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The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche
By H. L. Mencken. 1731
The first book on Nietzsche ever to appear in English, this examination by legendary journalist H. L. Mencken is still…
one of the most enlightening. Mencken wrote this book while still in his 20s, but his penchant for thoroughness was evident even at that young age--in preparation for writing this book, he read Nietzsche's works in their entirety, mostly in the original German. A brief biographical sketch is followed by clear and thorough explanations of Nietzsche's basic concepts and attitudes. Analyzed are Nietzsche's much-misunderstood concept of the superman, his concept of eternal recurrence, his rejection of Christianity, and his basic rationalism and materialism. Included are two essays on Nietzsche that appeared in Mencken's magazine The Smart Set subsequent to the publishing of the original edition of this book. Nearly a century after its original publication, this remains one of the clearest, most concise, and entertaining introductions to Nietzsche to date.Epicureans and Atheists in France, 1650–1729
By Alan Charles Kors. 2016
Atheism was the most foundational challenge to early-modern French certainties. Theologians and philosophers labelled such atheism as absurd, confident that…
neither the fact nor behaviour of nature was explicable without reference to God. The alternative was a categorical naturalism, whose most extreme form was Epicureanism. The dynamics of the Christian learned world, however, which this book explains, allowed the wide dissemination of the Epicurean argument. By the end of the seventeenth century, atheism achieved real voice and life. This book examines the Epicurean inheritance and explains what constituted actual atheistic thinking in early-modern France, distinguishing such categorical unbelief from other challenges to orthodox beliefs. Without understanding the actual context and convergence of the inheritance, scholarship, protocols, and polemical modes of orthodox culture, the early-modern generation and dissemination of atheism are inexplicable. This book brings to life both early-modern French Christian learned culture and the atheists who emerged from its intellectual vitality.Advanced Critical Thinking Skills
By Roy Van Den Brink-Budgen. 2010
This book takes the skills introduced in Roy van den Brink-Budgen's bestselling book Critical Thinking for Students and extends and…
builds on them. As a result, it will be especially useful for students on advanced level courses, whether in schools, colleges, or universities. It shows how complex arguments can be built up, analysed, and evaluated. It also shows how the use of various types of claim can be approached in argument, by stressing the need to ask a series of questions about their possible significance. The frequent role of explanation in the drawing of inference is also detailed. In addition, it applies Critical Thinking skills to decision-making, showing how these skills can clarify the choices available, their possible consequences, and the criteria needed to make decisions. In short, this book shows how to become an even more active and effective Critical Thinker.Mind, Language And Society: Philosophy in the Real World
By John R. Searle. 1998
Disillusionment with psychology is leading more and more people to formal philosophy for clues about how to think about life.…
But most of us who try to grapple with concepts such as reality, truth, common sense, consciousness, and society lack the rigorous training to discuss them with any confidence. John Searle brings these notions down from their abstract heights to the terra firma of real-world understanding, so that those with no knowledge of philosophy can understand how these principles play out in our everyday lives. The author stresses that there is a real world out there to deal with, and condemns the belief that the reality of our world is dependent on our perception of it.Hume: A Very Short Introduction
By Alfred Jules Ayer. 2000
El gesto de Héctor: Prehistoria, historia y actualidad de la figura del padre
By Luigi Zoja. 2016
«Héctor se quita el casco, lo pone en el suelo y puede abrazar al niño. Formulando un deseo para el…
futuro, eleva a su hijo hacia lo alto con los brazos y con el pensamiento. Este gesto será, para siempre, la marca del padre.» En este gran ensayo (que Taurus publica en edición actualizada), libro referencia internacional sobre la figura paterna, Luigi Zoja, analista junguiano y uno de los más relevantes intelectuales italianos, se ocupa de los orígenes de la figura del padre desde un punto de vista histórico, antropológico y psicológico. El autor lee algunas figuras míticas de la antigüedad clásica -Ulises, Aquiles, Eneas...- como imágenes arquetípicas del padre y modelo de las paradojas a las que este se enfrenta. Zoja nos conduce en una reinterpretación vibrante de la paternidad desde Homero y Virgilio hasta el siglo del cine y el totalitarismo. Ilumina la eterna división de lo masculino entre dos identidades unificadas (hombre/padre), en el corazón de la cuestión de «convertirse en padre», mediante emotivos ejemplos, como el magnífico gesto de Héctor -que, tras quitarse el casco, eleva a su hijo y riega a los dioses para que este lo supere en fuerza-. Reseñas:«El libro más hermoso sobre la figura paterna.»Loredana Lipperini «Un libro erudito y extremadamente bien escrito, que se lee como una novela.»La Repubblica «Con El gesto de Héctor Zoja pone en foco la identidad masculina como campo de batalla entre principios contradictorios.»Liberazione «En su brillante El gesto de Héctor, el psicoanalista junguiano Luigi Zoja describe el retrato de Héctor, el retrato de un héroe familiar y modesto, libre de la hybris que caracteriza tanto a Aquiles como a Ulises. Héctor es padre y guerrero al mismo tiempo.»L'Espresso «El libro de Zoja se ha convertido en la referencia internacional sobre la paternidad, y esta nueva edición actualizada llega en el momento idóneo, pues resulta útil para abordar temas candentes.»Corriere della SeraElizabethan Tragedies: A Basic Anthology
By Inc Dover Publications. 2017
Although Shakespeare towers over the Elizabethan period, it was a robust time in the evolution of English theater, and many…
plays beyond the Bard's survive to enthrall modern drama students. This original anthology collects prime examples of the era's tragedies, dramas that both informed and were influenced by Shakespeare's work.Include here are The Spanish Tragedy, by Thomas Kyd; Doctor Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe; Thomas Heywood's A Woman Killed with Kindness; The Tragedy of Mariam, by Elizabeth Cary (the first work in English to be published under a female author's own name); and John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi.And Then Like My Dreams: A Memoir
By Margaret Rose Stringer. 2013
A celebration of the career of one of the most respected still photographers in the film industry of the 1970s…
and 1980s, this is the story of Charles “Chic” Stringer, written by his widow Margaret Rose. Written with a blend of humor and acuity, this work shares the career of the acclaimed photographer who worked on such films as Mad Max and Gone to Ground. It is intended for not only film buffs, but for those who, like Margaret Rose, are bereaved and alone. This work is not only a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at the film and television industry, but it also provides insight into recovery after the loss of a life partner. An intimate and touching work about the power of the human spirit and our will to persevere, this work is, above all, the story of two people who were made for each other and of life after absolute loss.Benjamin and Brecht: The Story of a Friendship
By Erdmut Wizisla, Christine Shuttleworth. 2016
A fascinating account of the friendship between two of the most brilliant minds of the twentieth centuryGermany in the mid…
1920s, a place and time of looming turmoil, brought together Walter Benjamin--acclaimed critic and extraordinary literary theorist--and Bertolt Brecht, one of the twentieth century's most influential playwrights. It was a friendship that would shape their writing for the rest of their lives.In this groundbreaking work, Erdmut Wizisla explores what this relationship meant for them personally and professionally, as well as the effect it had on those around them. From the first meeting between Benjamin and Brecht to their experiences in exile, these eventful lives are illuminated by personal correspondence, journal entries and private miscellany--including previously unpublished materials--detailing the friends' electric discussions of their collaboration. Wizisla delves into the archives of other luminaries in the distinguished constellation of writers and artists in Weimar Germany, which included Margarete Steffin, Theodor Adorno, Ernst Bloch and Hannah Arendt. Wizisla's account of this friendship opens a window on nearly two decades of European intellectual life.From the Trade Paperback edition.Silence in Modern Literature and Philosophy: Beckett, Barthes, Nancy, Stevens
By Thomas Gould. 2018
This book discusses the elusive centrality of silence in modern literature and philosophy, focusing on the writing and theory of…
Jean-Luc Nancy and Roland Barthes, the prose of Samuel Beckett, and the poetry of Wallace Stevens. It suggests that silence is best understood according to two categories: apophasis and reticence. Apophasis is associated with theology, and relates to a silence of ineffability and transcendence; reticence is associated with phenomenology, and relates to a silence of listenership and speechlessness. In a series of diverse though interrelated readings, the study examines figures of broken silence and silent voice in the prose of Samuel Beckett, the notion of shared silence in Jean-Luc Nancy and Roland Barthes, and ways in which the poetry of Wallace Stevens mounts lyrical negotiations with forms of unsayability and speechlessness.The Street to Recovery
By Kevin Kennedy. 2014
Curly Watts is a TV icon - for twenty years appearing on millions of TV screens around the country in…
Coronation Street. Kevin Kennedy is one of the UK's most successful soap actors, although behind the scenes and high-profile appearances, he faced a painful personal battle.Kevin shares his experiences of alcoholism, rehab and IVF as well stories from the set and stars he worked with during some of the brightest, and darkest moments of his life, through to his music career and current roles.This brutally honest autobiography provides a rare glimpse into life behind the scenes, the power of addiction, and his battle with recovery.The Metaphysics of Henry More
By Jasper Reid. 2011
The book surveys the key metaphysical contributions of the Cambridge Platonist, Henry More (1614-1687). It deals with such interwoven topics…
as: the natures of body and spirit, and the question of whether or not there is a sharp ontological division between them; the nature of spatial extension in relation to each; the composition and governance of the physical world, including More's theories of Hyle, atoms, vacuum, and the Spirit of Nature; and the life of the human soul, including its pre-existence. It approaches these topics and the systematic connections between them both historically and analytically, and seeks to do justice to the ways in which More's system developed and changed--sometimes quite dramatically--over the course of his long career. It also explores More's intellectual relations with both his own inspirations (Plotinus, Origen, Ficino, Descartes, etc.) and with those who responded, whether positively or negatively, to his work (Leibniz, Locke, Boyle, Newton, etc.).French Philosophy and Social Theory
By Jacob Dahl Rendtorff. 2014
This book demonstrates how the conceptual resources of contemporary French philosophy from the early 20thCentury to the present day can…
be applied to give us new perspectives on business ethics and the ethics of organizations. In providing an overview of possible applications, the book covers a wide range of philosophers, philosophical movements and perspectives and provides detailed analyses of core materials relevant to business ethics. It explores and analyzes French philosophy, taking into account phenomenology, existentialism, French epistemology, structuralism, post-structuralism, deconstruction and postmodernism as well as recent discussions of philosophy of organizations and management. Each chapter contains suggestions for further reading and educational illustrations of possible applications to the mainstream business ethics and ethics of organization literature.The Sickness Unto Death
By Shirin Shafaie. 2017
Søren Kierkegaard’s The Sickness unto Death is widely recognized as one of the most significant and influential works of Christian…
philosophy written in the nineteenth century. One of the cornerstones of Kierkegaard’s reputation as a writer and thinker, the book is also a masterclass in the art of interpretation. In critical thinking, interpretation is all about defining and clarifying terms – making sure that everyone is on the same page. But it can also be about redefining terms: showing old concepts in a new light by interpreting them in a certain way. This skill is at the heart of The Sickness unto Death. Kierkegaard’s book focuses on the meaning of “despair” – the sickness named in the title. For Kierkegaard, the key problem of existence was an individual’s relationship with God, and he defines true despair as equating to the idea of sin – something that separates people from God, or from the idea of a higher standard beyond ourselves. Kierkegaard’s interpretative journey into the ideas of despair, sin and death is a Christian exploration of the place of the individual in the world. But its interpretative skills inspired generations of philosophers of all stripes – including notorious atheists like Jean-Paul Sartre.The Science of Sensibility: Reading Burke's Philosophical Enquiry
By Koen Vermeir, Michael Funk Deckard. 2011
Attracting philosophers, politicians, artists as well as the educated reader, Edmund Burke's Philosophical Enquiry, first published in 1757, was a…
milestone in western thinking. This edited volume will take the 250th anniversary of the Philosophical Enquiry as an occasion to reassess Burke's prominence in the history of ideas. Situated on the threshold between early modern philosophy and the Enlightenment, Burke's oeuvre combines reflections on aesthetics, politics and the sciences. This collection is the first book length work devoted primarily to Burke's Philosophical Enquiry in both its historical context and for its contemporary relevance. It will establish the fact that the Enquiry is an important philosophical and literary work in its own right.The Enquiry for Human Understanding
By Michael O'Sullivan. 2017
David Hume’s 1748 Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding is a modern philosophical classic that helped reshape epistemology – the philosophy of…
knowledge. It is also a classic of the critical thinking skills of analysis and reasoning. Analysis is all about understanding how arguments work and fit together. Having strong analytical skills helps to break down arguments, pull out the evidence on which they rely, and understand the kinds of implicit assumptions and reasons on which they work. Reasoning, meanwhile, means building and presenting arguments, forming well-structured, evidenced, and organised cases for a particular point of view. Hume applied his analytical skills to arguments about how humans know and understand the world, and how our minds work. At base, he was trying to analyse human reason itself – to show the workings and limitations of the human mind, and show the origins of our beliefs. Hume went on to apply his reasoning skills, creating an enduring argument about the nature of human knowledge. The result was one of the most striking and famous works in the history of philosophy.The Concept of Mind
By Michael O'Sullivan. 2017
Gilbert Ryle’s 1949 The Concept of Mind is now famous above all as the origin of the phrase “the ghost…
in the machine” – a phrase Ryle used to attack the popular idea that our bodies and minds are separate. His own position was that mental acts are not at all distinct from bodily actions. Indeed, they are the same thing, merely described in different ways – and if one cuts through the confusing language of the old philosophical debates, he suggests, that becomes clear. While, in many ways, modern philosophers of mind have moved on from or discarded Ryle’s actual arguments, The Concept of Mind remains a classic example of two central critical thinking skills: interpretation and reasoning. Ryle was what is known as an “ordinary language” philosopher – a school who considered many philosophical problems to exist purely because of philosophical language. He therefore considered his task as a philosopher to be one of cutting through confusing language, and clarifying matters – exemplifying the critical thinking skill of interpretation at its best. Rather than adding to philosophical knowledge as such, moreover, he saw his role as one of mapping it – giving it what he called a “logical geography.” As such, The Concept of Mind is also all about reasoning: laying out, organizing, and systematizing clear arguments.Symposium
By Richard Ellis, Simon Ravenscroft. 2017
Plato’s Symposium, composed in the early fourth century BC, demonstrates how powerful the skills of reasoning and evaluation can be.…
Known to philosophers for its seminal discussion of the relationship of love to knowledge, it is also a classic text for demonstrating the two critical thinking skills that define Plato’s whole body of work. Plato’s philosophical technique of dialogue is the perfect frame for producing arguments and presenting a persuasive case for a given point of view, and at the same time judging the strength of arguments, their relevance and their acceptability. Staging a fictional debate between characters (wealthy Athenians at a dinner party) who must respond in turn to each others’ arguments and points of view means that, at every stage, Plato evaluates the previous argument, assesses its strength and relevance, and then proceeds (through the next character) to reason out a new argument in response. Exerting unparalleled influence on the techniques of philosophical thought, Plato’s use of dialogue is a supreme example of these two crucial critical thinking skills.Philosophical Investigations
By Michael O' Sullivan. 2017
Many still consider Ludwig Wittgenstein’s 1953 Philosophical Investigations to be one of the breakthrough works of twentieth-century philosophy. The book…
sets out a radically new conception of philosophy itself, and demonstrates all the attributes of a fine analytical mind. Taking an argument from Plato and subjecting it to detailed (and very clear) analysis, Wittgenstein shows his understanding of how the sequence and function of differing parts of a highly-complex argument can be broken down and assessed. In so doing, he reaches a logical position of simultaneous agreement and disagreement with Plato’s philosophical position. Philosophical Investigations is also a powerful example of the skill of interpretation. Philosophical problems often arise from confusions in the use of language – and the way to solve these problems, Wittgenstein posits, is by clarifying language use. He argues that philosophers must study ordinary uses of language and examine how people use it as a tool in their everyday lives. In this highly-interpretative way, the meaning of a word or sentence becomes relative to the context (people, culture, community) in which it is used. Rather than debate abstract problems, Wittgenstein urges philosophers to concern themselves with ordinary life and the concrete situations in which humans find themselves.Nicomachean Ethics
By Giovanni Gellera. 2017
Aristotle, a student of Plato, wrote Nicomachean Ethics in 350 BCE, in a time of extraordinary intellectual development. Over two…
millennia later, his thorough exploration of virtue, reason, and the ultimate human good still forms the basis of the values at the heart of Western civilization. According to Aristotle, the ultimate human good is eudaimonia, or happiness, which comes from a life of virtuous action. He argues that virtues like justice, restraint, and practical wisdom cannot simply be taught but must be developed over time by cultivating virtuous habits, which can be developed by using practical wisdom and recognizing the desirable middle ground between extremes of human behavior.