Topics in philosophy

From the celebrated author of American Philosophy: A Love Story and Hiking with Nietzsche, a compelling introduction to the life-affirming philosophy of William James.In 1895, William James, the father of American philosophy, delivered a lecture entitled...

An intellectual history of the philosophers who grappled with the problem of evil, and the case for why pessimism still holds moral value for us today.In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, philosophers engaged in heated debates on the question of...

New perspectives on the role of collective responsibility in modern politics States are commonly blamed for wars, called on to apologise, held liable for debts and reparations, bound by treaties, and punished with sanctions. But what does it...

Along with Stoicism and Epicureanism, Skepticism is one of the three major schools of ancient Greek philosophy that claim to offer a way of living as well as thinking. How to Keep an Open Mind provides an unmatched introduction to skepticism by...

Why 'aporophobia' - rejection of the poor - is one of the most serious problems facing the world today, and how we can fight it.In this revelatory book, acclaimed political philosopher Adela Cortina makes an unprecedented assertion: the...

Invaluable wisdom on living a good life from one of the Enlightenment's greatest philosophersDavid Hume (17111776) is perhaps best known for his ideas about cause and effect and his criticisms of religion, but he is rarely thought of as a...

Aristotle's Poetics is the most important book ever written for writers and readers of stories-whether novels, short fiction, plays, screenplays, or nonfiction. Aristotle was the first to identify the keys to plot, character, audience perception, tragic...

Experiencing grief at the death of a person we love or who matters to us - as universal as it is painful - is central to the human condition. Surprisingly, however, philosophers have rarely examined grief in any depth. In Grief, Michael Cholbi presents a...

A moral philosopher's meditations on some of life's most important questionsWe've all had to puzzle over such profound matters as birth, death, regret, free will, agency, and love. How might philosophy help us think through these vital concerns?...

A trenchant defense of hierarchy in different spheres of our lives, from the personal to the politicalAll complex and large-scale societies are organized along certain hierarchies, but the concept of hierarchy has become almost taboo in the modern world...

Two simple yet tremendously powerful ideas that shaped virtually every aspect of civilisation.This book is a breathtaking examination of the two greatest ideas in human history. The first is the idea that the human mind can grasp the universe. The second...

An illuminating look at the transformative role that rituals play in our political livesThe Politics of Ritual is a major new account of the political power of rituals. In this incisive and wide-ranging book, Molly Farneth argues that rituals are social...

A classic work on radical aesthetics by one of the great philosophers of the early twentieth century No work of philosopher and essayist Jose Ortega y Gasset has been more frequently cited, admired, or criticized than his response to modernism, "The...

What would Caligula do? What the worst Roman emperors can teach us about how not to lead If recent history has taught us anything, it's that sometimes the best guide to leadership is the negative example. But that insight is hardly new. Nearly...

*World Magazine, Honourable Mention, Accessible History Book of the Year*Why have most modern revolutions have ended in bloodshed and failure-and what lessons they hold for today's world of growing extremism. Why have so many of the iconic...

A spirited new translation of a forgotten classic, shot through with timeless wisdom Is there an art to drinking alcohol? Can drinking ever be a virtue? The Renaissance humanist and neoclassical poet Vincent Obsopoeus (ca. 1498-1539) thought so...

Timeless advice on how to be a successful leader in any field The ancient biographer and essayist Plutarch thought deeply about the leadership qualities of the eminent Greeks and Romans he profiled in his famous - and massive - Lives, including...

To give and receive well may be the most human thing you can do - but it is also the closest you can come to divinity. So argues the great Roman Stoic thinker Seneca (c. 4 BCE65 CE) in his longest and most searching moral treatise, "On Benefits" (De...

From New York Times bestselling author Cass Sunstein, a brisk, provocative book that shows what freedom really means-and requires-todayIn this pathbreaking book, New York Times bestselling author Cass Sunstein asks us to rethink freedom. He shows that...

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, critical attention has shifted from the economy to the most fundamental feature of all market economies-money. Yet despite the centrality of political struggles over money, it remains difficult to articulate its...

A provocative and timely case for how the science of genetics can help create a more just and equal societyIn recent years, scientists like Kathryn Paige Harden have shown that DNA makes us different, in our personalities and in our health - and in ways...

An accessible modern translation of essential speeches from Thucydides's History that takes readers to the heart of his profound insights on diplomacy, foreign policy, and war Why do nations go to war? What are citizens willing to die for? What...

A compelling account of the threat immigration control poses to the citizens of free societies. Immigration is often seen as a danger to western liberal democracies because it threatens to undermine their fundamental values, most notably freedom and...

From Pulitzer Prize-finalist Steven Nadler, an engaging guide to what Spinoza can teach us about life's big questions.In 1656, after being excommunicated from Amsterdam's Portuguese-Jewish community for 'abominable...

A vivid and accessible new translation of Cicero's influential writings on the Stoic idea of the divine Most ancient Romans were deeply religious and their world was overflowing with gods - from Jupiter, Minerva, and Mars to countless local...

Winner of the NAVSA Best Book of the Year, North American Victorian Studies AssociationFrom the opening of trade with Britain in the 1850s, Japan occupied a unique and contradictory place in the Victorian imagination, regarded as both a rival empire and...

To what extent was Machiavelli a "Machiavellian"? Was he an amoral adviser of tyranny or a stalwart partisan of liberty? A neutral technician of power politics or a devout Italian patriot? A reviver of pagan virtue or initiator of modern nihilism?...

Recent debates about inequality have focused almost exclusively on the distribution of wealth and disparities in income, but little notice has been paid to the distribution of free time. Free time is commonly assumed to be a matter of personal...

One of the world's leading epistemologists provides a sophisticated, revisionist introduction to the subjectIn this concise book, one of the world's leading epistemologists provides a sophisticated, revisionist introduction to the problem of knowledge in...

What are the secrets to a contented life? One of Rome's greatest and most influential poets, Horace (65-8 BCE) has been cherished by readers for more than two thousand years not only for his wit, style, and reflections on Roman society, but also...

For the first time, the full story of the conflict between two of the twentieth century's most important thinkers - and how their profound disagreements continue to offer important lessons for political theory and philosophy.Two of the most iconic...

A concise introduction to logic that teaches you not only how reasoning works, but why it works.How Logic Works is an introductory logic textbook that is different by design. Rather than teaching elementary symbolic logic as an abstract or rote...

How a new model of democracy that opens up power to ordinary citizens could strengthen inclusiveness, responsiveness, and accountability in modern societies To the ancient Greeks, democracy meant gathering in public and debating laws set by a randomly...

Timeless wisdom on controlling anger in personal life and politics from the Roman Stoic philosopher and statesman Seneca In his essay On Anger (De Ira), the Roman Stoic thinker Seneca (c. 4 BC-65 AD) argues that anger is the most destructive...

An irreverent critical lexicon of academic life and cultureThe university: The very name evokes knowledge, culture, and the magnificently universal ambition at the heart of this essential institution. Bastions of free inquiry and a free society, engines...

A beautifully illustrated visual and cultural history of the color blue throughout the agesBlue has had a long and topsy-turvy history in the Western world. The ancient Greeks scorned it as ugly and barbaric, but most Americans and Europeans now cite it...

The Epicureans, Skeptics, and Stoics practiced philosophy not as a detached intellectual discipline but as a worldly art of grappling with issues of daily and urgent human significance. In this classic work, Martha Nussbaum maintains that these...

What is morality? Where does it come from? And why do most of us heed its call most of the time? In Braintrust, neurophilosophy pioneer Patricia Churchland argues that morality originates in the biology of the brain. She describes the "neurobiological...

Hailed by the Washington Post as "a sure-footed and witty guide to slippery ethical terrain," a philosophical exploration of AI and the future of the mind that Astronomer Royal Martin Rees calls "profound and entertaining"Humans may not be Earth's most...

A delightfully illustrated version of Sunzi's classic The Art of War by bestselling cartoonist C. C. TsaiC. C. Tsai is one of Asia's most popular cartoonists, and his editions of the Chinese classics have sold more than 40 million copies in over twenty...

From bestselling cartoonist C. C. Tsai, a delightfully illustrated version of the classic work of Daoist philosophyC. C. Tsai is one of Asia's most popular cartoonists, and his editions of the Chinese classics have sold more than 40 million copies in...

A comprehensive introduction to contemporary political ethics.What is the relationship between politics and morality? May politicians bend moral constraints in the name of political necessity? Is it always wrong for leaders to lie? How much political...

Hanley shows how Smith set forth a vision of the worthy life that is uniquely suited to people today. Full of invaluable insights on topics ranging from happiness and moderation to love and friendship, Our Great Purpose enables modern readers to see...

A novel interpretation of architecture, ugliness, and the social consequences of aesthetic judgmentWhen buildings are deemed ugly, what are the consequences? In Ugliness and Judgment, Timothy Hyde considers the role of aesthetic judgment-and its concern...

Decolonization revolutionized the international order during the twentieth century. Yet standard histories that present the end of colonialism as an inevitable transition from a world of empires to one of nations-a world in which self-determination was...

What is political philosophy? What are its fundamental problems? And how should it be distinguished from moral philosophy? In this book, Charles Larmore redefines the distinctive aims of political philosophy, reformulating in this light the basis of a...

Patheos, John Ehrett's The Best Books I Read This YearSeminary Co-Op, Notable books for 2020, Notable Top 12Zena Hitz, Winner of the Hiett Prize in the Humanities, The Dallas Institute In an overloaded, superficial, technological world, in which almost...

Why people are not as gullible as we think Not Born Yesterday explains how we decide who we can trust and what we should believe-and argues that we're pretty good at making these decisions. In this lively and provocative book, Hugo Mercier...