Western philosophy from c 1800 Books
Ivan R Dee, Inc Sartre in 90 Minutes
Book Synopsis“Each of these little books is witty and dramatic and creates a sense of time, place, and character....I cannot think of a better way to introduce oneself and one’s friends to Western civilization.”—Katherine A. Powers, Boston Globe. “Well-written, clear and informed, they have a breezy wit about them....I find them hard to stop reading.”—Richard Bernstein, New York Times. “Witty, illuminating, and blessedly concise.”—Jim Holt, Wall Street Journal. These brief and enlightening explorations of our greatest thinkers bring their ideas to life in entertaining and accessible fashion. Philosophical thought is deciphered and made comprehensive and interesting to almost everyone. Far from being a novelty, each book is a highly refined appraisal of the philosopher and his work, authoritative and clearly presented.Trade ReviewWell-written, clear and informed, they have a breezy wit about them...I find them hard to stop reading. -- Richard Bernstein * The New York Times *Witty, illuminating, and blessedly concise. -- Jim Holt * The Wall Street Journal *Each of these little books is witty and dramatic and creates a sense of time, place, and character...I cannot think of a better way to introduce oneself and one's friends to Western civilization. -- Katherine A. Powers * The Boston Globe *A godsend in this era of the short attention span. -- Daryl Royster Alexander * The New York Times *Table of ContentsPart 1 Introduction 5 Part 2 Sartre's Life and Works 8 Part 3 From Sartre's Writings 80 Part 4 Chronology of Significant Philosophical Dates 83 Part 5 Chronology of Sartre's Life 88 Part 6 Recommended Reading 91 Part 7 Index 92
£9.36
Centre for the Study of Language & Information Meaning, Basic Self-Knowledge, and Mind: Essays
Book SynopsisThis volume comprises a lively and thorough discussion between philosophers and Tyler Burge about Burge's recent, and already widely accepted, position in the theory of meaning, mind and knowledge. This position is embodied by an externalist theory of meaning and an anti-individualist theory of mind and approach to self-knowledge. The authors of the 11 papers expound their versions of this position and go on to critique Burge's version. Together with Burge's replies, this volume offers a major contribution to contemporary philosophy.
£999.99
Centre for the Study of Language & Information Identity, Language, and Mind: An Introduction to
Book SynopsisAs one of the world's most eminent living philosophers, John Perry has covered a remarkable breadth of subjects in his published work, including semantics, indexicality, self-knowledge, personal identity, and consciousness. Looking particularly at the way in which he deals with issues of self, communication, and reality, this volume is organized in seven chapters that highlight different aspects of Perry's work on the intersection of these subjects. A fundamental work for students and scholars, "Identity, Language, and Mind" explores questions that are not only essential in understanding Perry's writings, but also contemporary philosophy as a whole.
£999.99
Boydell & Brewer Ltd Fire in the Dark: Essays on Pascal's Pensées and
Book SynopsisThe eight essays in Fire in the Dark frame and probe Pascal's underlying contention that the darkling, "hidden" God of Christian revelation, though Himself a profound mystery, especially in the matter of his justice towardsfallen mankind, can nonetheless be used to demystify questions that matter most to us. Pascal's Pensées afford a deeply penetrating view of the human condition [or predicament] as a prelude to a luminously reasoned defense of the Christian faith. His Provincial Letters are best remembered as a wickedly funny satire of "obliging and accommodating" Jesuit moral theologians who, guided by policy rather than piety, are willing to put virtue and salvation within the easy reach of all but the diabolical. Both works are landmarks ofFrench prose that have fascinated readers of all sorts from his day to ours. The eight essays in Fire in the Dark, two of which are new and four of which first appeared in French, frame and probe Pascal's underlying contention that the darkling, "hidden" God of Christian revelation, though Himself a profound mystery, especially in the matter of his justice towards fallen mankind, can nonetheless be used to demystify questions that matter most to us. But can the Supremely Obscure, like a dark lantern that is supremely dark, really illumine our whence, whither, and what now -- our nature, destiny and duties? "Watchman, what of the night?" The answers Pascal offers to Isaiah's query, whether they finally shed light on our world's chiaroscuro or not, can at least claim the authority of coming from out of the dark. Charles Natoli is a member of the Department of Philosophy and Classical Studies at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York. He is also the author of Nietzsche and Pascal on Christianity [1985].Trade ReviewPerfectly at home in the literary, theological, and philosophical fields that inform seventeenth-century France, Charles Natoli discusses Pascal's difficult and fascinating writings with great clarity and insight, and with the justesse these writings deserve. The essays are witty and enjoyable to read. Original in their discussion of Pascal's methods and of their potential limits, these essays too ask the reader to be mindful of Pascal's depth and value for our 21st century world. -- -- John A. Gallucci, Colgate University.In this careful and learned study, Natoli burrows into a key tension of our time: the mystery of faith and how one proves the grounds for that faith. -- -- Sara Melzer, UCLA, author of Discourses of the Fall: A Study of Pascal's PenséesIn this remarkable analysis of Pascal's theodicy and the difficulties it presents to modern readers, Natoli joins theological, philosophical, and literary approaches to the Pensées and Provincial Letters. -- -- David Wetsel, Arizona State University, author of Pascal and Disbelief .The seriousness with which Charles Natoli poses, investigates, and most probably lives the question of the justice of the hidden and judging God makes this book at once at excellent example of scholarship and of philosophy. . . In this book what was once known as the Republic of Letters survives. . . -- -- Michael Platt * REVIEW OF METAPHYSICS, 2006 *Table of ContentsFire in the Dark The Provinciales: Ruse against Ruse, Force against Force? Preferring to Live in a Tree-Trunk: The Provinciales as Heauton timoroumenos Revelation/Revolution: A Reflection on Newness in the Provinciales Proof in the Pensées: Reason as Rhetoric, Rhetoric as Reason The Fundamental Role of Justice in Pascal's Apologetics: The Hidden God Mystic/Anti-Mystic: On Speech and Silence in Pascal's Memorial Watchman, What of the Night? Select Bibliography Name Index
£123.17
Autonomedia Radical Alterity
Book SynopsisA focused exploration of Baudrillard''s understanding and use of alterity and “otherness,” a crucial theme that appears and reappears throughout his work as a whole.Alterity is in danger. It is a masterpiece in peril, an object lost or missing from our system, from the system of artificial intelligence and the system of communication in general.—from Radical AlterityWhere is the Other today? Can Otherness challenge our arrogant, insular cultural narcissism? From artificial intelligence to the streets of Venice, from early explorers to contemporary photographers, Jean Baudrillard and Marc Guillaume discuss the traces of radical alterity in our world. These provocative seminars, held in 1990 and 1991, follow the multiple, intertwined trajectories first projected in Baudrillard''s work and his reading of the “radical exoticism” posited by Victor Segalen—ideas Baudrillard extends into the realms of mass media, pseudonyms, technology, and that illusorily close yet radically foreign “primitive society of the future,” America. In a world where no corner is unexplored, the Other remains a challenge to thought, a crack in the shell of universal understanding, impossible to communicate but potentially the linchpin of communication itself. Together, Baudrillard and Guillaume explore the threatened and fatal figures of radical alterity. This collection is no longer available in French, and this English edition includes an additional essay by Baudrillard, “Because Illusion and Reality Are Not Opposed.”
£12.59
Autonomedia Neither Sun nor Death
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£16.14
Autonomedia Globes: Spheres Volume II: Macrospherology
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£32.40
St Augustine's Press On the God of the Christians – (and on one or two
Book SynopsisTable of ContentsTranslator’s IntroductionAuthor’s ForewordChapter I: Disposing of three triosI. Three monotheisms? 1. Monotheism is not essentially religious 2. There are not only three monotheisms 3. Do monotheism and polytheism simply oppose one another? 4. The real question 5. Islamic monotheism 6. A mutual recognition of the monotheisms?II. Three religions of Abraham?Common personages 1. The same Abraham? 2. Three religions of Abraham, or only one?III. Three religions of the book? 1. A deceptive expression 2. Three very different books 3. Three relations to the book 4. The idea of revelationIV. Three religions? 1. How do the three religions distinguish themselves from one another? 2. Three books?ConclusionChapter 2: To know GodI. To know 1. What does “to know” mean? 2. To know the singular 3. Self-knowledge, personal knowledge, knowledge of God 4. To look in the right placeII. A particular object 1. “Open your eye, the good one!” 2. Faith and knowledge 3. To know a paradoxical object 4. Faith, will, loveChapter 3: The one GodI. Oneness 1. The dangers of monotheism 2. The rediscovery of polytheism 3. The dogma of the Trinity and political theologyII. Unity 1. “Monotheism”: a vague concept 2. Uniqueness and unity 3. The concrete problemIII. Union: the human model 1. The bond of charity 2. Love and identity 3. To accept the other as otherIV. Union: the Trinitarian model 1. Relation 2. To give rise to the otherConclusion: United to the one God?Chapter 4: God the Father 1. Sexuality and the image of God 2. Masculinity and virility 3. Creation and paternity 4. Uncoupling paternity and virilityConclusionChapter 5: A God who has said everythingI. Nothing more to say 1. Power, or the word 2. A stingy grace? 3. The definitive religion 4. A God reduced to silence 5. The discourse of the God who is muteII. The silence of the flesh 1. Who wants more, really wants less 2. Without return 3. The incarnate Word 4. The TrinityIII. After Everything 1. What to do when everything is said? 2. The word now belongs to us 3. A general ruleConclusionChapter 6: A God who asks nothing of usI. I know what to do 1. The amplitude of the normative 2. What does God ask? 3. The end of the LawII. God’s expectation 1. The vegetal model 2. The Old Testament 3. The New TestamentIII. Responding to the expectation 1. To eat 2. Faith 3. Pride and humility 4. SacrificeConclusion: The “meaning of life”Chapter 7: A God who forgives sinsI. A few clarifications 1. Sin and pleasure 2. Offending God? 3. Sin presupposes forgivenessII. My sin 1. Where is evil? 2. “For every sin, mercy” 3. RemissionConclusionIndex
£999.99
St Augustine's Press We at the Center of the Universe
Book SynopsisIn a work that defies caregory, the remarkable John Lukacs has combined science and philosophy to open our eyes to accept our need to know, our purpose for knowing, our response to the world. Here is his opening statement: WE ARE AT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE. We ought to recognize this now, at what seems to be the beginning of a new age, for which postmodern is an inadequate word. A great change after about 500 years. There are two (and for some of us, three) reasons why we should acknowledge our centrality. They have inspired and compelled me, after considerable hesitation, to write these words. WITH THIS RECOGNITION I KNOW THAT, although I remain in a small minority, I am no longer entirely alone. I am speaking of the uneasy realization that the so-called scientific view of the universe is insufficient. It is not enough to make this argument on moral or religious or metaphysical convictions alone. There are ample evidences that the scientific or materialistic or deterministic explanations for the world that we know are at best incomplete or at worst insubstantial. The achievements of science during recent centuries have been immense, of course. But in the past 200 years, more and more people, including scientists, have come to the conclusion that the science pertaining to the subjects of their knowledge is imperfect, and probably inevitably so. (Note, too, that the word science has narrowed to mean the science of nature; the word scientist became current in English only after about 1840.) We ought to recognize that one of the main applications of material science, technology, depends on a single limited function of causality, what we call mechanical causality, which Aristotle called efficient cause and defined as but one of four causalities. (The other three are material cause, formal cause, and final cause.) Mechanical causality means that the same causes must necessarily result in the same effects. That is the inevitable condition of machines—while at the same time it is incomplete, because it excludes the presence or participation of any kind of nonmaterial or nonmechanical element. A recent statement by the poet Wendell Berry is most appropriate here: he wrote that in the near future the great division of mankind may be between people who think of themselves as machines and people who think of themselves as creatures. His statement brings me to my argument that the earth is at the center of the universe.
£999.99
Select Books Inc The Laszlo Chronicle: A Global Thinker's Journey
Book SynopsisThis study analyses the fifty year evolution of Ervin Laszlo's contribution to science and philosophy. It records the major turning points in his thinking and discusses who and what influenced this evolution and with what result. Laszlo's search for answers to questions such as man's relationship to nature and the cosmos, and the nature of underlying factors of evolution which connect all things were not satisfied by working only on the basis of the General Evolutionary Systems Theory. Wittgenstein said "In every serious philosophical question uncertainty extends to the very roots of the problem. We must always be prepared to learn something totally new." Laszlo did discover something entirely new -- the theory of the information field -- after immersing himself in a range of areas of study such as cosmology, consciousness studies, quantum physics, metaphysics and various Eastern traditions. The integration of his earlier works with his more recent studies lies behind his explanation of the existence of the Akashic Field. The Akashic Field is a term that refers to an interactive universe communicating in a subtle manner, which connects everything with every other thing everywhere. This is a pure information field where communication takes place without the need for the transportation of physical energy; thus interaction can occur instantaneously regardless of distance and time. Coherence and consciousness are the bases of Laszlo's Akashic field. He proposed a 'system theoretic paradigm', which focuses on a general understanding of the cosmos and the implications for entities such as human beings. This entails the observation and explanation of human and cosmic evolution as viewed in unity or inter-connectedness where macro and micro are essentially interlinked. Laszlo's philosophical work extends to sociology when describing concurrent worldwide issues closely related to the existence of the Akashic Field. His humanist ideals are evidenced by his efforts to help humans understand the context and causes for their recent challenges and the possibilities that may lie ahead. Ervin Laszlo's half-century of exceptional philosophical work gives us the most coherent picture of the nature of the world to date.
£16.14
Michigan State University Press Ressentiment: Reflections on Mimetic Desire and
Book SynopsisThis book is a response to Friedrich Nietzsche’s provocative question: How much and how does ressentiment condition our daily life? During the twentieth century we witnessed veritable eruptions of this insidious emotion, and we are still witnesses of its proliferation at various levels of society.This book explores, according to René Girard’s mimetic theory, the anthropological and social assumptions that make up ressentiment and to investigate its genesis. The analysis of ressentiment shows that this emotion evolves from mimetic desire: it is an affective experience that people have when a rival denies them opportunities or valuable resources (including status) that they consider to be socially accessible. It is a specific figure of mimetic desire that is typical of contemporary society, where the equality that is proclaimed at the level of values contrasts with striking inequalities of power and access to material resources. This dichotomy generates increasing tension between highly competitive and egalitarian mimetic desires and growing social inequalities. The ressentiment is ambiguous, and its ambiguity is that of mimetic desire itself, which we cannot dismiss from our lives. In that it provides occasions of conflict and baseness, ressentiment can fuel violence, discord, and injustice, but it also can open opportunities for growth and justice, and for inventing institutions that are better adapted to the transformations of our contemporary society.
£999.99
P & R Publishing Co (Presbyterian & Reformed) Alvin Plantinga
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£999.99
Verso Books Everything, All the Time, Everywhere: How We
Book SynopsisPost-Modernity is the creative destruction that has shattered our present times into fragments. It dynamited modernism which had dominated the western world for most of the 20th century. Post-modernism stood for everything modernism rejected: fun, exuberance, irresponsibility. But beneath its glitzy surface, post-modernism had a dirty secret: it was the fig leaf for a rapacious new kind of capitalism. It was alsoseemsthe forcing ground of the 'post truth', by means of which western values got turned upside down. But where do these ideas come from and how have they impacted on the world? In his brilliant history of a dangerous idea, Stuart Jeffries tells a narrative that starts in the early 1970s and continue to today. He tells this history through a riotous gallery that includes, amongst others: David Bowie * the Ipod * Frederic Jameson * the demolition of Pruit-Igoe * Madonna * Post-Fordism * Jeff Koon's 'Rabbit' * Deleuze and Guattari * the Nixon Shock * The Bowery series * Judith Butler * Las Vegas * Margaret Thatcher * Grand Master Flash * I Love Dick * the RAND Corporation * the Sex Pistols *Princess Diana * the Musee D'Orsay * Grand Theft Auto* Perry Anderson * Netflix * 9/11We are today scarcely capable of conceiving politics as a communal activity because we have become habituated to being consumers rather than citizens. Politicians treat us as consumers to whom they must deliver. Can we do anything else than suffer from buyer's remorse?Trade ReviewMarvellously entertaining, exciting and informative. -- John Banville * Guardian Books of the Year [For Grand Hotel Abyss] *This seemingly daunting book turned out to be an exhilarating page-turner.Grand Hotel Abyss is an outstanding critical introduction to some of the most fertile, and still relevant, thinkers of the 20th century. -- Michael Dirda * Washington Post [For Grand Hotel Abyss] *Attempts something rather daring . An easily accessible, funny history of one of the more formidable intellectual movements of the 20th century . an easy, witty, pacy read -- Owen Hatherley * [for Grand Hotel Abyss] *Throughout the book, Jeffries demonstrates that he is comfortable and conversant with the often thorny philosophical ideas of his subjects. A rich, intellectually meaty history. * Kirkus [for Grand Hotel Abyss] *Stuart Jeffries has produced a compelling and politically pressing group portrait of the philosophers associated with the Frankfurt School. Their thinking has never seemed less forbidding and more inspiring -- Matthew Beaumont * [for Grand Hotel Abyss] *An engaging and accessible history of the lives and main ideas of the leading thinkers of the Frankfurt School * New York Review of Books [for Grand Hotel Abyss] *Erudite and entertaining ... Everything, All the Time, Everywhere is a detailed and convincing horror story of the amalgamation of the two most dominant intellectual paradigms of the past half century. -- Ryne Clos * Spectrum Culture *Jeffries is a rarity: a journalist with a serious interest in cultural theory ... who writes about it in a way that is both scholarly and welcoming to non-theorists ... entertaining and astute -- Joe Moran * Times Literary Supplement *In holding a mirror to a familiar world, Everything looks to reveal hidden complexities ... eminently readable, without eliding the difficulties that are so key to its intrigue -- Daniel Baksi * The Arts Desk *Splendidly readable ... Jeffries packs a remarkable knowledge of postmodern culture into these pages -- Terry Eagleton * Guardian *Intriguing -- William Davies * New Statesman *Everything, All the Time, Everywhere finds Stuart Jeffries examining simply and engagingly how a loss of values and critical thought has led to our 'post-truth', irrational world. * Choice Magazine *A lively, sparky book -- Michael Rosen * BBC Front Row *Not only instructive; [Everything, All the Time, Everywhere] is a pleasurable read ... brilliant and entertaining -- Lisa Downing * Financial Times *Engaging and richly detailed -- Christopher McMichael * New Frame *Astute -- D.L. Dusenbury * Spectator *Everything, All the Time, Everywhere is a book replete with philosophical, social, and political references and its range of material is truly impressive. -- Sean Sheehan * popmatters *Pertinent ... on class, and capital, [Jeffries] is good. -- Scotsman * Stuart Kelly *Stuart Jeffries' animated and witty approach in Everything, All the Time, Everywhere is an exhilarating and even intoxicating look at the shambles the relationship between postmodernism and neoliberal capitalism has created. -- Ron Jacobs * Counterpunch *
£19.00
Verso Books Ernest Gellner: An Intellectual Biography
Book SynopsisErnest Gellner was a multilingual polymath who set the agenda in the study of nationalism and the sociology of Islam for an entire generation of academics and students. This definitive biography follows his trajectory from his early years in Prague, Paris and England to international success as a philosopher and public intellectual. Known both for his highly integrated philosophy of modernity and for combining a respect for nationalism with an appreciation for science, Gellner was passionate in his defence of reason against every for of relativism.Trade ReviewThe cumulative effect is monumental-and a monument does seem overdue. -- Scott McLemee * National *Gellner has been brought back to life-alongside his combative ideas and his maverick approach to intellectual combat-in a sympathetic but by no means reverential biography by his former pupil John A. Hall. * Wall Street Journal *Few books have more successfully combined the study of personal life and intellectual development in the turbulent setting of the twentieth century. -- Eric Hobsbawn * Observer Books of the Year *John A. Hall concludes his account of Ernest Gellner by observing that his outlook on the world was austere. "But therein lies its attraction," he goes on. "Not much real comfort for our woes is on offer; the consolations peddled in the market are indeed worthless. What Gellner offered was something more mature and demanding: cold intellectual honesty." Brief personal impressions are rarely conclusive, especially when recalled after many years; but that Gellner was an exceptionally honest thinker is beyond reasonable doubt. -- John Gray * New Republic *Outstanding. -- Stefan Collini * London Review of Books *The theory of nationalism itself was Gellner's life. John A. Hall's admirable biography helps us to see how this is so, by providing essential biographical information and locating Gellner's arguments within those of his interlocutors, friendly and otherwise ... Hall, more than learned enough to follow Gellner's very broad references, is also patient with his categorical opinions. * Times Literary Supplement *
£23.39
St Augustine's Press Intelligent Guide To Modern Culture
Book SynopsisReceived by the British press with equal acclaim and indignation, this book sets out to define and defend high culture against the world of pop, corn, and popcorn. It shows just why culture matters in an age without faith and gives an extended argument against the "post-modernist" world view.
£999.99
Codhill Press The Enneagram of G. I. Gurdjieff: Mathematics,
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£20.66
For Beginners Deconstruction for Beginners
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£13.29
Les Belles Lettres Tommaso Campanella: Le Livre Et Le Corps de la
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£41.00
Les Belles Lettres La Pensee Scientifique de Cardan
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£41.00
Les Belles Lettres L'Imposture Du Theologico-Politique
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£57.63
Les Belles Lettres Malebranche
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£26.63
Klincksieck Levinas a Jerusalem
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£42.00
Klincksieck Penser l'Art: Histoire de l'Art Et Esthetique
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£42.00
Encre Marine Pour Le Moins
£28.75
Encre Marine Une Pensee a l'Horizon de l'Errance: Dix
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£25.00
Encre Marine Voir Et Incarner: Une Phenomenologie de l'Espace
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£42.00
Encre Marine Les Matins de l'Esprit
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£999.99
Classiques Garnier L'Homme Entier: Conceptions Anthropologiques
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£56.00
Librarie Philosophique J. Vrin Dilutio Eorum Quae Jodocus Clithoveus Scripsit
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£23.75
Librarie Philosophique J. Vrin Jean-Jacques Rousseau Et La Pensee Du Malheur: I
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£43.70
Librarie Philosophique J. Vrin Problematiques Et Reception Du Discours de la
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£43.70
Librarie Philosophique J. Vrin Le Dernier Schelling: Raison Et Positivite
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£31.35
Librarie Philosophique J. Vrin Recherches Hegeliennes: Dialectique Et Infini
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£39.90
Librarie Philosophique J. Vrin Jaakko Hintikka: Questions de Logique Et de
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£38.00
Librarie Philosophique J. Vrin Maine de Biran: La Science de l'Homme
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£999.99
Librarie Philosophique J. Vrin Dialectique 1555
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£41.80
Librarie Philosophique J. Vrin La Crise de la Philosophie Au Xixe Siecle
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£999.99
Librarie Philosophique J. Vrin Le Tournant de l'Experience: Recherches Sur La
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£37.05
Librarie Philosophique J. Vrin Descartes Et l'Ambivalence de la Creation
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£39.90
Librarie Philosophique J. Vrin L'Esprit Cartesien
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£33.25
Librarie Philosophique J. Vrin Wittgenstein Les Mots de l'Esprit: Philosophie de
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£35.15
Librarie Philosophique J. Vrin Justice Et Terreur: Leibniz Et Le Principe de
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£23.00
Librarie Philosophique J. Vrin Logique Et Langage: Etudes Sur Le Premier
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£39.90
Librarie Philosophique J. Vrin Hans Jonas Et La Liberte: Dimensions
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£39.90
Librarie Philosophique J. Vrin L'Utopia de Thomas More Et La Tradition
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£69.35
Librarie Philosophique J. Vrin Destutt de Tracy: Iuvres Completes Tome III:
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£999.99
Librarie Philosophique J. Vrin Heidegger Inedit: 1929-1930 l'Inachevable Etre Et
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£999.99
Librarie Philosophique J. Vrin Encyclopedie Des Sciences Philosophiques En
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£21.09
