Search results for ""Open Court Publishing Co ,U.S.""

Is software a creation to be patented, like an invented machine or process, or an original expression to be copyrighted, like drawings and books? This distinction is artificial, argues Koepsell, and is responsible for the growing legal problems related to intellectual property law. Computer-mediated objects are no different from books, songs, or machines and do not require any special treatment by the law. The author suggests revisions to the legal framework itself which prevent this artificial and problematic distinction, and simplifies the protection of all intellectual property.

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Simone de Beauvoir published a number of philosophical novels and essays before she wrote her ferminist masterwork The Second Sex. In this volume - the first thorough examination of her unique brand of existentialism - the author pays special attention to her important work, The Ethics of Ambiguity, in which Beauvior draws from many thinkers in the continental tradition to argue that one's own freedom is intertwined with that of others. Arp places Beauvoir's ethics within the larger context of her other writing and political views, providing a balanced portrait of Beauvoir's intellectual legacy.

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This comprehensive volume captures one of the twentieth century's greatest philosopher's lifelong battle with the forces of injustice, ignorance, and cruelty - a crusade not always welcomed by his own government, which twice imprisoned him. Russell used his more than 400 letters to the editor, most of which are collected in this volume, to reach large numbers of the public quickly when his controversial stances made it difficult to have his articles published in the popular press. Yours Faithfully, Bertrand Russell allows us to see Russell at his polemical best, dueling wittily and wisely with both ordinary citizens and the most powerful political leaders of his day, freely expressing his insights on a wide range of subjects from war and peace to human rights, early childhood education, sexual ethics, and religion. These letters tell us much about the social and political history of our last century and relay an inspiring story of one man's protracted efforts to infuse the public spirit with reason and compassion.

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Is Benjamin Franklin, the familiar cultural icon whose face appears on coins, currency, and postage stamps, in addition to being an affable inventor, printer, and humorist also an important American philosopher? In Recovering Benjamin Franklin, James Campbell attempts to "recover" Benjamin Franklin's role as philosopher. In the broad eighteenth-century understanding of the term "philosopher", most people would say that Franklin clearly qualifies as one. But since the beginning of the twentieth century, the meaning of the term has narrowed. What should be said about Franklin as philosopher in the current sense of the word?Part of the problem is that Franklin's thought is difficult to classify. Franklin is not a composer of lengthy, systematic treatises. Instead, we know him as the author of letters and essays, primarily short and often fragmentary, that were intended for diverse audiences. Was Franklin a thinker whose interests were nearly universal, or was he a dabbler who flew from topic to topic? Was he a minor intellectual who was incapable of sustained theoretical work, or was he a thinker who recognized that thought must function in the world?In answering these questions, Campbell provides a survey of the events in Franklin's rich life and explores his extraordinary place in American history, along the way challenging a series of popular misconceptions that are based upon narrow interpretations of Franklin's work. To foster a more adequate understanding, the author lays out in detail Franklin's ideas in four areas: science, religion, morality, and politics.

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Does science have all the answers? The view that it does is known as scientific naturalism or scientism, and is now commonly advanced under the label 'naturalized epistemology'. Scientism holds that the only legitimate claims about the world are those that can be tested by the methods of the natural sciences. Robert Almeder argues that scientism is rationally indefensible, but that there is a rationally defensible form of naturalism - 'harmless naturalism' - which does not reduce philosophical explanations to scientific ones. This book begins by refuting the arguments for the most radical form of scientism, the Replacement Thesis, which derives from Quine. Almeder goes on to refute the Transformational Thesis, an allegedly distinct form of naturalized epistemology offered by Alvin Goldman and others. Finally, there is an examination of 'harmless naturalism', a position which holds that there are some questions about the world whose answers are not to be sought in natural science.

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On September 11th, 1893, the Columbian Liberty Bell at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago sounded ten times - symbolising what were then considered the ten great religious traditions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. As the bell tolled, more than 60 religious leaders from around the globe proceded into the Hall of Columbus to gather in solemn assembly. The ochre robes of Buddhist ascetics, the vermilion cloaks and turbans of Hindu swamis, the silk vestments of Confucians, Taoists, and Shinto priests, the sombre garb of Protestant ministers, all gathered together in the platform around a Catholic cardinal dressed in scarlet and seated in a high chair of state. The near-ecstatic crowd repeatedly burst into tumultuous applause, waving handkerchiefs and mingling tears with smiles. The World's Parliament of Religions was the first event of its kind in the history of the world: a gathering of representatives of numerous world religions for an exchange of views. It was also a turning point in American religious and cultural life, presaging the multiculturalism of a century later. This volume contains a selection of 60 representative and revealing addresses given to the Parliament, with introductions and notes by Professor Seager. The addresses include contributions by Protestant mainstream ministers, African Americans, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and other Asian religions. Also included are various "points of contact and contention", in which religious leaders attempted to analyse or reach out to their counterparts in other traditions.

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Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card's award-winning 1985 novel, has been discovered and rediscovered by generations of science fiction fans, even being adopted as reading by the U.S. Marine Corps. Ender's Game and its sequels explore rich themes -- the violence and cruelty of children, the role of empathy in war, and the balance of individual dignity and the social good -- with compelling elements of a coming-of-age story. Ender's Game and Philosophy brings together over 30 philosophers to engage in wide-ranging discussion on issues such as: the justifiability of pre-emptive strikes; how Ender's disconnected and dispassionate violence is mirrored in today's drone warfare; whether the end of saving the species can justify the most brutal means; the justifiability of lies and deception in wartime, and how military schools produce training in virtue. The authors of Ender's Game and Philosophy challenge readers to confront the challenges that Ender's Game presents, bringing new insights to the idea of a just war, the virtues of the soldier, the nature of childhood, and the serious work of playing games.

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Batman or Superman? Which of these heroic figures is morally superior? Which is more dramatically effective? Which is more democratic? Which shows us the better way to fight crime? In Batman, Superman, and Philosophy, 26 philosophers evaluate Superman vs. Batman in order to decide which of them "wins" by various criteria. Since both Batman, the megalomaniacal industrialist, and Superman, the darling of the media, sometimes operate outside the law, which of them makes the better vigilante -- and how do they compare with Robin Hood, the anonymous donor, the Ninja, and the KKK? Which of them comes out better in terms of evolutionary biology? Which of the heroes works more effectively to resist oppression? Which one is better for the environment? Which of these two makes a better model and inspiring myth to define our culture and society? Is Batman or Superman the more admirable person? Who conforms more closely to Nietzsche's Ubermensch? Who makes the better god? Who is more self-sacrificing? Whose explicit code of morality is superior? Which superhero gives us more satisfying dramatic conflict? And why does a battle between the two make such a compelling drama?

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Growing out of the Jimi Hendrix Electric Guitar Festivals of the 1990s, the continually expanding Experience Hendrix Tour is now an annual nationwide event, in which leading rock and blues artists pay tribute to Hendrix, with its most ambitious itinerary and biggest impact yet in Spring 2017. 2017 is the fiftieth anniversary of Hendrix’s breakthrough as an intercontinental popular artist, and of the release of the first album of the Jim Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced? The Jimi Hendrix live performance CD Machine Gun: The Fillmore East First Show (recorded 12/31/69) was released in September 2016, received rave reviews, and reached 66 in the Billboard 200, with subsequent solid sales.

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This collection of incisive articles gives a leading team of international philosophers a free kick toward exploring the complex and often hidden contours of the world of soccer. What does it really mean to be a fan (and why should we count Aristotle as one)? Why do great players such as Cristiano Ronaldo count as great artists (up there alongside Picasso, one author argues)? From the ethics of refereeing to the metaphysics of bent (like Beckham) space-time, this book shows soccer fans and philosophy buffs alike new ways to appreciate and understand the world's favorite sport.

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The comic book naratives of superheroes wrestle with profound and disturbing issues in original ways: the definitions of good and evil, the limits of violence as an effective means, the perils of enforcing justice outside the law, the metaphysics of personal identity, and the definition of humanity. Superheroes and Philosophy tackles these and other philosophical questions in an intellectual yet engaging way suitable for any comic book fan.

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A practical reference source that provides essential information on the first 108 known chemical elements for students and working scientists. The information contained in this third edition reflects state-of-the-art values on the most frequently required constants. Each value was checked in a minimum of ten sources to ensure accuracy.

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Since the Doom series, First Person Shooter (FPS) videogames have ricocheted through the gaming community, often reaching outside that community to the wider public. While critics primarily lampoon FPSs for their aggressiveness and on-screen violence, gamers see something else. Halo is one of the greatest, most successful FPSs ever to grace the world of gaming. Although Halo is a FPS, it has a science-fiction storyline that draws from previous award-winning science fiction literature. It employs a game mechanic that limits the amount of weapons a player can carry to two, and a multiplayer element that has spawned websites like Red vs. Blue and games within the game created by players themselves. Halo's unique and extraordinary features raise serious questions. Are campers really doing anything wrong? Does Halo's music match the experience of the gamer? Would Plato have used Halo to train citizens to live an ethical life? What sort of Artificial Intelligence exists in Halo and how is it used? Can the player's experience of war tell us anything about actual war? Is there meaning to Master Chief's rough existence? How does it affect the player's ego if she identifies too strongly with an aggressive character like Master Chief? Is Halo really science fiction? Can Halo be used for enlightenment-oriented thinking in the Buddhist sense? Does Halo's weapon limitation actually contribute to the depth of the gameplay? When we willingly play Halo only to die again and again, are we engaging in some sort of self-injurious behavior? What is expansive gameplay and how can it be informed by the philosophy of Michel Foucault? In what way does Halo's post-apocalyptic paradigm force gamers to see themselves as agents of divine deliverance? What can Red vs. Blue teach us about personal identity? These questions are tackled by writers who are both Halo cognoscenti and active philosophers, with a foreword by renowned Halo fiction author Fred Van Lente and an afterword by leading games scholar and artist Roger Ngim.

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This volume offers a new and detailed look at the 'golden age' of American philosophy. Its focus is upon the activities of the American philosophical associations - the Western Philosophical Association and the American Philosophical Association - that were founded at the beginning of the twentieth century and that merged in to the present APA in 1927.

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This collection of essays, written between 1972 and 1999 by the late Professor Martin Eger, deals with controversial and topical issues in philosophy of science, education, and morality. The book also features exchanges between Eger and other leading philosophers, including a dialogue with Eger's colleague and friend, the eminent philosopher, Abner Shimony, who edits this volume and contributes an account of Eger's life, work, and importance to modern philosophical debates. Eger applied the hermeneutic approach, associated with Habermas, Heidegger, and Gadamer, to issues of science, education, and ethics. A prominent aspect of the book is Eger's concern with how concepts of science are conveyed to the general public through popularizations, like those of E.O. Wilson, Douglas Hofstadter, and Roger Penrose.

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It was the editorial eye of Eliot Deutsch that made the journal Philosophy East and West the voice of comparative philosophy within the Western academy, challenging the entrenched provincialism of Anglo-American philosophy. In these essays, Deutsch's critics both praise and attack him, and he offers his thoughtful responses.

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The announcement last spring that a lab in Scotland had successfully cloned a mammal captured the attention of the media and the imagination of the public. This culmination of decades of research has profound scientific and ethical implications. If applied to other species, cloning could further genetic engineering and greatly improve animal husbandry. Now that a sheep has been cloned, are humans next? Governments reacted swiftly with bans on funding for human cloning research. Churches united in calling for a complete ban on the cloning of higher animals. Critics immediately alluded to Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and the myth of Icarus. Has scientific sophistication outpaced our social and moral development? Can we "save" our society from this possible evil by banning any attempts to expand the knowledge? Does cloning really differ in spirit from the selective breeding that humankind has performed for centuries? "Cloning: For and Against" comprises 30 articles by scientists, ethicists, religious leaders and legal experts who explore the benefits and costs of cloning. Topics include: playing God: is cloning against human nature?; is cloning the salvation for endangered species?; no need for marriage: the separation of reproduction from human relationships; can you xerox a soul? and other theological issues; Brave New World: what's possible and what isn't; clones in medicine; and a million Michael Jacksons: eugenic/dysgenic and cultural consequences of human cloning.

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The announcement last spring that a lab in Scotland had successfully cloned a mammal captured the attention of the media and the imagination of the public. This culmination of decades of research has profound scientific and ethical implications. If applied to other species, cloning could further genetic engineering and greatly improve animal husbandry. Now that a sheep has been cloned, are humans next? Governments reacted swiftly with bans on funding for human cloning research. Churches united in calling for a complete ban on the cloning of higher animals. Critics immediately alluded to Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and the myth of Icarus. Has scientific sophistication outpaced our social and moral development? Can we "save" our society from this possible evil by banning any attempts to expand the knowledge? Does cloning really differ in spirit from the selective breeding that humankind has performed for centuries? "Cloning: For and Against" comprises 30 articles by scientists, ethicists, religious leaders and legal experts who explore the benefits and costs of cloning. Topics include: playing God: is cloning against human nature?; is cloning the salvation for endangered species?; no need for marriage: the separation of reproduction from human relationships; can you xerox a soul? and other theological issues; Brave New World: what's possible and what isn't; clones in medicine; and a million Michael Jacksons: eugenic/dysgenic and cultural consequences of human cloning.

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Is Benjamin Franklin, the familiar cultural icon whose face appears on coins, currency, and postage stamps, in addition to being an affable inventor, printer, and humorist also an important American philosopher? In Recovering Benjamin Franklin, James Campbell attempts to "recover" Benjamin Franklin's role as philosopher. In the broad eighteenth-century understanding of the term "philosopher", most people would say that Franklin clearly qualifies as one. But since the beginning of the twentieth century, the meaning of the term has narrowed. What should be said about Franklin as philosopher in the current sense of the word?Part of the problem is that Franklin's thought is difficult to classify. Franklin is not a composer of lengthy, systematic treatises. Instead, we know him as the author of letters and essays, primarily short and often fragmentary, that were intended for diverse audiences. Was Franklin a thinker whose interests were nearly universal, or was he a dabbler who flew from topic to topic? Was he a minor intellectual who was incapable of sustained theoretical work, or was he a thinker who recognized that thought must function in the world?In answering these questions, Campbell provides a survey of the events in Franklin's rich life and explores his extraordinary place in American history, along the way challenging a series of popular misconceptions that are based upon narrow interpretations of Franklin's work. To foster a more adequate understanding, the author lays out in detail Franklin's ideas in four areas: science, religion, morality, and politics.

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Born in 1901, Paul Weiss has made major contributions to several branches of philosophy, as well as to teaching and scholarly publishing. Alfred North Whitehead remarked: "The danger of philosophical teaching is that it may become dead-alive, but in Paul Weiss's presence that is impossible". Weiss is widely believed to be America's greatest living speculative metaphysician, but he has also made notable philosophical contributions to the discussion of sports, the arts, religion, logic, and politics. Professor Weiss has been highly productive: his Being and Other Realities (1995) was hailed as one of his most exciting books, and as this volume goes to press he is hard at work on yet another major treatise.

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A.J. Ayer burst like a supernova upon the Anglo-American philosophical world in 1936, with "Language, truth and logic", an eloquent, uncompromising manifesto for logical positivism which transformed the thinking of a generation. Inside a few years, philosophers were retreating from the position set forth in "Language truth and logic" with Ayer himself leading the retreat. The ensuing vogue for "ordinary language" philosohpy was not admired by Ayer who became one of its most telling critics. In his subsequent writings he displayed a rare capacity for self-criticis, manifested in a readiness to admit that his earlier arguments had been inadequate. He modified his position on many issues, but remained to the end what he had been all along - an empiricist in the demanding tradition of Hume and Russell. Ayers's grace and clarity of style, his lack of pretentiousness, his logical rigor and his gift for penetrating to the heart of a problem are all exemplified in a succession of works, including "Thinking and meaning" (1947), "The problem of knowlegde" (1956), "Probability and evidence" (1973) and "Freedom and morality" (1985). This, the 21st volume in the "Library of living philosophy", is more than Sir Alfred Ayer's final word on the philosophical issues which preoccupied him for 60 years. The list of contributors is a roll-call of some of the greatest living figures in philosophy, each addressing a key problem arising from Ayer's work. Most of the critical papers are answered directly and in detail by Sir Alfred - he completed his replies to 20 of the 24 papers before his death.

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You have to go deeper. Inception is more than just a nail-biting heist story, more than just one of the greatest movies of all time. The latest neuroscience and philosophy of mind tell us that shared dreams and the invasion of dreams may soon become reality. Inception and Philosophy: Ideas to Die For takes you through the labyrinth, onto the infinite staircase, exploring the movie's hidden architecture, picking up its unexpected clues. How will Inception change your thinking? You can't imagine. How will Inception and Philosophy change your life? You simply have no idea.

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This collection of 18 chapters by talented philosophical minds probes some of the many lessons to be learned from Orange Is the New Black. The show and the book that inspired it both dramatically highlight the troubling, stressful situation of millions of incarcerated Americans. How do the show's shower scenes shed light on the classical mind-body problem? How can we make our lives meaningful when our options are curtailed by authority? What does it mean to manipulate someone, and why is it bad? What can we learn about human beliefs from Pennsatucky's notion of the gay agenda? Is Litchfield Prison a preparation for life outside -- or just a scale model of life outside? What could the governors of Litchfield learn from Jeremy Bentham and his panopticon? How is it that even in prison we find ourselves condemned to be free? Why is one of the worst things about prison being forced to see who and what we really are? It so happens that life in prison is overfull of philosophical implications. Orange Is the New Black and Philosophy stays close to the characters and scenes of the TV show, applying insights from ethics, existentialism, metaphysics, epistemology, and political philosophy.

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The philosophically rich David Bowie is an artist of wide and continuing influence. The theatrical antics of Bowie ushered in a new rock aesthetic, but there is much more to Bowie than mere spectacle. The visual belies the increasing depths of his concerns, even at his lowest personal moments. We never know what lies in store in a Bowie song, for there is no point in his nearly 30 albums at which one can say, "That's typical Bowie!" Who else has combined techno and hard rock, switched to R&B love songs (with accompanying gospel) to funk to jazz-rock fusion and back again? Among the topics explored in David Bowie and Philosophy are the nature of Bowie as an institution and a cult; Bowie's work in many platforms, including movies and TV; Bowie's spanning of low and high art; his relation to Andy Warhol; the influence of Buddhism and Kabuki theater; the recurring theme of Bowie as a space alien; the dystopian element in Bowie's thinking; the role of fashion in Bowie's creativity; the aesthetics of theatrical rock and glam rock; and Bowie's public identification with bisexuality and his influence within the LGBTQ community.

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In this groundbreaking work, the author explains Heidegger's famous tool-analysis and then extends it beyond Heidegger's narrower theory of human practical activity to create an ontology of objects themselves. A welcome alternative to the linguistic turn that has dominated recent analytic and Continental philosophy, Tool-Being urges a fresh and concrete exploration into the secret contours of objects. Written in a lively and colorful style, it will be of interest to anyone open to new trends in contemporary philosophy.

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Recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most popular MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) in videogame history, World of Warcraft is everywhere -- from episodes of South Park and The Simpsons, to online series like Watch the Guild, accolades and awards from game critics, and prime-time commercials with Mr. T. Inevitably, such a cultural phenomenon triggers deeper questions. When does an assumed identity become real? Does the Corrupted Blood epidemic warn us of future public health catastrophes? What are the dangers when real life is invaded by events in the game? What can our own world learn from Azeroth's blend of primitivism and high-tech? In these lively essays, a specially commissioned guild of philosophers, including Yara Mitsuishi, Monica Evans, Tim Christopher, and Anna Janssen, tackles these and other complex questions arising from WoW.

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Rick, Lori, Shane, Carl, Dale, Andrea, and Michonne--human survivors of a zombie apocalypse--don't know much about philosophy, but philosophical ideas continue to shamble on through their world, and there's no excape from them. The Walking Dead is both a hugely successful comics series and a popular TV show. This epic story of a zombie apocalypse is unique. It focuses on the long-term individual, social, and moral consequences of survival by small groups of humans in a world overrun by infected zombies. Guns, chainsaws, and machetes are not enough for survival: humans also need agreement on rules of conduct. Can equality or fairness have any polace in the post-apocalyptic world? Do theft or even assault and murder become okay under desperate circumstances? Who should be recognized as having political authority? What about eating human flesh? Should survivors have children? As zombies have low IQs, terrible manners, and the overpowering urge to eat people, do they have any rights at all? Am I still me if I become a zombie? Do zombies know anything? are they rational? Would it be ethical to train a zombie and keep it as a pet? What the heck are P-zombies? And why would we all jump at the chance

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"Sociologist Victor began his involvement with satanic-cult phenomena by investigating a local panic centered in southwestern New York state. After an introductory section, his book begins with a description of this research, then proceeds with an excellent general review of recent fear about satanic cults in the U.S. He concludes that there is no evidence for the actual existence of organized satanic cults". -- Choice

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As cartoonist, author, public speaker, blogger, and periscoper, Scott Adams has had best-sellers in several different fields: his Dilbert cartoons, his meditations on the philosophy of Dilbert, his works on how to achieve success in business and all other areas of life, his two remarkable books on religion, and now his controversial work on political persuasion. Adams’s two most recent best-sellers are How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life (2014) and Win Bigly: Persuasion in a World Where Facts Don’t Matter (2017). Adams predicted Donald Trump’s election victory (on August 13th 2016) and has explained then and more recently how Trump operates as a Master Persuader, using “weapons-grade” persuasive techniques to defeat his opponents and often to stay several moves ahead of them. Adams has provocative ideas in many areas, for example his outrageous claim that 30 percent of the population have absolutely no sense of humor, and take their cue from conventional opinion in deciding whether something is a joke, since they have no way of deciding this for themselves. In Scott Adams and Philosophy, an elite cadre of people who think for a living put Scott Adams’s ideas under scrutiny. Every aspect of Adams’s fascinating and infuriating system of ideas is explained and tested. Among the key topics: Does humor inform us about reality? Do religious extremists know something the rest of us don’t? What are facts and how can they not matter? What happens when confirmation bias meets cognitive dissonance? How can we tell whether President Trump is a genius or just dumb-lucky? Does the Dilbert philosophy discourage the struggle for better workplace conditions? How sound is Adams’s claim that “systems” thinking beats goal-directed thinking? Does Dilbert exhibit a Nietzschean or a Kierkegaardian sense of life? Or is it Sisyphian in Camus’s sense? Can truth be over-rated? “The political side that is out of power is the side that hallucinates the most.” If there’s a serious chance we’re living in a Matrix-type simulation, how should we change our behavior? Are most public policy issues just too complex and technical for most people to have an opinion about? In politics, says Adams, it’s as if different people watch the same movie at the same time, some thinking it’s a romantic comedy and others thinking it’s a horror picture. How is that possible? Does logic play any part in persuasion?

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Trey Parker and Matt Stone's long-running Comedy Central hit cartoon South Park has been equally cheered and reviled for its edgy humor, poited satire of current events and celebrities, and all-around obnoxiousness. But is there more to Kyle, the lonely Jew, Timmy and the Crips, Cartman's bitchiness, Chef's inappropriate advice, and Kenny's continued violent deaths than meets the eye? This collection of essays affirms that possibility. Individual chapters take a sometimes witty, often provocative look at "Is South Park a Libertarian Manifesto?", "That's So Gay!", and "Why Is Cartman Such an Asshole?". The writers apply classical philosophical analysis to this two-dimensional dystopia, whether in Paul Draper's "Why Good Things Happen to Bad People -- The Problem of Evil in South Park" or Randall Auxier's "Finding South Park on the Map: Officer Barbrady, Mayor McDaniel, and Chef in Plato's Republic." South Park and Philosophy presents new and thoughtful approaches to understanding this surprisingly meaningful show.

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In these proceedings of the 1992 Budapest "Monist" Colloquium, leading philosophers of Eastern Europe and the West examine the past and future of philosophy in the formerly socialist countries.

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The first English translation of Hans Reichenbach's lucid doctoral thesis sheds new light on how Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason was understood in some quarters at the time. The source of several themes in his still influential The Direction of Time, the thesis shows Reichenbach's early focus on the interdependence of physics, probability, and epistemology.

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The seductive nature of evil is fully embraced by Baudelaire, Nietzsche, and Hitler. Instead of viewing these men in their traditional roles as poet, philosopher, and politician, Hill takes their most notorious writings and points out the insights, images, and surprising facts about evil in their interpretations. Viewing these men as thinkers presents an opportunity to see their powerful imaginations at work, mixing theories with observations and actions to reach their final attitude toward power. However, as the author demonstrates, ideas put on paper are not the same as ideas put into action. The book makes the transition from written theories to the real world with historical and current examples of oppression, violence, and torture. Covering many disciplines — philosophy, history, politics, ethics, psychology, literature, aesthetics, religion, and sociology — the book draws on extensive present-day scholarship of Nietzsche, the problem of evil, and the Holocaust and argues persuasively that power can be imposed through nonviolent movements.

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This collection of writings by eminent philosophers explores the controversial career of Jurgen Habermas, whose adherence to the Enlightenment ideals of rationality, humanism, and respect for discourse has set him apart from most postmodernist thinkers.

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"Family Pictures" reveals the immediate and important application that classical philosophical questions have to our aspirations, emotional ties with others, jobs, concrete relationships, and daily routines. In this volume, a philosopher writes in the genre known as narrative philosophy. She examines philosophical snapshots of family life, showing that the ordinary journey through marriage, maturity and parenting is fraught with questions about ethics, knowledge and metaphysics. Humorous and poignant portraits of family members are placed in the context of classical philosophical questions. The reality of family life brings these questions down to earth, while an imaginative use of philosophy seeks to deepen the reader's understanding of what is at stake for an individual wrapped in the web of life. By drawing on the classic themes throughout philosophy, the author seeks to more clearly view and solve her own dilemmas and also to give concrete meaning to what might otherwise be abstract philosophical exercises. The author examines how her mother-in-law's attempt to stave off death by clinging to her physical possessions enriches Kaplan's understanding of her mother-in-law's personal philosophy, sparking a contemplation of her own sense of self and a reflection of her value in other people's eyes. In telling her own quest for love and feelings of completeness, she draws on Plato's "Symposium". After pondering the ideas of Heidegger and Levinas, Kaplan shows that nurturing children renders solipsism ethically incoherent. By using the private sphere of family life as a vantage point from which to explore and evaluate classical philosophical texts, this book is an accessible book for a wider audience than philosophy usually commands.

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Since its inception in ancient Greece, Western philosophy had undergone two breaks with its past. The first was initiated by Descartes with his "method of doubt" which led to a questioning of the basic assumptions of classical philosophy, the second arose at the beginning of the 20th century and is associated with the movement now known as analytic philosophy. Clarke explains some of the crucial issues raised by the second philosophical revolution, and especially the differences between the early phase of analytic philosophy, covering roughly the first half of the 20th century, and the new phase which commenced about 1960. As the book surveys the direction of modern philosophy, it is able to combine discussion of cutting edge topics with an introduction to analytic philosophy for those with little background in logic or history of philosophy. The author traces the progression of the analytic movement from its origins, through its development by applications of logic to philosophical problems and by "ordinary language" philosophers. He then concentrates on the post-1960 phase, with its rejection of earlier views dominated by Wittgenstein's methods. The new phase features the development of a materialist metaphysics, the attempt to assimilate philosophy to the natural sciences, and the attempt to reinstate normative ethics as a guide to conduct. Clarke defends the first phase against aspects of the second phase, arguing that contemporary materialism rests on the mistaken view that mental language has fact-stating functions, and that normative ethics imposes on moral reasoning a false intellectualist model.

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Wittgenstein has most often been treated as a thinker whose ideas can be discussed independently of any intellectual tradition. The thrust of these essays, by America's leading authority on Wittgenstein's thought, is to insist on the mutual relevance of Wittgenstein's work and the tradition of Western philosophy. Far from overthrowing that tradition, Wittgenstein builds on it, draws from it, and contributes to the fruition of certain elements in it. Particular attention is paid here to Kant, and to what Finch has called Wittgenstein's completion of Kant's revolt against the Cartesian hegemony of epistemology in philosophy. Also very Kantian is the dualism that seems unavoidable in a perspective or "Weltanschauung" which contains both facts and meanings, since meanings always somehow transcend the plain facts that convey them and that they convey. With respect to the givenness of language-games and of "this complicated form of life", on the other hand, Wittgenstein seems closer to Aristotle than to Kant. Seeing Wittgenstein within the tradition of Western philosophy requires a fresh look at Wittgenstein as well as at that tradition. Among the themes of this work: that the principal metaphysical claims of the "Tractatus" is that the world is the totality of facts; that grammar is the key to Wittgenstein's later work because philosophy itself is a form of grammar; and that a certain sort of transcendentality pervades Wittgenstein's work.

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Can theology be informed by science and inform science in turn? Can theology make significant contributions to the understanding of science? Wolfhart Pannenberg, Professor of Theology at the University of Munich, is a significant voice in the conversation between religion and science; however, almost all the material published about him speaks exclusively from a theological/philosophical perspective. Theologians and philosophers of religion often feel unqualified to address Pannenberg's dialogue with the natural sciences.Beginning with the End addresses this need. The collection begins with a thoughtful introduction mapping the science/religion dialogue and Pannenberg's place in it, followed by 4 pivotal essays by Pannenberg. It includes articles by distinguished scientists and theologians that compellingly analyze everything from behavioral genetics to evolutionary ecology. The editors have made the essays accessible to the general reader who is interested in the hotly debated terrain between religion and science.

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Kathleen Lennon provides a new approach to the philosophy of action, showing how "reasons" fit into the casual framework of the world, while defending their autonomy. She disputes the rapidly-congealing orthodoxy which maintains that explanations according to intentional states cannot be casual explanations.

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Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, colleague of Gandhi, Nehru and Tagore, former Ambassador to the Soviet Union and now Vice-President of India, is regarded as the greatest living thinker of the East; the ablest representative of its rich philosophic tradition and its leading spokesman for a reconciliation of Eastern and Western spiritual values.In this volume, twenty-three world-renowned scholars have contributed a series of brilliant critical essays covering every aspect of Radhakrishnan's thought; his contributions to social philosophy and political philosophy, to modern religion and mysticism, to his influence on contemporary Hinduism, and his place in the main currents of twentieth century philosophy.

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Danto simply and entertainingly traces the evolution of the concept of beauty over the past century and explores how it was removed from the definition of art. Beauty then came to be regarded as a serious aesthetic crime, whereas a hundred years ago it was almost unanimously considered the supreme purpose of art. Beauty is not, and should not be, the be-all and end-all of art, but it has an important place, and is not something to be avoided.Danto draws eruditely upon the thoughts of artists and critics such as Rimbaud, Fry, Matisse, the Dadaists, Duchamp, and Greenberg, as well as on that of philosophers like Hume, Kant, and Hegel. Danto agrees with the dethroning of beauty as the essence of art, and maintains with telling examples that most art is not, in fact, beautiful. He argues, however, for the partial rehabilitation of beauty and the removal of any critical taboo against beauty. Beauty is one among the many modes through which thoughts are presented to human sensibility in art: disgust, horror, sublimity, and sexuality being among other such modes.

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The 1990s saw a revival of interest in Kierkegaard's thought, affecting the fields of theology, social theory, and literary and cultural criticism. The resulting discussions have done much to discredit the earlier misreadings of Kierkegaard's works. This collection of essays by Kierkegaard scholars represents the new consensus on Kierkegaard and his conception of moral selfhood. It answers the charges of one of Kierkegaard's biggest critics, contemporary philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre, and shows how some of Kierkegaard's insights into tradition, virtuous character, and the human good may actually support MacIntyre's ideas. The contributors include Alasdair MacIntyre and Philip Quinn.

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Patocka's celebrated Introduction is here made available in English for the first time. In addition to introducing Husserl's ideas, this book is also an important work of original philosophy. Patocka ranges over the whole of Husserl's output, from The Philosophy of Arithmetic to The Crisis of the European Sciences, and traces the evolution of all the central issues of Husserlian phenomenology--intentionality, categorial intuition, temporality, the subject-body; the concrete a priori, and transcendental subjectivity. But rather than attempting to give a tour of Husserl's workshop, Patocka is himself hard at work on Husserl's problems.

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The Ultimate Game of Thrones and Philosophy treats fans to dozens of new essays by experts who examine philosophical questions raised by the Game of Thrones story. This ultimate analysis provides the most comprehensive discussion to date and engages the Game of Thrones universe through the end of Season Six of the HBO series.Ned Stark, Tyrion Lannister, Jon Snow, Joffrey, Cersei, Brienne, Arya, Stannis, and many other characters are used to apply the traditional philosophical questions that everyone faces. How should political leaders be chosen in Westeros and beyond? Is power merely an illusion? Is it immoral to enjoy overly violent and sexual stories like Game of Thrones? How should morally ambiguous individuals such as Jamie Lannister: The Kingslayer and Savior of King’s Landing be evaluated? Can anyone be trusted in a society like Westeros? What rules should govern sexual relationships in a world of love, incest, rape, and arranged marriage? How does disability shape identity for individuals like Tyrion, Bran, and others? How would one know whether there is a God in the Game of Thrones universe and what he is like?

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Conspiracy theories have become a major element in modern opinion formation. From the theory that the killing of President Kennedy was masterminded by a powerful conspiracy to the theory that 9/11 was an inside job, from the story that Barack Obama wasn’t born in America to the story that Donald Trump was a Russian asset, conspiracy theories have become a major element in opinion formation and an ever-present influence, sometimes open, sometimes hidden, on the daily headline news. In Conspiracy Theories, philosophers of diverse backgrounds and persuasions focus their lenses on the phenomenon of the conspiracy theory, its psychological causes, its typical shape, and its political consequences. Among the questions addressed: ● What’s the formula for designing a contagious conspiracy theory? ● Where does conspiracy theorizing end and investigative reporting begin? ● What can we learn about conspiracy theories from the three movie treatments of the Kennedy assassination (The Parallax View, JFK, and Interview with the Assassin)? ● Does political powerlessness generate conspiracy theories? ● Is conspiracy theorizing essentially an instinct that lies behind all belief in religion and all striving for a meaningful life? ● Can we find conspiracy theories in all political movements for centuries past? ● What are the most common types of fallacious reasoning that tend to support conspiracy theories? ● Is there a psychological disorder at the root of conspiracy theories? ● Why is the number of flat-earthers growing?

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“Bond. James Bond.” Since Sean Connery first uttered that iconic phrase in Dr. No, more than one quarter of the world’s population has seen a 007 film. Witty and urbane, Bond seduces and kills with equal ease — often, it seems, with equal enthusiasm. This enthusiasm, coupled with his freedom to do what is forbidden to everyone else, evokes fascinating philosophical questions. Here, 15 witty, thought-provoking essays discuss hidden issues in Bond’s world, from his carnal pleasures to his license to kill. Among the lively topics explored are Bond’s relation to existentialism, including his graduation “beyond good and evil”; his objectification of women; the paradox of breaking the law in order to ultimately uphold it like any “stupid policeman”; the personality of 007 in terms of Plato’s moral psychology; and the Hegelian quest for recognition evinced by Bond villains. A reference guide to all the Bond movies rounds out the book’s many pleasures.

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This volume offers new insights into the role of women in ancient China, their important contributions to society, and their pursuit of personal growth and fulfillment. The position that Confucianism may actually foster gender equity is particularly interesting in discussions of whether the Confucian worldview is degrading or repressive toward women.

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