt - Totalitarianism • Levinas - the Other • Quine - Naturalism • Quine/Sapir-Whorf - Conceptual Schemes/Constructivism • Simone de Beauvoir - Feminism • Simone Weil - Salvation • Popper - Falsification • Ayer/Hare - Emotivism/Prescriptivism • Turing - Artificial Intelligence • Camus - the Absurd • Berlin - Liberty • Smart - Mind-Brain Identity • Gadamer - Hermeneutics • Debord - Situationism • Gettier - Knowledge • Barthes - Death of the Author • Hilary Putnam - Solipsism/Brains in Vats • Hilary Putnam - Functionalism • Rawls - Veil of Ignorance • Kuhn - Paradigms • Foucault - Power and Surveillance • Foucault - Sex • Judith Jarvis Thompson - Abortion • Antony Flew - Religious Language • Derrida - Deconstruction • Rorty - Anti-realism • Plantinga - Faith • Searle - the Chinese Room • Kate Millet - Patriarchy • Nagel - Qualia • Nozick - Libertarianism • Nozick - the Pleasure Machine • Dennett - Zombies • Baudrillard - Hyperreality • Parfit - the Tele-transporter • Parfit - Environmentalism/the Repugnant Conclusion • Churchland - Folk Psychology/Eliminative Materialism • McKinnon/Dworkin - Pornography • Singer - Effective Altruism • Singer - Speciesism • Chalmers - Pan-psychism • Philippa Foot - the Trolley Problem • Jaegwon Kim - Epiphenomenalism • Judith Butler - Gender • Bostrom - Transhumanism • Glossary and Further Reading.

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Book Synopsis'Axel Lindén is a shepherd-philosopher with James Herriot's knack for mishap and an almost Chekhovian deadpan humour.' Observer'Endearing and liberating.' Idler Magazine'A sublime little book.' Cotswold Life_______Why do we keep sheep? Alex Lindén ruminates as he watches his sheep ruminating. Naive and inexperienced, he has ditched his doctoral studies in order to move to a fully working farm in the country with his family, where he is tasked with the responsibility of caring for a herd of sheep.Lindén records his new life in his diary, as he tries to manage life on the farm, the ever-escaping sheep and the trials and tribulations that come with being a shepherd - shearing, lambing and confronting the slaughterhouse. As time passes and he gradually settles into the rhythm of shepherding, his naivete fades away and is replaced with stark realisations about what is now his everyday life. He finds himself applying his experiences of animal husbandry to consider our place - as individuals and as a collective organism - in the universe. Is he really the one caring for the sheep, or are they the ones keeping him? Lindén finds both companionship in his flock and a sound, if complex, moral framework for examining the lives we lead.The result is a sensitive and entertaining meditation on the small wonders in our world.

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Book SynopsisAlthough successive generations of the Frankfurt School have attempted to adapt Critical Theory to new circumstances, the work done by its founding members continues in the twenty-first century to unsettle conventional wisdom about culture, society and politics. Exploring unexamined episodes in the school's history and reading its work in unexpected ways, these essays provide ample evidence of the abiding relevance of Horkheimer, Adorno, Benjamin, Marcuse, Löwenthal, and Kracauer in our troubled times. Without forcing a unified argument, they range over a wide variety of topics, from the uncertain founding of the School to its mixed reception of psychoanalysis, from Benjamin's ruminations on stamp collecting to the ironies in the reception of Marcuse's One-Dimensional Man, from Löwenthal's role in Weimar's Jewish Renaissance to Horkheimer's involvement in the writing of the first history of the Frankfurt School. Of special note are their responses to visual issues such as the emancipation of colour in modern art, the Jewish prohibition on images, the relationship between cinema and the public sphere, and the implications of a celebrated Family of Man photographic exhibition. The collection ends with an essay tracing the still metastasising demonisation of the Frankfurt School by the so-called Alt Right as the source of "cultural Marxism" and "political correctness," which has gained alarming international resonance and led to violence by radical right-wing fanatics.Trade ReviewIn this sizzling collection of essays, Martin Jay demonstrates again that he is the unsurpassed reader of the group of thinkers known as the "Frankfurt School." In fact, he challenges the false unity and coherence of ideas and views often imposed upon them, including his own earlier writings on the subject. Practicing episodic and fragmentary historiography, he uncovers astonishingly novel angles of interpretation as well as demonstrating brilliant re-readings of known texts. An absolute pleasure to read -- Professor Seyla BenhabibWith this collection of brilliant and insightful essays Martin Jay has returned to the topic that defined his early career: Critical Theory, i.e. the lives and works of theorists such as Adorno, Horkheimer, Benjamin, Kracauer, and Marcuse. Based on deep historical knowledge and endowed with great sensitivity for theoretical nuances, Jay traces the unfolding of what is commonly called the Frankfurt School. He succeeds in this endeavor by his refusal to treat their thought as the expression of a unified school. For this difficult task one could not have found a more suitable critic than Martin Jay. This book is a precious gift to America in these troubled times. -- Peter Uwe HohendahlSplinters in Your Eye provides ample evidence of the abiding relevance of Horkheimer, Adorno, Benjamin, Marcuse, Löwenthal, and Kracauer in our troubled times. -- Ryan Tripp * New Books Network *In elegant essays on subjects ranging from Benjamin's stamp collecting to the [Frankfurt School's] engagement with emerging psychoanalytic thought, Jay shows that its writings are not only historical curios, but indispensable for understanding our own age. -- Stuart Jeffries * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisA definitive treasury of philosophers from around the world, from ancient times to the modern day. A must-read for anyone wanting answers to the most important questions, from those that have dared to ask them. This essential introduction to world philosophy contains the most noted quotations from 100 of the greatest philosophers in our history. Along with their most famous thoughts, the accompanying text puts each philosopher into the context of their place and time and provides the reader with fascinating but highly accessible insight into the meaning and interpretations of each one. From Lao Tzu in sixth-century BCE China to Plato in Classical Greece, and from Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the eighteenth century to Noam Chomsky in the twenty-first, the breadth of philosophical thought gives the reader unique insights into different attitudes and cultures around the world – along with the issues that unite and divide us. This timely book is an introduction to world thought and intellectual debate through the eyes and minds of those who, by their very nature, ask the most important questions and can fuel change and progress.

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Book SynopsisHow Michel Foucault, drugs, California and the rise of neoliberal politics in 1970s France are all connectedIn May 1975, Michel Foucault took LSD in the desert in southern California. He described it as the most important event of his life, one which would lead him to completely rework his History of Sexuality. His focus now would not be on power relations but on the experiments of subjectivity and the care of the self. Through this lens, he would reinterpret the social movements of May '68 and position himself politically in France in relation to the emergent anti- totalitarian and anti-welfare state currents. He would also come to appreciate the possibilities of autonomy offered by a new force on the French political scene that was neither of the Left nor the Right: neoliberalism.For this paperback edition, the authors have written an afterword responding to the debate occasioned by the book's first publication.Trade ReviewThe contribution of this important essay is to place Foucault's thought on neoliberalism in its political context of the time. This is the whole point of this essay, all the more fascinating since it offers an overview of the work on Foucault, in particular on its relation to neoliberalism. -- Olivier Doubre * Politis *In The Last Man Takes LSD, the sociologists Mitchell Dean and Daniel Zamora meticulously examine the turning point of the seventies to take a critical look at Foucault's political heritage, and to revive the debate on his relationship to the neoliberal school of thought. -- Mathieu Dejean * Les Inrocks *A volume that offers us an overview of the political field that gave rise to Foucault's ideas. The two authors enrich the debate by proposing to consider the alleged Foucaultian sympathy for neoliberalism as a moment where power seemed to criticize himself, making possible, on the one hand, a policy finally free from the conquest of the State and institutions, and on the other, the idea of an autonomous constitution of oneself - or, what would today be inexorably described as an entrepreneur of the self. -- Carlo Crosato * Il Manifesto *Michel Foucault saw neoliberalism as an opportunity to think about the revitalization of the left in civil society. The authors Daniel Zamora and Mitchell Dean explain why he lost sight of its authoritarian dimension. -- Pascal Jurt * Woz *Michel Foucault was among the most prescient analysts of neoliberalism but his own relation to it is now a topic of fierce intellectual dispute. In this brilliant and incisive book, Mitchell Dean and Daniel Zamora show that neoliberalism appeared to Foucault to offer a break with the normalization of the welfare state and a space for new political experiments and individual freedoms. Looking back from our context of generalised precarity, deep inequality and economic and environmental crises, they challenge us to break with this tattered utopia and move beyond Foucault's fascination with the aesthetics of the self to re-invent politics for our time. -- Jessica WhyteDean and Zamora use Foucault's thesis of the dissolution of the Author as the key to understanding his later shift to issues of governmentality, neoliberalism, and his turn to subjectivity. By so doing, they violate his own injunction of resorting to the author's life to comprehend any work, and consequently produce the best account of his work I have ever encountered. -- Philip Mirowski, University of Notre DameBy locating Foucault's later work in the social and political context of the 1970s and 80s, in France, California, and elsewhere, Dean and Zamora have performed a double service. We finish their study better understanding the roots of Foucault's ideas, and the motivation for his dalliance with a nascent neoliberalism. But we also perceive the limited shelf-life of his idiosyncratic notion of freedom; in our time, it would be folly to carry on revering him as - in Sartre's phrase - the 'unsurpassable horizon' of radical thought. -- Peter Dews, University of Essex"When I say something," Foucault claimed, "I am speaking to the present." How ironic that so little of the discussion around Foucault, particularly in the United States, has focused on his present. In their riveting study, Dean and Zamora do just that, putting Foucault in dialogue not only with the anti-Marxist New Philosophers of the 1970s but also with a neoliberalism emerging from within French socialist circles after 1968. The result is a completely unexpected Foucault, more rooted in the struggles of his own time, yet still speaking, as a cautionary tale, to our own. One would be hard pressed to find a better book on such a complex thinker or a more compulsively readable introduction to the contradictory politics of the left in our current moment. * Corey Robin *The Last Man Takes LSD is the best account of Foucault's engagement with neoliberalism. The book raises a number of intriguing questions, not the least of which is: What is left? -- John Foster * The Battleground *Dean and Zamora do an excellent job contextualizing Foucault's research and ideas in his final years. They methodically trace the nuances of the era's prickly political climate, creating a sympathetic portrait of Foucault's promotion of a damaging and - for a thinker who fruitfully explored power and exploitation - self-defeating philosophical turn. -- Jonathan Russell Clark * Los Angeles Times *Not just a brilliant and well-timed ­exploration of Foucault's intellectual ­trajectory ... it is also a necessary addition to the literature that has emerged over the past five years on the intellectual history of neoliberalism. -- Gavin Jacobson * New Statesman *The Last Man Takes LSD questions the lingering significance of Foucault's work today, highlighting a greater gap in Foucauldian thought: the absence of a well-developed theory of the state. -- Samuel Clowes Huneke * The Point *A fascinating study of Foucault's American years. -- Stuart Jeffries * Spectator *Compelling. -- Jasper Friedrich * Foucault Studies *Table of ContentsAcknowledgementsIntroduction: The Last Man Takes LSD1. The Birth of a ControversyFoucault and the liberal arts of governmentFoucault in his presentNeoliberalismThe intellectual2. Searching for a Left GovernmentalityFoucault against the post-war LeftNeoliberalism beyond Right and LeftTowards a 'new political culture'3. Beyond the Sovereign Subject: Against InterpretationAgainst the sovereignty of the authorTh e rise and fall of the modern subject4. Ordeals: Personal and PoliticalVeridiction and forms of truthExperimentation and knowledge through the ordealA 'political spirituality' against the sovereign5. The Revolution BeheadedTh e self as a battlefieldResistance as 'desubjectification'Proliferation against powerNeoliberalism: a framework for pluralismAn 'intelligent use' of neoliberalism6. Foucault's NormativitySexuality and moralityTh e revolutionInequality and neoliberal governmentalityThe California Foucault7. Rogue Neoliberalism and Liturgical PowerThe 1970s: coming downTowards a left governmentalityConfessional civil warEpilogueAfterwordIndex

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Book SynopsisArthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) was a German philosopher and a proponent of pessimistic philosophy. Deeply cynical of love and the want for children, he believed humans are all mere animals – just far more unhappy, because of our self-awareness.The porcupine dilemma is a metaphor about the challenges of human intimacy. Schopenhauer believed that, despite our good intentions, human intimacy cannot occur without substantial harm.By adapting famous animal parables, the Pocket Philosophy series seeks to introduce inquisitive readers of all ages – from 1 to 100! – to the biggest names in philosophy.

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Book SynopsisZhuangzi (late 4th century BC) was one of China's most significant proponents of Daoism. Daoism is an ancient philosophy that strives for harmony with nature, virtuousness and self-development. Zhuangzi's story of the dreaming philosopher and the butterfly is meant to challenge us to think about one big question: how do we really know what's real?By adapting famous animal parables, the Pocket Philosophy series seeks to introduce inquisitive readers of all ages – from 1 to 100! – to the biggest names in philosophy.

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Book SynopsisIs violent self-defense ethical? In the history of colonialism, racism, sexism, capitalism, there has long been a dividing line between bodies "worthy of defending" and those who have been disarmed and rendered defenseless. In 1685, for example, France's infamous "Code Noir" forbade slaves from carrying weapons, under penalty of the whip. In nineteenth-century Algeria, the colonial state outlawed the use of arms by Algerians, but granted French settlers the right to bear arms. Today, some lives are seen to be worth so little that Black teenagers can be shot in the back for appearing "threatening" while their killers are understood, by the state, to be justified. That those subject to the most violence have been forcibly made defenseless raises, for any movement of liberation, the question of using violence in the interest of self-defense.Here, philosopher Elsa Dorlin looks across the global history of the left - from slave revolts to the knitting women of the French Revolution and British suffragists' training in ju-jitsu, from the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising to the Black Panther Party, from queer neighborhood patrols to Black Lives Matter - to trace the politics, philosophy, and ethics of self defense. In this history she finds a "martial ethics of the self": a practice in which violent self defense is the only means for the oppressed to ensure survival and to build a liveable future. In this sparkling and provocative book, drawing on theorists from Thomas Hobbes to Fred Hampton, Frantz Fanon to Judith Butler, Michel Foucault to June Jordan, Dorlin has reworked the very idea of modern governance and political subjectivity.Translated from the French by Kieran Aarons.

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Book SynopsisA great gift book for possibly the most impossible person to buy for! The Book of Thunks will shake up your templates, rattle your thought routines and force you to think about things differently. A Thunk is a beguiling question about everyday things that stops you in your tracks and helps you start to look at the world in a whole new light. So find a friend or family member, ask a Thunk, disagree with their answer (remember there are no right and wrong answers) and keep your brain working longer and better. If you typed the word run a thousand times would that be a short story? Warning: A few of these Thunks are unsuitable for use with children.

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Book Synopsis'The poet-prophet of alternative medicine' Time The worldwide bestseller that offers an alternative to growing old The definitive text on the healing powers of the mind/body connection. In Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, world-renowned pioneer of integrative medicine Deepak Chopra goes beyond ancient mind/body wisdom and current anti-ageing research to show that you do not have to grow old. With the passage of time, you can retain your physical vitality, creativity, memory and self-esteem. Based on the theories of Ayurveda and groundbreaking research, Chopra reveals how we can use our innate capacity for balance to direct the way our bodies metabolize time and achieve our unbounded potential.Trade ReviewThe poet-prophet of alternative medicine * Time Magazine *Deepak Chopra is one of the most important healers of our time. Ageless Body, Timeless Mind is a treasure. * Marianne Williamson, author of A Woman's Worth *

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Book SynopsisMartin Heidegger - philosophy's 'hidden king', or leading exponent of a dangerously misguided secular mysticism. Heidegger has been acclaimed as the most powerfully original philosopher of the twentieth century. Profoundly influential on deconstruction, existentialism and phenomenology, he stands behind all major strands of post-structuralist and postmodern thought. Heidegger announced the end of philosophy and of humanism, and was a committed Nazi and vocal supporter of Hitler's National Socialism. Was Heidegger offering a deeply conservative mythology or a crucial deconstruction of philosophy as we have known it? "Introducing Heidegger" provides an accessible introduction to his notoriously abstruse thinking, mapping out its historical contexts and exploring its resonances in ecology, theology, art, architecture, literature and other fields. The book opens up an encounter with a kind of thinking whose outlines might still not yet be clear, and whose forms might still surprise us.Trade ReviewJeff Collins has done an admirable job of explicating this profound thinker.' * John Banville, Irish Times *

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Book SynopsisHow do you tell what's right from what's wrong? Can you always? What's the difference between deduction, induction and abduction? What are the best techniques for making an argument logically sound? In this fascinating little book, the smallest on its subject ever produced, philosopher Dr Earl Fontainelle explores the ancient art of Logic and demonstrates some of the techniques that have long been used to triumph over the debates and deceptions which assail us every day.

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Book SynopsisWhat does it mean to be human? What is knowledge? What is freedom? Philosophy offers answers to these questions, but are its rarefied arguments relevant to people today, or just abstractions? Are we not more preoccupied with day-to-day survival and the unending problems surrounding human relationships? Yet most if not all people seek for meaning in life. We are not content with being specks on a random planet in a solar system, part of a vast clockwork universe. To dismiss consciousness as worthless, or merely the play of chance, is to give up on finding real meaning in existence. Freedom Through Love offers possibilities for dealing with some of these big questions, leading to satisfying and convincing conclusions. Although based on Rudolf Steiner's Philosophy of Freedom, Nick Thomas does not begin his book with complex philosophical arguments, but with themes that reflect modern times. 'Let us not start with abstract questions far from life, but from life itself!', he states in his opening page. Thus the search for meaning, truth, freedom and love begins with the realities of daily life - people and their relationships - as these constitute the most difficult, but real, issues of contemporary society.

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Book SynopsisOur societies are remarkably confident on the matter: affairs are terrible things and only fools, monsters and knaves would ever be involved in them. Those who are their victims deserve unending sympathy and access to a good lawyer. This stance may be clear, but it is not especially helpful or productive - given that, in reality, 1 in 4 of us are going to end up involved in an affair during our lifetime. This is a book written to increase our understanding of what is really at stake in affairs: it looks at why affairs happen and ventures beyond black and white caricatures. It delves into the question of what unfaithful sex means and why, despite the risks, it happens so often. Most importantly, the book seeks to help us through affairs, offering couples a better understanding of each other’s motivations and moods - and, where desirable, a way to save a relationship. We have for too long either openly condemned or secretly lusted after affairs: this, finally, is a chance to understand them.

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Follow the changes a smile brings as it passes from one person to the next in this life-affirming tale. A story for children and adults that is guaranteed to bring a smile to everyone's face.

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Book Synopsis~ NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ~ From the creator of Hamilton: The Musical and star of His Dark Materials, this beautifully illustrated book of pep talks will inspire you at the beginning and end of each day.When the world is bringing you down, Gmorning, Gnight! will remind you that you are awesome. - BooklistA perfect choice for anyone who wants to blow away negativity and avoid getting stuck in the comments section of life. - The HeraldWhether you want to change your morning mindset or calm your head before you sleep, Lin-Manuel Miranda has just the right pep talk for you. He wrote these original sayings, aphorisms, and poetry for himself as much as for others. But as Miranda was catapulted to international fame and his audience grew, these messages began to delight thousands across the world.Now, GMORNING, GNIGHT! gathers the best of his daily greetings into a beautiful collection illustrated by acclaimed artiTrade ReviewWhen the world is bringing you down, Gmorning, Gnight! will remind you that you are awesome. - BooklistA perfect choice for anyone who wants to blow away negativity and avoid getting stuck in the comments section of life. - The Herald

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Book SynopsisA beautiful look at the Ancient Chinese philosophy of Rén and how it can help us with our hectic modern lives.The Chinese character for Rén 仁 combines the word for 'person' 亻and the number 'two' 二, representing human connection. And in the teachings of ancient philosopher Confucius, Rén is the study of our relationship with those around us.In this accessible and beautiful book, Yen Ooi explains the various facets of Rén and explores how this philosophy applies to everything from our relationship with ourselves and the people in our lives, to how we relate to society and the wider world.She shows us how, using the basic principles of Rén and through simple changes to our lives, we can connect better with friends, family and colleagues, become helpful members of society and find fulfilment in ideas of community, justice, morality and compassion.

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