Topics in philosophy

A groundbreaking look at Gaia theory's intersections with neocybernetic systems theory Often seen as an outlier in science, Gaia has run a long and varied course since its formulation in the 1970s by atmospheric chemist James Lovelock and microbiologist...

A vital and timely reminder that modern life owes as much to outlandishthinking as to dominant ideologies.What do the Nag Hammadi library, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, speculativefeminist historiography, Marcus Garvey's finances, and maps drawn by...

"How to judge - Jean-Francois Lyotard?" It is from this initial question that one of France's most heralded philosophers of the twentieth century begins his essay on the origin of the law, of judgment, and the work of his colleague Jean-Francois Lyotard...

The Earth is flat, the World Trade Center collapse was a controlled demolition, planes are spraying poison to control the weather, and actors faked the Sandy Hook massacre....All these claims are bunk: falsehoods, mistakes, and in some cases, outright...

The Villa Tugendhat, designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1928, is an icon of architectural modernism. Behind the Glass tells the true story of the large family connected to it, who rose to prominence through industrial textile manufacturing.The book traces...

"It is safer to be feared than loved." These words embody the spirit of The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli's classic work of political philosophy. Machiavelli's advice for how a ruler should acquire and ruthlessly exercise power over others continues to be...

Prior to contacting Dolores for a regression session, a 22-year-old American woman inexplicably became deeply traumatized and overwhelmed by a sudden rush of memories that had no rational explanation. The memories were triggered in the following settings...

With an introduction to the life of Porphyry and an overview of Neoplatonic thought by David Fideler.

Henri Lefebvrereviews the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels for analysis on the life andgrowth of the city, describing its transition from life under feudalism tomodern industrial capitalism. Now available in English, Marxist Thought andthe City...

In Westworld and Philosophy, philosophers of diverse orientations and backgrounds offer their penetrating insights into the questions raised by the popular TV show, Westworld. Is it wrong for Dr. Robert Ford (played by Anthony Hopkins)...

Mr. Robot has been hailed, not only as one of the most haunting and unnerving dramas ever to appear on television, but also as the first accurate popular presentation of how computer hacking and cyberterrorism actually work. Mr. Robot and Philosophy is...

Hilary Putnam, who turned 88 in 2014, is one of the world's greatest living philosophers. He currently holds the position of Cogan University Professor Emeritus of Harvard. He has been called "one of the 20th century's true philosophic giants" (by...

John Searle's The Construction of Social Reality and Hernando de Soto's The Mystery of Capitalshifted the focus of current thought on capital and economic development to the cultural and conceptual ideas that underpin market economies and that are taken...

Can power be wielded for good, or must it always corrupt? Does technology destroy the truly human? Is beer essential to the good life? The Lord of the Rings raises many such searching questions, and this book attempts some answers. Divided into five...

Available for the first time in 20 years, here is the Rudolf Carnap's famous "principle of tolerance" by which everyone is free to mix and match the rules of language and logic. In The Logical Syntax of Language, Carnap explains how his entire theory of...

Available for the first time in 20 years, here are two important works from the 1920s by the best-known representative of the Vienna Circle. In The Logical Structure of the World, Carnap adopts the position of "methodological solipsism" and shows that it...

What is the number one? Does 2 plus 2 always equal 4? These seemingly simple questions have perplexed philosophers for eons, but the ideas of German philosopher Gottlob Frege (1848–1925) transformed the discussion. Frege believed that the truths...

In the 21st century we face innumerable material and existential challenges both now and in the future, from religious fanaticism, mass migration, unfettered corporate power, to inequality, big data and climate change. Ahead of these global threats and...

The revival of recognition theory has brought new energy to critical theory. In general terms, recognition theory aims to critically evaluate social structures against a standard of social freedom identified with norms of interaction which are freely...

"Each century," wrote Charles Dickens "[is] more amazed by the century following it than by all the centuries before." Victorians in theory explores the startling conceit that nineteenth-century poetry is amazed by twentieth-century literary theory. In a...

How to put democracy at the heart of AI governance.Artificial intelligence and machine learning are reshaping our world. Police forces use them to decide where to send police officers, judges to decide whom to release on bail, welfare agencies to decide...

This is a collection of the late Heda Segvic's papers in ancient moral philosophy. At the time of her death at age forty-five in 2003, Segvic had already established herself as an important figure in ancient philosophy, making bold new arguments about...

What do you want out of life? To make a lot of money - or work for justice? To run marathons - or sing in a choir? To have children - or travel the world? The things we care about in life - family, friendship, leisure activities, work, our moral ideals...

Why life's shortness - more than anything else - is what makes it meaningful.Death might seem to render pointless all our attempts to create a meaningful life. Doesn't meaning require transcending death through an afterlife or in some other way? On the...

An invigorating exploration of the pleasures and social benefits of conversationTalking Cure is a timely and enticing excursion into the art of good conversation. Paula Marantz Cohen reveals how conversation connects us in ways that social media never...

What all of us can do to fight the pervasive human tendency to enable wrongdoing in the workplace, politics, and beyond.It is easy to condemn obvious wrongdoers such as Elizabeth Holmes, Adam Neumann, Harvey Weinstein, and the Sackler family. But we...

Why the tools of philosophy offer a powerful antidote to today's epidemic of irrationalityThere is an epidemic of bad thinking in the world today. An alarming number of people are embracing crazy, even dangerous ideas. They believe that vaccinations...

How decolonization and the cold war influenced literature from Africa, Asia, and the CaribbeanHow did superpower competition and the cold war affect writers in the decolonizing world? In The Aesthetic Cold War, Peter Kalliney explores the various ways...

An entertaining and enlightening collection of ancient writings about the philosophers who advocated simple living and rejected unthinking conformity.The Cynics were ancient Greek philosophers who stood athwart the flood of society's material excess,...

An incisive and sympathetic examination of the case for ending the practice of imprisonmentDespite its omnipresence and long history, imprisonment is a deeply troubling practice. In the United States and elsewhere, prison conditions are inhumane,...

A bold new interpretation of Augustine's virtue of hope and its place in political lifeWhen it comes to politics, Augustine of Hippo is renowned as one of history's great pessimists, with his sights set firmly on the heavenly city rather than the public...

A panoramic history of American individualism from its nineteenth-century origins to today's bitterly divided politicsIndividualism is a defining feature of American public life. Its influence is pervasive today, with liberals and conservatives alike...

An eminent philosopher explains why we owe it to future generations to take immediate action on global warmingClimate change is the supreme challenge of our time. Yet despite growing international recognition of the unfolding catastrophe, global carbon...

Derek Parfit (1942-2017) is the most famous philosopher most people have never heard of. Widely regarded as one of the greatest moral thinkers of the past hundred years, Parfit was anything but a public intellectual. Yet his ideas have shaped the way...

An engaging new translation of a timeless masterpiece about coping with the death of a loved one.In 45 BCE, the Roman statesman Cicero fell to pieces when his beloved daughter, Tullia, died from complications of childbirth. But from the depths of...

In Losing Ourselves, Jay Garfield, a leading expert on Buddhist philosophy, offers a brief and radically clear account of an idea that at first might seem frightening but that promises to liberate us and improve our lives, our relationships, and the...

A spellbinding look at the philosophical and moral implications of animal dreaming.Are humans the only dreamers on Earth? What goes on in the minds of animals when they sleep? When Animals Dream brings together behavioural and neuroscientific research on...

A new model for the relationship between science and democracy that spans policymaking, the funding and conduct of research, and our approach to new technologiesOur ability to act on some of the most pressing issues of our time, from pandemics and...

Richard Rorty, one of the most influential intellectuals of recent decades, is perhaps best known today as the philosopher who, almost two decades before the 2016 U.S. presidential election, warned of the rise of a Trumpian strongman in America. What Can...

A timely defense of liberalism that draws vital lessons from its greatest midcentury proponents.Today, liberalism faces threats from across the political spectrum. While right-wing populists and leftist purists righteously violate liberal norms,...

When it comes to innovation and creative thinking, we are still catching up with the ancient Greeks. Between 800 and 300 BCE, they changed the world with astonishing inventions - democracy, the alphabet, philosophy, logic, rhetoric, mathematical proof,...

In 63 BC, frustrated by his failure to be elected leader of the Roman Republic, the aristocrat Catiline tried to topple its elected government. Backed by corrupt elites and poor, alienated Romans, he fled Rome while his associates plotted to burn the...

Whether you farm or garden, live in the country or long to move there, or simply enjoy an occasional rural retreat, you will be delighted by this cornucopia of writings about living and working on the land, harvested from the fertile fields of ancient...

Eating and drinking can be aesthetic experiences as well as sensory ones. The Hungry Eye takes readers from antiquity to the Renaissance to explore the central role of food and drink in literature, art, philosophy, religion, and statecraft.In this...

An original, unified reconstruction of Mill's moral and political philosophy-one that finally reveals its consistency and full powerFew thinkers have been as influential as John Stuart Mill, whose philosophy has arguably defined Utilitarian ethics and...

A compelling exploration of how our pursuit of happiness makes us unhappyWe live in an age of unprecedented prosperity, yet everywhere we see signs that our pursuit of happiness has proven fruitless. Dissatisfied, we seek change for the sake of change -...

A radical reinterpretation of Adam Smith that challenges economists, moral philosophers, political theorists, and intellectual historians to rethink him - and why he mattersAdam Smith has long been recognised as the father of modern economics. More...

Why equality cannot be conditional on a shared human "nature" but has to be for allFor centuries, ringing declarations about all men being created equal appealed to a shared human nature as the reason to consider ourselves equals. But appeals to natural...